Well, I am on 3 weeks annual leave now (quiet work period) so on Monday morning, I am heading off for my annual solo Xmas ride.
This time I'm heading north, up to the New England high country area for some great roads & a couple I have not been on before.
Planned ride is 4 days &
1806 kms before I add on some extras :)
Good on ya mate! 4 days & 1800k, hope you get nice weather, still pretty shite over here. Safe trip mate.
Sweaty, have a look at road from Tenterfield to coast, quite amazing. Its where the Clarence River starts, worth doing. New England a great place.
Cheers Grog, that's the Bruxner hwy and I was going to try and do it. Unfortunately it is just that bit too far up for this trip.
I am doing the Gwydir hwy which is the other fantastic looking and highly rated road below it. As I have not ridden that yet, I changed my trip, so I can do the Gwydir in both directions and then orara way from sth Grafton through Nana glen to Coffs Harbour & staying at Urunga pub on the coast. :cheers:
Day 1 is 600 kms from home to Ebor
Day 2 is 500 kms from Ebor to Urunga via the Gwydir & back.
Day 3 making my way towards home via Waterfall way & thunderbolts etc.
Day 4 more relaxed last day through Dungog, hunter valley & then Putty road all the way home :boogie:
Quote from: KiwiCol on Friday, 14 December 2018, 07:13 PM
Good on ya mate! 4 days & 1800k, hope you get nice weather, still pretty shite over here. Safe trip mate.
What you are trying to say Col is nature's still washing the roads ........using a lot of electricity tonight though :facepalm:
Have a great ride Sweaty. Be safe :onya:
The weather has been shite here too boys for a few days, torrential rain & storms, but is just easing up today & Sun is coming out tomorrow.
Where I'm heading is easing up on Monday, so will hopefully time it well if it stays that way.
Damn you Grog, my trip has now been revised & extended (again) to include the Bruxner hwy from Tenterfield to Casino :grin: :onya:
Now at 2007kms
Sweaty, have a mate that lives at start of road to Casino. He has the biggest wine cellar ive seen, 1/2 his house and its a big house. Ill book you in if you want. 😂
looks a great trip with plenty to see ..... id love to do a trip like that over christmas but alas i have to take the misses in the tin tent for new year :doh:
Shanered6 would you normally ride at Christmas time ?
Quote from: grog on Saturday, 15 December 2018, 07:36 PM
Sweaty, have a mate that lives at start of road to Casino. He has the biggest wine cellar ive seen, 1/2 his house and its a big house. Ill book you in if you want. 😂
If only I didn't need to jump on the bike in the morning 😂
SWeaty, next time, book into road Murwillimbah, up thru Scenic Rim, to Raceway, just near Russ Hinze Dam. Raceway is a test of guts. Amazing. Advancetown i think is its correct name.
Quote from: grog on Saturday, 15 December 2018, 08:47 PM
SWeaty, next time, book into road Murwillimbah, up thru Scenic Rim, to Raceway, just near Russ Hinze Dam. Raceway is a test of guts. Amazing. Advancetown i think is its correct name.
More info on this Grog, what's it about? Is it a race track or a twisty tight road?
Quote from: Kiwifruit on Saturday, 15 December 2018, 08:15 PM
Shanered6 would you normally ride at Christmas time ?
Oh ye i ride all year but sometimes the weather is to rough though but yes i love to ride the winter .
Doesn't everyone ride all year round. :whistling: If it's dry I always try to get out on the bike Christmas day, no lorries, busses or coaches, roads are a bit quieter so it's really good to go out on the bike.
Col, just a nice ride, not very long, apparently now is super policed. From northern nsw into gold cost hinterland. was unreal 20 yrs ago.very fast with big drop offs. not a good map but from murwillimbah, up thru numinbah into nerang. https://www.whereis.com/qld/numinbah-valley-4211
Shanered6 thats good, hear a few of the lads saying they tuck them up in a warm blanky for the winter.
