A day ride with Skuffy and Stevo

Saturday morning was foggy.  I was due to meet Stevo and Mitch at Bungendore at 8am so after checking the oil etc. I headed off from my place about 7:15am. 

Cruising out on the Federal Hwy it was cold and there were patches of fog which kept freezing on my visor… grrrr.  Macs Reef Road was good - sunny and mostly dry but coming down Smiths Gap I descended into very heavy fog - pulled up at the servo in Bungendore, turned of the bike and I sounded like…. cellaphane?  WTF??? got the helmet off and realised my jacket was covered in ice… no wonder I was so freakin cold!

icy jacket

Filled up then went and spent some quality time in the toilets under the hand dryer - Stevo and Mitch turned up and we waited… and waited… and waited for James - gave up on him at about 8:25am and headed for the warmth. 

It was cold going out to Braidwood with patches of fog here and there and the visors continuing to ice over.  We rolled straight through Braidwood then on towards the Clyde - after about Government the temperature rose by about 10 degrees I swear and soon the boys were out of sight and I had the mountain to myself  Had a good run down the Clyde, a quick regroup at Nelligen then onto Maccas at the Bay for coffee/breakfast.  Lost the jumper here 

From the Bay we just cruised down the Highway, had a good run through the rollercoaster then stopped in Narooma for fuel and a consult of the map.  It was decided Tathra for lunch and we took the road out through Bermagui etc to get there - once again I quickly lost sight of the boys but that was okay - I was just cruising and everything was flowing nicely 

Pulled up at the Tathra pub and the sun was shining and we all had our lunch out on the balcony - the wind was a little on the chilly side but not enough to put the jumper back on.

After lunch we mounted up and continued on to Pambula before heading up through Wyndham and Mt Darragh.

Mt Darragh was in fairly ordinary condition, they are doing a bit of work up there at the moment so there was *alot* of loose gravel over the road on the lower half.  Mitch and Stevo had pulled up at the first really bad patch (I’m assuming to make sure that I came through it okay) and then I quickly lost sight of them again.  Eventually the loose gravel sections came to an end and then the road was just fiiiiiine  I quickly found my rythym, it didn’t feel particularly fast but it was smooooth - I had a ball and inspection of my rear tyre at Bombala showed that I had in fact been leaning more than I thought!

Fuelled up at Bombala and then settled in to wait for Rob who had just picked up the new bluebird in Melbourne and was riding it back to Canberra.  We found coffee and then before long Rob pulled in, we checked out the new steed and then it was back on the bikes heading for home.

We stopped at Polo Flat so Rob could get fuel and I could smoke  and then we bored our way back to Canberra along the Monaro with the promise of Stevo’s spa at the end  

We got back to Stevo’s, Mitch loaded his bike back on the trailer then it was into the spa - what a great way to end the day 

It was a good day out and it was a real shame that James couldn’t make it in the end - he is still my favourite to ride with and at least then I would have had someone to chase in the twisties! LOL.

KSRC Gingers Creek trip 2008

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! ).

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! 

Girls Weekend - 2008

Well Saturday dawned bright and sunny - Robyn had come down from Sydney Friday arvo so we set off for the northside meetpoint at Caltex Watson.

We were first to arrive and one by one the girls rolled in, Catherine, Jac, Kim, Jo, Sharon and Lisa. We set off, collected Suze at the start of Macs Reef Road and into Bungendore to meet the rest, Leen, Reigan, Cas, Michelle and Bec - Tess in the car was going to meet us at Goulburn. 

Had a nice run through to Tarago - it's been a long time since I had a good chase with Leen! 

Regrouped at Tarago:


Before heading off to Goulburn for a coffee and to top up the fuel. After refueling both ourselves and our bikes we set off on the backroad to Bungonia, a short stint on the highway to the Tallong turnoff then along to Exeter for another stop and a quick lunch.





We had passed a couple at Bundanoon and they stopped by and said gidday, this is what the dude was riding... beautiful!


From Exeter we headed towards Fitzroy Falls then across to Robertson and up to the Illawarra Fly Tree Top Walk. Quite a hike in bike boots! But the views were very nice.







After the walk the main group headed back towards Robertson to go down Macquarie Pass then to Jamberoo for the night - Robyn and I had Jimmy calling us rather insistently however, so headed straight down Jamberoo Pass to the pub... and whaddya know, we arrived dead smack on bourbon o'clock.

