Ride report – Grenfell, 28 November 2021

"The journey of the pothole-dodgers"

Five riders set out from Nicholls to tackle the entertaining backroads route to Grenfell. Post-lock-down family commitments prevented a few other regulars from riding on this particular Sunday.

The weather at the Canberra end was overcast and cool as the (now usual) gaggle of BMWs and Triumphs headed off down the Barton Highway. Much of the Barton has 80kph construction speed limits which makes it even more tedious than usual. Still; mustn't grumble. We are going to end up with lovely new dual carriageway one year in the not-too-distant future (2023, 2024?).
Inexplicably, the speed limit drops to 60kph in some places as we approach Yass, with not a road-worker in sight. The highway patrol is out though, looking to catch motorists who dare to disobey this apparently unjustifiable speed limit.
Onto the Lachlan Valley Way and the highway patrol is similarly diligent this weekend. Fortunately, we have moderated our pace to a range that doesn't attract too much attention.

Boorowa is its usual hive of Sunday activity as we pull up at the Superb Café – a choice related more to its provision of decent toilets than its food or coffee. The clouds had blown away by now and the day had turned sunny and mildly warm. Some other motorcycle riders were sunning themselves outside the café, studiously ignoring us (they must have been way cooler than our Ulysses crew).
An RBT copper was on duty as we head out of Boorowa but he waved us through. This might be an act of motorcyclist solidarity, or perhaps he couldn't be bothered working his way through a group of five motorcycle riders.

The back-roads route we took to Grenfell was, to say the least, a little convoluted, and deliberately so. The goal was to ride on roads that are not typically chosen by most travellers. If there are no other motorcycles and very few cars, then our goal is achieved.

Instead of taking the main route through Young, we crossed over to Henry Lawson Way by riding along the road that threads its way between the looming hills of Murringo Gap. Like many of the roads on our route, Murringo Gap Road is a service road for local farms - a narrow strip of thin bitumen laid on top of an old dirt track. The pavement is broken and pot-holed from months of intermittent rainfall. It leaves little room for error on a big motorcycle.

After Murringo we followed more backroads through sleepy hamlets and farming communities such as Bendick Murrell, Wirrimah and Greenthorpe (Iandra Castle). These once-thriving places are, perhaps, past their peaks as centres of local economic activity but they still possess a lot of rural charm. 

The roads on this route are occasionally tricky to navigate, with quite a few poorly-marked 90 degree turns and loads of pot-holes to regularly test the reflexes of the riders. Our experienced crew handled these conditions calmly and competently – even coping with a couple of split-second changes of direction by the ride leader (me).

We arrived at our scheduled time in Grenfell and checked out the hospitality at the Criterion Hotel. After the experience of the previous Ulysses ride to Grenfell we were a little wary about the limited lunchtime fare on offer at the local establishments. 

The Criterion Hotel actually has a full pub lunch menu, so at least we had a few choices. The meals were much as you might expect at most country pubs these days. This pub certainly seems to be a popular venue for local families. The friendly locals also gave us advice about the road to Young.

 

 

We had the usual varied range of conversations during our stops. Topics ranged between the cost of plumbing services, motorcycles (of course), motorcycle helmets, superannuation (of course), COVID-19 (of course - including the new word of the week 'Omicron'), climate change, regenerative farming and the state of US politics and society.

We decided to take a slight detour on the first stage of our return journey, opting to ride on Mary Gilmore Way and the Old Forbes Road. This alternative route to the first part of Henry Lawson Way has a reasonably good road surface and attractive pastoral scenery, including some magnificent old federation farmhouses.
Throughout the trip it was obvious that wet winter and spring has made a huge difference to pastures. Whether or not the late rain has been good for canola, wheat and oat crops is another matter. However, the countryside is looking magnificent.

The trip back to Canberra was uneventful. We stopped for a cuppa at the Rollon-Inn at Bowning and then headed home through the tedious weekend traffic. It was all worth it though. The Grenfell ride is always worth the effort. 

John Grace

Riders:
George Attard            Triumph Tiger 800 XRT
Andrew Campbell        BMW R1250 RS
John Grace                 Triumph Tiger 1200 XC
Paul Healey                BMW R1200 RT
Kevin Sherman           BMW R1250 RS

Ride to Tumut, Sunday 21 November 2021

I’ll be honest - being an unapologetic fair weather rider, if I wasn’t the Ride Leader (and a virgin one at that) I wouldn’t have gone.  The forecast was for solid rain all day, with freshening winds.

