As it turned out, we had neither of these unfavourable conditions, enjoying beautiful mild, fine weather across the whole route.
We had a great roll-up for this ride; fourteen people on thirteen bikes – the usual, diverse mix of machines.
A new Ulysses member, Terry Soutberg joined us for the first time. We congratulated Andrew Campbell on his acquisition of yet another new motorcycle. He arrived on a fine-looking new BMW R1250RS, having recently ditched his supercharged torture machine, in an effort to avoid being permanently crippled by poor riding posture.
Our route was planned to take the group through a variety of terrains, including several rural and bushland areas. We headed to Nerriga via Bungendore, Tarago and Oallen Ford. We stopped at Nerriga for our first pit stop. Fortunately, the coffee at Nerriga Pub is much improved from earlier times. There's plenty of evidence that Nerriga had a very close call in the recent bushfires.
From Nerriga we rode towards Nowra winding our way up the hill, taking the tight bends past the intriguing beehive rock formations at Bulee Gap. This road offers much to motorcycle riders including long straights, fast sweeping bends, very little traffic and great scenery.
Sadly, the massive Currowan and Tianjara bushfires have laid waste to vast areas of bushland in this area. It must have been terrifying for local farmers when these fires swept through the district. More than a dozen homes were lost.
We rode past the historic Sassafras homestead which was burnt to the ground. It's also horrifying to think of the huge numbers of native animals killed in the bushfires in this area.
We by-passed the Nowra business district, headed up Cambewarra Mountain and down into Kangaroo Valley, which is looking beautifully green. We arrived at the Friendly Inn (Kangaroo Valley hotel) at 12pm and had a hearty pub lunch. We timed it perfectly to beat the rush. This pub gets very busy on Sundays with loads of visitors to the village, including motorcyclists.
After lunch we rode over the historic Hampden Bridge, through the valley, up Barrengarry Mountain and past Fitzroy Falls. Most riders chose to avoid going through Moss Vale and some of the Hume Highway by taking the Highland Way through the picturesque villages of Bundanoon, Penrose, Wingello and Tallong. Again, there were sad sights of several houses burnt down in the main street of Wingello.
There was coffee and more erudite conversation at a pit stop in Marulan. The run back from Marulan on the Hume Highway to Canberra was the usual mind-deadening drag. It was good to get that part over, but the rest of the trip was a lot of fun.
My thanks to this group of experienced riders (and one pillion) who tolerated my ride leadership in good humour – at least as far as I know.
JG
Riders:
- John Grace Triumph Tiger 1200
- Barry & Carol Solley Honda ST1300
- Alan Munday Yamaha FJ1300
- Scott England BMW R1250RT
- Kevin Sherman Indian Scout
- Chas Towie Honda ST1300
- Chris Dietzel Kawasaki GTR1400
- Les Robinson Triumph Trophy
- Andrew Campbell BMW R1250RS
- Robert McNeilly MV Agusta 675
- Terry Soutberg BMW R1200GS
- Bill Barker Yamaha XT1200Z
- Noel Bentley BMW F800GS
