Ride to Jugiong and Harden, Wed 19th Jan 2022

Turned up at the Nicholls Ampol Garage just after 1000 to find Scott refuelling and shortly after Kevin arrived. Not long after Dave arrived, then it was two Triumphs namely George on his Tiger 800 and Mick on his TR6. By the time we grouped up and finished chatting we had six riders ready to hit the road by 1030 with the exception of Mick doing some minor adjustments to the 72 TR6 and checking the rear tyre for suspected slow leaks. The weather forecast was for a warm day but with BOM Warnings of high winds building up from Victoria, the Riverina up to and across the Southern Ranges just to make life interesting.

Once on the move we negotiated the road works along the Barton Hwy, a painful 60kph then 80kph stretch for about 10 kms before we were allowed to build up to the limit, a leisurely 100kph. Traffic at this time was light. At Murrumbateman however, things got a little busier with more traffic joining and a big bunch of riders joining from Sutton way.

The Long Track Pantry

By the time we hit the outer Yass area the traffic started to clear a little. We persisted along the Hume highway south towards Jugiong. On arrival in Jugiong we were joined by Steven and his little touch of Italian flair, his elegant Moto Guzzi California. Being a little late that morning he had headed straight past Nicholls towards Jugiong thinking we had already departed the scene. In Jugiong, the Long Track Pantry was humming with local as well as interstate travellers, even the NSW highway patrol frequent it. After a coffee and chat outside in the sun about various topics including previous rides, live stock on country roads and of course phone reception out in the country we decided it was time to move on.

Chilled out at the Long Track Pantry

The Jugiong road up to Harden was as usual simply superb with its sweepers however the wind was building up the higher and closer we got to Harden/Murrumburrah. Once in Harden some of us peeled off to refuel in Murrumburrah (and some air for Mick’s rear tyre) after which we headed on up into Harden to join the rest of the gang at Jacksons Bakery. The Bakery is another rider friendly cafe which provides great fresh food and plenty of seating out doors in their garden.

Jackson Bakery and the outside garden area

After lunch, and because of the high winds we decided to stay off the great country lanes around here and just stick to the main roads for home. The concern being in the high winds obstructions on the country lanes. On departing Harden, Scott decided to head directly home down Burley Griffin  Way. So the return ride for the remaining six was along Cunningar road towards outer Boorowa. This was exceptional with the added challenge of a fairly strong head wind. At the Boorowa turn off we spilled a right on to Lachlan Valley Way in order to head towards the Yass township for a last coffee stop at the Kaffeine 2582 cafe.


Overall, it was a great ride around the region even though it was windy and it was a familiar favourite route for many of us. Let’s face it, we all just wanted to get out on our bikes on any sweepers we could find in the country. That was definitely achieved by all and Mick’s TR6 blew us all away for a 1972 Triumph Bonneville. When Mick originally turned up on his one of many bikes, I must admit the thought had crossed my mind if it would self destruct on the ride. However in the end I was left feeling very impressed with its performance

At the Kaffeine Cafe in Yass.

Again it is very hard to beat a mid week ride where tourist traffic is light even during the Christmas holidays.
 
Warren

Overall Distance finally traveled: 310 kms

Ulysses Riders:

• Kevin Sherman        BMW 1250RS
• Dave Mossman        BMW 1250RS
• Scott England         BMW 1250RT
• Mick Kent               Triumph TR6RV
• George Attard         Triumph Tiger 800
• Steven Bardwell      Moto Guzzi California
• Warren Richer         BMW F900 XR

 

The Snowy Classic 2022 Convoy - Calling for Motorbike Riders. Help and get Paid!

The Snowy Classic is a cycling event in the Snowy Mountains, from Jindabyne. This year it will be held on Saturday 26th March 2022. Bicycling Australia are seeking assistance from motorcycle riders who would be part of a Convoy team who would traverse between the cyclists on course and watching that they all complete their ride safely. 

They have received great help from Members of other Ulysses branches for events around the country, and are reaching out to the Canberra Branch now.

They are looking for 3-4 Ulysses riders that could assist across 2 courses that they are running in the Snowy Classic 2022.

You will need to line up with the Convoy on Koscuiszko Rd, Jindabyne at 7:00 AM on the day (They can provide accommodation on Friday evening in Jindabyne) 

The last rider is due home approx. 5:00 PM so this will be the latest time any rider would be required on course and each rider will be ‘knocked off’ by the Ride Director/ECC as needed. 

The job will be to patrol the ride mid-pack and ensure rider safety, the event is on fully closed roads, managed by NSW Police you will be asked so report in any general traffic seen on course or traffic trying to enter the course from side roads, you will be watching for any riders needing assistance (mechanical or medical) on course. If required, riders will be called upon to be reactive to needs by the on course Ride Director.

Bicycling Australia is offering $250, per motorbike rider, as remuneration for the rider's time at the event and can provide accommodation in Jindabyne on Friday night due to the early start Saturday AM, if required.

All comms equipment (radios) and safety vests will be provided. 

If you are interested or have any questions don’t hesitate to contact Holly Kemp directly on 0413458852.

This has been posted on behalf of:

Yaffa Media Pty Ltd

17-21 Bellevue St, Surry Hills NSW 2010

M: 0413 458 825

E: hollykemp@yaffa.com.au

www.bicyclingaustralia.com.au

The January RO2 is out now!

