Trevor had kindly donated his expertise as the ride leader today and Ian graciously helped out as Charlie. A few early birds at the Caltex Nicholls arrived in time to enjoy a quick McCoffee as the crowd started building. We were a bit concerned initially that we arrived at the wrong start point, but as more of us ‘got it wrong’ our tensions eased. As my second ride with the ACT Branch it was nice to meet some more members and also have other riders who had also just been a few times as well. Soon after an informative brief, we were bound, indirectly, for Grenfell 11 strong on 10 bikes.
With the worms in our tummies biting and in need of caffeine we attempted to sake our needs at Jackson’s Bakery and Cafe in Harden only to find it closed. A quick alternate stop a bit down the main street gave us time to refuel the riders and have what turned out to be a long chat. (At this point Darryl Pailin headed off to Wyangala Dam to watch the water skiing completion. For the remainder of us,) Quenched, we set off on the next leg through some fun back roads to Grenfell, arriving at the Albion Hotel for a later lunch stop. Being a warm day, the shade, cool refreshments and meal were a welcome respite. This enabled the ride members to solve the “problems of the World” over the meal break in the outdoor setting. Sometime during this meal it was decided that I needed to write the ride report, and, as the new guy from the West - who am I to argue?
Most bikes were not in need of immediate fuel so after a quick discussion it was decided to refuel at the BP in Young during the return leg. Once more we set out to enjoy a wonderful day and country side. Lots to see via the less travelled roads and we even came across what seemed like a set of smoke signal fires, four in a row on a small hill crest at one stage. Trevor got us to Young BP at which point we chose our desired fuel type and said our goodbyes. Most followed him again until peeling off with a wave, on their own routes home (or Pub) bound.
Thanks Trevor and Ian for a great day.
Morris Nash
Riders
Trevor Mac: FJR1300
Chris Dietzel: GTR1400
Struart Wight: Nomad 1600
Darryl Pailin: GL1800
Garry Thomas: DL650
Jo & Helen Dutton: ST1300
Nic Platt: BMW RNineT
Morris Nash: Sprint GT
Andrew Campbell: ZX14R
Ian Paterson: GL1800
(Oh, and we picked up Darryl Cullen at Grenfell for the trip back home)
Ulysses Club, Canberra Branch Website
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
New Venue for Monthly Branch Social Meetings - Canberra Deakin Football Club
On 17 March 2015, the Canberra Deakin Football Club became the home for our monthly social meeting.
The Canberra Deakin Football Club is located at 3 Grose Street, Deakin ACT 2600, just off Adelaide Ave down the road from Parliament House and The Lodge. Arrive from 6.00pm to enjoy a meal with fellow Canberra Branch members before the meeting, which kicks off at 7.30pm.
http://www.deakinsports.com.au/
or jump to a map: Map Link
The meeting room can hold over over three hundred people (and it is away from the kitchen!)
They have a nice bistro and the third Tuesday of every month is ours.
The joining fee is still only 5 dollars per year.
http://www.deakinsports.com.au/
or jump to a map: Map Link
The meeting room can hold over over three hundred people (and it is away from the kitchen!)
They have a nice bistro and the third Tuesday of every month is ours.
The joining fee is still only 5 dollars per year.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Long Track Pantry, Jugiong, Chomp and Chat Sunday 15th February 2015
Attendees:
Andrew and Catherine Campbell – GL1800
Gary McCurley and Nat Te Bay – VFR1200
Michael and Tracey Winters – Trophy
Allan Grimes – VN1700
Mike Kelly – BMW R1200RT
Mark Walker – Honda NT700V
Mick and Kipper Beltrame –Victory XC
Ian and Sally Paterson – GL1800
Kevin Lomax –XVS 650
Trevor McLeod – FJR1300
Genelle Mills – Triumph Bonneville
Morris Nash – Triumph Sprint
Johnny come lately (aka P. Arday) – HondaST1300
As the No.1, best wife of the ride leader it fell to me to write the ride report. I had a sneaky suspicion that this may happen so tried to pay attention to the important things. The problem is, because I am not in control of the vehicle, I really don’t care how we get there, just that we do.
