Extra Short Ride - Day 5

24/10/2011

Today it's time to start the relaxing ride back to sunny Queensland.  It was my intention to ride from Wodonga to Tumut today, via Corryong and Cooma.  Unfortunately, a quick check of the BOM site upon waking put those plans out the window….80-100kph winds, heavy rain and hail were forecast to hit the Snowy Mountains by midday, just in time for my arrival.  With this wonderful forecast, I changed plans (yet again) and decided I’d try to outrun the approaching foul weather and shoot straight up the Hume Highway, destination Lithgow.

 Leaving my accommodation at 7:30, I started heading north, first scheduled stop, The Dog On The Tuckerbox. 

It was going to be an interesting ride today.  As soon as I left the relative protection of Albury, the approaching storms started to provide a hint of the weather that would head this way.  Most of the way from Albury to Gundagai I was forced to ride with a strong lean on the bike due to the winds hitting me from the left.  On several occasions I was blow across lanes and thankfully there was no traffic in the other lane.

 Riding today was going to be relatively easy as I’ll be on divided highway almost all of the way.

First stop was at Gundagai for fuel and feed, then off to the Dog for the mandatory photo shoot and souvenir purchase.

 Back on the road, the wind had died down, however, the dark clouds were still following and it started to rain.  20 minutes later I was out of the rain, but the wind had started up again.

 Before I knew it I was at Yass for refuel and feed.  2 bikes and a trike from the bike show pulled and we started to chat.  They were from Sydney and were heading home. I had seen them pulled over earlier in the morning adjusting their bikes. When I mentioned I had seen them a few hours before, they said their bags had been getting blown around by the wind and they had to repack their bags with all the heavy gear in the left saddle bag to give some stability in the wind.

Cruising on a motorway for hour after hour starts to play with your head…no traffic heading towards you to worry about, smooth road surfaces and very few vehicles passing you due to the number of speed cameras.  On a couple of occasions my mind started to wonder looking at the scenery and enjoying the smells of the countryside.  To break the monotony, I took several off ramps and called in to some of the small towns and played tourist.

After Yass, it was on towards Sydney and the Blue Mountains.  Fuelling up at Campbelltown, I noticed a lot of smoke in the direction I was heading.  I started up the radio app on my phone and within a few minutes I knew I wasn’t going to get to Lithgow tonight. A large bushfire had taken hold near the Three Sisters and smoke from the fires had caused the main road to Lithgow to be closed.  Once again I had to change my plans and decided I’d ride through to Singleton via the Old Putty Road. 

Roadworks on the “freeway” were slowing me down and at the rate I was going, I knew I wasn’t going to get to Singleton before sunset – not a good idea when I’d have to ride over 100km through national parks with all the furry speed bumps.  Time for another change of plans.  I decided I'd be heading to Raymond Terrace.  Fortunately, I’d been this way several times and knew there was only about 20km of riding where kangaroos might cause an issue.

 Finally working through the traffic, I pulled off at Edmondson Park, had a feed and headed towards tonights destination. 

I was not looking forward to the Sydney traffic, but turning on to the WestLink M7 Toll Road, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the traffic flowed.  20 minutes from Edmondson Park to Beecroft during peak hour. If only the roads were this good back home.

After Beecroft, it was a 20 minute crawl to get onto the highway again and then it was 110kph, multi lane freeway for the next hour or so. Just as I entered the freeway, the rain started and it was with me for the rest of the day.  

Arriving at Beresfield just on sunset, I refuelled again, grabbed another bite to eat and then rode the last 20 or so kilometres trying to see where I was going.  Finally arriving at Raymond Terrace, I pulled in at the first place I saw, Pacific Gardens Van Village, very tired and very wet.  12 hours on the bike is enough for anyone. 

 Pacific Gardens Van Village is a great little place to stay. The cabins sleep 6-8 people and are excellent value for money.  The on-site Chinese restaurant does an excellent Sweet & Sour Pork and it sure tasted better than any of the foods I’d eaten during the day.  I’ll definitely be calling in next time I ride through.

