Helena was on an art course today and the weather was looking promising so I decided I’d blow the cobwebs out of the Gold Wing. When I got the log book out to put in the details for today’s ride I was somewhat surprised to see that the last time I had ridden her was in August, two months ago, where does the time go? She started pretty quickly and settled into her usual, lumpy idle while I got my helmet and gloves on.
The Gold Wing was Honda’s first water-cooled engine and, as such, was filled with all manner of quirks and foibles. Even though Honda had built water-cooled car engines before, for some reason, the Wing is incredibly cold-blooded and needs several minutes of warm-up before she will pull cleanly off-idle.
I really had no idea of exactly where I was going to go so entered “The Highlands” into the appropriate space in the log book. In nearly 18 months of log book riding I’ve never even been looked at by a cop let alone pulled over and I was pretty sure that, even if I were to be, the cop would only really be interested in whether I had actually entered ANYTHING in the log book. So it was “subject to change without notice” as they say in the classics.
I warmed up with a quick blast to Kiama and back via Jamberoo and then, once back in Albion Park again, I decided to do The Lap. It was quite a bit colder up on the tops even though the sun was shining and they had evidently had rain up there that we had missed as the roads were quite damp. By the time I reached the Pie Shop I was in need of a pie and a drink so I pulled in. Shot the breeze with a couple of mates who I haven’t seen for quite some time and, while discussing Goldie, Ralph and I agreed that “patina” should be the word of the day 🙂
The boys were getting ready to head off when I got there so I was pretty much Nigellated again (story of my life). As noted, it was a bit damp along Pearson’s Lane and still cool but it warmed up by the time I got to Kangaroo Valley so there was time to stop and take a happy snap.
The longer the ride went on the more comfortable I became and I have to admit that I still finding riding Goldie a bit daunting as she is so big and heavy. But that’s not to say that she doesn’t handle well and the ride was very enjoyable. Hardly any traffic and plenty of opportunities to admire the scenery as well.
I took a detour down to Boat Harbour at Gerringong to get the obligatory “bike by the ocean” shot and then headed back onto the highway for the run home.
Home just after 2 after another scamper through Jamberoo. And, should anyone say that you can’t lean Gold Wings over, just show them these photos, eh?
Back tyre and front tyre respectively.
After a snack and a cuppa I headed back out in the car over to my daughter’s place and took #1 grandson for a two hour driving lesson. Nat reckons he’s pretty confident so I took him up and down Macquarie Pass, which he hasn’t driven before. Nat was horrified when we got back but I reckon he did pretty well for his first time.
Oh, and apropos my last blog entry, it has been confirmed that Marc Marquez will NOT race this weekend at Aragon but may still race the weekend after.
Getting to know Goldie is getting more and more enjoyable all the time.