Still, needs must, and when I arrived at Nicholls, Scott and Kevin were already there champing at the bit.  Damon and Aeron arrived shortly after.  Consulting the radar app showed that the rain shouldn’t last long with the worst passing north of our intended track, so we decided to chance it.  I did modify the route to avoid the Brungle Road as I’d passed that way a couple of weeks before and it was in very poor shape.

The rain did indeed stop a bit north of Murrumbateman, and soon afterwards the raindrops dried off my glasses and the inside of the visor and I could actually see the road! A pleasant ride to Harden / Murrumburrah and a stop at Barnes Store for a coffee.  (Despite me having reminded everyone that proof of double vax was needed to get into any café in NSW, they didn’t actually check!).

Kevin obviously decided his bike didn’t like associating with the others, as he parked on the other side of the road. 

He did the same at lunch too.  It’s not even as if it’s a BMW thing, as the majority of bikes on the ride at all times were BMWs!

The weather was staying fine, even with patches of sun, so we decided to continue, but Damon and Aeron said they would be heading for home at Jugiong.  And the weather did stay good over to Tumut, with the wind picking up to “annoying” (Scott’s assessment) but not too bad.

A very firm Vax check, and masks to be worn while moving around edict greeted us at Tumut River Brewing Co. as three of us fronted for a lunch of two pizzas and a salad (oh well, there’s one in every crowd).  I thought their “back by popular demand” Kransky and Pineapple Pizza looked interesting and it turned out to be excellent.

Then came the ride back.  We headed off broadly together but strung out, and I didn’t see the others again after they got past a couple of cars just before a long section with no passing opportunities.  I trust they had a good ride, but I had huge problems with the wind on the Hume – right down to dodging trucks and swerving SUVs, and random lane changes in the crosswinds.  After I got home, I checked Ventusky for the record of the winds along the Hume at the time we were travelling there – generally 30kph with gusts over 60kph.  No wonder it was difficult!

Mostly a good ride and, as ever, great company.  But the weather needs improvement for next time!

• Neil McRitchie                 Triumph Tiger 900 GT Pro (Leader & Scribe)
• Scott England                   BMW R1250RT
• Kevin Sherman                 BMW R1250RS
• Aeron Johnson                 Suzuki SV650
• Damon Hatchett               BMW R1250R

A Days Ride up the Ranges to Taralga, Wednesday 17th Nov 22

It was a great morning as I left home and rode to the departure point. It was even better after I arrived to see nine riders streaming into the BP garage to join us for the day. After welcomes and discussions on the various bike models before us, we decided it was time to get this ride on the move. Weather prediction was for a slightly cloudy day with a top of 22 degrees over Taralga - great!

Having been on this route three weeks before, my brief emphasised the poor state of these country roads after 18 months of COVID restrictions and lock downs. So there was an emphasis on ample spacing between riders to ensure they could see these craters in time and take action accordingly. A couple of points here for the RTA is that you just can’t shut down ongoing road maintenance and repairs during lockdowns and expect to bring them back up to scratch quickly, though I expect sufficient government funding for such extensive work will be an issue for some time in the future.   

Apart from the above issues, the ride was magnificent, though Canberra to Gunning was the worse route with a number of chopped up areas and pot holes or recent soft fill covering some really bad pot holes. As we made our way from Gunning up the Lachlan Range along Grabben Gullen the road was as usual just exhilarating sweeping up those 50 and 75km bends. On this section, we came across one area under repair with an RTA gang, which caused a minor delay and then the down hill entry into Crookwell which was badly chopped up in parts. Leaving Crookwell along the Laggan road towards Taralga was brilliant as ever with great sweepers for any bike though there was some minor road damage between Crookwell and Laggan. Note, not once through the whole road trip did we get delayed due to slow country road traffic - it was absolutely brilliant! See, Wednesday rides might be worth the odd sick day or two. 

 

Lunch at the Taralga Hotel turned out to be a very busy event, as when we arrived there was the local community club booked in for lunch plus two bike groups which included ourselves. We managed to get a quiet seating space out the back under the veranda. Half of us received lunch within the first 30 minutes but the remaining members languished around for what seemed another 40 minutes before they got served. Staff were very apologetic about the usual circumstances for a Wednesday. To kill time we discussed great rides and the usual prohibited topics such as COVID politics and religion while Marilyn read a ‘Little Miss Smiley’ book given to her by a three year old girl with her parents. Isn’t it amazing the interest such a quiet unassuming ‘Growing Old Disgracefully’ bunch of riders receive when they turn up at these venues for a lunch.

For the return route, Andrew opted to try out new pot holes between Taralga and Goulburn, while the remaining eight members returned back down the way we had come. A couple of members stopped at Crookwell for a quick top up while the remainder continued towards Gunning. The intent being to all meet up at the Merino Cafe for final coffee and chat before making our own way home. 

