Some might like that. It seems to be assumed that it’s the responsibility of the Ride Leader. Maybe nobody else speaks or writes the Queen’s English. Maybe people don’t have the time or inclination to put pen to paper. Anyway, I don’t expect other Ride Leaders to do my dirty work, so it became mine to do, especially as most of the participants were Ride Leaders as well.
I guess I should initiate some useless words about the ride.
You had better check that the elastic is tight in your undies and hop on the bus. Now, where should I start?
The beginning is always a good place to start.
The day was sunny and relatively clear. Some residual smoke was still about and it was a bit cloudy, so maybe it wasn’t all that sunny or clear. It still looked like being a good day. I like a good day out on the motorcycle.
It’s a bit like the fishing motto that’s engraved on a little plaque on the console of my fishing boat. It says, “A bad day fishing is still better than a good day at work”. Maybe that’s not a great analogy. A bad day fishing means you didn’t catch any fish. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the boat sank. A bad day motorcycling means that you probably crashed. I should re-think that one given my recent up-close and personal contact with a rather large Victorian kangaroo. That was a bad day motorcycling. Anyhow, he says with a satisfied grin, the ride was lovely. So was the Ride Leader. That would be me. I like my fellow Ride Leaders as well. Not in a ‘Brokeback Mountain’ way. Perhaps liking them in a ‘Band of Brothers’ way is better.
Our timely departure was delayed a few moments while I performed brain surgery on Chris. I always thought that the space between your ears was filled with brains, but not so for Chris. His left earplug disappeared inside his head during the insertion process. Oopsy! A bulky Leatherman folding plier set was needed to delicately extract the deeply embedded earplug from the apparently hollow recess inside Chris’ head. Amazing tool that. It does everything, including brain surgery. I swear I heard the echo of Kevin’s Indian Scout while I was peering into Chris’ head. There was no light from the other side though. The right earplug must have been correctly positioned. I offered to remove some ear-hair with the pliers, but Chris declined the offer, re-set the left earplug, and away we went. WARNING: This medical procedure was performed by a trained professional using a specialist earplug extraction tool. No brain cells were harmed.
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| The Extraction (Photo supplied by Andrew.) |
Warren and Kevin grabbed some fuel at Crookwell while the rest of us continued to Taralga. Small fuel tanks are a problem on some rides, but they caught up quickly. Interestingly, Warren had failed to secure his pannier lid and had lost a spare glove somewhere near Gundaroo. He headed home after coffee at Taralga, not because of the lost glove, but because of some soon-to-arrive family visitors. Lo and behold, he spotted the lost glove as headed south through Gundaroo. It was definitely a story-worthy tale.
The joys of the easy run would soon turn to a more challenging road that had all the steepness, slow hairpins and fast sweepers that you could wish for on a short ride. The Abercrombie River bridge is now a proper concrete bridge instead of the rickety wooden plank affair it once was. That’s nice. The mobile re-group at Black Springs showed that everybody had made the grade of ‘experienced’ and safely negotiated the tricky bits. It’s a fun piece of road that has accounted for many crashed bikes and is now routinely patrolled by our
friends in blue. We also had to pass a string of fire vehicles heading to a big blaze further north-east, but they pulled over and waved us through.
We had a quick refuel at Oberon and then travelled the short distance to O’Connell. The couple of concrete-barrier hairpin sweepers between Oberon and O’Connell can be diesel slippery at times, so we took it easy to ensure we all made it to lunch. It’s a great old pub that seems to survive even with its proximity to Bathurst. I was introduced to this pub many years ago with another ride group and have visited often. Blink and you miss it as you pass through on the way to Bathurst. Surprisingly, this was new territory for some on the ride. It’s a good watering hole.
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| Parking Options |
Most parked under the trees in the gravel carpark, but Andrew decided that the big Kwaka should park at the “Supercharged bikes only” shady tree at the front of the pub. Funnily enough, he had also parked in an isolated spot outside the Taralga coffee stop. Our bikes all decided that his bike must be extra-special. He was taught a lesson on the way home when we kept riding instead of having a leg-stretch at the Taralga regroup. Apparently the Kwaka comfort factor doesn’t match the power factor and Andrew hobbled his way into the coffee stop at Gunning.
Meanwhile, back in O’Connell, cold drinks and reasonably priced good quality pub food helped feed the chatter about the roads just travelled and the repeated run for home still to come. For those wondering if the ‘Out-n-Back’ option is boring, then I can say that it isn’t. Lefts become rights, ups become downs, and corners that tighten become corners that ease. I’m sure you get the idea. The views are also different, so it’s never a boring option to do this run except for the roads closer to Canberra that we do so often.
I’m pretty sure all enjoyed their lunch, the clean plates testament to either the enjoyment or a lack of quantity. The quantity on the plates appeared to be more than adequate, so it must have been enjoyment.
The ‘Bangers and Mash’ looked like a pile of dog turds, but was actually excellent! I didn’t rush the group into leaving. Most seemed to be content to while-away the luncheon break in animated conversation, but all good
things must come to an end.
We were soon back on the bikes and heading home, the lazy line of bikes content to follow at a pleasant post-lunch pace. The big fire way over in the distance was impressive, but probably scary for those on the ground. It wasn’t long before the twisting sweepers started again, and the concentration factor went up a few notches as we negotiated the Abercrombie River hills and headed for less strenuous roads closer to home and softer use of throttle and brakes.
The road is excellent in places, mediocre in other places, and downright terrible in some places. If it isn’t gentle, wide, smooth and fast, it’s steep, narrow, rough and slow. Slow traffic can be a problem at times, and the limited safe overtaking spots can sometimes slow progress to a crawl. Most times, slower vehicles will pull left and wave bikes past, particularly on the narrow sections where there are no centre lines. Safe overtaking is a must. I’ll assume everybody did that as it was hard to see from the Ride Leader position. The traffic was really light coming home anyway, a most unusual treat for a Sunday. Kevin grabbed a splash of fuel for the Indian at Crookwell, but most just rode on to Gunning and a farewell brew, waving to Chris and Scott as they headed home.
It’s a long day on the bike, but an enjoyable one if a little respect for the roads and other users is applied. I tend to travel at a more sedate pace these days and the scenery can be beautiful but also distracting. Skippy lives in the hills and along the flats and amongst the forested roads, so care and attention is mandatory but often ignored. Sheep are more prevalent as they bust through fences to get some grass on the road verge, so care is needed. The chat at Gunning was all about the great day overall. It’s an easy run but enjoyable on the bike. There are enough challenges to test your riding skills and bike performance without putting licences and lives at risk. That’s always a good thing. Overall, it was a great group and a great day out.
Thanks people.
Attendees were:
- Ride Leader and Scribe Mick Beltrame (BMW R1250GS)
- Kevin Sherman (Indian Scout)
- Scott England (BMW R1250RT)
- Alan Munday (Yamaha FJR1300)
- Chas Towie (Honda ST1300)
- Warren Richer (Triumph Thruxton)
- Andrew Campbell (Kawasaki H2SXSE+)
- Chris Dietzel (Kawasaki GTR1400)
- John Grace (Triumph Tiger 1200)
