My late father had a huge collection of funny and witty sayings; for example, he used to say that, if you throw a stone into a pack of dogs, the one that yelps is the one that you hit. He died before it was coined but I’m sure he would have loved Zymugsky’s Rule of Emerging System Dynamics which says that, once you open a can of worms, the only way to recan it is in a larger can. He also loved to say that something was very much the same as something else, but different, and it was this last saying that seemed to be running through my head while I was on the road yesterday.
The weather forecast was good so, in the notable absence of a ride for a few weeks, it seemed like a good ride was in order. Now most of my readers know that my favourite route is up to the Grey Gums on the Putty and back, a distance of approximately 480km, a comfortable day’s ride. Those who know the area would also have wondered from time to time why I choose an area that is 350kms north of me and which involves negotiating at least some of Sydney’s notorious traffic when there are hundreds of kilometres of great road just in my back yard and down the south coast from me. Well, there are several reasons. Firstly, the Putty does comprise some wonderful riding roads but, then again so does the south coast. Then there is the fact that I basically learnt to ride on the Putty back in the mid-70’s when the road was a far less amenable place than it is now. So there is a sentimental attachment. Then, of course, there is the GGC itself and Kim and John, its owners.
We’ve known them since before the cafe was opened and helped them through the perilous early months when malicious members of Singleton Shire Council did everything that they could to shut them down. They have become fast friends and so a ride up there always is a pleasure to see them again. Sadly, as reported in a previous post, John is suffering from terminal brain cancer and does not have long to live, so going to Grey Gums is now tinged with a degree of sorrow as well.
So, as usual, it was going to be the Putty for my ride yesterday. Noting that the weather forecast was predicting a pretty hot day later in the day, I decided to hit out early. There was another reason and that was that good friends of ours were due to visit us late in the afternoon and I figured that I would have time to get the ride in AND be home in time to socialise with them as well.
There was a difference, though, well, two actually. The first was that I decided to take more photos which you can see in the gallery below. The second was that, rather than just go the usual way, I’d take a different route to get there, just to be different (hence the title of my blog this morning).
I woke extra early and was ready to hit out before the sun had risen.
Just down the road, the paddocks that divide Horsley from the railway line (and the riff-raff part of Dapto) showed signs that the day had not quite begun. I do count it a privilege that there is still so much open space around my suburb.
Up the twisty Mount Keira road, being first on the road before it gets invaded by grunt-wheelers, and onto the Picton Road, one eye on the highway and one in my rear-view mirrors watching a glorious sunrise behind as I headed west.
(incidentally, somewhere during the day that right hand headlamp bulb blew – I hope that doesn’t indicate that I have an electrical problem)
It was already 18 degrees so the forecasters looked like being correct. At Windsor I put Plan B into effect. At the end of the main road, instead of turning left and heading out to Wilberforce, I turned right and followed the road to Pitt Town, a deeply historic township not only in terms of local and Sydney history but also my own family for it was here that my ancestor, George Hall, lived while he was building the historic church at Ebenezer, on the opposite shore of the Hawkesbury River. (1809)
From Pitt Town the road winds upwards though farming country and, some 40 kms later, emerges at the end of a steep downhill pinch at the historic town of Wisemans Ferry. The road is delightful, very lightly trafficed on a weekday and has a constant supply of low-mid speed bends to keep even the most picky rider satisfied. If travelling that way, you must stop at Hawkins Lookout above the river and admire the view. Using a lot of the local sandstone (see above) the local council has refurbished the car park and installed a new viewing platform.
Wisemans Ferry does actually HAVE a ferry, (two, in fact for busy times) and taking ten minutes to admire the beauty of the river while you traverse the Hawkesbury is time well spent.
Unfortunately, the road on the other side is no better than when I traversed it last but I was at peace with God and man and nothing was going to spoil the day. Petrol at Jerry’s Cafe at Kulnurra and then I hit the very entertaining and very challenging Wollombi road.
By now the temperature had well and truly hit the predicted highs and the gauge stayed firmly in mid-40’s until I started heading down Mt Keira in the late afternoon. A cold drink from the cafe at Broke and onto the Putty, heading south. As luck will have it I no sooner arrived at the Ten Mile than I encountered a cretin in a Subaru Forester (why are theses cars driven by such idiots?) who went really quickly on the short straights and CRAWLED around the corners. Were it not that I was not only in enjoyment mode but also in licence-preserving mode (double demerits apply till Monday night) I’d have crossed the double unbrokens and blown him into the weeds, but I suffered until the overtaking lane where I overtook and let him know what I thought of his utter lack of driving skills and courtesy. On balance I have had far more good runs through the Ten Mile than I have had bad so I can scarcely complain.
A cold drink and a sandwich at GGC and it was just mid-day, well on target for me to be home in time to greet our visitors. The rest of the ride was accomplished with zero aggravation, amazingly an almost untroubled run through Penrith and onto the Oaks Road. Sadly, Peppercorn was closed for the holiday weekend but I was pretty much in “get home” mode by then so I took it as it came. As I descended Mt Keira the temperature dropped into the 30’s for the first time for hours but I acclimatised by then and I pulled into home around 1530. 625kms total for the day and I think I might do the “different” route again in future. I’d forgotten how much fun it was. Lots of bikes on the road, (lotsa cops too, but that never bothers me) and a great way to spend a Friday.
So, the same, but different and, as the French say, “viva la difference”