At Gunning, Chas obviously bored, decided to show us how to completely disassemble a pannier lock while attempting to open it. Noting the obvious situation he was in, he quickly applied his skills to the task visiting the Gunning hardware store opposite to purchase some duct tape in order to secure the left hand pannier so he could get home with both still attached to the bike. Well done Chas, and hope once he got home he remembered how to reassemble the barrel lock.

Overall it was a great ride with I think everyone enjoying the company, the laughs and the panoramic view of the countryside which we had the luxury of enjoying throughout the day.


The Team Members

• Peter Ongley            Ducati Monster
• Kevin Sherman        BMW 1250RS
• David Pitt                Harley Davidson
• Chas Towie              Honda ST1200
• Ken McLean             Yamaha YZF-R3
• Andrew Campbell     BMW 1250RS
• Tony Henderson       Triumph Tiger800
• Marilyn Starick         R1200R
• Warren Richer          BMW 900XR

Chomp & Chat - Araluen; Sunday, 14th November

A tale of two riders, potholes and the usual weather saga.

After emptying 54mm of precipitation out of my rain gauge over the previous few days, it was comforting to wake up to sunshine for a change. Primed and ready to lead the club ride to Araluen, confident my reputed rain making jinx had been defeated on this occasion, the illusion lasted about an hour as the heavy overcast skies soon returned to threaten more bad weather. As I set off from home, I couldn’t believe that it was late spring, with just a little over two more weeks remaining until the summer. The ambient temperature was hovering around a chilly 12ºC, the strengthening westerly wind was beginning to add significantly to the chill factor, and my helmet visor was fogging up worse than on a mid-winter ride.

I was the first to arrive at the BP service station in Watson as the overhead clouds seemed to thicken. While I topped up the fuel tank on my little Ducati Monster (ULP98 now available) I was approached by a fellow who seemed very excited to see me and from the numerous double thumbs-up gestures, I think he liked my bike too. “Nice bike,” he enthused. “Can you spare us some cash?” I didn’t quite know how to tell him that pensioners who are addicted to motorcycles are never flush with cash.

A short while later, just when I was thinking I might be embarking on a solo ride, I was joined by Kevin Sherman on his shiny black BMW R1250RS. We chatted for a while in the hope that others might join us, but alas, that was not to be. Either the threatening weather or my reputation as a foul weather ride leader the probable reason for the lack of riders. I stepped away briefly to phone the Araluen Pub and let them know that the optimistic group booking I had made earlier in the week needed to be downgraded to just two. When I returned there was another fellow chatting to Kevin. I didn’t hear the conversation, but I guessed it was similar to the one I had heard earlier, “Nice bike mate. Can you spare us some cash?”…. Once I started the ride briefing, he lost interest and wandered off.

Our planned route was north on the Federal Highway to Bywong, then along Macs Reef Road to Bungendore, a quick run north to Tarago, before turning south to the Kings Highway then Braidwood, before the final run down to the Araluen Valley. I shared my observations from my reconnaissance run earlier in the week. This included the likelihood of numerous large pot holes; land slips; water, sand and gravel across the road; fallen trees and branches; narrow, wooden planked bridges; the steep, narrow and twisting descent down into the Araluen Valley and a few tricky off-camber corners. I figured that since we had experienced significant rain and storms since that trip, the road conditions were probably going to be worse, not better.

The ride ended up being pretty much as briefed with lots of standing water in roadside puddles, property owners out with chainsaws removing fallen trees and branches from fence lines, and at times, Kevin and I looking like a pair of downhill slalom skiers dodging the potholes. As one Araluen resident quipped, the number of potholes is in direct proportion to the distance from the council roadworks depot. Most of the outward journey was under overcast skies with occasional patches of pleasant sunshine bursting through along the way. The ambient temperature fluctuated between 9º-12ºC which meant the heated grips got turned on to the first notch. The main cause for concern was the increasing strength of the westerly cross-wind that was buffeting us on our predominantly north-south route. Of course there were some really great sections of road as well, but we just had to be constantly alert to spot the hazards early.

We encountered a brief shower of rain between Tarago and the Kings Highway turn-off. It was fascinating to be riding in full sunshine at the time whilst looking at the road through raindrops on the visor. We also came across one of those drivers we all love to hate in a little red Hyundai Getz, happy to keep a train of vehicles behind them whilst travelling 20kph below the speed limit, then alway speeding up when somebody attempted to overtake. Both Kevin and I had issues when we tried to get past, with our little Getz doing 115kph in the overtaking lane ahead of us before merging back in front and dropping back to their previous 80kph doddle.