Its crazy now Grog l am very concerned about getting another ticket. Like you say the roads are heavily policed.
Day 1:
Timed it perfectly, 607 kms from home to Ebor in hot sun & put the bike in the pub shed & it started pouring down.
Great day through some nice familiar territory today.
Quote from: mjgt on Sunday, 16 December 2018, 08:54 PM
Doesn't everyone ride all year round. :whistling: If it's dry I always try to get out on the bike Christmas day, no lorries, busses or coaches, roads are a bit quieter so it's really good to go out on the bike.
New Years Day is my favourite.
I'm normally off to bed at 8.30 or 9pm anyway as I'm up at 3.15am most mornings. Along with not drinking New Years Eve is normally an early night.
I've been breathalized leaving the city, but in the early hours of New Years Day they aren't that interested in my loud pipes. Once I get out over the local mountains the roads are deserted. It's like some movie when everyone is dead ! I've done a few runs where I check for dead roo's or other stuff and turned around and let the Busa or B-King really stretch it legs. High rev's, top gear.... YEEEEE-HAAAAA!!!!!
Its nice to get out at holiday times in the winter not much else on the roads and you get a much more relaxed ride even when the weather is not great .
Quote from: shanered6 on Monday, 17 December 2018, 05:26 PM
Its nice to get out at holiday times in the winter not much else on the roads and you get a much more relaxed ride even when the weather is not great .
I get out at 4:30am because it's a bit cooler. I'm normaly home in the aircon before it gets too hot.
If I'm giving it big licks I'd rather wear my leathers than cooler jeans and a dri-rider mesh jacked.
Looking good Sweaty :cheers:
Nice mate enjoy your trip !
Sweatg you should be tucked up, big day tomorrow. Enjoy :onya:
Well Day 2 was a beauty & I got carried away and done 700kms :grin:
Some of the roads I done today are (in order, for the Oz boys)
Waterfall way (Ebor to Dorrigo only)
Armidale rd
Gwydir hwy
Bruxner hwy
Summer land way
Orara way to Coramba where I am staying the night in the pub (great little town)
Was a great decision to add the Bruxner in Grog :onya and the biking Gods were smiling on me for the day. The weather/ conditions I encountered from leaving at 6.30am was as follows and in order.
Fog, sun, mist, sun, fairy rain, sun, damp/wet roads, dark clouds, hot sun,
Cloudy for a couple of hours, then full sun all afternoon. Never a drop of actual rain.
Then I was giving it a bit of a flogging on the Bruxner the whole way ;) but started to feel really tired, and decided to slow down for 5 mins and pull in to a rest stop. I pulled in & 30 seconds later a small work truck pulls up with a blue unmarked BMW M5 and flashing lights behind him. So, I obviously passed him myself, when I was in sleepy cruise mode :clapping:
I rested for a while, and then realised, that they were still there and finishing up, and me being so smart :jack: thought, shit, I need to leave before he does, so he can't be in front of me & possibly get me down the road. So I quickly get ready as he is getting in the sneaky little bastard car, take off before he does, as I know it will be safe now. I Just start going through the gears and there comes a Marked Highway patrol car coming the other way before I get up to speed :boogie2:
I thought the coast was going to be clear, but they obviously had a little sting going on & this was 2pm on a Tuesday.
So, another fantastic day. Think I need to have a talk to the missus about me & early retirement :grin:
This beats working.
Sounds a great day out mate, good on ya. Cheers.
Careful Sweaty, theres a fine line between retirement and being put out to pasture :stir:
Just awesome stuff Sweaty. Maybe next year we can meet up and do another together. 10/10 mate.
You earned your beer today.
Have a corker day tomorrow :worshippy:
Early retirement works for me, do it. :onya:
Well, those biking Gods I spoke so highly off yesterday, abandoned me today.
