20th Jan – crating the bike.

	OMG…..It’s really happening…. Vince took the day off work to sort out the bike at Auto Classic BMW – where Aaron had arranged for young Shane to assist us – at a price of course ($268). Karen was at work until the early afternoon and drove the panniers and soft bags in the car. It was not without a little drama … at around 11.00am Vince discovered the the Registration paper engine number didn’t match the purchase paper numbers – a 4 was missing from the front! DISASTER! The bike needed to be inspected by MVR and new papers issued. Team work with Karen organising the booking of the inspection and Vince going out of his way to get it done all worked out!
Our baby all ready to be boxed up, we were able to fit both panniers (filled), both soft bags (filled) and Vince’ motocross boots. We were hoping to also include the top box but that was pushing it! The front wheel had to come off and next would be removal of the windscreen and mirrors and then lowering of the handlebars! Our baby was ravaged!
	Vince’s workmate, Glenda, gave us a blue ribbon to send off our bike with! So here is Karen doing her best game show hostess moves!  Glenda will also be looking after our other baby – Cebar (after a Honda CBR 1000) for the 12 months we are gone …. but that’s a different story!
We set off from BMW and Vince remembered in all the confusion that he forgot to take of the old number plate from the bike – we needed it to exchange for our personalised plate (2UP ADV) when it came. A frantic phone call to Aaron and we were too late – the bike was sealed….but a bit of sweet talking and he agreed to open it up again and sort it. Karen called past on her way to work the next morning to pick up the plate and drop off  a small thank you for both Aaron and Shane – they were impressed!
	It also gave her the opportunity to say a final good by to the ANIMAL and have a picture taken with the crate ….. see you in the UK baby!

Monday 19th January …Not my most glamorous look, but that’s what happens when your new husband is keen on documenting all aspect of the trip! After lining our panniers and top box with foam to protect the contents, we then had to pack the panniers and soft bags (according to our inventory – yep that’s Vince!). Then we had to bubble wrap them all ready to take to BMW to crate the bike ready for shipment to the UK.

 
Packing a pannier … my clothes WILL FIT!

Monday 19th January …. This is the way we wash the bike, wash the bike,wash the bike, this is the way we wash the bike so early in the evening!  Customs requires the bike to be spotless, both inside and out, so Karen and Vince took to it with toothbrushes – literally! We don’t want anything holding this baby’s travels up at either leaving Australia or arriving in the UK. Good as brand spanking new!

The trip has been a dream for Vince for around 5 or 6 years, Karen has shared the dream since early 2014. Like most people, it seemed so long away, with plenty of time, and although some very preliminary planning work had occurred and the ANIMAL had been purchased, it was not until late 2014 that they really knuckled down in earnest with their planning. Attendance at the Horizons Unlimited meeting in Perth, Western Australia in Oct 2014, along with the DVD collection they had been watching, served as both informative and inspirational. In early Jan 2015, this was the practice packing for the panniers, with only a couple of weeks before the bike was due to be shipped. Hmmm ….very impressive!!

ANIMAL: Does my bum look big in this?