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
