My Bike - Honda VTR250

I have had the VTR250 for almost 4 years and use it mainly as a daily ride to work in all weather. I day tour on it every now then at the weekend. It's a great little bike, handles really well especially if the factory tires are upgraded. It's learner legal and is an excellent and forgiving bike to learn on. It's styled on the Ducati Monster and when parked next one you realise how good a copy job they did. The exposed frame and lack of fairing minimises scratches you might put on it while learning but doesn't provide much in the way of wind protection to the rider. You do get use to this on the freeway doing 110km with it reving at 8000rpm! lol.

A mate and I are planning a 2 week trip down the south-east coast of NSW, south coast of Victoria and onto South Australia looping back to Sydney. I will be taking the VTR250 and he will be a on a Suzuki V-Strom 650 that he just bought. I will update the blog as the ride progresses. Hopefully I don't regret it half way through :()

A few Specs on the VTR250

Engine type:	2 cylinders, 4-stroke, V-twin
Displacement:	249 cc (15.21 cubic inches)
Cooling system:	Water cooled
Power:	31.82 HP (23.4 kW) @ 10500 rpm
Torque:	24 Nm (2.45 kg-m) @ 8500 rpm
Gear box:	Manual 5-speed
Clutch:	Wet, cable operated
Final drive:	Chain
Motor oil:	10W/40
Starter:	Electric
Dimensions
Length:	2040 mm
Width:	720 mm
Height:	1050mm
Wheel base:	1410mm
Ground clearance:	170mm
Dry weight:	140 kg
Chassis and suspension
Frame type:	aluminium, Trellis frame
Front
Suspension:	Cartridge
Brake:	Single Disk
Tire:	110 / 70 R17
Rear
Suspension:	mono shock, Swingarm
Brake:	Disk
Tire:	140 / 70 R17
Other
Fuel capacity:	13 L

Balcony Gardening - Compost

Balcony Gardening - Compost

The compost bin with holes drilled in the side

A few months ago I decided to make a compost bin for the balcony and last weekend I opened it up to see how it had done and to start using the soil created. The balcony compost bin setup I used was an old used rubbish bin with lid. Rubbish bins generally don't have holes in them as they are designed not to leak so this was the first step. I drilled lots of holes into all the sides and the base for drainage and aeration to assist in decomposing the materials added to the bin. These are very important aspects to a good compost heap. Without drainage and aeration you will end up with a very smelly anaerobic compost heap or bin. On a balcony you do not want this and nor do your neighbours! In the base of the bin I placed some branches about 50 to 100 mm deep with a piece of fly screen mesh over the top. This helps with drainage in the base of the compost. I then placed some old potting mix as a bed over the top to of the fly screen.

Compost in Bin - Broken egg shells visible

The kitchen scraps can now be added. I normally collect them in a container in the kitchen first for a few days and then put them in the compost. Each time the kitchen scraps are placed in the compost bin cover with some old potting mix or other organic material. If using old potting mix keep it moist when stored. The old potting mix has bugs and other bacteria which helps break the scraps down. Soil from the garden would also work as long as its free draining. Clay soils may prevent the bin from draining or aerating. The bin will attract some small flies and bugs but doesn't smell. I got a few months out it before I had to stop and allow it to sit and break down. This weekend I opened it up to find lovely dark compost.

Some of the compost spread around the existing pots.

Wisemans Ferry via Settlers Road

The bike - Honda Vtr250

Back on the 8th of January I was bored one Sunday afternoon. I thought about going for a ride and remembered a road I drove past now and then with a turn off to Wisemans Ferry. I decided to have a quick look on Google maps and Street view to see what the road was like and where it went. Google maps noted it as the Settlers / Wollombi Road and a decent proportion of it was dirt. I was intrigued so I grabbed a drink, some lunch to go and jumped on the bike and headed off up the old Pacific Highway. The ride to Bucketty took roughly an hour and 30 taking the old windy roads of the Old Pacific Highway(Old Pac) and George Downes Drive. For people who don’t know the ‘Old Pac’ it is a well known motorbike weekend ride route or track as some use it, close to Sydney with a nice pie shop which is regularly frequented by riders. The road is also regularly frequented by the police as a result. :(

Settlers Road

A left turn takes you onto Settlers / Wollombi Road and it soon transitions to dirt. Signage along the way describes the route as an old convict trail and is heritage protected, for approximately 5km. The route is windy and scenic as the road makes its way from the sandstone ridges down into the valleys. The road in places narrows down to driveway widths along the dirt section. It eventually opens up along one of the tributaries lakes to the Hawkesbury river. The road returns to tar close to St Albans, the valley landscape widens out and pastoral land covers the floors of the valley with a mix of farms and farm-lets. Its picturesque and with the regular rain in Sydney lately, its very green with dams filled to over flowing.