 Happy New Year Canberra Branch!

Here is your January RO2

Enjoy!

 To download click the image above or >>here<<.

The Snowy Loop and the Ulysses Survivor  - 9 January 2022

One could be mistaken for thinking that Sunday’s snowy loop ride was a season of the famed TV show Survivor. We all gathered at the Hume service station blind to what was about to unfold on a coolish yet calm day. So there we were, Kevin and Scott as the BMW Luftwaffe lads, John and Bill as the Triumph Tiger tamers and me on my Moto Guzzi California looking so cool I would have stopped the traffic had there been any. We waited for the usual late comers, but none appeared so off we went, pumped for a great day’s ride through our glorious Kosciusko Nation Park. It was true Eye of the Tiger stuff.

John led the charge with Scott taking up tail end Charlie when after a few kilometres down the road the song Eye of the Tiger song was soon replaced the Little River Band’s Lonesome Loser. John had pulled over to the side of the road concerned about the dodgy steering on his bike. It turns out he had a flat tyre. 

Scott exhumed a very fancy 12v pump from his gigantic paniers and we started the process of finding the source of the leak……unsuccessfully. There we were, five grown men by the side of the road, spinning the front tyre around and around trying to find this bloody hole in his tyre without any success. Talk about a bunch of duds. It’s no wonder our wives send us out of the house on Sundays. Our masculinity was soon restored when we discovered that the seat of the tyre valve had perished and was leaking profusely when touched. This rendered our three pumps and puncher repair kits absolutely useless. Hmmm we thought. What do we do now? John was soon voted off the island along with Bill who kindly followed behind with his pump and made sure he got home safely. I believe they had to stop and pump up the tyre four times on the way home. It’s a good thing John had not yet moved out to Murrumbateman.

So then there were three. The three Amigos! The ride down the Monaro Hwy evoked the usual coma like response until we rode through Cooma and hit the road to Adaminaby. All was good with some lovely sweeping bends until we came up behind a B Double with a massive payload of concrete structures on its way to the Snowy Hydro 2.0 project. Why is it that you always come across these beasts just as the overtaking lane finishes? We eventually passed him when, as if Satan himself was having a laugh, we came across another one. F#@*%! Dismayed by the interruptions, we finally made it to our coffee break at Adaminaby. 

Now I’m not a man who is easily impressed but the big rainbow trout at Adaminaby is a sight to behold. It has recently received a lick of paint and is looking mighty tasty. But the mood soon changed again as Scott received some bad news. Bronte, his 40kg Golden Retriever had contracted some sort of a gastro bug and was in desperate need of some veterinary care. Like a good owner and husband, Scott raced home to rush the poorly pooch to the vet. I believe all is well now and Bronte is back to eating dead birds, rats and poo as all good Golden Retrievers do.

So then there were two. Unperturbed by the lack of friends Kevin and I took off on what is one of Australia’s best motorcycle rides. Smooth roads with beautifully cambered bends had us grinning from ear to ear until, you guessed it, those damn B Doubles. What the? We eventually passed and then spent the next hour of so blasting through the sweeping bends of the park. Some kind soul had even scrapped up all the brumby poo and piled it up off the side of the road so the roads were smooth, clean and fast. We sighted a few brumbies near the road but they didn’t seem worried by our presence. Conditions soon changed from smooth and 18ᵒC to rough and 30ᵒC as we made our way down the mountain towards Talbingo. Despite the change we had a blast making our way down the twisty mountain road. We eventually made it to the Oriental Hotel in Tumut for the mandatory Fish n Chips and Chicken Schnitty.

In memory of our fallen friends Kevin and I decided to take the alternate route through Brungle that John had originally planned for us. Kevin and I had never been on that road so a bit of Google Map planning was in order. We had a lot of fun twisting our way through the green farmland with rustic farm houses and flooding rivers until we were forced to break hard in order to avoid 100 or so cattle meandering along the road. The sound of the motorbikes seemed to send the cattle into some sort of a frenzy. As if excited by the sight and sound of my Moto Guzzi (it has that effect on some people) the cattle started to hump each other in the middle of the road. Kevin was looking a little worried when, like a knight in shining armour, a lady on horseback rode up and said “get behind me”. She cracked her whip and as if he had been conditioned by the sound, Kevin jumped into action and ‘got behind’. It was like we were taking part in an SBS Viceland documentary. I’ve never seen Kevin so animated. After about 10min we made our way through the fornicating beasts and started to enjoy the scenery once more until truck came flying around a corner and was within an inch of wiping both of us out. I thought ‘I’m not sure if my dicky ticker can take much more of this’. We made our way back onto the freeway at Coolac and then stopped for a break at Bookham where we debriefed.

We cruised into the ACT without a fuss and I pealed off towards my home in Belconnen. Then like the winner he is, Kevin rode off into the sunset as if he was the ‘Sole Survivor’ and $1,000,000 richer for the experience.

Steven Bardwell

John Grace (part-time leader) Triumph Tiger

Ben Henshaw Triumph Tiger

Kevin Sherman BMW R1250RS

Scott England R1250RT

Steven Bardwell Moto Guzzi California