Extra Short Ride - Day 4

23/10/2011

After yesterdays problems, I was looking forward to a nice quiet day of rest and relaxation.  Today was the day of the Albury / Wodonga Border Bike Fest, the reason I’d come all this way.

After last nights catch up with a few of the Albury / Wodonga Ulysses Branch members, I was looking forward to see how the event panned out.

The Bike Fest was held on the Lincoln Causeway (the Mad Mile) between Albury and Wodonga. When I arrived, I was blown away by the number of bikes already there…hundreds of them.  There was every type of bike you could imagine…drag bikes, customized cruisers, dirt bikes, early Enfields, BSAs, Raleighs, Bradburys, Matchless and Indians.  The oldest bike I could find was a 1914 Indian, however I’m sure there were older bikes there.

After I’d spent a few hours at the Bike Fest, I decided to go for a short loop around the Hume Weir and call in to a few of the old haunts.

 Leaving the Bike Fest, I headed north, crossing the Murray River and back into NSW.  A few minutes later, it was past the new Albury Base Hospital and Airport then on towards the Hume Weir. I haven’t been here since  the late 70’s and didn’t know what to expect.  Suprisingly, apart from a few more houses, the area has hardly changed.  I intended to ride over the Weir wall and head towards Tallangatta.  Unfortunately, the Weir road has been closed to all traffic, so rather than take the low road at the bottom of the weir, I decided to head to Tallangatta via Bethanga. 

Crossing Bethanga Bridge is great on a bike..steel frames to the side and overhead, straight, flat concrete below and water views to the side. It was very tempting to open the throttle and see what my bike could do.  I resisted temptation and kept to the speed limit, turning right at the end of the bridge.  Ahh, back in Victoria again.  Now the real fun began.  Passing through Bellbird, I made myself comfortable and headed towards Bethanga, taking a few detours on the way to check out the water skiers and hang gliders.

One thing I had to be conscious of was the amount of dirt and gravel on the roads, especially on corners and intersections.  Several times I had to quickly slow down due to large gravel patches on the roads, or sealed roads suddenly turning into dirt.  Calling into Bethanga, I stopped at the pub and grabbed a quick drink to make up for yesterday.  I could quite happily have stayed for a few hours, but, I had places to go, and didn’t really want to be stuck here because I’d had one drink too many.

 Off again following the signs to Tallangatta. Unfortunately, the road turned to dirt a few kilometres from Bethanga.  I didn’t like the idea of riding on the dirt road, mainly because the surface was like riding on ice, the bike sliding all over the place.  No matter what I did, I didn’t feel in control, so after about 2 km, I turned back the way I’d come, heading back towards Bethanga Bridge and into NSW.

 A few minutes later I was back where I started two hours before.  Taking the “low” road, I soon passed what remains of the Trout Farm, then across the bridge and back in Victoria.

 Following the road a short way, I turned onto an unnamed dirt track that led to the base of the weir wall. Once again I was having flashbacks to my childhood. I spent so much time on or in the Murray and it’s tributaries, so I did something I always used to do. Shoes, socks and bike pants off and into the water for a quick dip. The water was as cold and clear as I remembered it. I received a few weird looks from the few people around, but they probably thought I was some crazy drugged out biker, so they left me alone. 

 After the quick cool off and several cups of Murray River water I dried off, got dressed and jumped back on the bike, past the newly upgraded resettlement village at Bonegilla. Warning signs at the Tallangatta turn off advising of delays of up to 45 minutes took Tallangatta off my destination list for today. Turning right I opened up the throttle, past an old primary school friends farm (hi Fiona) and headed into Killara, slowing down as I hit the 60 zone. From here it was a short ride to my old Primary School at Bandiana, then on to the Black Stump Hotel (Perry’s Pub) for a cold ale and a bite to eat.

Extra Short Ride - Day 3

22/10/2011

Up early after a good nights sleep and a forecast of slightly cooler weather, I was looking forward to todays riding.

