Classic moments & Cafe Mojo

TRIBUTE TO MOJO

As Mogens “Mojo” Johansen recently left the Travel and Motoring team, it seems fitting to take the test-ride motorcycle I’ve just picked up to Cafe Mojo in Mundaring.

In addition to his Travel writing and photography, Mogens looked after bikes in our West Wheels supplement.

Before we go any further down this road, let me just say that if you have absolutely no interest in motorcycles, please read on, as this story has very little to do with bikes, but more to do with weird coincidences and inspiring moments and places to visit …

Having said that, I must tell you that the test bike is a Royal Enfield Classic 650 Twin, which I’ve borrowed from JCS Motorcycles at Belmont — the first to arrive in WA.

And I’ll add that I’ve just dropped off my own Royal Enfield Classic 500 Bullet at JCS’s workshop to have a saree guard fitted. I just bought it in Kolkata — it’s a metal “fan” that fits by the back wheel and has a foot rest, so that women can sit sideways without their saree getting caught in the back wheel. Right hand resting on the rider’s shoulder, they step elegantly off and on the bike as they shop in the markets. I’ve always wanted one.

And so I head inland on Great Eastern Highway, heading for Mundaring, on the glittering new Classic 650 Twin, which is an eye-catching turquoise; a colour used on earlier 500cc Classics, including one called “Moty” in Kochi, in the south-western Indian state of Kerala, which I ride.

My friend Mojo; Mojo the cafe; my Classic 500; the new turquoise Classic 650; Moty in Kochi; my bike back in the workshop having its Kolkata saree guard fitted.

My memories of India, where Royal Enfields are now made, and my childhood in Worcestershire, where the original British bikes were made.

This is turning into a strange and complex morning …

COMPLICATIONS AT MOJO

… and the morning is about to become even more complicated.

I turn in to Craig Street, Mundaring, a quiet street backed by forest, away from the main drag of Great Eastern Highway, park the Classic 650 Twin and walk toward the front door next to a female Suzuki rider who has just parked, too.

Her dad, who’s already turned up on his BMW bike, lives in the city, she lives in York, and they meet here, sort-of halfway.

We’re chatting and the “owner of the cafe” joins in. I ask him if he minds if I photograph the bike in front of Cafe Mojo, explaining the connection to our own Mojo.

“What’s the bike?” Ronald Colijn asks, then comes out to look.

It turns out that there can’t be many people in the world more qualified to comment on Royal Enfield Classics than Ronald — who, with chef wife Joanne Colijn-Dew owns and operates Cafe Mojo.

Ronald has ridden 100,000km on a Royal Enfield Classic — an extraordinary distance for his old 500cc single.

He looks over the new 650cc twin over, and we both point out the bits we particularly like, which reflect the bike’s heritage.

“What does it sound like?” he asks. And he sits on it and we press the button and start it, and agree that this is, indeed, a “Royal Enfield sound” — albeit updated.

Ronald starts to tell me more of his Royal Enfield riding history … but I ask him to pause. Does he have time to sit down with me, so I can take notes?

“I’ll join you at table 17…”

TALES AT TABLE 17

… on my way to Table 17, I realise I have a problem. I have come out on a bike road test, with two phones to use as cameras, a small tripod and a DJI Neo drone … but no notebook and pen. I still find these the best tools when interviewing people. You can’t beat a selective note.

On the way to Table 17, I raid the children’s drawing desk, sorting through to find a sharp blue watercolour pencil and a sharp brown shading one.

I hunt around for paper, but there are just colouring books.

When Ronald comes, I shamelessly ask him for some: “Just sheets of A4 will do …” A reporter without a notebook? Really? Disgraceful. (Don’t tell anyone.)

And so we sit at Table 17, Ronald with a short black coffee, me with a spectacularly good flat white, sunlight filling the garden behind, under a clear blue sky, and Ronald begins to tell his story, and I begin to make notes …

“Shorthand …” he notices, as I make rangy blue hieroglyphics across the first expanse of white paper …

Ronald left his native Netherlands in 1998 to travel the world.

He bought a new Royal Enfield Classic 500 Bullet in Chennai, India, where they are made.

He says: “I travelled around the world for nearly seven years and I did pretty much all of India, Pakistan, most of Arabia and Oman. I crossed to Yemen — and might be the only motorcyclist to cross the border. In Oman, there were no roads across the desert, so I put the bike in a truck.

“I took an onion boat to Djibouti and got burnt to a crisp by the sun. That night, the crew tucked in all their trouser legs and I wondered why.” When he woke up the next morning absolutely covered in crabs, he understood the reason.”

He rode on through Ethiopia and Kenya, and on to South Africa.

He met Royal Enfield rider, adventurer and author Jacqui Furneaux, who comes from Bristol, in the UK, and is well-known for her book Hit The Road, Jac! They were together, riding and travelling for three years and, Ronald admits, he took most of the photographs in her book. Jacqui rode through 20 countries in seven years on her Enfield, and Ronald is “the crazy Dutch guy” in her book.

Ronald then rode on through Thailand and Malaysia before coming to Australia in 2003, with his bike in the plane with him, to continue his life’s adventure.

“I was on the road for nearly 10 years,” he says.

In Northern Australia, he and Jacqui, each on their Royal Enfields, rode the Gulf of Carpentaria Highway. He remembers her riding ahead one day, and then just seeing a huge plume of bulldust as she came off and broke her collarbone.

“I have had amazing adventures here,” he says.

