This past weekend was the KSRC Nabiac Ride.
For four of us from Canberra the ride started Friday night - kicked off from Kawasaki Place around 5:30 with Gos to go meet James and Carl at Watson for the fuel up before slabbing it up to Sydney. We made good time, hitting Sutton Forest at about 7:15 (quick break) and then Pheasants Nest for fuel before going along the M7 and arriving at the motel at Mt Kuring-gai at 9:20pm. Very good time. A quick feed and a bit of a chat and we all hit our respective beds.
Saturday morning dawned cool and clear - up at 6 and on our way - the huge 4km up the road to Berowra to meet with the rest of the crew. All up I can’t remember how many bikes there were - a lot - and all Kawasakis apart from one Bluebird (yes, yes I know it’s a “blackbird”… but it’s BLUE!) and one Gixxer. After Smek finally turned up we were under way - we headed up the old pacific highway with patches of fog appearing and the further north we got the thicker the fog was - we all ended up stopping at Wollumbi for a regroup/thaw out. I really appreciated my heated grips on this stretch 
From Wollumbi it was onto Singleton for fuel and morning tea. It was a big mistake to think “nah I’m not hungry - lunch time isn’t too far away” 
From Singleton I’m not exactly sure where we went! Some very interesting back roads! There were two groups of boys who had stopped for “toilet stops” (damn being a girl sometimes!) so as we rolled into Stroud, I saw a sign saying “public toilets” a very abrupt right turn and the girls went up the hill - much to the amusement of our tail end charlie!
After Stroud I’m again not sure where we went - there were lots of bumps! Before ending upon the Pacific Highway for a short stretch before the Wooton Way - I think that stretch of road was the highlight for me - I was following James for a while, then Smek on the 10 came past and James waved me past - so off I went hunting Gumby! Caught him after a while and we cruised to the end. Then slabbed it up to Nabiac.
At Nabiac we went to the museum and spent about an hour wondering around checking it all out. From there it was onto Wauchope for fuel and supplies and I’m sure someone said lunch! The run up to Wauchope was painful, very slow going through the roadworks 
With the bikes fuelled and the bags loaded with alcohol we set off up the Oxley towards Gingers Creek where we were spending the night. We all set off as a group I was following James again and we had just overtaken Owen on the baby ninja when James waved him past and pulled over. All the electrics had died on the Gixxer! Tried to start it and it wouldn’t - pulled bits of it off to have a look, put it all back together and push started it. Thought to just take it easy and push on to Gingers Creek but no luck, just out the other side of Long Flat the Gixxer gave up again and died completely. Another push start got it going again and we went back down to Long Flat where the Gixxer was locked up for the night, some shuffling of gear condensed all of James and my stuff into one Ventura Bag (it was very, very heavy) and we went two up on my bike, me riding bitch
It was dark by the time we got to Gingers Creek, we pulled in, I slid off the back of the 6 and James went off to park it, and Dave 3 promptly handed me a can of Jimmy - a very good man there!
A roaring fire was already going and a few drinks were had before heading up to the cafe for dinner - what a feed! After dinner it was back to the fire for drinking and talking under the stars - beautiful. Went to bed… sometime after midnight not sure what the time was.
Woke up about 7:45 just before Rod’s breakfast call. Headed up for a cooked breakfast, scrambled eggs, toast, sausages and bacon - a breakfast for champions! Well of course we are champions, we all ride kwakas (well apart from one honda rider and one “honourary” kwaka rider, seeing as he was riding the most beautiful kwaka ever, mine! 
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After breakfast we all loaded up and headed back down the hill to Long Flat to see what could be done with the Gixxer. Tinman took the battery out of his 10 and the Gixxer started fine with that - awesome - a new battery and we’ll be underway. We all headed down to Wauchope for fuel and then Gos and James with me on the back headed down to Port Macquarie to go to Super Cheap to try and get a battery while the rest of the crew went to cut laps of the Oxley.
No luck for a battery in Port Macquarie so it was back to Long Flat, the Gixxer was locked up somewhere, most of the crew decided to head back up the oxley and then take in Thunderbolts etc. while the Canberra crew, Smek and Jetpilot headed back towards Wauchope and then slabbed it from there.
We got onto the Princess Highway and it was boring. We stopped somewhere (I can’t remember the town) for fuel and I was in P.A.I.N. We then stopped at a service centre on the F3 near Morriset(?) for another break, said our goodbyes to the Sydney boys and then set off. The boys all said they had fun cutting through the traffic etc, me I was terrified on the back of my bike, I ended up covering my eyes at times because I just didn’t want to know what was happening, I just held on and hoped for the best (and fair play to James, nothing happened).
We stopped again at Pheasants Nest for fuel and a quick feed, then at Marulan so Carl could warm up - Gos left us there but I took the opportunity to give the rear a bit of a break - stopped again at one of the rest stops on the Federal and then we went onto Sutton Road and I have never appreciated the Hume/Federal so much in my life, damn but my arse was sore! Every bump was torture. Finally after what seemed like about a million days we got to James’ place where I slid off the back, he got his stuff out, his mum asked if I wanted to come in and warm up etc, I’m just noooo I just want to go home.
It was the best feeling in the world to get back on my bike, seating position on the front was such that my tender arse didn’t have any complaints - though it felt very strange for the whole ride back to my place (about 35km). I felt like i was on the Jet Bike with my arms stretched out in front of me and my feet behind me, almost like lying down.
Got home about 9:50pm, a hot shower, a quick catch up with the sister and it was bed for me.
Now I need to get back up there so I can do the Oxley on the front and the Thunderbolts and all the other great roads we were supposed to do!
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