Today was the first day this week when it hasn’t rained and by rained, I mean rained. By our rain gauge (a pretty rudimentary affair, it must be said), we have had nearly 100mm of rain this week and more is predicted to come. So, when the sky cleared and the sun came out, I did a little bimble. I planned on staying close to home (see comment above about the weather) and I didn’t have a lot of time anyway.
So, it was up the Pass, down Jamberoo Mountain, on to Kiama, around the roundabout and then back home, about 105kms altogether. Yes, it was Sunday afternoon, not an ideal time, but I wasn’t in a hurry so it didn’t matter.
I got a good run out of Albion Park and it was looking really good, but, as so often happens, as soon as I started climbing I hit traffic, and not just any traffic, two motorhomes and assorted cars. It never ceases to amaze me that the long straight at Lothlorien can be completely empty when you hit it but, just a few hundred metres further along, there are heaps of hold-ups. Do they hide in the side street at the bottom of the Pass and dive out just as you are arriving? I have often pondered that this could be so.
Anyway, it began to look like this was going to be slow one. Firstly, the eastbound lane (downhill) was liberally covered with absorbent material for about the first half a dozen corners. Obviously the result of a major oil spill and subsequent clean-up, so all the downhill traffic was crawling and justly so.
Now, on the subject of oil spills in general and on the Pass in particular. The advice that I received from the police is as follows (this info is for people in NSW, the rules may be different in other jurisdictions). If you encounter an oil spill on the road, pull over, when safe and ring 000. Yes, I know that is the emergency number but bear with me, this is what the police told me. When you are connected to the operator, tell them that you are reporting an oil spill on the road and they will ask you your location. When you do that, they will patch your call through to the nearest Fire Brigade or RFS station who will take the details and ask you to stay on-site in order to properly guide them.
A crew will be scrambled, and in my experience, they are darn quick, and once you have directed them to the spot, they will swing into action and begin the clean-up. Today’s spill was major, as you can see from the RFS’s photo.
By the time I encountered it, traffic had already begun to squeeze the absorbent off the surface but it will take a day or so for it to clean altogether. With everyone slowing down, some because they were on that side of the road and the others to have a good old rubber-neck at what was happening, it was clear that I’d have to bring my Plan B into action. As one of the slow-pokes refused to pull into the pass-out lane, I knew that I’d be behind him till nearly the top. So, I pulled over, took off my gloves, took a few photos and admired the scenery.
And, Plan B worked the charm again. A few more vehicles passed me while I was stopped but, once out on the road, I didn’t have any traffic until the last hairpin. It had started getting cooler and, by the time I got to the Pie Shop, which was packed to the rafters, it was an easy decision to turn left and head back down Jamberoo.
Dropping into the Pass proper just after Barren Grounds, I ran into the fog which persisted for the next kilometre or so and then cleared. I had a traffic-free run to the bottom and caught some cars along the straight near the farm. Most of them turned right, like me and the traffic thinned out by the time we got through the town. Again, surprisingly for a Sunday afternoon, I got a great run through to the roundabout at Kiama where I turned around and headed straight back. A great run back through town and on to Albion Park where it packed up and then the Sunday Afternoon M1 Grand Prix until the Dapto turn off.
When I got home I decided it was time to bite the bullet and give the Hornet a clean as it was filthy after the BOOBS ride last week. Washing a naked bike should be easier since it is so much smaller but it’s not. Most of the mechanical bits are hidden behind fairings on the VFR, on the Hornet, all the gubbins are out in the open and hence dirty and harder to reach/clean. I’m not saying I did a great job but at least it looks semi-presentable.
In some great news, Marc Marquez has been given medical clearance to resume riding, his double vision problems seemingly over. Apparently he did some dirt bike riding this weekend and should be ready for the first test day of the year in a couple of weeks. The excellent David Emmett has written a detailed article on the 2022 Honda and it certainly sounds like the factory has been doing its homework. I can’t wait for the season to start.