He spent three months riding the Enfield from Perth to Darwin. “I didn’t sleep once under a roof. That’s what I feel about Australia. Freedom.” He has never had a tent — just a sheet of plastic and a sleeping bag. With two extra fuel cans strapped to the bars of his bike, he had 700km range.

He lived briefly in Katherine, Cairns and Canberra, and then came back to Perth.

Ronald recalls: “Nearly eight years ago, my wife Jo (who is a famous chef) was told this place was for lease. We then asked people in this area what they wanted — did a survey and got 400 replies.”

(I must add that, having worked the tips of the blue and brown pencils to flat stubs, Ronald here breaks off to offer me a pen to borrow … “I feel sorry for you …” and so my shorthand notes now happily continue in black biro …)

Ronald continues: “They wanted a meeting place for the community. Decent coffee. Vegan and meat dishes.”

He says they simply asked, offered what the community wanted, and have thrived.

A chess club meets here (they are playing in a warm room now), and there is a “Drop in and Connect” group, for people to just come and have a coffee and chat. A “seed savers” group, with their interest in heritage plant seeds, gathers here.

At the end of the garden, with its trees, tables, umbrellas, play areas and marquee, there are rooms which can be hired and where everything from yoga to belly dancing has been offered.

A sign informs that “Quendas Are Not Rats”, and one of the long-nosed native marsupials wanders by.

A big cafe area is reserved for the imminent arrival of a Villa Carlotta coach group of 35. The staff are briefed and prepared, ready for speedy service.

The cafe, which is part of an overall company called A Space to Grow, employs people with challenges, from Down syndrome to diagnosed ADHD, and youngsters from 14, setting out to learn their first work skills. They are coached and trained, given both hospitality and life skills, and cared for.

And Ronald says I have done one employee a favour, as part of her job is to make sure the colouring pencils are all sharp, and I have blunted two. “She’ll be pleased about that — she likes sharpening them.”

In discussing this, Ronald points out that junior staff and staff with challenges are not “cheap labour”, but expensive in that they may not be as efficient, and may need the time of other staff to look out for them.

“But it is part of resilience and business savvy and heart and soul,” he says.

Children in the area who have written books have sold their first copies in Cafe Mojo’s retail space, and local artists and makers sell here too.

“Heart and soul …” repeats Ronald, who is also a web designer and active member of the Mundaring Chamber of Commerce. In 2019, Ronald and Joanne received the Access Mundaring award in the annual Citizenship Awards. It recognises those making a difference to create a more accessible and inclusive local community.

The benefits are spiritual (almost religious) but can be measured practically, too. When they started Cafe Mojo, Ronald and Joanne were using one kilogram of coffee a day, and now the cafe uses five.

Then Ronald quickly spots two people standing to leave and says: “You must meet Paige …”

And so, another page in this strange morning is turned …

Paige McNeil is President of the Shire of Mundaring, and keen to get people from the CBD to visit for day trips. When Ronald introduces us, she quickly explains that there’s not much accommodation here, so that’s a good option for business.

There’s plenty for day trippers to do … “People always used to go for drives for the day up in the Hills,” she remembers. The old Sunday drive.

Paige is also keen to promote Mundaring as a “dark skies” area — where people can get a good view of the planets and stars. And with her is Matthew Woods, tour administer and marketing co-ordinator for Perth Observatory, which is just up the road. Its slogan is: “Your gateway to the universe”. For more than 125 years, the observatory has been a hub for astronomical discovery and public education — and it offers tours including a night tour of up to two hours. Guests use its collection of telescopes and knowledgeable volunteers guide them on a tour of celestial wonders.

The day has unfolded through serendipitously — but there is a coach party coming (for Ronald) and a gleaming turquoise Royal Enfield Classic 650 Twin motorcycle outside (for me).

We wander out into the sunshine and say our farewells.

Some of the best travel experiences do, indeed, come about through coincidence and connection. From thinking about Mogens Johansen, and missing him in our team, this has all unfolded.

These are the best moments of my “writer’s life” — the precious gift of allowing fate to present educating and uplifting stories, and being able to share them.

I ride off, happily, into the sunshine and glittering forest.

PS Given that I am on an Indian motorcycle and that Tim Slehofer the mechanic at JCS has fitted Blue Boy’s saree guard, and the strange unfolding of the morning, I check the astrology section of the Times of India newspaper’s website. Astrology is part of everyday life for most Indians. My horoscope for today reads: “Satisfaction from fulfilling your work responsibilities brings inner peace. A short work-related trip could be beneficial. Visiting a religious place may uplift your mood and help realign your goals. Guidance from mentors or spiritual figures may give you much-needed clarity.”

fact file

+ JCS Motorcycles is at 287 Great Eastern Highway, Burswood. jcsmotorcycles.com.au or 9487 1326. The Royal Enfield 650 Classic Twin is $11,390 rideaway.

+ Cafe Mojo is at 16 Craig Street, Mundaring. Quality, wholesome dishes use sustainably, locally sourced ingredients. Coffee is prepared by “passionate baristas”. It is open from 8am until 2pm from Tuesday to Friday and 8am to 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays. There is a children’s play area, it is pet-friendly, there are gluten-free and vegan options and there’s free wifi. cafemojomundaring.com.au and 0410 270 784.

+ For Perth Observatory, visit perthobservatory.com.au. The night tour is $50 for adults, $40 for concessions and $30 for children aged five to 17.

+ For Jacqui Furneaux’s adventures, visit jacquifurneaux.com.