 

Being a “Chomp & Chat” ride, lunch at the Araluen Valley Hotel was typical pub fare, but they did have a very tasty lamb roast blackboard special. The publican was friendly and on for a chat and was keen to promote the pub and its accommodation as a possible overnight Ulysses outing.

With a forecast predicting afternoon thunderstorms and strengthening winds in Canberra, we both decided to make an early start to the return journey. We departed Araluen in bright sunshine and a pleasant 18º showing on the temperature gauge. By the time we reached Braidwood where I refuelled, the temperature had dropped back to 12º and the clouds had gathered overhead once more. The showers started shortly after we left Braidwood and became steadily heavier as we did battle with a very stiff headwind. As the road took a more westerly turn towards Bungendore, the scenery ahead through the showers of rain was a solid wall of dense, angry black cloud filling the horizon.

The heavy rain started at Bungendore and just got heavier the closer we got to Canberra. The temperature dropped to just 8º with the chill factor hovering somewhere closer to zero. Fortunately for us, the worse of what looked to be some very nasty weather had drifted away to our left as we entered the ACT. We continued to ride through heavy showers and strong, gusty winds until our paths parted at Hume. I am certain that both Kevin and I arrived back home in a similar state, soaked to the skin and freezing cold. If nothing else, this outing prompted me to renew all the waterproofing on my jacket, boots and gloves. With my reputation as a bringer of storms and flooding rain restored, I thank Kevin for his bravery and good company.

Riders:

• Peter Ongley - Ducati Monster 659
• Kevin Sherman - BMW R1250RS

"Let’s go to Gunning" , 31st October 21

Let’s go to Moruya.  Hang on, there’s something better at Cowra.  Let’s go a see the Red Radials perform.  Sorry, no can do, Cowra is a no go zone.  OK, so what will we do?  Let’s go to Gunning.

So Gunning it was.  There were 6 takers who met at the Ampol at Gold Creek.  Jenny Carlin came along to wish us a pleasant ride.  

The intrepid crew were:
•    Kevin on a BMW RS
•    Warren on a BMW XR
•    Neil on a Triumph Tiger
•    Dieter on a Ducati Multistrada
•    Dave on a BMW RS
•    Dion Harley Tri-Glide

After a quick brief, we headed off for Boorowa via Binalong.  I’d never been along that road, but the guys at the brief said that it was a good ride.  So I trusted their guidance and headed off that way.  The road across from Binalong to Boorowa was cut up quite a bit with the amount of rain that had been had and the lack of maintenance done during the COVID-19 period.

After we negotiated the road across, we pulled up at Boorowa at the Superb Bakery for what I would have to say are some of the finest Lamingtons that I have even tasted.  After everyone had their fill, we were off to Gunning via Crookwell, again, another road that I had never travelled.

What a great start to this leg as we headed down towards the turnoff at the monument in the middle of the road only to come across a Road Closed sign.  Maybe we should have taken this as a sign.  I turned the group around and let me GPS plot another way for us to get back on to the desired road.  Well, if we thought that the road from Binalong to Boorowa was in a state of some needed maintenance, well the road from Boorowa to Crookwell was well overdue.

As we delicately made our way through the minefield that was potholes, we come across a small bridge just before Rugby.  Now this little bridge was having some work done to it and had all the necessary warning signs prior to arriving at it.  As we descended down to the bridge it was quickly apparent that this was going to be a little daunting.  Across the entire width and length of the bridge was about 10-15cms of loose marble sized gravel.  There were more than a few nervous riders who tackled that bridge that day.  Thankfully there was no incidents.  Once we got through that little hurdle, the rest of the ride was quite good through to Crookwell.  Still a lot of dodgy roads, but after tackling the bridge, I don’t think that anyone would have had any issues with the rest of the road.

 I’d booked us in at the Merino Café in Gunning where I would have to say, they make the best Lamb Burgers within 300km’s of Canberra.  The group chatted away, told a few stories and expressed our gratitude of being able to get out and about and looking forward to more riding in the coming months.

After lunch, the group headed back to Canberra via Gundaroo and Sutton.  Overall, I’d like to think that everyone had a great day.

Dion

The November RO2 is now available!

 Happy November!

How to celebrate?

Why, read this months RO2 of course!

get it >> Here <<

Ride Report; Gerringong, 3 November 21

Wednesday 3 November was an almost perfect day for a long motorcycle ride. Almost, because the section from Gerringong to Kiama was in a strong and gusty sea breeze; still, the rest of the ride was in fine conditions and a temperature in the low 20’s. Given those conditions, seven bikes made up the group. Three German, two British, and one each from North America and Japan.