After a little while the rest of the group arrived and we all settled in for the evening...



























































Sunday morning also dawned bright and clear. One by one the girls got up - except for one who decided that remaining in bed as long as possible was the best option! 

OK it was me.

I eventually dragged myself out of bed so we could get going, the group had split up for the return trip - by the time I got up only Robyn, Leen, Cas, Bec, Kim and Suze remained. We said our farewells with Robyn who was heading straight back to Sydney and set off. It was a nice little run down to Kiama... and then through the Kiama Bends *drool*. Just headed down the coast to Nowra where I had to stop for fuel, then a quick stop to check out the accommodations for the Got'M Xmas in July and to don the wet weather gear for there were storm clouds ahead! Nothing much came of it though and we continued on our way, agreeing to stop at Ulladulla for lunch. 

At Ulladulla the sun was shining and we sat around in the sun at the takeaway admiring the views (well I'm sure everyone else was, I was too busy cursing the brightness of the sun).

We got underway again, then a quick regroup just at the Kings Highway turn off then up the Clyde (a bit more drool) had an awesome run up the Clyde with not much traffic, and what traffic there was soon passed.

Stopped at that little cafe at Braidwood with the old fords out the front for a smoke and stretch of the legs before heading back towards Canberra, splitting at Bungendore to go our separate ways home.

It was certainly a memorable weekend, thank you to everyone who came along and took part! 

Putty Ride June 2008

Sunday morning dawned bright and clear... and cold! 

Got to Watson a little early, Rob was already there... filled up and we settled in to wait for the others... we waited... and waited... a little while later Rob spoke with Carl and it turned out he was at Gateway... oops! Eventually we were all at the right place and ready to roll... 

Up the Federal to the Sutton turn off, through Sutton, Gundaroo, Gunning, Breadalbane and onto the Hume for the brief stint into Goulburn. Topped up the fuel at Goulburn... the day wasn't so bright anymore! 



Headed off through town with Yeti in the lead and took the Taralga turn off... there wasn't much traffic out... lots of fog though! 



The road was nice though damp - can't wait to go back and do it in the dry! Nice sweepers through god only knows what kind of countryside... 

Stopped at Black Springs for a wee/smoke/leg stretch break



Then it was into Oberon for an early lunch before heading towards Lithgow. Now that is a road I definitely want to go back and visit in the dry! The roads were very wet by this stage and the fog was very thick. Fuelled up again in Lithgow before heading off to Bell's Line hoping/praying/begging for it to be dry on the other side!

Headed up the hill and it was still wet as. Had a pretty good run anyway, just cruising. Rob got ahead of us all, at the Windsor end he stopped at a look out and waved to us as we went past. I managed to pull up and just park on the side of the road, Carl and Yeti went further down and stopped (or so I thought) had a smoke, then Rob and I got back on, rolled down to where the others were, a foot slip had seen the firestorm on it's side  but not much damage. We were all pretty cold and wet by this stage so we decided to head straight to the pub... rolling down the hill towards Richmond the weather started to clear up and the roads started to dry up - I think we all had the same thought "screw the pub - Putty here we come" but soon enough we were heading towards blackness - rolled into Richmond just as it hit, so found the pub in the rain. Parked the bikes, got rooms sorted, dry clothes and we were set - 3:00pm we got there.

Grabbed a 6 pack from the bottle shop and we sat around to start the evenings festivities... though Yeti seemed to think that coffee was a good idea  



As for the rest of the night... well what goes on tour stays on tour right?  



(I will however let you all know that I totally kicked arse at the shooting game...  )

Sunday morning and we were up before the sun... hot showers all round then back into the gear for a run up the Putty. After some discussions about whether it was actually even "day" yet (they were trying to convince me it was so... but no it was still dark, I swear!) 



It was still very grey and miserable looking - hurrah for packing spare gloves!



We set off through Windsor and up the Putty Road - and it was actually a lot of fun! Heavy fog in places and wet roads but we just cruised - there was hardly any traffic so had the road to ourselves for the most part. Got flashed by a red falcodore at one point so the pace was slowed down a tad before stopping at the Halfway House... and of course the obligatory Halfway House photo:



The weather seemed to clear the further north we headed... had a good run through the top part of the Putty with a couple of slippery moments! then up to Broke - even saw the sun in places!

