"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.
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
