On an almost perfect late autumn Canberra day, 10 intrepid riders, then later 11, met up at the Nichols Caltex meeting point for a Sunday ride to Jugiong. It was one of those typical Canberra autumn mornings - clear and calm, but cold enough to make the eyes water behind the fogged up visor and the fingertips become numb despite the heated grips. It was also one of those mornings where the normally aggravating forced stops at traffic lights were welcomed because of the momentary relief from the wind chill factor.
Whilst all the riders were dressed warmly for the conditions, the most notable was Noel, who not only turned up early enough to refuel before the briefing commenced, he was wearing so many warm layers and was wrapped in so many scarfs, he resembled something between the Michelin Man and the fabled Yeti. He quite rightly saw no reason to remove a single item of clothing just to listen to the briefing before riding off again.
The proposed route was to ride out along the Barton Highway to Yass, then down the Hume Highway to Jugiong for a lunchtime “Chomp and Chat” at the Long Trail Pantry.
After lunch, the return route was to head up the Jugiong Road to Harden then back along the Burley Griffin Way to reconnect with the Hume, before taking the Barton Highway back to Canberra. Like all good plans things soon changed.
On arrival at the meeting point, it became apparent that the local Ford Mustang owners club had similar plans. All the available parking spots were eventually occupied by cars and bikes alike. Annoyingly, the American Metal Stallions decided to depart on their outing at the precise moment the ride briefing commenced. The roar of over-revving V8 engines as throttles were repeatedly blipped prior to a full volume departure made for some good punctuation marks and a lot of lost words. I’m very certain that motorcycle riders would never do such a thing.
The briefing for this ride was very straight forward, given the predominance of straight Highways in the route, but we were greatly saddened to hear the news of the very recent passing of our good friend, Anthony Hanson. Anthony was a keen supporter of branch outings and was usually the self-appointed official photographer on our rides. He would often volunteer to be tail-end Charlie so that he could stop along the route to take pictures. He was a truly humble gentleman and strong contributor to the Ulysses Club and will be very sadly missed. May he Rest In Peace.
The ride to Jugiong was uneventful with only the usual number of attempted assassinations by the ducking and weaving car drivers on the Hume Highway. I was also reminded that my well-designed, Italian made Ducati speedometer had a built-in error of 8% when at least half the group had caught and passed their ride leader before we even got as far as Murrumbateman. The only other slow rider on the day was Glen “Bulldog” Jones on his brand, spanking new Kawasaki Vulcan 900 who was still running his engine in. He was our obvious tail-end rider.
When I contacted the Pantry a few days earlier to secure a table booking, I was told that they didn’t take bookings and that we would have to take pot luck on seating because Sunday was usually a busy day. As we rode into Jugiong the words “busy” were a distinct understatement. Not only was there a “Writers Festival” in full swing, but the grey nomads had also discovered the free camping site across the road from the Pantry in significant numbers. It also appeared that Jugiong had become the place to be for a Sunday family lunch for vast numbers of Canberrans. I thought it was only motorcycle riders that would ride for 300km on a Sunday just to have a coffee with mates. There was not a single parking space available anywhere within sight of our intended lunch destination.
A quick assessment of the long waiting queues outside the Pantry had us collectively decide to try the slightly less crowded Sir George hotel next door. Right on cue we were joined by Warren Richer on his Thruxton, making our numbers up to 11, followed by the eventual arrival of Bulldog on his VN900.
The food was good, the service surprisingly quick, given how busy the place was, and of course the conversations around our outdoors table was the best of all. The diversity of life experiences and interests within the Ulysses Club membership never ceases to amaze me and always makes for interesting conversations and exchanges of views.
After lunch, the return along the Jugiong Road to Harden was a scenic highlight. This is a lovely section of undulating hills and sweeping bends through mixed crops and pasture lands with a very artistic scattering of large granite boulders on the roadside as we approached Harden.
The Burley Griffin Way has benefited from some extensive road works, but with some sections still being completed and slowing our progress with lowered speed limits.
At Yass, the group began to go its own way. Some proceeded directly ahead to the Barton Highway and home. Others stopped for fuel at the big service centre to find most of the bowsers closed down and chaotic queues of vehicles trying to find a bowser that was still functioning. Most headed into Yass in search of coffee. Things to note about that plan: most of the usual coffee shops including The Rose Cafe, now close at 2pm. This meant that several of our group arrived just in time to watch the tables and chairs being stacked and the doors closed from their parking spot across the road.
Fortunately, just up the hill a short distance, is the Kaffeine 2582 shop that is open until 3pm on weekends. A few of us refilled our caffeine reserves before taking a variety of routes home. Because three of our number, Aeron, Matt and myself are residents of the far southern suburb of Banks (North Cooma to some wags) we decided to head home via Wee Jasper Road/ Mountain Creek Road, then Cotter Dam and the Paddy’s River Road to Tharwa and home. It was a fabulous ride for our group of three despite long, late afternoon shadows making things a bit tricky in places.
For those who might be interested, there is a short section of gravel due to roadworks on the Wee Jasper Road just out of Yass and some of the long standing large potholes on the Mountain Creek Road, especially at the Canberra end, have now been patched. Also, the diabolically rough and broken section of road between Cotter Dam and Tidbinbilla is also getting extensive roadworks done that will make it a much more pleasant, smoother and safer road in the near future. In the meantime, beware the loose gravel at the worksites.
Thanks to everyone who came out for the day.
Those who participated were:-
• Peter Ongley - Ducati Monster 659
• Andrew Curley - Harley Davidson A8039
• Aeron Johnson - Suzuki SV650
• Matt Hope - BMW GSA1200
• Glen ‘Bulldog’ Jones - Kawasaki Vulcan VN900
• Sandra Malnar - BMW F800GS
• Andrew Campbell - BMW R1250RS
• Noel Bentley - BMW F800GSA
• Chas Towie - Honda ST1300
• Chris Dietzel - Kawasaki GTR1400
• Warren Richer - Triumph Thruxton R
