Inaugural Mid-Week Decide and Ride - 18th January 2018

This being the very first mid-week ride in 2018 for the Ulysses Club Canberra Branch I was keen to be a participant.  My day started with an hour long walk with the dog followed by a quick trip into Queanbeyan to help a friend with his canoe as I kept an eye on my schedule so as not to miss the 10 o’clock departure time at the BP in Watson. 

The forecast was for a warm day but with a cool start it made riding my bike more appealing in anticipation of a great day spent touring with friends. I arrived at Watson, filling up my bike to enable me to ride without refuelling.

I was greeted by two other members also riding Triumphs and we settled into our discussions on the destination and possible route to be taken on our ride. We didn’t want to travel too far so we decided to travel via Bungendore to the Albion Café in Braidwood for a coffee.

We headed off with Michael leading the ride, Mick the corner marker leaving Mike to be elected Tail End Charley. We kept within the correct speed limit to reduce concerns of going too fast while maintaining a constant balance to create a harmonious ride. The traffic was heavy for a mid-week ride on the Kings Highway with people heading to the beach ahead of expected high temperatures over the weekend. 

Famed Triumph rider watering hole

At the Albion, we sat down after ordering our coffees while exchanging stories of our previous rides and our adventures while riding motor cycles. We finished up our refreshments and headed back via Tarago and Bungendore to home. 

One of the many Triumphs seen on the ride.

The road twisted and weaved through the beautiful changing seasonal colours of our local country side. The ride was halted for a short while by road works on the Tarago Road near Mt Fairy and we experienced some dangerous driving by a double bogie sand truck weaving it’s bogie all over the road while trying to sit on the back seat of the car in front of him. Thankfully we arrived safely in Bungendore where I left the ride to head home with a smile on my face. 

The Riders were:

• Michael Winters - Triumph Trophy
• Mick - Triumph Sports bike
• Mike - Triumph Touring bike