- Chas Towie ST1300
- Darryl Cullen 1250S Bandit
- George Attard Sprint 1050
- Ian Paterson GL1800
- Andrew Campbell ZX14R
- Trevor McLeod FJR1300
- Dave Greig DL650
- Gary Thomas DL650
- Chris Dietzel GTR1400
- Kris Jirasek GSXR1300
- Dave Robinson FJR1300
Despite the early start (8:30 am) it was already kind of warm as we pulled out of Nicholls and headed north on the well-worn Barton Highway. Everyone claimed to know the way to Boorowa so we didn’t bother with corner markers. Amazingly, everyone made it to the Superb Bakery for coffee and a pie.
It was now quite warm and sunny and those of us with removable jacket liners ripped them out before Chas led us out of town on the Rugby road. After a few kilometres we turned left on the less travelled Frogmore road, which Trevor had been warning was a mess of dinner plate sized patched potholes. To our great surprise and joy, the local council had just finished resurfacing the worst stretch of the road, which has been transformed from a bone-jarring horror into a thing of wonder with a smooth surface, sweeping bends and enjoyable riding. Hope it lasts!
Corner markers marked the few corners and by about 11am, despite one wild goose chase leading to a dead-end, we pulled in at the day’s holy grail – the entrance to the Wyangala Dam recreation area. Chas then confessed that he had never been here before and had no idea of where to go or what to do. Fortunately there was a map on a couple of posts, and some swift negotiation with the girl manning (girling?) the boom gate saw us allowed into the recreation area without having to pay the $10 entry fee – as long as we didn’t get off our bikes and start a picnic.
The place was busy with water skiing boats, campers, picnickers and a swarm of people picnicking along the shoreline near the boat ramp. The lake level was obviously less than full. I estimated it was about 70% full but I checked later and it was only 53%. There’s a lot of water in the top 10 or so metres!
We exited the recreation area, rode across the dam wall and back and, like the hippies in 1969, headed for Woodstock. The road was mostly fairly narrow, and brought us face to face with the occasional 4wd towing a speedboat, but it weaved and curved up into the hills and then along a high ridgeline with sweeping views to the west. Definitely worth a return trip!
Woodstock the village (as opposed to Woodstock the 1969 music festival, which my bride Sally missed out on despite living only two hours away) is small and sleepy. However, somebody obviously loves the place as considerable money is being poured into renovating the old two-storey pub and another beautiful old building across the road.
We joined some locals in the cool of the pub and settled in the dining room for lunch and refreshments. I had a steak sambo which had plenty of salad but the thinnest steak I think I’ve ever seen. Not to worry, the chips had gravy on them.
It was over 30 degrees as we rode out of Woodstock, having not seen a hippie or even a decorated Kombi van. We headed north for a short distance and turned left onto the Mid Western Highway, heading for home. The temperature peaked at 34 degrees just before Cowra (that place is always hot), where we stopped for fuel.
After that there were only two more stops – Boorowa for afternoon tea and the George Harcourt Inn at Gold Creek for a cold one – before I got home and washed the bugs off the bike. Already this season I’ve cleaned up about a million more bugs than I did in all of last summer. Something to do with a wetter season.
Ian Paterson
