“Hey, I like your bike!” I click the fuel cap back into place and turn to see a girl, around eight years old, head poking out from the back seat of her dad’s 4×4, grinning at me and my Honda CB500X.
“Thanks! I’ve ridden it from Sydney,” I wave and reply as I head inside to pay, her eyes following me. As I return outside, her dad is filling up some gas tanks and her beaming smile is now sticking out from the other passenger window. Her dad, sharing the same smile, tells me:
“She was just asking last week why she never sees girls riding motorbikes.”
It’s early, it’s chilly, and I’m hyped with excitement to be taking my first big solo trip. The dark morning is back-dropped by a violet and orange-streaked sky, and I set off from Sydney with nothing but freedom and adventure in front of me.
UP THE PUTTY
After about an hour I turn onto Putty Road. In my naivety and enthusiasm, I forget to stop and fuel up before starting along the 172km stretch. So, with my friends’ words echoing in my ears — “always fill up when you pass a petrol station, you don’t know when the next one will be” — I navigate rain, shivering extremities and potholes, as well as braking for a few kangaroos
