Ride Report: Gooloogong, 25 May 2019

The designated Ride Leader was unable to make this one, so Ian stepped up for the job and led us on a merry path to Gooloogong for lunch. Garry McCurley had arrived early with his F6B, closely followed by the volunteered Scribe (thanks Ian) Mick Beltrame (that’s me) on the shiny new R1250GS. It wasn’t long before stand-in Ride Leader Ian Paterson arrived on his GL1800, and lucky-last newbie Scott England rolled in on his R1250RT. It was a dearth of riders, probably due to the distinct possibility that rain, hail or snow might block the roads out west. A dearth is like a large pack, with very few of the pack turning up.

This was the maiden voyage of my new RR, so I was looking forward getting some miles under the tyres and some bugs on the windshield. RR is not a Rolls Royce. It’s a Roo Replacement. After several long weeks of being bike-less, I finally had the new bike under my bum and ready to go. The weather was crisp but enjoyable on the bike. We left in 13 degrees on lightly moist road, saw a low of 11 degrees near Grenfell, then 17 degrees after Gooloogong, and 11 degrees again re-entering the Canberra environs. The rain stayed in the clouds and we had a great run.

The dearth of riders meant that tail-ends and corner-markers were not required, so we just followed the leader and switched positions at the back whenever one of the dearth decided that a gap was too big or it was time to slow the pace a bit. It was clear that Garry had played far too much BP Spotto in his youth (Do you all remember that game?) as he was the only one that spotted the second tortoise, the house on the hill built over the top of the big rocks, the emu wandering aimlessly in the bushes, and the gentleman running from the bushes back to his car after he had clearly been disposing of a body (or having an urgent leak). We all saw the first tortoise and the rather humongous Wedge-tail Eagle munching on the dead roo, but decided that Garry just made all the other stuff up to make us look unobservant.

Apparently, still in NSW despite the dominant beer sponsorship from up north?

The rest of the ride was pretty straight-forward. It was an unexciting run from Nicholls to Murrumburrah where we had a good coffee and some munchies at Terra-Cotta, then departed just as another larger dearth of riders arrived for their coffee break. Away we went to Grenfell and then Gooloogong, the zigging and zagging along the back-roads being a great recipe for running in the new engine on my bike with a mix of fast and slow speeds and numerous rev-changing gear-shifts. We joined a local Harley-riding character on the veranda of the old Gooloogong pub and learned about the locals praying for rain and the influx of Hamish people into the region. They drive cars by the way, a dispensation from the parent group in the USA that reflects the larger distances and dearth (that word again) of towns adjacent their settlements. The old horse-and-buggy doesn’t cut the mustard in country NSW.

Canberra Ulyssians enjoying the abundant sunshine

Lunch was fine for a back-water pub. It was nothing too special, but very enjoyable over a lengthy chat about bikes, life, red trains and other non-essential things. The sun was warming and it was tempting to linger, but we all knew that the cold settles early around Canberra and Sunday traffic in the early dark of a cold evening was not all that enthralling as a prospect. As the GoT saying goes, ‘winter is coming’! We waved farewell to Scott as we entered Boorowa, trusting that he had enjoyed the day out as first run with Canberra Ulysses. Ian, Garry and I opted for a warming brew at the Superb Bakery where the coffee actually lived up to the name. It was a final chance to review the day’s ride and say farewell before heading home.

Ian's 'Wing

Overall, it was a good run with a small group. The highlight for me was running in my new bike. I loved my last R1200GSLC, but this machine seems to be even sweeter. I hope I can keep the roos away this time! Thanks to Ian for being Ride Leader and for Garry and Scott for attending and being good company. Catch up on the next one. Cheers, Mick B.