Today's ride was to the Long Track Pantry in Jugiong. There is not a lot else in Jugiong but it is always well worth the ride, as the food is pretty good and there are plenty of goodies to bring home in the top box or panniers.
But, I have skipped ahead to the end...
Twelve bikes assembled at Nichols servo (5 with pillions, including Kipper the dog). Lots of catching up and pre ride chatting meant we were a little late getting away. This turned out to be a good thing for Morris, a Ulysses member from WA who had not long landed in Canberra, and had trouble working out which direction Nichols was in. The route was discussed- a boring zip down the highway or a little deviation through the countryside avoiding all messy roadworks, slightly longer ,but way more fun. It was a no-brainer really.
So here goes my recollection…head down the Barton, onto the Hume and right at Burley Griffin Way through Binalong. Having never been to Galong before, I was thrilled when we took a right at Bouyeo Rd. Don't ask why I was so keen to go to Galong (I have recollections of hearing about a calming monastery), but let's say it's a pretty sad place these days. Anyhoo, eventually we did a squiggly turn onto Kalangan Rd before turning left on the Boorowa Harden Rd, following it all the way into the many churches town of Harden. Looks like they had a good turnout for Sunday Services, judging by the number of cars in the dirt carparks. We rode through fantastic countryside with field after field of stubble left over from the wheat harvest. The good thing about some of these country roads is that they are so sensibly named. And so we turned into Jugiong Rd to head into, you guessed it, Jugiong.
Alongside the road, were huge grain silos and also humungous carparks covered by massive blue tarps. I was reliably told by Ian that they held excess wheat stores until they could be trained out. He could have told me anything, but I tend to believe him this time.
Our fearless ride leader breathed a sigh of relief as we pulled up to the LTP with all 12 bikes (5 pillions including Kipper the dog) intact. I have long observed Mr T McLeod’s arrival upon destination. He is like a flash; quick off the bike and with his order in before most people have removed their helmets. Today's ride was no exception. However it backfired when about 6 other people ordered the same thing and claimed their food first leaving poor Trevor lucky-last to get his ham and cheese toastie.
Lo and behold, who should be there to meet us there but Mr P Arday who claims to have slept in? He did secure us a table in the semi shade and was in fine form, the latest being that he is apparently able to speak dolphin. The best behaved award of the day goes to, Kipper, who was happy to have a snooze, a scratch on the head and drink of water before hoping back into the Kippermobile.
More chomping and chatting occurred and the good people slowly made their own way home as per the earlier instructions of the ride leader. Having purchased some deliciousness, it was safely stored in the mother ship for the cruise controlled trip down the highway. Thanks to everyone for another fantastic ride.
Catherine Campbell
Andrew and Catherine Campbell – GL1800
Gary McCurley and Nat Te Bay – VFR1200
Michael and Tracey Winters – Trophy
Allan Grimes – VN1700
Mike Kelly – BMW R1200RT
Mark Walker – Honda NT700V
Mick and Kipper Beltrame –Victory XC
Ian and Sally Paterson – GL1800
Kevin Lomax –XVS 650
Trevor McLeod – FJR1300
Genelle Mills – Triumph Bonneville
Morris Nash – Triumph Sprint
Johnny come lately (aka P. Arday) – HondaST1300
As the No.1, best wife of the ride leader it fell to me to write the ride report. I had a sneaky suspicion that this may happen so tried to pay attention to the important things. The problem is, because I am not in control of the vehicle, I really don’t care how we get there, just that we do.
Today's ride was to the Long Track Pantry in Jugiong. There is not a lot else in Jugiong but it is always well worth the ride, as the food is pretty good and there are plenty of goodies to bring home in the top box or panniers.