 Checking the BOM web site, I noticed severe storms were forecast around Bendigo area at about the time I was due to pass through. Weather in Wodonga was forecast to be fine, so it was no choice – 280k ride to Wodonga in fine weather, or 600k to Tarnagulla, through storms (and what turned out to be 6 inches of hail).  Wodonga was going to be my destination today. I phoned a contact in Wodonga and found out there was a ride on and they were going to be at Bethanga Pub at about midday.  Plenty of time to cover the distance and catch up with them by midday.  Bike packed and fuelled and off I go, a nice easy ride without any problems, or so I thought.

Leaving West Wyalong and turning my bike in the direction of Wagga Wagga, the road was smooth, in good condition and the weather was clear with a cool breeze, perfect conditions.  Before I realised it, I had passed through several small towns (and the mandatory speed traps) and reached Wagga Wagga.  After fueling my bike and grabbing a drink, I checked the time and realised I had plenty of time to complete the remaining kilometres and make it to Bethanga before midday. With a lunch appointment to look forward to, it was off again.  Leaving Wagga Wagga, it’s onto the Olympic Way to Albury.  I haven’t been on this road since the late 70’s and couldn’t remember what it was like.  After a few minutes, the memories came flooding back…not rough, just constantly up and down, like a mild chop on the water.  Cruising along and starting to drift off with the constant vibrations, I took a break at The Rock and checked the bike to make sure nothing had worked it’s way loose.  Everything seemed OK, but little did I know the next 50kms had in store for me.

Leaving The Rock, the road became even worse, really shaking the bike and testing my ability to concentrate.  4km south of The Rock, my handle bar mounted Go Pro camera decided it had had enough and the mount snapped, dropping the camera between the handle bars and the bike windscreen.

I checked my mirrors, made sure the trucks behind me were far enough back and jammed on the brakes, stopping just as the camera fell onto the road

Camera and case weren’t damaged, but it now ment I could not capture any video until I could find a replacement mount…nothing too major to worry about, it’s not like the bike is broken.

Camera thrown in the saddle bag and it’s off again.  In an hours time I’ll be sitting at the Bethanga Pub having lunch and laughing about the camera breaking.   10km later, the road caused another failure..my GPS mount failed.  Fortunately, it was only the plastic mounting ring..the GPS stayed attached, just sitting at a 90 degree angle.  I pulled over in a truck rest stop to remove the GPS and have a drink.  Bad move..if you’ve ever been near a fly blown sheep carcass, you’ll known what I mean. It seems a truck had stopped there a few days before and dumped 3 sheep that had died.  The smell was horrendous, and the flies were even worse. GPS was removed, safely stowed and drink forgotten about.  Off we go again…what else could go wrong ??

It is said that things always happen in 3’s. I can confirm this is correct.  Not long after getting back on the road, I noticed my tent had moved a little on my rack. Nothing unusual as a little bit of movement happens when the straps loosen.  A few minutes later I noticed it had moved  so much that it was no longer visible in my right mirror. I checked the left and it was still there, but it appeared to be way to the left and hanging down more than usual. As I had just entered Yerong Creek, I slowed down and pulled into a side street to sort out the problem. When I stopped and looked back I knew today was not my day….the rack and sissy bar were at a 45 degree angle…the mount has failed and left a large gouge in my guard!!!!!

 ( see Note 1 below for reason for failure)

So here I am, on the side of the road, in a small country town, miles from where I want to be, trying to work out how I’m going to get the failed rack and sissy bar, my tent and mattress packed into already overstuffed saddle bags. After about 20 minutes I had removed the rack and sissy bar, repacked the saddle bags as best I could and, with sleeping bag, tent and mattress attached to the pillion seat, started heading off to my lunch appointment.  No sooner had I started off, I stopped again…the wind was blowing the tent and mattress around too much to consider leaving them on the bike. With much reluctance, I removed the tent and mattress and placed them beside a tree with a note saying “Help Yourself”. 

By now, I realised I was not going to make my lunch appointment, so I opened up my hexamine stove, made myself a coffee and had a good hard think about whether this ride was really one of my better ideas.