The first leg was from Bungendore through Tarago to Nerriga for a coffee. This road, like so many in the area at the moment, is in poor condition with thousands of potholes; most, fortuitously, are along the left edge of the road so it’s not too hard to find a good line for a motorcycle. The Nerriga pub provided coffee for those so inclined.

The next section of the ride took us to Nowra. The eucalypt forest on this road was severely burned at the end of 2019, but with good rain for the past year, it has regenerated very well. The ride through Nowra is tedious, with numerous roadworks and lane closures, but all seven riders regrouped at the Ampol before continuing to Gerringong for lunch. Once again we had to contend with roadworks on the highway past Berry; one wonders if this highway will ever be complete. Lunch was taken at the Sea Vista Cafe, on a deck overlooking the Tasman Sea but with a stiff sea breeze blowing.

After lunch was the fun part of the ride -  the climb to Robertson on Jamberoo Mountain Road. For those who haven’t tackled this road, it’s narrow with an awful lot of very tight turns, as well as a steep climb. There’s a 15 km/h steep uphill left-hander; each time I ride the road I know it’s coming, I set up for it carefully, and it still gives me heart palpitations. 285 kg of touring bike is really not ideal for such a road; still, I didn’t overrun the centre line, so maybe I’m getting the hang of it! In any case, the conditions were perfect and there was very little other traffic. On weekends, it’s a popular motorcycling road.

I offered the group the choice of taking the highway home from Robertson, or a scenic tour through the Southern Highlands; everybody agreed with the latter so we made the journey through Fitzroy Falls, Exeter and Bundanoon. Our final stop was at Marulan for fuel, a short break, goodbyes then straight down the highway home.

The group:

•     George Attard       Triumph Tiger 800 XRT
•     Chris Dietzel         Kawasaki 1400GTR
•     Bill Henshaw         Triumph Tiger Explorer
•     Dave Mossman      BMW R1250RS
•     David Pitt              Harley-Davidson Softail Slim
•     Kevin Sherman      BMW R1250RS
•     Scott England        BMW R1250RT - Ride Leader and scribe

BBQ Volunteers Needed

 

The Branch is calling for more Volunteers to help cook and serve at Bunnings Belconnen.

The next fundraiser BBQ will held on Saturday 6th November  and we are short a few helpers on the day.  

Please support the Branch with a helping hand for a couple of hours.  Simply phone or text BBQ Co-Ordinator, Tony Henderson on mobile number 0408451220. 

Tony is also putting together a roster of volunteers for other dates, so if you are not able to help at the next one you will have a chance to  put your name down to help in December. 

Proceeds will go towards a donation to our charity of choice - UCARF - Ulysses Club Arthritis Research Fund.

Snowy Mountains Loop 24/10/21

This year’s 600 km Snowy Mountains Loop was on a fine but unseasonably cool day. Four riders departed Nicholls in sunshine and about 9 degrees. By the time we reached Yass it was overcast and only 8 degrees; Chris decided he wasn’t suitably equipped for the conditions so he turned for home. Three riders stopped for coffee at Jugiong, where the sun came out again and riding conditions were glorious for the rest of the day.

At this time of year, the Hume Highway usually has great fields of yellow or purple, but neither the canola nor Salvation Jane were in flower yet, so the hills were just relentlessly green. Joe caught up with us around Batlow, and the group was four again for lunch at the Tumbarumba Hotel. From Tumbarumba to Khancoban, the road traverses the upper Murray Valley, were the fields were, if anything, even greener and the cows were knee-deep in grass.

The Alpine way from Khancoban to Thredbo is a magnificent motorcycling road these days, though regrettably the speed limit is 60 km/h for the majority of it. We had perfect conditions; windless, sunny and cool - only about 8 degrees again in the higher parts of the road. A stop was made at Scammel’s Lookout at Geehi, where the views of the higher alps, which were still covered in plenty of snow, were wonderful. We encountered very little other traffic, and thankfully no wildlife with poor road-sense.

After a fuel stop at Jindabyne, we made the final leg home. The Monaro Highway is not very interesting, but at least it has quite a few passing lanes these days and, in any case, the traffic was not heavy. The last hour of boredom is a small price to pay for the joy of riding the Alpine Way.

Today’s riders were:

•     Steven Bardwell    Moto Guzzi California
•     Chris Dietzel         Kawasaki 1400GTR
•     Joe Luxford          Kawasaki Z900RS
•     Kevein Sherman   BMW R1250RS, and
•     Scott England       BMW R1250RT, ride leader and scribe