26th August, 2007

Old South Road, Southern Highlands.....

We have had some inclement weather over the past few weeks and getting a ride in of decent value has been a difficult task to achieve on a Sunday. So when the weather man gave his verdict for today, the SMS went out first thing this morning for a collective gathering at short notice for a ride through the highlands.

We had an assembly of approx 12 people show up ( not bad for 1.5 hrs notice). Some new face, some regulars and some from a long and distant past where in attendance. We embarked from the Big Joe Headquarters at 11:15 am, making our way up through Jamberoo pass. A pleasant climb that should be taken with some caution for those not used to the road (those who are can explain why!). From there a quick stop at the Robertson Pie Shop to chew the fat and have a coffee and pie. Now that we were warmed up a little, we May 11, 2008 Kangaloon Road, which winds through the countryside and meets up with Sheepwash road a few kms south of Bowral. We continued along Kangaloon Road toward Bowral and turn right at the big round about to the Old South Road.

The group made its way along the undulating roads of the Highlands, meandering through the hills through the various townships until arriving at Picton. This called for the requisite refreshments at the King George's Inn in Picton, where the group reflected on the ride so far, the great weather and the other bikes and entertainment in the car park.

Enough talking, and on we headed East from Picton along the Picton Road until we arrived at the F6 Freeway. From there, it was down Mt Ousley, and a designated stop at Towrodgi Beach Hotel, for a bite to eat and some more refreshement and entertainment.

22nd April, 2007

Around the Block (its a big block)..

As was the trend of late, the promise of some potential good riding and some rather frustrated guys were itching for a ride. This had to be a bit more than the usual 100-200 kms that we would pack into a Sunday afternoon. This had to be a catch up on the several weeks missed onver the last few weeks for various reasons.

A last minute scramble to coordinate with a few people and we decided that the ride would kick off at 8:30 am from BJC HQ. The plan was to head South via Berry, Nowra, Milton, Ulladulla and have a stretch of the legs at Bateman's Bay. From here we would ride up over Clyde Mountain to Braidwood, then make our way to Bungendore before heading back via Tarago, Goulbourn Marulan and Robertson with the close of the ride being down Maquarie Pass.

We had a dozen or so keen riders take up the challenge. This ride was to provide some interesting moments, including the rain we encountered in the first 10 minutes. But this was a long day out, so we would have plenty of time to dry out.

We kicked on down the coast along the Princess Highway with a stop at Milton. The Pies at the BakeHouse are incredible and are worth the trip just for them! From here a quick hop over to Bateman's bay fMay 11, 2008r slimy, with the rear end of several bike kicking out on very mild throttle.

We arrived at Braidwood and stopped at the service station that happened to be closed. No great drama, everyone had sufficient fuel and we headed along the way to Bungendore. These roads are fantastic. Enjoyable for open road cruising with good visibility for overtaking and the like. Our timely arrival at Bungendore meant that we were able to assist the local Rural Fire Service sell the remnants of their sausage sizzle.

Time to move again and we motored on to Tarago, outrunning the inclement weather. As a reward, we stopped that the Tarago pub for some refreshments beofre heading on through Goulbourn and refueling at the Marulan Truck stop. On down the Hume Highyway turning off at the Illawarra Highway through Moss Vale and Robertson in some drizzle where the stopped for a coffee at the Roberston Pie Shop just as the heaven opened. We enjoyed our coffee while the rain poured. By the time we fininshed our drinks, the rain had stopped and we headed down the pass back home, arriving at 5pm.

We trotted approx 500kms during the day, approx 1/2 of the ride to the Gold Coast with all riders enjoying the day out and looking forward to the next one.