Finally back on the road, and knowing that nothing else could go wrong, I rode on to Wodonga to check in with the guys setting up for Sunday’s Bike Fest.  After a quick introduction and finding out what was going on over the weekend, I headed off to find a replacement tent.  After much searching in both Wodonga and Albury, I finally gave up looking for a tent and decided to book into a motel – easier said than done as there were a lot of “events” going on in Albury over the weekend.  Sixteen motels / hotels later, I was finally able to get a room..nothing flash, but better than sleeping under a tarp.

Once the bike was unloaded and I’d had a couple of cool, refreshing ales, I went over the bike and checked that nothing else had fallen off.  All other bike parts were present and accounted for, however, I did have to tighten 18 bolts …even the windscreen bolts that had been sprayed with Lock Tight had worked their way loose !!!

I knew the road was bad, but I didn’t think it was that bad.  The road once again was the OLYMIC WAY between WAGGA WAGGA and ALBURY.  You might want to avoid it in your travels…I know I will in future!!!

Note 1 :

I discussed the failure with the supplier when I returned home.  He was shocked to see what had happened and between us we workout out the possible causes for the failure:

·         Incorrect mount was supplied – correct mount was supplied without charge;

·         Incorrect fitting – I DIDN’T FOLLOW THE MOUNTING INSTRUCTIONS !!!! If I had I would have realised I had the incorrect mountings.

·         Overloading – I PUT TOO MUCH ON THE RACK !!!!!

Extra Short Ride - Day 2

21/10/2011

After a really bad nights sleep, I wasn’t looking forward to today. If I wanted to get to Tarnagulla today, I was looking at over 900km today. My back was aching and I didn’t sleep very well due to the cold.  According to the caravan park manager, it got down to about 1 degree last night..funny, it was 12 degrees the night before. I slowly got out of bed, stood under a hot shower to ease my back, pack up the bike and hit the road…once again at 8:00am, not the planned 7:00am.  Not my fault this time, I’m blaming Daylight Savings (I forgot to move my clock forward, so my alarm went off an hour later than it should have).

Leaving the caravan park, I headed straight to the local bakery to fuel myself.  Tires and baggage checked, and it’s off to Gilgandra.

Once again, grain crops and scrub to keep me company.  The ride into Gilgandra was uneventful and before I realised it, it was time to fuel the bike and top up my drink supply. It was only 9:00 and already it was getting warm. Back on the road and after a few minutes I pulled over because the bike was making a lot more noise than before I stopped. I gave the bike the once over and everything seems fine. Another 20km later and I pulled over again…it was going to be one of those days. This time it finally dawned on me…I’d left my ear plugs at Gilgandra, no wonder I was hearing things I hadn’t heard before. A quick search through my bags and no spare plugs to be found, I’m sure I packed them. Oh well, too late now, so it’s onwards and southwards.

Cruising into Dubbo, my day was already shot, so todays going to be a tourist day. A quick detour to the Western Plains Zoo for a coffee overlooking the Ring Tailed Lemurs, then back on the road for one of the two things I really wanted to do on this trip – detour to The Dish, north of Parkes.

Dish sighted on my left, turnoff located and it’s a quick five minute ride to the carpark.  While approaching the access road, I crashed through a swarm of bees that decided to hover about 3 feet above the ground.  Lots of bees died that day.  When I arrived at the carpark, I checked myself for stingers and bodies stuck in my clothing. Cleaning done, it’s inside for a quick look, take the mandatory photos and back on the road, slowing down as I approached the bee swarm.

Back onto the Newell, it’s into Parkes for a feed and refuel. My back was really playing up and the heat was starting to get to me. What should have been a 15 minute break stretched into 45 minutes.

Reluctantly, I got back on the bike and for the first time, I started to think this ride was not the best idea I’ve ever had. I’d only done about 250km in over 4 hours and there was no way I was going to do any decent distance today.

I struggled along, passing grey nomads every few minutes – it must be migration season, the roads are full of them.