Fuelled up in Broke, was just paying for the fuel when my phone rang - Leen to tell us that the trackday had been called! spewin! So now we had the entire day free... what were we to do? Ride of course!  

Carl at Broke:


We headed across to Cessnock while playing Dodge the Pothole - I don't think I have ever seen that many potholes in one road!! Was good but. Stopped in Cessnock at the Bakery - pies and drinks while sitting in the sun... what were the poor people doing? Rob enquires... why driving back to Canberra of course! 

Bikes enjoying a brief moment of sunshine:


From Cessnock I'm not entirely sure where we went - Dora Creek and Morrisset are the only names that I can remember now - eventually we ended up on the freeway for a short stint to dodge Gosford - then... wait for it... onto the old pacific highway *drools*. Jealous much? :P It was wet but it was still fantastic. Hardly any cars, not one single copper (well not that I saw anyway) didn't even stop at Road Warriors so the photo is taken just out of Berowra:



From here we decided to head across to Campbelltown, then down Appin Road to the coast. We got a bit separated going through Sydney - Rob and Carl occasionally visible in the distance but after getting caught by a few sets of lights Yeti and I were left behind (thanks for waiting for me Yeti!). Regrouped at Uncle Leo's where we had a quick bite to eat before heading off again - the black clouds were gathering though it looked fairly clear in the direction we were heading.

We headed down Appin Road and then down through Wollongong. Glad we weren't heading back towards Sydney - the traffic was terrible! We provided something for the crawling drivers to look at while we pulled up on the side of the road for a quick regroup/smoke break - looking ahead it was bucketing down with rain so finally I gave in and wriggled into the plastic pants - of course this ensured that the rain had passed by the time we got going again  

Had a good run through the Kiama Bends, even though there was a lot of water on the road. Rob and I soon left the others behind, and just cruised down the Princes Highway... I had thought we would stop in Nowra for fuel but nope, passed a few servos on the highway, of course about two seconds after passing the last one the fuel light came on... but that was ok - 35km to Milton. Carl soon joined us and we wound our way into Ulladulla.

Stopped for fuel in Ulladulla - bit close really, I only had one litre left - oops! By now we had run out of daylight... oops again! Yeti and Nicola had stopped in Berry for hot donuts (a good idea I think) and were going to make their own way back.



Carl took over leading duties from here as Rob only had the dark visor on - we cruised through to the Bay, then up the Clyde - we had a fantastic run up the Clyde - hardly any cars and it was dry! Nevermind the dark bit  Stopped in Braidwood for a quick smoke before heading off for home - waved goodbye to the boys in Queanbeyan and got home at 8:30pm.

Was a great weekends riding in spite of the weather - thanks heaps to Rob, Carl, Yeti and Nicola for coming along!

When's the next one? 

A Burger Run in May

Well it was a bit of a chilly start this morning (BOM told me it was 4 degrees as I was getting ready to head out) but the weather forecast was for sunny and 17 here and sunny and 19 down the coast, so the summer jacket was taken back out and off I went.  I dragged my arse out to the meet point in Queanbeyan instead of just catching everyone at Bungendore as usual…

We set off down the Kings Highway… it doesn’t have anything on Macs Reef Road so I think I’ll keep finding every one at Bungendore from now on!  Good to have a reminder every now and then I guess 

A pretty average sort of run through to Braidwood… we were supposed to be taking it very easy as two patrol cars were noted lurking about in Queanbyean and we thought they were probably off for a morning hunt on the Kings… if they were I didn’t see them! It wasn’t as insane as normal anyway.

Stopped for morning tea in Braidwood which took forever and then finally we were moving again - cruised through to the top of the Clyde and then the fun began 

Glen and Carl were out in front somewhere and James, Rob and I were all together, Rob waved me past then so did James and I was off.  Got around the hairpins and then had an absolutely great run down, hardly any traffic.  About halfway down I had gotten stuck behind a car for a bit and one of the other dudes (on a Bandit) had caught up to me so I waved him past, then sat with him for the rest of the run down.  Carl was very surprised when I turned up at Nelligen so quickly (I checked his smoke he hadn’t started it long before… YAY!)  the Clyde.

Everyone else wasn’t too far behind so after a smoke we all mounted up and continued on to Malua Bay for a burger … yum. 

