The Great Ocean Road Tirp

Shivank says he witnessed an extraordinary event of a painting springing to life while he rode a motorcycle at breakneck speeds. Hard to fathom, we know, but let's hear him explain...

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'In a completely sane world, madness is the 4 only freedom.' I read this quote by English novelist J G Ballard on the internet some time ago. It had such a profound effect on me that one fine day, I not only decided to lose all my sanity but also my savings by deciding to travel to Australia on a whim. I booked my tickets rather impulsively, ignoring the desperate pleas of my credit card, and then flew to Sydney in early October. Why? To do what I had always dreamt of - watch the Phillip Island MotoGP from close quarters (full feature in the motorsports section) and ride a motorcycle on one of the greatest coastal roads in the world, the Great Ocean Road.

COLD OPEN

I found myself in Sydney on a cold and windy afternoon, and after indulging in a few typical tourist activities - like clicking awkward pictures in front of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge - I shifted my attention to my main adventure in Australia, which meant the very next day, I was on a flight to Melbourne.

After idling away a day in Melbourne, I contacted a motorcycle rental company only to be met with a disappointing response oozing with the Aussie accent, 'Sorry, mayte. All the bikes are out for the GP weekend. There's little chance of you finding a spare motorcycle anywhere, but I hope you find something. Cheers, mayte!' Two things instantly became clear to me - first, Aussies can't do without using the term 'mayte', and second, I was royally screwed, mayte.