About 50km from West Wyalong, my vision started playing up. The heat was unbearable and I contemplated removing my riding gear and just riding in jeans and a t-shirt. I pulled over in the shade and lay down, drinking the last of my supply.  Here I was, 50km from a town, out of drinks and feeling the effects of the heat.  After a short while, I crawled back on the bike and slowly made my way to West Wyalong, stopping occasionally to clear my head.  I finally reached West Wyalong at 2:30pm, found the nearest pub and went in for a long, cold drink in the air-conditioning.  It must have been hot, even the locals were complaining about how hot it was (I later found out it was about 35 degrees at midday and got hotter after that.)  That was that, I decided my riding for the day was over. I checked into the local caravan park, set up the tent and headed back to the pub until it cooled down outside. 

Back at the caravan park, I ran into a park resident, George, who’d recently arrived from NZ.  George is a six foot four, 120kg Kiwi, covered in tribal tatts. He recently moved out here to drive B-Double trucks for the local chicken farm. We talked for a while and as he didn’t know anyone in town, we ended up at the pub watching the rugby, me supporting the Aussie, him supporting the Welsh.

A great night was had, and maybe one beer too many and it turns out the day wasn’t a total loss – the Aussie beat the Welsh.

I've been a little busy

Sorry for the lack of content over the past few months..it's been a little hectic.

I hope to have updates out in the next day or so.

Thursty

Extra Short Ride - Day 1

20/10/2011

I’m really excited to finally get away and head down south for a few days.

Up early, I had every intention of leaving at 7.ooam sharp, but as with everything I plan, this didn’t eventuate.  Bike loaded, goodbyes said and at 7:45am I was on my way.

First stop was to top up the tank, check the tyres and triple check I hadn’t left anything at home. At 8:00am I was on the highway, heading towards Warwick.  Traffic was light and the weather looking a bit iffy, overcast with a touch of grey.  The way things have been going so far, I was expecting the heavens to open up.  Thankfully, the rain held off so it was full steam ahead to Warwick…that was until I reached Cunninghams Gap.

Roadworks delays were worse than I expected, with 40kph speed limits and the mandatory 30 minute wait for traffic to be let down the range.  Finally pulled into

Warwick at 10:05am – over 2 hours from Flinders View to Warwick – it’s wasn’t going to be a good day. 

Fuelling up at Warwick, a guy pulled up on his new Harley, complete with dual bandanas, faceless helmet, super dark sunnies and a swagger that made him look like John Travolta in Wild Hogs.  Talking to him for a few minutes, I thought to myself – yep, a Café Cruiser if ever I’ve seen one.

Bike fuelled, it’s off to Inglewood and Goondiwindi. I was expecting the wonderful odour of rotting roos by the side of the road, and I was not disappointed…all the way to Goondiwindi.

Nice easy cruise to Inglewood, sitting in the draft of a B-Double most of the way. He was sitting on about 100 and as I was in no hurry, I sat back and enjoyed the free ride.

Arriving at Inglewood, the weather was starting to get a lot warmer, so I took a break and grabbed a cold drink from my bag.  Whilst stopped, I started up a conversation with a retired gent from the Gold Coast who was on his way to Moree to see a mate. When I told him I was heading that way, he said he’d keep an eye out for me in case I have an incident and need help.  With that, we parted, and he was soon left behind.

Inglewood to Goondiwindi is an easy ride, just a little boring with lots of scrub and open farm land.

Arriving at Goondiwindi, I kept going, not even thinking about fuel…until I got across the border and saw how far it was to Moree. I turned the bike around and headed back to Goondiwindi.  Bike fuelled, rider fuelled and back on the road to Moree.

As is my luck, about 500 metres past where I turned around, there are 2 petrol stations..oh well, it only cost me about 30 minutes back tracking for fuel.  So far I’m about 2 hours behind where I wanted to be with Dubbo as my planned overnight stop.

I kept going towards Moree, a slightly more interesting ride.  Very flat, with scrub on one side of the road, grain crops on the other. To add a bit of excitement to the ride, occasionally the scrub and grain crops would swap sides and then swap back a few minutes later.