The Widening Valley Floor Landscape and Hawkesbury Tributaries

The farm-lets give way to what I call a country / bush suburbia as Wisemans Ferry approaches. Wisemans Ferry is not a large town but the northern side of the Hawkesbury feels quite built up compared to the south side where the historic town is located. A free car ferry takes you across the Hawkesbury where large parks with picnic areas and little river side beaches provide a great space to have lunch and stretch the legs. The town itself is sited slightly further up the hill I suppose to keep it out of the flood plain. It is a historic town with the old stone of the early 1800’s buildings and early Australian / English heritage.

Pastoral Land and tar road just out side St Albans

From Wisemans Ferry it was off home via the Galston Gorge, a very windy road with very tight bends and usually too much traffic. The bends are too tight and really aren’t they entertaining but its a rather scenic ride.

Down at Wisemans Ferry having lunch under these interesting trees

Balcony Gardening - harvesting carrots & garlic

 Last weekend I harvested the carrots that were growing in one of the black recycling containers. Most have performed well and the soil was moist and loose and it was very easy to remove them. I think this was why this bunch of carrots has done better than some of the others. The largest carrots had basically reach the base of the planter and would not have grown much larger. The soil in the other two tubs that growing carrots got quite firm and I had to keep breaking it up. All the tubs had similar soil mixes but the potting mix brands did vary.

Harvested Carrots

 A few weeks ago I harvested all the garlic and ended up with a bit of a mix bag, some good some not so good but all very edible and tasty. The soil issues mentioned above was also apparent between the pots. The garlic has been great in cooking and I will need to replant some more when I have room.

Harvested Garlic

The other herbs and vegetables are doing well. I have been harvesting the leaves off the Iceberg lettuce as they grow, which has been good. The ginger continues to put up shoots and will need to be moved to a larger pot some time in the near future. I am getting a few strawberries but not a lot at this stage. They are also small so will investigate what I need to add to improve this. After the Garlic was harvested I spread the celery from its small pot into the pots that had the garlic. The move didn't shock it too much and is now growing well.

Strawberry Flowers

Strawberries

Ginger - 3 stalks

Young Iceberg Lettuce

Young Celery

Balcony Gardening

So where to begin......?

My garden is a balcony about 4 x 2 metres. All plants are grown in pots or large tubs, which I found laying around. I was trying to reduce cost and recycle what I could so I used some old recycling containers and a disused polystyrene vegetable box that I found in the rubbish room of the apartment block. These items needed lots holes drilled into the bottom for drainage.

The parsley in Spring (now dead)

I had grown plants on the balcony before and they had always suffered during summer because of the westerly aspect and the pots just drying out too quickly. I also did forget to water sometimes! So this time I wanted to try and build an improved potting mix, one that would tolerate delays between waterings and save the plants when I was forgetful ;). The mix included an average grade (cheap) potting mix with a brick sized coir peat block softened in water mixed together. I then spread a layer of blood and bone over the surface of the soil in the pot and dug in, to about 100-150mm deep. Overall the mix has done better than the pots that still had a plain potting mix in them. I would have to water the standard mix twice as much.

Fresh new Garlic shoots

Early Ginger growth

I decided to grow herbs and vegetables on the balcony because a lot of fresh herbs can be pricey in the supermarket. We kept buying bunches of herbs such as coriander or parsley, use less than half of it and then it would go rotten within a few days. On the balcony I started with rosemary, parsley, mint and thyme. During Spring I added garlic, ginger, carrots, celery, strawberries and then later some lettuce and oregano. Its a little tight and was certainly over the top but well worth it. I am currently enjoying the carrots and garlic in home cooked meals.

The previous progress can be found at my balcony garden thread.