But, I have skipped ahead to the end...
Twelve bikes assembled at Nichols servo (5 with pillions, including Kipper the dog). Lots of catching up and pre ride chatting meant we were a little late getting away. This turned out to be a good thing for Morris, a Ulysses member from WA who had not long landed in Canberra, and had trouble working out which direction Nichols was in. The route was discussed- a boring zip down the highway or a little deviation through the countryside avoiding all messy roadworks, slightly longer ,but way more fun. It was a no-brainer really.
So here goes my recollection…head down the Barton, onto the Hume and right at Burley Griffin Way through Binalong. Having never been to Galong before, I was thrilled when we took a right at Bouyeo Rd. Don't ask why I was so keen to go to Galong (I have recollections of hearing about a calming monastery), but let's say it's a pretty sad place these days. Anyhoo, eventually we did a squiggly turn onto Kalangan Rd before turning left on the Boorowa Harden Rd, following it all the way into the many churches town of Harden. Looks like they had a good turnout for Sunday Services, judging by the number of cars in the dirt carparks. We rode through fantastic countryside with field after field of stubble left over from the wheat harvest. The good thing about some of these country roads is that they are so sensibly named. And so we turned into Jugiong Rd to head into, you guessed it, Jugiong.
Alongside the road, were huge grain silos and also humungous carparks covered by massive blue tarps. I was reliably told by Ian that they held excess wheat stores until they could be trained out. He could have told me anything, but I tend to believe him this time.
Our fearless ride leader breathed a sigh of relief as we pulled up to the LTP with all 12 bikes (5 pillions including Kipper the dog) intact. I have long observed Mr T McLeod’s arrival upon destination. He is like a flash; quick off the bike and with his order in before most people have removed their helmets. Today's ride was no exception. However it backfired when about 6 other people ordered the same thing and claimed their food first leaving poor Trevor lucky-last to get his ham and cheese toastie.
Lo and behold, who should be there to meet us there but Mr P Arday who claims to have slept in? He did secure us a table in the semi shade and was in fine form, the latest being that he is apparently able to speak dolphin. The best behaved award of the day goes to, Kipper, who was happy to have a snooze, a scratch on the head and drink of water before hoping back into the Kippermobile.
More chomping and chatting occurred and the good people slowly made their own way home as per the earlier instructions of the ride leader. Having purchased some deliciousness, it was safely stored in the mother ship for the cruise controlled trip down the highway. Thanks to everyone for another fantastic ride.
Catherine Campbell
Ulysses March 7-9 Long weekend Club Ride to The Entrance, Central Coast - Flyer and route directions
Chris Dietzel is leading the Club Ride to The Entrance, Central Coast over the March 7-9 long weekend
Chris advises:
I
thought about one night only at The Entrance, but most places have
minimum 2 nights on weekends, and it wouldn’t have left enough down time
after the long ride on the Saturday. So a ‘rest day’ on the Sunday to
check out the Central Coast, and then much the same way home but via St
Albans for lunch on the Monday (these roads are all in the Hema
Motorcycle Atlas)."
The Flyer can be found here!
And ride directions here.
Chris advises:
"There are not many rooms left available at the 2 locations I’ve identified, but there are other places nearby..
The Flyer can be found here!
And ride directions here.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
The Capital Rally 2015
The Capital Rally 2015 is returning to the Goodradigbee River again,
having been forced from that favourite place by fire and flood for the
past few years. Barring pestilence (!!), it will be run on 20-22 March.
The flyer is attached, please email to capitalrally@mraact.org.au for more information.
The flyer is attached, please email to capitalrally@mraact.org.au for more information.
Friday, February 13, 2015
Ride Report – Cootamundra Run - 1 Feb 2015
What a great day for a ride! It’s Chas Towie’s Club Ride to Cootamundra, from Caltex Nicholls. 8:15 in the morning for an 8:30 start – wow, that’s early! I arrived at the servo still a bit bleary eyed, but the weather and the huge crowd gathering sorted that out, and we were away, all 15 (+ 2 pillions) of us. Chas was eventually able to herd the cats and provide the ride brief.