By now, the clouds had disappeared and the temperature was rising. I pulled over to remove a layer of clothing and was greeted by a honking horn from a car passing by… the guy I’d spoken to in Inglewood.

While I was stopped, I took another drink, packed my gear away then headed off again.

Arrived in Moree just on 3:30pm, right in the middle of school rush hour.  I was careful to keep my speed down as I noticed a speed camera entering town, and sure enough, another one was sitting in the first school zone I encountered.

Stopping to restock my drinks supply, who happens to be at the shop..you guessed it, the guy from Inglewood. He mentioned he saw me pulled over and checked to make sure I wasn’t having any problems. We once again parted ways, he was off to pick up his mate, I was heading south.

Moree to Coonabarabran was an interesting ride. Once again, scrub and grain, with flat, straight roads. For a change, the smell of rotting kangaroos was no longer present…  such a pleasant surprise.  Roos aren’t much of a problem around here, it’s Bugs Bunny territory.  Dozens of the little buggers running backwards and forwards across the road.  Be it a roo or a rabbit, at 110kph, it’s gunna be messy.  It’s not just the rabbits you need to keep an eye on, foxes also have a habit of running in front of you when you least expect it.  If I had an old FJ Holden, I would have stopped and picked up a few fox tails from the side of the road.

The Newell Highway is in great condition considering the flooding recently and the amount of traffic the road handles.  Very few pot holes and no road works to slow me down.  The only problem with a road that is flat, straight and in good condition, people become complacent. You can see cars from about 2 or 3 kilometres away and it gives you plenty of time to overtake.  I had 2 near misses on this little stretch. The first was about 30km south of Moree. A car heading towards me had decided to overtake a B-Double and didn’t quite have the necessary power to get past the truck in time.  To avoid a collision, I had to stop and pull to the far left of the road, straddling the white line as he flew past on my side of the road. I hadn’t had a cigarette on my ride until this moment…I pulled over and had one, then another…I needed something to calm my nerves.

After my calm down, I cautiously got back on the bike and got back on track. No more than 20km later, a similar situation occurred. Just as I was starting to take evasive action, the car realised his mistake, slowed and dropped back being the truck…missed me by about 2 seconds…not even a near miss.

About 40km from Coonabarabran, I was flashed by an escort vehicle, not seeing anything ahead, I continued on my merry way.  As I came around the corner I saw a bridge.  Sitting in the middle of the bridge, taking up both lanes was a combine harvester.  Brakes applied and bike stopped to allow harvester to pass, then off we go again.

By now, the light was starting to fade and I decided I’d stop at Coonabarabran for the night.  As if to assist me with my decision, as I was slowing down to enter Coonabarabran, I was greeted by a mob of kangaroos standing by the side of the road.

Message received and understood – GET OFF THE ROAD.

Pulled into the local caravan park, put up the tent, grabbed a bite to eat, then sleep…

Extra Short Ride Is On

17/10/2011

As my knee has held  up after my last couple of rides, I have decided to bite the bullet (and the anti-inflams) and go off on a extra short version of my planned Long Ride.

I will be leaving home either Wednesday or Thursday, heading to the Golden Dragon Rally in Tarngulla (near Bendigo) and the Border BikeFest in my old home town of Wodonga. Hopefully I’ll be able to catch up with a few old school mates while I’m in town.

I’ll be heading down via the Old Putty Road & Blue Mountains, returning via Bright and Omeo in the Victorian Alps and Jindabyne and Tumut in the Snowy Mountains.

Will update as and when access allows.

A BibbleBar Is Born

14/10/2011

Since purchasing the bike, I’ve added a Ventura Rack from ZPower ( www.zpower.com.au ) to enable me to carry my junk around, and also to give the kids some kind of security that they won’t fall off. (the kids  are not too keen hanging onto the “jesus strap”).   I decided I’d have to bite the bullet and invest in a proper sissy bar so the kids feel more comfortable and the bike looks more like a weekend cruiser and less like a work bike.

