22 Feb 2nd Mid week ride Decide and Ride (or the Roadworks Ride)

As I watched a steady stream of bikes head south going to the races @ the island I wondered whether anyone else would make it. At 9:57 I got ready to leave when Les turned up on his Trophy. He had been held up by the Roadworks on Monaro Hwy near Hindmarsh. And so began the theme of this ride.

I had already decided that I was going to Yass via the back way and I promised Les that the 2.6 klms of dirt on Fairlight Rd near Uriarra was okay. Unfortunately it looked like the Yass Council had finally decided to seal the remaining dirt. This meant Roadworks complete with stop/go traffic lights, very very smooth dirt that the water tanker had just wet down (ie mud), a grader pushing loose dirt around (always fun) and at the other end  down to one lane, as the other had dirt waiting for the grader. And of course the obligatory driver who did not believe in traffic rules and tried to  contest the road with us (moron).
I am assuming that these works will be finished by April and I would not recommend it until they are finished.

However once past Fairlight the road was empty and very enjoyable until just past  the Taemas Bridge over the Murrumbidgee. We met not one not two but three recently resealed sections complete with inch layer of loose gravel that required doing the speed limit. So far that was 4 different set of Roadworks that had effected this ride. I had decided against the area around Tarago as I knew there were roadworks on both roads.

However once the last tar gravel trap had been negotiated safely we headed into Yass. Once again the road was empty of traffic and we had an excellent ride. We decided  to try Kaffine cafe near the 2nd roundabout (Lead St). The coffee and food was very good and we had a pleasant time in the outside seating. It also had off street parking.

I prevailed Les that we should go home via Jerrawa/Dalton/Gunning then the run past Sutton and home. The ride was good again nearly no traffic and the roads were mostly in good nick. But just south of Gunning, Roadworks. Not as long as at Uriarra but mud, graders and stop/go traffic control. Fortunately that was the last Roadworks as I bypassed the one on Monaro Hwy on the way home.

We had a short stop for coffee at the Sutton Bakery then on to home. A good ride, low traffic which seems a feature of midweek rides and good conversation with Les. Plus enough topsoil for the front yard when I hosed off the dried mud.



Mike K
 
Les – Triumph Trophy (was black finished two tone) (presumably after a clean)

Derek Holyoake, (story on the Australian War Memorial Blog)

From President Ian Patterson:

"Our own national treasure, Derek Holyoake, has made the media again in a wonderful story and photos on the Australian War Memorial’s blog. Great stuff, Derek, we’re all really proud of you and glad to count you as a friend."

11 Feb 2018 - Decide and Ride – (We all decided to ride Triumphs)

So @ 930 on a Sunday morn behind BP Watson I arrived to find 2 bikes and 3 people none of which had grey (or Silver) hair. We discussed the weather, the cafe at Collector and the Honda 750/4 which a couple were riding whose ages  I doubt would have added up to the age of the bike. The rider of the other bike Kawasaki w800 had more refined taste she had even considered buying one of the 1200 Bonnies. They were waiting for someone who was supposed to be there at 9am however little did we know they were on the other side fuelling up and left without checking behind the servo. 

Eventually they decided to leave for Collector and I suggested the Old Highway from the Tulip Farm as alternative to the highway boredom.  (They did meet up with their friends)

Back to CUTR and Chris who has recently returned  from Brisbane to retire in Canberra (see it does happen) arrived about 09:35 riding a newish T120 Bonnie (very nice). We chat a bit about Canberra Ulysses's excellent ride calendar before deciding at 0956 that we would leave for coffee also at Collector. At this point Kim turned up on a Tiger 1050. Kim thought coffee @ Collector was an excellent idea and we headed out at 0958. 

The short ride to Collector via the Old Federal Hwy which broke up the monotony of the real Hwy was uneventful mostly dodging the lycra chicanes that dotted the old road. Lovely coffee @ the SOME Cafe so after  a quick discussion of options we decided to go on to Goulburn via Breadalbane for a light lunch at the Grit.

Further discussion about the return route and it was decided to go via Currawang. Again an excellent choice low traffic, good tar and  the heat of the day had not fully arrived. Overall 250+ klms that were not too hot, mostly good road with very little traffic. A pleasant ride where the high  number of grasshoppers did add an extra dimension to the ride.

Sorry to anyone who turned up at Watson on or after 10 as we left to check Eaglehawk (did not see anyone waiting) and then on to coffee.

CUTR ( Canberra Ulysess Triumph Riders)

• Chris Rose    Bonnie T120 1200
• Kim Nichols     Tiger 1050

MK

Club Ride to Bodalla - 4th February 2018

Alan was down to lead this ride.  Was I going to go, he asked?  Well, let’s see what the weather man has to say - 27° for Canberra and 24° for Bateman’s Bay.  That sounded pretty good to me, so I was in.  We thought we would have a pretty big crew lining up in Bungendore for this one with such a lovely day forecast, but I guess everyone was pretty busy getting ready to go back to school!!

A perfect opportunity for Mick and Tracey to go on a ride without travelling too far to get to the start, but alas, Mick was not up to it.  They did however, walk their dog down to greet us at the Caltex servo and wish us well for the ride.  Thanks guys.

St Pedro came to greet us as well, but would only ride as far as the turnoff to Tarago and then he headed home.  Great to see you out on the bike, Pete.

So the rest of us headed off down the Kings Highway toward Nelligen for our first stop.  The skies changed from blue to grey a number of times and the road was wet in many places going down the Clyde, but we didn’t see any rain ourselves.  We had a steady ride down on a front tyre that was due for replacement. They had reserved a table for us on the balcony at the River Café.  What a lovely spot, looking out over the river.  Coffee was great too.  Must stop there again, and again.
 

Morning tea at Nelligen

 From here, we made our way past the Bay and on to Bodalla.  We ordered our lunches (most menu items had cheese on them – funny about that) and were seated out the back on the upper deck at the Bodalla Dairy and were entertained with live music just below.  
 

Chris' lunch

 The discussion over lunch was centred around the best route home.  Some said once on the Clyde in a day was enough, others said there would be a lot of back to school traffic going home from the Bay.  We had plenty of time, so why not keep going south and back up the Brown Mtn.  So it was agreed.  All but one, who headed back up the way we came, while the rest went down.  Petrol was the next requirement.  We filled up in Cobargo and continued on our way.

Unfortunately, we were not even half way up the mountain when we got stuck behind an very slow car (not even a truck) and there being no opportunity to overtake on that road, we had to sit it out.  But not to worry, we got there just the same.  A rest stop and farewell at Polo Flat servo and we then made our way home.

Lots of “lollypop” cars everywhere to make sure everyone was behaving themselves and made it to their respective destinations safely.

It was a great day for a ride – we did 550 kms - and we had great company.  Thank you to those who joined us.

Cheers
Lyn

Riders:

Alan & Lyn Munday    Yamaha FJR1300
Darryl Palin        Honda GL1800
Neil McRitchie        Kawasaki GTR1400
Neil Goldfinch        Suzuki  GSXR1300R
Peter Daniell        BMW GS1200A
Mick Beltrame        BMW RT1200GSLC
Chris Dietzel        Kawasaki GTR1400
Peter Arday        Honda 700 Deauville