I’ll try to remember how the route went (I hit Google Maps to try and retrace, apologies if I‘ve got it wrong). In essence, we headed out the direct route on the Barton Hwy and Hume Hwy south, turning off onto the Burley Griffin Way. From there, rather than going directly to Harden (our morning coffee stop), we turned off to the right (this is unfamiliar to many of us and this is where we began the corner marking) and through the main street of Binalong, and along Hughstonia Road. Some 30km later, we took a left turn onto the Boorowa-Harden Road, which had us tracking west directly toward Harden. A right turn back onto Burley Griffin Way, and a coffee break, and of course a mandatory pie for Ian.
We arrived just on opening time, and proceeded to confuse the owners with our orders (as we always do!). By this time it was warming up and I had to shed a
layer. After a while and morning coffee had, Ron & Kim headed home.
Chas directed us into a little huddle again – We’re heading west toward Temora, but immediately at the top of the hill just out of Murrumburrah (beware here, it’s a blind crest and the traffic comes through here rather fast!), we turned right onto the Harden Wombat Road, and after a while we neared Wombat.
It was here that Ian identified his next car – the Wombat local hearse is for sale; looks like a stretch Ford LTD (maybe an XD?). Any interested buyers? Also on this road we saw a Ute pulled up on the side of the road. A couple of guys were hauling some ‘road kill’ into the Ute. Fresh I hope? Wonder what sort of pies are on the menu at the Wombat pub tonight? (It is a nice pub! – been there for beers before).
From Wombat, we rode to Young, turning west (left) on Boorowa Street, and then left onto North Berthong Road. After a few direction changes we eventually got to Cootamundra, where we had lunch at the (Globe, I think!) Hotel. A lunch of fish & chips, and then hit the road again.
From Coota we rode to Wallendbeen, and right onto the Burley Griffin Way. Through Harden, about half the crew headed toward home, while the rest of us (Chas, Andrew, Gary, Kris, Ian and myself) turned right on the road to Jugiong (it was near here we worked out that if we turned right just out of Cootamundra on Muttama Road – then to Jugiong Road and Rose Hill Road - we could have saved ourselves about 60km and some new roads other than the Burley Griffin Way again!).
At Jugiong we swung onto the Hume (HoHum!) Highway, and had our final break at Barney’s Cafe Bookham. No ice cream! – Bugger. The topic of discussion was ‘Lane filtering begins today’ (my hope is that everybody gets on their bike and commutes, putting the filtering into practise such that road users become aware of its’ legal existence and us!).
After a bit we said our goodbyes and headed for home.
Thanks Chas and all comers for a great day. And thanks for the photos Garry!
Chris
Riders:
Chas Towie – Honda ST1300 (red)
Michael & Tracey Winters – Triumph Trophy SE
Kim Moorey – BMW F700GS
Ron Tito – Honda CTX1300 (red)
Peter Arday – Honda ST1300 (red)
Garry McCurley & Nat TeBay – Honda VFR1200 (red)
Darryl Pailin – Honda GL1800 (not)
Chris Dietzel – Kawasaki GTR1400
Alan Munday – Yamaha FJ1300
Ian Paterson – Honda GL1800 (not)
Mark Walker – Honda NT700V (not)
Marcus Sandford – BMW GS650
Kris Jirasek – Suzuki GSXR1300
Robert McNeilly – Honda VFR800 (red)
Andrew Campbell – Kawasaki ZXR1400
I’ll try to remember how the route went (I hit Google Maps to try and retrace, apologies if I‘ve got it wrong). In essence, we headed out the direct route on the Barton Hwy and Hume Hwy south, turning off onto the Burley Griffin Way. From there, rather than going directly to Harden (our morning coffee stop), we turned off to the right (this is unfamiliar to many of us and this is where we began the corner marking) and through the main street of Binalong, and along Hughstonia Road. Some 30km later, we took a left turn onto the Boorowa-Harden Road, which had us tracking west directly toward Harden. A right turn back onto Burley Griffin Way, and a coffee break, and of course a mandatory pie for Ian.
