With Christmas holidays approaching, the servo at Lake Burrinjuck Recreation Reserve would be well stocked for burgers, fish and chips and pizzas in readiness for the hordes of hungry holiday makers with boats off all sorts, and so it shall be...
We met at Caltex Nicholls 0945 for a 1000 start in fine weather, which promised to be quite a warm day of 30C or thereabouts.
The ride brief went like this: “I know the road to Burrinjuck, although sealed, is a challenge – especially given that now is the time for crazy 4WD owners with ski boats that are as big as the road is wide. What we have going for us is that if there are boat trailers on the road, we’re with the flow. 20km out, the road narrows, the scenery is nice but don’t get distracted by it, keep to your side and use the convex mirrors that are placed on the tight corners.... and by the way, there is a day entry fee to the Park of $5 per bike” (small oversight – it’s one way in, and the same road out, so what if we meet these mad 4WD’s on the way back up the hill?).
We set off at a leisurely pace, with Peter Arday, Daryl, Kim turning off at the Burley Griffin Way as they had decided to go to Harden.
We gathered by the roadside immediately after turning off the Hume onto the Burrinjuck road to make sure all ten bikes are with us, and dropped the pace back to the posted limit of 80kmh till a right hand sweeper and the 60kmh limit sign that signals the start of the run down into the valley.
What a lovely run down – no boats, no deadfall on the road (we haven’t had many windy days lately), watching the convex safety mirrors and before long we were at the park entrance (don’t go straight ahead just before the entrance – it takes you to the wall and the road is closed, and there is little opportunity to turn around). The entrance is well signposted with a sharp left turn. We gathered at the entrance, paid our entry fee and the park rangers opened the boom gates for us.
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| Troupe observed in light scrub |
We parked the bikes in the shade near the main boat ramp, checked the time and realised it’s only 1130, and too early for lunch (by the way, it’s exactly 100km from Caltex Nicholls to the boat ramp). So I took the troupe on a slow (? – we’re all out of shape!) stroll through the light scrub and foreshore to the Carrols Creek campground, where we took in the nice views and a bit of a chat, took some photo’s and then set about the walk back to the Servo/shop for lunch.
It is here that David decided to show us how to do a ‘ninja roll’ on making his way down to the foreshore. What we saw was a tumble, a graceful roll, and anywhere else it would have been fine – except everywhere you look is rocky ground. As a result, David was missing some bark from both his hands, and a nasty bump was developing. A little shaken, we (mostly David!) had a bit of a rest and then headed to the shop for lunch. The ‘burger with the lot’ at $8.50 was a good choice – huge! Others had F&C or BLT’s, and before long we headed back out.
No boats on the way back up, and we stopped just before crossing onto the Hume again to see how David’s hands are holding up.
A few of us stopped at the George Harcourt Inn for a beer before breaking off for home. A pleasant day out with fellow riders, thanks folks. Have a safe Christmas and we’ll ride again soon.
Chris
Riders
- Chris Dietzel: Kawasaki GTR1400 (ride leader)
- Chas Towie: Honda ST1300I
- Neil Goldfinch: Honda CBR1100XX Blackbird
- David Jansen: Triumph Tiger Explorer
- Mark and Cathy Walker: Honda NT700V Deauville.
- Karen Clarke: Yamaha Roadliner
- Rob Clarke: Yamaha FJR1300
- Andrew Campbell: Kawasaki ZX14R
- Arthur Mc. Honda
- Phil D. Triumph Bonneville
- Peter Arday: Honda ST1300
- Daryl Pailin: GL1800
- Kim Moorey: BMW F700GS