I’ve looked at several dozen bar and rack combinations available for my bike and the biggest obstacle to purchasing one has been price.

I thought about purchasing a Yamaha sissy bar, with mountings and rack, and almost fell off my chair when I was quoted a price in excess of $900.  I then looked at other bar/rack combinations available and came to realise there wasn’t much chance of getting anything for less than $800 that was of any quality.

I was resigned to the fact that I was either going to have to keep using the Ventura Rack or hand over between $800 and $900 to add a proper bar and rack.  By chance I stumbled across a YouTube video on how to fit a bar and rack combination from www.bibblebar.com, a small business run from Edens Landing.  After checking out the video and the website and after reading online reviews of the products, I contact Joe and ordered an Engraved Eagle Rack with Tall Boy Back Rest with a combination License Plate/Registration Holder.  All up, including postage, the entire package cost me $550, several hundred dollars less than I was expecting to pay. 

Dealing with Joe was great and I would recommend his products to anyone.

Unlike all other bar/rack combinations I had looked at previously, the bar comes with un-drilled generic mounting plates.  This means you have to drill your own mounting holes and cut your own mounting spacers, however, the included Installation DVD gives you all the information you need and more.  I was able to drill the installation holes without too much difficulty (only mucked up once and had to drill one hole twice), however, cutting the spacers accurately was beyond my tool kit.  Problem was solved by dropping down to a local metal fabrication workshop who cut the spacers to my requirements (and quite a few spares as well) for a few dollars.

All up drilling, mounting and adjusting the bar/rack combination took about 4 hours, including running back and forth to the metal fabricators.

I now have a fantastic looking bar and rack, in shiny stainless steel…

Inglewood Loop

 

5/10/2011

I’m on holidays and just because my knee is playing up it doesn’t mean I’m not going to take the bike out for a spin.

 My original plan was to leave from the BP at Blacksoil and ride to Inglewood via Toowoomba, Pittsworth and Millmeran and then return to Flinders View via Warwick.  As with most of my rides, what I plan and where I actually go are usually two different things.

 After leaving Blacksoil, I decided I’d change my way up the Range and turned off at Gatton and go up the Range via Ma Ma Creek.  I love this road, plenty to see, quite a few twisties and very little traffic.  As is my habit, I stopped at Ma Ma Creek to grab a bacon and egg roll and coffee.  After my little break, it was time to start riding.

 I’ve ridden this road several times in the past few years and really enjoy the scenery. Despite the damage done in the January floods, the roads are still in reasonable condition, however, in some places the guard rails have been washed away and there are numerous large pot holes to catch the unwary.  The repairs to the roads that have been done in the past few weeks since I was last here have improved the surface a little, but there is still a lot of work to be done and it will probably be another 12 months before the road has been fully repaired. 

As you start up the twisty section, past Fordsdale, the road surface is breaking up a little and I had a couple of “brown pants” moments when the back of the bike started sliding. 

Once the twisties were over and done with, it’s was past the Darling Down Zoo (home of the white tigers) and on to intersection with the New England Highway.  Turning left at the New England Highway, I stopped to have a chat with some grey nomads at the rest stop.  They were trying to work out where they were, so I showed them where they were on the map and how to get to Warwick.  They went on their way and I decided I’d try out my hexamine stove and brew up a coffee.  As soon as I removed my helmet, I was greeted by a couple of the local magpie who were not happy with my presence.  It appears I had stopped directly under their nest, so it was on with the helmet and back on the road, the coffee would have to wait.

A few hundred metres down the New England Highway and it’s a right turn towards Clifton.  A few wrong turns at Clifton (and a long hard look from the local police officer) and I was off to Millmeran via Ellangowan, Leyburn and Yandilla .  The local wildlife out this way are incredible, lots of sulphur crested cockatoos, rosellas, kangaroos and even the occasional fox! I was forced to almost stop on one occasion as a cockatoo was sitting in the middle of the road, just looking at me. He stayed there as I rode past and continued watching me as I drove off.  Now this was either a very brave, or very stupid bird.