We arrived just on opening time, and proceeded to confuse the owners with our orders (as we always do!). By this time it was warming up and I had to shed a
layer. After a while and morning coffee had, Ron & Kim headed home.
Chas directed us into a little huddle again – We’re heading west toward Temora, but immediately at the top of the hill just out of Murrumburrah (beware here, it’s a blind crest and the traffic comes through here rather fast!), we turned right onto the Harden Wombat Road, and after a while we neared Wombat.
It was here that Ian identified his next car – the Wombat local hearse is for sale; looks like a stretch Ford LTD (maybe an XD?). Any interested buyers? Also on this road we saw a Ute pulled up on the side of the road. A couple of guys were hauling some ‘road kill’ into the Ute. Fresh I hope? Wonder what sort of pies are on the menu at the Wombat pub tonight? (It is a nice pub! – been there for beers before).
From Wombat, we rode to Young, turning west (left) on Boorowa Street, and then left onto North Berthong Road. After a few direction changes we eventually got to Cootamundra, where we had lunch at the (Globe, I think!) Hotel. A lunch of fish & chips, and then hit the road again.
From Coota we rode to Wallendbeen, and right onto the Burley Griffin Way. Through Harden, about half the crew headed toward home, while the rest of us (Chas, Andrew, Gary, Kris, Ian and myself) turned right on the road to Jugiong (it was near here we worked out that if we turned right just out of Cootamundra on Muttama Road – then to Jugiong Road and Rose Hill Road - we could have saved ourselves about 60km and some new roads other than the Burley Griffin Way again!).
At Jugiong we swung onto the Hume (HoHum!) Highway, and had our final break at Barney’s Cafe Bookham. No ice cream! – Bugger. The topic of discussion was ‘Lane filtering begins today’ (my hope is that everybody gets on their bike and commutes, putting the filtering into practise such that road users become aware of its’ legal existence and us!).
After a bit we said our goodbyes and headed for home.
Thanks Chas and all comers for a great day. And thanks for the photos Garry!
Chris
Riders:
Chas Towie – Honda ST1300 (red)
Michael & Tracey Winters – Triumph Trophy SE
Kim Moorey – BMW F700GS
Ron Tito – Honda CTX1300 (red)
Peter Arday – Honda ST1300 (red)
Garry McCurley & Nat TeBay – Honda VFR1200 (red)
Darryl Pailin – Honda GL1800 (not)
Chris Dietzel – Kawasaki GTR1400
Alan Munday – Yamaha FJ1300
Ian Paterson – Honda GL1800 (not)
Mark Walker – Honda NT700V (not)
Marcus Sandford – BMW GS650
Kris Jirasek – Suzuki GSXR1300
Robert McNeilly – Honda VFR800 (red)
Andrew Campbell – Kawasaki ZXR1400
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
CMC Touring Specials - Pre AGM
Andrew Barbour from Canberra Motorcycle Centre has advised us that they have some pre AGM Touring Specials - click on the image or download the pdf.
"these are just some examples as there are too many good savings to mention each individually."
Give Andrew at CMC a ring if you are interested!
(Andrew Barber, ph: (02) 62804491, dir: (02) 61754427, mob: 0414 971 701)
"example(s) of some
really heavily reduced touring bikes that might interest some local
members, more than one of these units is at cost price and in all
examples we only have one of each to move."
Give Andrew at CMC a ring if you are interested!
(Andrew Barber, ph: (02) 62804491, dir: (02) 61754427, mob: 0414 971 701)
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