Rockley is not a destination as such. Rather, it has a pleasant pub for lunch on a route which takes in some really good motorcycling roads; the Abercrombie River valley in both directions has countless tight turns, some steep hills, and some spectacular scenery.
In the event, there were four riders on a day when somebody had thrown the big switch from ‘summer’ to ‘winter’; winter riding gear was definitely required. The temperature on departure was six degrees, falling to four degrees as we passed Black Springs, and hovering around eight degrees for most of the ride. It was fine,but regrettably pretty windy. There was a strong, gusty westerly giving us a crosswind almost all day.
This was also the day when Kevin Sherman turned up on his new BMW. Now, having traded his thunderous Indian, people no longer refuse to ride behind him; he volunteered for TEC duties anyway as he gets used to the new bike.
The route took us through Tarago and Goulburn to morning coffee at the lovely Grand Ettie Cafe in Taralga, where Kevin and Anthony had the rather generous egg-and-bacon-rolls, then found that they couldn’t fit in lunch afterwards. After that was the first crossing of the Abercrombie; a narrow, steep descent to the river, then an even steeper climb out though on a rather wider road. From here we headed through Black Springs to Rockley with little traffic in our direction to trouble us, but a lot of motorcyclist going south. The Rockley Pub had lit their combustion stove for the first time this year, and its warmth was most welcome.
The return journey took us to Perthville for fuel, then home via Trunkey Creek and Tuena. This second crossing of the Abercrombie is also steep and winding, but two of us had the misfortune to get stuck behind a farmer ina ute who braked to hardly more than a walking pace at every corner.
Last stop was for a warming coffee at Crookwell. By now the wind was starting to abate and the temperature reached a high on the run home from Gunning; 12 whole degrees!
The team:
● Anthony Hanson BMW R1200RT
● Dave Jones Yamaha XT1200Z
● Kevin Sherman BMW R1250RS
● Scott England BMW R1250RT (RL & scribe)