Crusing along taking the scenery I missed the Millmeran turn off just south of Leyburn and wandered down the road for several kilometres keeping an eye on the every present kangaroos.  I eventually noticed my GPS was telling me to do a U turn, so I did what I was told and started heading towards Yandilla.  Now the roads became interesting.  As soon as I crossed into the Millmeran Council area, the road went from 2 sealed lanes down to about ½ a sealed lane, not a problem in a car, but on a bike? Fortunately I only passed a couple of vehicles and being locals, they did the right thing and allowed me to stay on the black stuff.

At Yandilla, it’s a left turn onto a proper road and a couple of kilometres down the road to Millmeran and a much needed refuel, feed and drink.

While filling the bike, I was asked by one of the locals if II was associated with a certain 1% club who had been in town over the past few days.  I advised her I was not and she seemed a little happier.

Bike fuelled and rider fed, it’s off to Inglewood.  More flat farming land with the occasional scrub thrown in for good measure.  Before I knew it, I was at the intersection with the Cunningham Highway.  Turning right I eased into Inglewood and grabbed a quick drink and checked out the sky.  I hadn’t noticed but the clouds to the west had started to turn grey and were heading towards Warwick. I didn’t have any wet weather gear, so I didn’t hang around and started back towards Warwick.  The road from Inglewood to Warwick is in much better condition than the last time I drove it (about 10 years ago) so I was able to find out what my bike could really do. My old XVS250 could do a maximum of 110kph (down hill, with a strong gale behind it). The new bike, on the other hand, has no trouble doing …..let’s just say the bike has sufficient speed to enable me to lose my license on the spot and have my bike confiscated under “hooning” legislation.

Those of you who ride will know one of the differences between riding and driving, you experience all the smells of the areas you go through.  To say the odour emanating from the rotting roos by the side of the road was bad is an understatement.  The smell started about 5km from Inglewood and was with me until just before Warwick. I lost count of the number of dead roo’s by the side of the road…there must have been hundreds.

Passing through Warwick the weather was looking better so I slowed down a little and tucked in behind a couple of B-doubles and made my way to Cunninghams Gap.  Passing through Gladeville, an ambulance and fire engine screamed past.. not a good sign as there are major road works occurring at the moment due to land slides and accidents are a regular occurrence.  Just before commencing the downhill, I re-fuelled the bike and headed off.

As expected, the traffic was banked up. A car had run off the road coming up the range and was in the process of being pulled out of the drainage channel. Ten minutes later traffic started moving, only to be stopped about 2km down the road due to road works.  By the looks of it, one entire lane had fallen down the hill, so traffic was restricted to one lane.  A short delay and it’s off again.  The shipping containers stacked by the road say it all.  The containers have been placed to prevent rocks falling onto the road.  By the looks of some of the dents in the containers the rocks that are falling must be huge and the falls appear to be occurring on a regular basis.

Bottom of the range and on the home stretch.  I’ve been on the road for several hours now, and the ride has taken much longer than I anticipated, so it’s point the bike towards home and crank the right hand, easing off when approaching the usual radar site at Amberley, finishing the ride at the new BP Amberley.

All in all, an enjoyable 470km ride with lots of variety.  Next time I’m out this way, I might push a little further west and drop in on Goondiwindi…

Long Ride Is Postponed

3/10/2011

My much planned Long Ride across the Nullarbor next week has been postponed.

 I’ve been trying to rehabilitate my right knee for several months and everything was going fine, until I spent a few hours at the beach the other day.  Being over 40, and thinking I’m still a teenager, I went down to the beach with my daughter and pulled out the boogie boards…bad move.

 Everything was going fine and we were having fun until I was dumped by a wave. After the wave passed, I stood up, only to have my right leg slip into a hole.  The pain wasn’t too bad and I continued as if nothing had happened.  We went back to our unit and it was then that the pain started.  Next morning, my knee was swollen and the pain intense.

Ice packs, rest and beer took care of the pain, but I’m going to have to postpone my long ride until after I see the specialist and finally get this knee sorted out…