Yesterday was predicted to be a nice day, temperatures well below the record hots we have been having and well below the 100% humidity that has made the last few weeks so oppressive. SO, it was the perfect day to go for a ride. Helena had a group of her friends coming over to do an art workshop so that was another reason why it was an ideal day to be out of the house and on the road.
Rather than the usual Putty route I decided to head in completely the opposite direction and go down the coast. Now I had been that way just a few weeks ago when we went to the Island Classic so I knew the road was in pretty good shape and pretty much free of roadworks as well so, why not?
Now some people hate daylight saving but not me, I love it. Amongst its many advantages it allows you to plan a long day ride and still get home in daylight WITHOUT having to be up at the crack of dawn to do so. So, after a leisurely breakfast and helping Helena do the last little bits to get ready for her day, I lit out about 0930. The temperature was predicted to be around 23 degrees, no rain was forecast and everything looked good. Since I had plenty of time I decided to include some of my favourite twisty roads into the ride even though doing so meant that I wasn’t exactly heading in the southerly direction all the time.
Here’s how it looks on the map.
From home I headed up the Pass, calling in for a quick drink at the Pie Shop, then the first half of The Lap, Pearsons Lane, Myra Vale Road, Barrengarry, Kangaroo Valley (which was crammed to the gills with tourists, this being the annual Kangaroo Valley Show weekend) and excellent run up and down Cambewarra and out onto the highway again at Bomadery. Traffic through Nowra is painful at any time but it was Saturday morning so even more so.
Even though it isn’t school holidays any more the highway was still busy, notably with homicidal 4WD drivers and it didn’t really clear up till well south. I stopped for fuel at Milton and headed out again only to find that the road was now nearly deserted! How many times has this happened to you, I’ve lost count? A great run through to Batemans Bay and right at the roundabout and up the Clyde. The traffic heading INTO the bay, it now being Saturday lunch time, was dreadful as half of Canberra’s population headed down the coast for the rest of the weekend. I was so glad I was heading in the opposite direction.
Since it WAS lunch time my goal was a leisurely bite at the Steam Packet Hotel at Nelligan, one of my favourites. Fat chance of that; rounding the corner I see the car park packed with dozens of Harleys. Oh, well, Braidwood it is. I got a glorious run up the mountain ear ‘oling it through the twisties on a practically deserted Kings Highway. Braidwood came up super quick as did a minor milestone in Rhonnda’s life, and right in the town, too.
It’s been a very enjoyable 24000kms!
There was a 1200GS parked outside the lolly shop so I slipped in beside it though I had something a bit more substantial in mind than lollies. Fortunately the sign on the footpath said that they sold real food as well so I went in. They did, too, a lovely turkey and cranberry sauce wrap plus a chocolate milkshake while I watched the world go by (see picture at top of the article)
Refreshed in the inner man and having given the troublesome leg a good rest as well I hit the road again, turning right about 30kms north of the town onto the Goulburn Road. This is a great piece of road, no houses, no towns and no cops (at least I’ve never seen any in the many times I’ve ridden it). A chance to stretch Rhonnda’s legs a bit and enjoy the many long, sweeping corners so I did. A pit stop at Tarago and turn east onto the Oallen Ford Road. This road is a bit like the curate’s egg, good in places, though it is much better than when I rode it last. The speed limit is 100 but it’s a bit rough in places, VERY narrow and with lots of 60km/h corners. A real rider’s road and, once I got into the rhythm I found myself enjoying it immensely. There were plenty of people enjoying the river at the new bridge over the ford and, weirdly enough, a convoy of SLR/5000 and A9X Toranas heading in the opposite direction out in the middle of the sticks.
Nerriga Pub appeared to be packed with the owners of lots of cars and bikes but I wasn’t worried as I wasn’t planning on stopping anyway. The road between Nerriga and Nowra, despite having only been sealed around 8 years ago, is already showing considerable signs of wear and there are roadworks closing off the overtaking lanes heading up over the top of the range. The cretin in the VW T5 camper van evidently didn’t quite understand the purpose of the “Turn-out for slow vehicles” lane and sat, instead, in the middle, straddling both of them. We are surrounded by idiots, thank goodness for motorcycle acceleration.
I got a good run through Nowra and the roadworks between it and Berry and got the hammer down as soon as the 100 was posted. Just north of Kiama I looked own and saw just one bar showing on the fuel gauge. So I tippy-toed home to the first servo at Albion Park where I did a splash and dash and arrived home well before dark. 520kms for the day and an exceedingly nice way to spend a Saturday.
One for the road; the best sort.