    |
 |
|
|
|
Silver Bullet is one of only a few Websites worldwide that receives Desiree Crossman`s newsy behind the MotoGP scene column (not always PC). She reports on #21 John (Hopper) Hopkin`s MotoGP exploits and her own as they travel the globe.
Check out - HOPPER`S WEBSITE:
You can send your support to John - HERE:
Down Under:
Hi everyone,
The last time I wrote we were in Surfer\'s Paradise hanging out, it seems like so long ago now. It was a cool place to check out, we did a tourist ride called the Aquaduct where it\'s a huge bus that drives on land and then goes into the water. I wanted to do that, as cheesy as it may sound but I thought it was cool. On the ride they take you on a little tour around Surfer\'s and show you the Versace Mall were they say you can buy a Versace robe for nearly 2000USD. Who in the hell is that stupid to buy that? That\'s not bloody prize possesion, that\'s a complete ripoff. There better be some nice jewels on that thing cause I have a hard time spending 20USD on a robe. But yeah, they say people spend wads there, what a joke.
After that, we got into the car and drove down the coast abit to check it out. The beaches are quite nice and some of the parts we drove thru reminded us of areas in San Diego like Torry Pines and La Jolla. Surfer\'s is like Pacific Beach only alot bigger and more high rises. There\'s an apartment complex being built at the moment which is going to take 4 years to complete. It\'s supposed to be the tallest apartment building either in Oz or in the world at 80 stories high. Should be a sight to see.
On Sunday morning, we packed up and headed to the Sunshine Coast which is about an hour north of Brisbane, so no we didn\'t manage to see Brisbane city, but we weren\'t too bothered. We drove up the motorway and we knew Garry McCoy lived somewhere up there so we just drove until we saw a sign saying \"Sunshine Coast next exit.\" We got a map at a small info centre and went up to a small beach town called Mooloolaba. Again, we walked around, found a hotel and lounged in the pool. Of course it was kind of strange cause\' we were \"SUPPOSED\" to be at the track, and John was SUPPOSED to be riding, but oh well.
We did watch the 250 race and the MotoGP race wasn\'t live due to live Rugby action, so had to watch it later in the night. It came on and it\'s cool cause\' they present it as if it was a football match, got some commentators talking about Rossi and what he was going to do. It was almost like they were trying to scrutinze the plays. Like retired football players who think their thoughts are worth 2 cents? Yeah, like them. But I give these guys credit for having a conversational session regarding the riders and MotoGP. It\'s not like the states where it\'s brushed aside, half hour segment from the start to finish and that\'s it. Bogus coverage on the US marketing stradegy. So we watched that for awhile and saw Rossi win his 5th world title. Good for him, but the question on everyone\'s mind is................where is he going??? I have to admit I\'m completely up in the air on that one. We\'ll just have to wait and see. Other riders are waiting on his decision too cause\' if he does make a move, alot of contracts will be altered I\'m sure.
Monday morning we ate some breakfast and then walked over to a small marina where you can rent jet skiis. We rented one to ride for an hour to kill some time. During that time, Garry and Gemma had flown in from KL and were getting some stuff done before meeting up with them later in the day. We rode a boat out to the jet skiis and John and I went into the ocean to ride around. I got to tell you after about 10 minutes on the thing, I was freezing my tatas off. I had to go in the boat with the instructor cause\' I was so cold. But John continued to ride it in the ocean, hitting waves and hauling ass. He started to get cold after awhile too so he came in. From there, we got dressed and had lunch at this Mexican. It looked open but we were the only people in there. Apparently no one eats Mexican for lunch, only dinner. Anyway, our waiter who I believe to be the owner, was a bit spacey. He was cool and the food was bitchin\', but he seemed not all there. He ended up closing the shop on us cause he had an appointment. So John and I sat out on the patio drinking coffee while the place was locked. He said we could hang out there while it was closed so that\'s what we did. By that time Garry and Gemma met up with us and we headed over to their house. It\'s a nice house on a river in a small community. There\'s a beach not too far from their house and John wanted to take me to see it at night. We walked over but you have to go thru this small forest to get to the beach, and as chicken shit as it sounds, I was scared. I kept telling John, \"You never know what could happen, I can\'t see the ocean.\" I was horrified to walk thru the forest, but if I can\'t see the other side I\'ll be nervous. Needless to say I did eventually go, completely on alert walking thru, but the beach was nice. It\'s very secluded so it was romantic. Aaahhhhhhhh, how sweet!! Then we went back.
Tuesday morning we left and headed to Brisbane to the airport. Flew into Melbourne, hired a car and drove to Phillip Island. Right now the weather is calm but cloudy. This is the place where everyone says you can get all four seasons in one day. You can never count on consistent weather here. But apart from that, we like the little small town and it has a good atmosphere.
Alright, so until the weekend begins and John can ride again. Look out for the sticker on John\'s bike, should get a kick out of it.
Bye,
Desiree