Started off great, with perfect blue sky and a fantastic run through the Waterfall way, which is the best road on the whole trip for me (particularly between Dorrigo to the T junction at Armidale rd) near Ebor.
Then I was busy acknowledging a biker coming out of the left turn I should of been taking to Armidale, but continued straight on Guyra rd. 10kms later I started to realise my mistake, just as the bike started getting the wobbles. I pull over and the back tyre is flat 😩
So I pull out the repair kit, but it is a straight slice(from glass) not a hole etc.
So it was useless. Let's ring the roadside assist I think, but no bloody service at all 😩
I grab my top box, leave the bike on the side of the road in the bush & hitchhike back to Ebor with my gear.
I contact roadside assist, who were very helpful, but said they would ring back soon when they organise a tow to the bike shop in Armidale which I had organised to put a new tyre on.
They finally ring back after an hour, and say, that they cover a tow for 50 kms or $400, (I'm 80kms out of Armidale)but the only tow they can get is $1000, so I would be up for $600🖕🏿
I ring the local tow guys in Armidale, who have been contacted by them, but are both short of drivers or really busy. So I ask them what the price would be. Both say $300 but can't do it & say they have probably called Nrma etc for that ridiculous price?
Very long story, short.
Local biker from Armidale on a Can an, who was listening to all this, made some calls, rode up the road & came back with a mates Ute, rope & ramps
Took me out, loaded the bike on, drove me to the bike shop. Then he had to drive back to Ebor to drop the Ute back & ride his Can am back to Armidale to go out for a dinner. I made him pull into the petrol station so I could fill his mates Ute up (only took $30) so I gave him another $50 to give to his mate & gave him some cash (which I had to force him to take)
What a bloody legend. Now have him in my phone contacts & will catch up with him when ever I am up this way.
Biking community & Country legends are alive and kicking 👍👍👍
:thumbs_down:
Fairly restores your faith in Human nature... great he got you sorted Sweaty! :cheers:
Thats is a bit of a bugger Sweaty. Great you got it sorted. Some people out there are just gold :hat:
Good to see the old school is working well out in the wilds. Modern biker would take a picture to post somewhere.
Trip is complete.
Got home at 6pm last night after 3.5 days riding and 2175 kms.
I stayed in Walcha (after getting my tyre done at Armidale) on weds and spent most of the night listening to the massive storm & pouring rain. Woke up in the morning to Blue skies and sun, so that meant i had to change my plan and do a run down the Oxley hwy on my brand New Michelin Road 5 (yes Grog, i was forced to change :smile2: but it handled beautifully) By the time i got to the bottom at Wauchope, the temperature was already in the low 30's, down the hwy & turned off at Coopernook, for the back way through Wingham, Krambach & on to Gloucester (the Bucketts way from Krambach to Gloucester is a great bit of road, like waterfall way) Got off at Gloucester for lunch, and by now it's 36 degrees (and feels like 40 +) food, drink & a change of socks and back on for the head home via Dungog, east Gresford & then the Putty road all the way home. It ended up at 675 kms in boiling temps all day & for the last 2 hrs i was staying in front of a massive storm, that hit about 20 mins after i put my bike in my garage. :boogie:
Had a great time away and did every great road possible, met some great people & had a few nice cold beers, what could be better. :boogie:
Whet to sleep like this
Woke up like this
And
Good effort Sweaty; pleased you enjoyed your solo blast. All the best for xmas :onya:
Well done Sweaty. Lets see how the Michy goes. Bike shop told me one his customers should get nearly 40th ks out of a set, bmw1200. Thats huge.
Waterfall way sample test
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Video wont play (tells me unavailable)
@Sweaty
Thanks Dave, what about now?
Putty road test
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Works fine for me :)
good clips, makes me feel like im there.
Top section of the Oxley hwy
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I was wondering why the video quality was rubbish when viewing on here, and realised the quality was set to auto which was 440, click on the setting icon(at the bottom) when you pause the video & change it 1080p Much better :)