Decided to head back via Moruya and do “the rollercoaster” I ended up right at the back of the group following James, we got separated a bit by traffic but that was cool, was a really good clear run, well at least until the end where some slow dickhead in some ford thing decided to merge into the right lane way early and kinda cut off James…. he went round the outside, finger blazing, and I took them on the now clear left.  Into the servo, fuelled up, another smoke break.

I was developing quite a bad headache by this stage so downed some panadol and Rob gave me some earplugs, cheers Rob! Mounted up, continued on our way… rolling over the bridge (was very slow) I looked down and there was my ex lookin up at me… hadn’t seen him in over a year… gave him a wave to be friendly but dunno if he returned the gesture…. anyway… started up the Kings - I was dead last, overtook Cas pretty quick then stuck with James up the hill, with Cas popping into sight every now and then in my mirrors.  Was feeling pretty awful but it was a good run up anyway.  I even managed to hang on to James going up Government Bend (I’m usually left for dead there) I think he failed to spot the excited gestures I was making…

Continued on into Braidwood for a regroup and another smoke, Rob and the rest of em left to go to the Bungendore Pub and James, Glen, Cas and I hung around for a bit before the boring stretch back to Canberra.  Was definitely feeling like shit there, so of course I got the best, most clearest run ever up Smith’s Gap and I couldn’t appreciate it to it’s full potential, a good run along Macs Reef, then home where I fell straight into bed.

A good day’s ride.

I really need to get out riding more! It is very good for the spirit.

The FarRide that wasn’t to be (FarRide #7)

Earlyish April, details for FarRide 7 went up - lunch at Moree.  At first James wasn’t too interested but soon enough he HTFU and we planned to go.

I think James was just not meant to go on this ride.

Originally we planned this awesome ride, which would have seen us taking in some of the best NSW riding roads to get to Moree… but James’s boss got sick so there was no way he could get the  Friday off.

Then of course the gixxer was crashed so money would be going there instead of the ride so he was out.  I decided fark it, I’ll go on my own, had a plan to ride to Dubbo after work on the Friday then the remaining distance to Moree in the morning.  Not the most exciting ride but hey I’d get there.

About a week ago got a message from James saying that he would be able to make the FarRide - hurrah!  Planned to leave my place around 6pm or whenever James could make it.  Sweet.

Thursday get a call from James - he was injured at hockey the night before and didn’t think he’d be able to do the ride.  Damn.   I considered this for a bit before approaching my boss and getting Friday off work… I wasn’t really keen on the trip to Dubbo in the dark on my own… soft I know.  So I had an alternative plan of leaving 11ish and putting in about 700km for the day… hadn’t planned the where or how yet.

Later that night James messages me to tell me that he will be alright for the ride and he’ll see me after work.  No worries! 

About 4:15 James rings me to say he’ll be at my place about 5pm.  Sweet.

5:05pm we’re on the road road through to Yass then onto Boorowa, pulling in about 6:15 as James wanted to put a jumper on.  We had a smoke, then went to get back on the bikes, I turned around but James kept starting and stopping the bike.  The FI light wouldn’t go off so we went down the main street where the light was a bit better and tried disconnecting the battery.  No good.  James decides fark it lets keep going so we head out of town, just get into the 100km/h zone and I see James in my mirrors pulling over… the bike feels like shite over 5000… so back into town. 

Tried disconnecting the battery again to no avail so we found a payphone so James could make some calls.  After a while nothing to be done so he decided to just ride it back to Canberra.  My turn to decide - do I continue on my own or head back with James?  I decided that I would follow him back to Canberra but that I would probably then turn around and head off for Dubbo.

Stopped at Yass for dinner and I tried to convince him that he should go home and get on the storm and we’d set off again but I  failed.

So I got home about 9pm after riding a huge 200km round trip to Boorowa.  Luckily it was a really nice night, the moon was near full and all the paddocks and trees and stuff looked pretty cool in the moonlight and it wasn’t too cold.

I decided that it would be pretty mental to turn around and ride to Dubbo then… so I went to bed and sulked and watched the Crow.  So disappointed it’s not funny, I was really looking forward to this ride. 

And now for some stupid reason I am awake at 6am on a Saturday morning  and I am bored already lol… wonder if I can do 770km in 5 hours?  I have no idea what to do with myself this weekend now