I took a great photo in McDonalds, showing equal numbers of lady riders to male riders – something I have not seen on a Ulysses ride before. Made me happy that this rapidly growing market is coming along to our rides. 3 more riders turned up at the meet point while the ride briefing was underway, and I was very pleased because we had picked up another lady rider (and two more blokes).
Ride leader Ron took us on an as advertised leisurely jaunt through to Uriarra,and on to the Tracking Station. You needed your wits about you in some sections, with plenty of debris from the previous night’s storm to stay on the lookout for. A dump of dirt and the contents of a waterway were spilt all over the road at one section, but we dodged it artfully and without incident.
At the Deep Space Communications Complex, we didn’t mark the corner because we thought everyone knew the location and there were plenty of big signs, we should have done so because a couple of riders went past the turnoff. Lucky for us Kevin rounded them up on his Indian and we all made it to the venue to sample the Café’s new ownership.
The new and improved deck outside is lovely with plenty of large wooden tables and shade sails, and the weather was perfect. I didn’t eat anything, but most of the food looked just fine – not sure about Carol’s quiche - but for the most part, the sandwiches looked pretty good although strangely they were not cut. They have no Earl Grey tea, so I had to settle for English Breakfast and my pet hate of a tea bag in a tea pot. Tea drinkers will understand, right?
Al was riding his old classic Suzuki and had something fall off, or something wouldn’t open, or something else happened that I have no knowledge of when we were getting ready to leave, but we were soon on our way home via Tharwa. It was great to finally see some green in the countryside after the catastrophy of the past few months – January has been a very long year.
Kim
Riders:
- Angela Beatty Honda 250R
- Al Munday Suzuki GT750
- Andrew Campbell BMW R1250RS
- Kevin Sherman Indian
- Melissa Davis Honda 700
- Barry Solley Honda ST1300
- Neil McRitchie Kawasaki GTR1400
- Carol Solley Can Am Spyder
- Janet Mulgrue Suzuki Burgman
- Kim Tito BMW F700GS
- Kerry Mulgrue Yamaha TMax
- Ron Tito BMW R1200GS
