Riders:
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| Coffee stop at Boorowa |
- Garry McCurley VFR1200
- Rick Costan Monster
- Peter Arday ST1300
- Kris Jirasek GSXR1300
- Andrew Campbell ZX14R
- Trevor McLeod FJR1300
- Chris Dietzel GTR1400
- Donna MacLean Streetfighter
- Chas Towie ST1300
- Ian Paterson GL1800
The main purpose of this ride was to share a great little back road I stumbled across when I was riding aimlessly around the Central West, Riverina and northern Victoria last November. It goes from Mandurama to Canowindra but it also can be done in the opposite direction, in which case it goes from Canowindra to Mandurama. It’s the same distance in either direction.
It was a beautiful, calm, sunny morning after an overnight low of 0° as we set off from Nicholls and took the usual route to Boorowa. The post office was closed so we had coffee and a pie at the Superb Bakery, which has markedly improved the quality of both products in recent months.
I had originally planned to go via Frogmore and Wyangala Dam but there was some concern that the floodways on that road could still be full of water and coated with slippery moss after the rain during the previous week. Instead, we continued north on Lachlan Valley Way to Cowra and north-east on the Mid Western Highway to Mandurama, where we regrouped.
The road from here to Canowindra was only 40km long but it wound around hillsides blanketed with bright yellow-flowering canola and deep green pastures, dipped in and out of valleys and gullies and led us over hilltops with spectacular views over the Belubula valley and the Nangar Mountains beyond it. The road surface was mostly excellent – some sections were being resealed when I passed by last November – and we managed a respectable pace, arriving at Canowindra at 12:30pm, just in time for lunch.
We dined at the How Bazarr Café (yes, that’s how it’s spelled), which is also known locally as the Green Shed even though it’s kind of yellow and purple. It’s run by the ebullient Dot and her staff, and next time you call in there mention that you’re with Canberra Ulysses and she will remember us. Best not to mention Peter Arday’s name though.
We had a slight delay when one of our party, who I shall call Kris for no other reason than that it was her, misplaced her bike key. After we combed every square centimetre of the café and parking lot, and were on the verge of calling in the SES and PolAir, the errant key was found in a different-from-usual pocket of said party member’s apparel.
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| Yet another coffee at Boorowa |
When we finally hit the road we took the most direct route home, via Cowra and another coffee stop at Boorowa. The whole trip was about 480km.
Ian Paterson
