My first (failed) experience as ride leader.
Several months ago I had my arm gently but purposefully twisted by our ride coordinator (thanks Ian) to have a go at being a ride leader. I had led small group rides before but never a larger club group. So, the ride to Burrill Lake for fish and chips was to be my debut leading a ride for the Canberra Branch. As events unfolded I am forced to admit that my virginity in this regard is still very much intact.
In the week leading up to the ride I was closely following the weather forecast for Sunday 20th September, 2020, and it wasn’t looking very promising. Depending on the source of weather information, there was a 90-95% chance of 10-20mm of precipitation predicted. Then again, I also knew that being a weather forecaster is the only job that you can get totally wrong and still have a job the next day. I tried to remain positive despite having a reputation within my circle of family & friends as being a rain magnet. They have all refused to go camping with me for many years now based on multiple soggy, wind-blown experiences.
Taking my responsibilities seriously, I jumped in my car on the Tuesday before the ride and headed off to check the route. The weather on the day was perfect. The drive was fascinating. I should have been on my bike.
The thing to know about this particular route was that it encompasses some of the worst hit areas of the catastrophic summer bushfires in our region. It was interesting to notice the prolific regrowth in much of the forest along the way, but also vast expanses of totally barren, blackened hillsides and ridges where only black sticks that had once been mighty eucalypts now remained. The Australian bush has an amazing capacity to regenerate itself but the intensity of the flames in large portions of the landscape means that nothing survived. It will be a very long time before we see these forests return to their former glory, if ever.
One of the positives to emerge from the fires was that sections of the Kings Highway down the Clyde Mountain and the Princes Highway north to Tomerong have been extensively resurfaced due to the damage caused by the intense heat. Other sections around Nerriga and beyond to Tarago remain somewhat damaged with signposting to warn of the potential dangers in the worst patches.
My recce of the proposed route proved to be well worth the effort as certain things became apparent. Firstly, the road surface was generally in good condition and well signposted, but narrow and bumpy on the return leg between Nerriga and Tarago. It also provided a couple of briefing points, namely the multiple cleanup crews I encountered on the Clyde Mountain removing mudslides and fallen rocks after recent rains. Something to bear in mind if the predicted weekend rains arrived. The other revelation was the two fairly sudden and deep dips in the road between Nerriga and the Oallen road turn off that where quite broken up and had standing water in them. These could be potentially hazardous, especially after heavy rain. Finally, although the Fish Shop in Burrill Lake provides excellent food, it has no seating or toilets and the only shelter in bad weather is under the nearby road bridge or on the narrow veranda of the adjacent bait shop. Further exploration revealed a couple of fixed picnic tables about 100m away at the end of the road past the shop and public toilets in the local park several hundred metres in the other direction that had been fenced off by the local council for whatever reason. A single port-a-loo was standing forlornly in the middle of the park as an alternative. Having no desire to be crucified by my fellow riders for the lack of creature comforts, especially in foul weather, I scoped out a number of alternatives in Burrill Lake and beyond in Ulladulla. The Lakeside Cafe in Burrill Lake was the eventual winner. Again, it was well worth the effort to do a recce before the ride.
By Thursday I was still feeling very nervous about the worsening forecast so I contacted our august ride coordinator for advice regarding the procedures to be taken if bad weather prevailed. I was informed that rides are rarely cancelled except in “catastrophic” weather conditions, but that ultimately it was my choice as ride leader whether to proceed. I felt the almost crushing weigh of responsibility descend upon my already stooped shoulders and wondering just exactly what constituted “catastrophic” weather. In over 45 years of riding motorbikes all around Australia and New Zealand I have experienced pretty much everything mother nature can dish up, but in recent years I have become quite averse to riding in the rain, especially through muddy landslips and flooded creeks. Oh well, I was still trying to remain positive.
I awoke early on Sunday morning (around 6am) to the sound of steady rain falling on my roof. My rain gauge was already indicating 9mm of overnight rain and the weather radar looked less that positive. As my planned departure time for the ride got closer there was a brief glimmer of hope on the weather radar indicating that the weather might be clearing from the west. However, a solid block of rainfall seemed to be permanently blanketing the entire area of our planned ride route. I remained hopeful that the rain would clear before departure time.
Eventually the time arrived when I had to make a choice as to whether or not to ride. Given that it was still raining heavily in Banks (sometimes referred to as North Cooma) where I live I decided that driving the car to the meeting point was the wiser option. In the lead up to the ride Anthony Hanson had been texting me to discuss his involvement or otherwise. He was keen to ride if the rain stayed away but was not keen on riding in the wet. The telling final phrase was him stating that the closest he was getting to being wet today was in the shower at home. I wholeheartedly agreed but still bore the burden of responsibility. I thank him for his ongoing courtesy in letting me know what he was intending to do if it rained or otherwise.
As I headed towards the meeting point I drove through steady rain until reaching Queanbeyan where it eased a little. I was beginning to feel somewhat justified in my decision not to ride. The only other bike I observed on the road was a rider and pillion on an adventure bike heading in the opposite direction looking decidedly sodden. Obviously they had somewhere else to be rather than tucked up in bed, warm and dry.
On the approaches to Bungendore the rain increased once more and the view across the valley looked decidedly ominous. Ironically, as I pulled into the IGA carpark the rain decided to ease off to an intermittent drizzle, with the sky lightening to the west. I found Scott England and his BMW R1250RT already waiting for the group to arrive. Kevin Sherman was right in front of me on his Indian and Steven Bardwell mounted on his Moto Guzzi California arrived almost immediately after.
We chatted briefly about the ride options, including my apology for letting the side down and my concern about the creek crossings near Nerriga that had already received 8mm of rain overnight. The word “wimp” was muttered somewhere during the conversation, but I’m not sure if that was a title entirely intended for myself or one I now share with one to two other club members who have also been tagged as “wuss.” Scott revealed that he had only intended to go as far as Batemans Bay anyway, so that became the new plan.
Just prior to the mighty web-footed trio departing, Steven reached into his left hand pannier and produced a fairly evil looking set of pointy-nosed pliers. These were then deftly used to remove the baffles from his exhaust pipes. When riding in the company of Kevin’s famously loud Indian it doesn’t pay to be out gunned it seems. The happy trio was last seen and definitely heard heading off down the King’s Highway in search of the bright lights of the Bay. I hope they got there and back safely. Maybe that could be the subject of a further report.
Riders:
- Steven Bardwell Moto Guzzi California
- Kevin Sherman Indian
- Scott England BMW R1250RT
- Peter Ongley (wimp) Ducati Monster 659
