TD and I did a lot of miles on various motorcycles crisscrossing Highways throughout Australia. She was my closest and most loyal travelling companion and together we took on some epic rides and motorcycle adventures encompassing all the extremes and beauty this country has to offer.
TD’s real name was Tara (first name) and Dog (surname) and she was a Kelpie Blue Heeler cross whose mother may have also had a fling with a Corgi. She was a mongrel and my travelling companion for many years and together we took on some amazing road adventures and misadventures.
Now! What made me think of this was when driving ‘Fork’ the bus somewhere between Fitzroy Crossing and Halls Gap in the far north Kimberly region in Western Australia.
This was many years later and on a 39 degree Celsius day. I glanced down at our current travelling companion Bella Dog. She was comfy lying on her fluffy bed, with her head on her cushion and enjoying her own personal air-con duct blowing cool air on her shaded snout.
I thought of the irony of how things have changed over the years. Back in the day it was similar outback Australian locations, similar extreme conditions but TD and I were blasting down highways on various high powered motorcycles. She used to perch up on the sheep skin covered fuel tank and mirror her owners ‘bring it on’ attitude.
I suppose I may have softened a little over the years replacing the motorcycle for an air conditioned, fully appointed bus as opposed to a swag strapped on the back, a few essential items in the saddle bags (mainly bike spares) and TD sitting on the tank like a bulldog on the front of a Mack truck.
The first mission we undertook together was Perth to Adelaide and back. She had never ridden on a bike with me before and this was going to be an over six thousand kilometre, sink or swim, return trip encompassing the always challenging Nullarbor crossing, twice! Not too bigger ask I wouldn’t have thought.
My great mate and at the time housemate in Perth had just rebuilt his 1970’s Norton Commander and decided a scoot to Adelaide was a great way to run the bike in. I decided this was too good an adventure to miss out on and proudly announced my intent to accept his invitation to join him.
This however posed one problem, TD. I couldn’t leave her behind and had no one to leave her with anyway. So I did the obvious thing and got a piece of sheep skin, had leather straps and buckles sowed to it and strapped it to the fuel tank of my motorbike. Obvious really.
My mate never battered an eye brow as he bolted a longer distance fuel tank to his shiny rebuilt Norton and off we went. The first day was hell, TD gave me that distinctive puppy look of “ARE YOU SERIOUS” as she struggled to cope with her new challenge.
It was in fact a mutual struggle and we must have looked like something from a Loony Tunes cartoon as we wrestled each other for hundreds of kilometres on the road to Kalgoorlie.
It was around Southern Cross when I said “right! If you fall off it’s your fault” and I left her to her own devices and stopped wrestling the angry beast. She proceeded to do that typical canine pirouette thing whilst precariously perched on a fuel tank doing around 120km/h. At some point that only the canine brain understands she plonked her arse on the tank and found her comfy spot.
This was the same for the next several years and every time we went for a ride I would click my finger, she would leap unassisted on to the tank, do a quick pirouette and settle in for the ride.
The only real problem we encountered after this was when her eyes got sore from the hot winds so I purchased a set of swimming goggles. You know the Olympic swimmer type, I adapted them, tied them to her collar and no more eye problems. This, as you can imagine, tended to turn heads and especially in outback remote locations people looked twice when they saw a puppy resembling Biggles flying down the highway.
Oh! And there was the time she leapt off the bike whilst pulling up at a set of suburban traffic lights in Adelaide.
For some reason she took a dislike to the dog quietly sitting in the back of a Ute, minding its own business. You can imagine the total surprise when suddenly there was a pooch version of a heavyweight title bout occurring in the back of this bloke’s vehicle. I did hear him say when I slowed to a halt
“Where the F!*K did that dog come from”. Thankfully she only ever did that once and I still don’t know why she took such an intense dislike to what seemed a perfectly good hound.
It was an amazing time for both of us.
I was riding all over the country and my best mate TD was more than happy to come along. I have never added the km’s we both did but they were many and they were special times in special places. I have so many fond memories of sitting on my swag around the campfire with my dog and my bike contemplating our next adventure.
Tragically on the one ride I didn’t take her on she lost an argument with a car in my absence. I made the decision to leave her with Miss Linda in Darwin as I thought it was too hot for her to do the 6000km return ride to Adelaide. It was tough on both me and Linda when I got the news in Adelaide but we certainly had 8 special years together and I know she enjoyed her time.
I will relate more of my riding adventures and motorcycling Australia with TD through the pages of Finchys Australia but for now its RIP TD and thanks for the memories old friend.
