Born To Be Mild

Tomoko: Queen of the Road, and the art of motorcycle maintenance

The road twists and turns towards Mount Lofty lookout. The members of the Yamaha Owner’s Motor Cycling Club of South Australia have organised an outing through the Adelaide Hills with guest biker, Miss Tomoko Watanabe. An ex-employee of Japan Airlines in Yokohama, Miss Watanabe, 26, resigned from her position to ride around Australia on her Yamaha XT 250. ‘Because I was not allowed to accrue annual leave, I left to ride around Australia for nine months.’

Miss Watanabe is petite and wears glasses, not at all what I expect a solo female biker to look like. In December 1997 Miss Watanabe shipped her bike from Yokohama to Sydney where it arrived two months later. She stayed with a friend in Sydney and visited the Blue Mountains before riding to Lakes’ Entrance and Wilsons Promontory. ‘I liked the Prom because of the walking tracks, the wilderness and the ocean. Yokohama is on the ocean but it is very polluted.’

She continued her journey through Gippsland spending two nights on Philip Island to watch the penguin parade at dusk. In Melbourne she was bedridden with the flu, ‘I couldn’t believe it was so cold. Summer in Japan is hot and humid.’
Tasmania, on the other hand holds fonder memories. ‘I met up with some friends in Hobart and we hired a car for a week.’ Any highlights? ‘The chocolate factory! I tried all the samples.’ And which was her favourite? She makes a circle with her fingers and smiles: ‘Chocolate coated almonds!’
She continued towards Adelaide along the Great Ocean Road and ‘Stopped at every lookout to see the view!’

Next she’ll cross the Nullabor Plain to reach Perth, then Brooke, the Kimberleys and Darwin; then south to Katherine Gorge and Alice Springs.
I ask why she is riding around Australia. ‘In 1995 I rode my bike from Sydney to Cape York; unfortunately the trip was interrupted because of a bike accident in which I fractured my shoulder. I always wanted to return to resume the journey.’

Miss Watanabe is philosophical about the dangers of travelling on a bike by herself, ‘First of all I take care on the road, keeping the average speed between 70 to 80 km per hour; sometimes I get scared but so far I’ve met a lot of helpful people; it’s all part of the adventure.’

Miss Watanabe tells me that she has been very lucky in meeting people who have offered her accommodation. ‘I also stay in caravan parks, backpackers or hostels for bike riders.’
Why did she choose this mode of transportation? ‘I’ve had my motor bike licence since 1990. From then on I’ve always travelled by bike. I don’t like using public transport. I took the bike with me so I can stop wherever I like, it gives me a lot of freedom.’

I enquire about practical problems concerning the crossing of the Nullabor: does she carry extra petrol; and does she carry her own tools? Miss Watanabe laughs: ‘Of course I carry tools! I learned the basics of motorcycle maintenance and repairing during the eight years that I’ve been riding. Whenever something mechanical went wrong, I learned to fix it. I don’t carry a spare Jerry-can because I had a special 12 L tank fitted which lasts up to 350 Km. But I always carry spare water, just in case I break down.’

What is she looking forward to seeing the most? ‘Kings Canyon and the Red Centre; when I saw Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, I was inspired.’