Did you call?

The release of the Samsung S20 is opportune. With it's release the price of the superseded models are dropping like hot potatoes. Time to upgrade the S8.

Last time "Around the Block" I carried three phones; my primary Samsung S8 which is with Optus; a backup S6 with a Telstra SIM; and a Sat phone.

Yes, the obvious question is why don't I just stick with Telstra and toss Optus? Fetch boxes and bundled account etc... is the answer.

And yes, I did use all phones at various times last trip to keep in contact with my wife and family. While I'm out having fun riding around Australia I need to ensure my wife and family are kept in the loop of what I'm doing and where I am. Without her blessing this trip wouldn't be happening.

On a number of forums and Facebook groups the question of what phone to take and what network to sign up to is often asked. As far as I can see it's a no brainer. Telstra reigns supreme if you're heading anywhere away from the East Coast of Australia or large city. Have a look at the coverage maps below of Optus and Telstra and their coverage in the outback. However to Optus' credit, their coverage today is far greater than it was a couple of years ago.

Optus

Telstra

These maps are taken from Reviews.org.

I did contemplate getting a dual sim from Kogan but decided having the backup phone with sim installed was a better option if one goes missing.

I'll purchase a Telstra Pre-Paid SIM for the time I'm away. There's not a snow flakes chance in Hell that I'll even scratch the surface of using a poofteenth of the available data on the cheapest plan, but being contactable most of the time is reassuring.

Gotta go and set up the apps on the new phone

Power! Nothing like power and Tweak that Route!

Started looking at what we needed to do to the bikes and revisiting the 2018 route that I took.

Have ordered a couple of surface mount power outlets and handlebar outlets, associated SAE cabling and power relays.

The surface mount power outlets will be placed in a pannier allowing battery packs, Gopro and any other items to be charged when not in use. I didn't have this capability last time and missed having the ability to charge items fully overnight from the battery pack. Lesson learned.

The handlebar power outlet is primarily for the CB radio charging. I already have a phone wireless charging holder.

The use of the SAE cable joiners will allow the panniers to be unplugged from the bike for removal if needed. The power from the battery will be switched using the relay connected to the tail light lead. I have no desire to flatten the battery while the bike is not running. A few pics below.

It's time to review the last ride route and tweak it a little bit. As with the 2018 ride the intent is to roughly follow the A1 around Australia. We will head a little further north up the East Coast to Port Douglas this time before making our way back down and across to Georgetown. We will also be taking a trip from Darwin over to Umbakumba on Groote Eylandt to visit my daughter. While not on the bikes, this will be a highlight of the trip for me.

WikiCamps was an excellent tool last time in picking overnight stops. This time I'd like to do a bit more Country Pub camping, though I realise travelling the A1 is not really country.

Rocks under the tent just seem to be softer after a visit to the Rubidy.

Another BMW on the block

My riding companion last time Around The Block rode a BMW R1200GS Adventure. It performed faultlessly and was an excellent choice for the ride. Hell, nearly every second or third bike seemed to be a GS. The Adventurer had a 35ltr tank, so he only had to fuel up every other one of my stops! I carried a 10ltr fuel bladder and will do so again this time. And he had enough space in his panniers to accommodate the kitchen sink to boot.

I suggested to my son that he should look seriously to a BMW to do the ride on. Last weekend he narrowed his search down took ownership of a 2010 R1200GS. A very neat machine with a set of BMW Vario panniers. The capacity of each is R 30-39ltrs, L 20-29ltrs and top box 30-35ltrs. That's a total of between 80-103ltrs dependent on whether each pannier is expanded or not! This bike should romp the ride in with ease.

My Suzuki OEM saddlebags would be lucky to be 15ltrs each! While these were a good 5ltrs smaller than the K-Drives I had on my M50, I made them do on the back end of the last trip. I'll be running a bit lighter this time round. Off loading a few bits that I really didn't need or use.

The challenge for Tristan will not to be too sloppy with the kit he pack, given the huge amount of luggage space available.