It was 31 degrees yesterday and it was predicted to be 33 today (that’s Celsius for my overseas friends) so I decided that, if I was going to ride today it’d better be early. So, after taking care of the usual chores, I headed off. Nothing too demanding about the route, just The Lap. Macquarie Pass, Robertson, Pearson’s Lane, Fitzroy Falls, down Barrengary Mountain to Kangaroo Valley, up Cambewarra Mountain to Nowra, across the highway at Maccas and up the coast road to Gerringong, Kiama, Jamberoo, Albion Park and Home. It’s a great ride with an enjoyable mixture of road types, surfaces and conditions.
I also decided that I’d not rush today but, instead stop and take some photos to give some more meaning to the words. So the 168kms took a fair it longer but that was OK.
The Pass is always intriguing. From passing by beautiful dairy pastures, Macqaurie Pass suddenly rises out of the flat and the vista is instantly transformed from rolling pastures to dense rain forest. As the road climbs the view becomes shortened. In many places it is difficult to see any more than a couple of metres off the road so thick is the vegetation.
This is the habitat of the Australian Lyre Bird, a bird that has the ability to mimic the sounds of not only many other birds but lots of other noises as well. It is not uncommon to see lyre birds on the Pass as they regularly dash across the road in front of you as you are passing by. Barely metres past a view like this, you can see the land plunge away from the road down deep gullies that are filled with all manner of vegetation. The more dangerous corners on the Pass are hemmed in by armco but most corners have nothing to stop you “taking a dive” if you were silly enough to stray off the bitumen. There are also very few places to stop, even for a bike (virtually none for a car) and the finer detail of the rain forest often is passed in a hurry as you concentrate on the demands of the twisty road.
Mostly the Pass is made up of dozens of sweeping corners and even the straights aren’t really straight!
I wasn’t all that worried about getting a good run today as getting some photos was the objective. Near the top of the Pass there are two very tight hairpin bands and most trucks have to back and fill to get around the bottom one so there’s a bit more space there to stop and get some pictures. From there you can see further and also gain a better appreciation of how deep the gullies are. It’s over 100metres to the valley floor from where these next two photos are taken.
The speed limit through Robertson is 50km/h and I always observe it. A good thing, too, as just as I dropped down the hill past the old cheese factory, I looked in my mirrors and there were five motorcycle cops on FJ1300 Yamahas behind me! They weren’t going to make any money out of me and they stopped at Chats Cafe, I am guessing for a cuppa.
I got a good run through Millionaire’s Row along Pearson’s Lane and Myra Vale Road which pops out just east of Fitzroy Falls. Hardly any traffic down Barrengarry Mountain until I caught up with a glut of cars going down the last hill. The reason for the delay soon became clear, a Highway Patrol car was leading the queue so we crawled all the way into Kangaroo Valley being good little boys and girls (especially the two rice boys just in front of me in their Subbies (fully sic, bro). Fortunately, Mr HWP stopped in town and I was looking forward to a good run up Cambewarra. No such luck, about 10 slowpokes in front and few opportunities to overtake.
So, when in doubt, change the plan. Just out of town I cut left and took the Berry Mountain Road and had it all to myself. The road is very narrow, rough, tight and technical and I don’t ride it that often mainly because you’re nearly certain to come around a corner and find a car coming towards you in the middle of the road (it happened twice this morning). But, despite the disadvantages, it is a most rewarding run and it places a premium on your counter-steering! The other “plus” of the road is the most spectacular views afforded over Kangaroo Valley as you climb, well worth the ride by themselves.
The road eventually comes out at Berry so I kept heading east, stopped at Gerroa and had some lunch and headed home as per the original plan. By that stage it was getting pretty hot so I was pretty happy to have got home before the worst of it. And, for the visual learners in my readership, this previous article explains The Lap a little more clearly.
Altogether, a nice morning. Speedway tomorrow night so hopefully it will be fine for that, too.
dunc says
Was a tad warm in the afternoon but up the highlands so to speak may have been a little cooler
I do a fair bit of similar to that now in more pictures less rushing and enjoy the ride a lot more and find some interesting places .
Phil Hall says
And especially on familiar roads, eh? What’s the point of rushing along and missing the beauty?