The CB1100 Community Forum

G'day All.

For reasons of little interest this ride was planned as the "Not The Snowy Ride". Six riders, five days, good roads and good company – ahh this will be Nirvana, I thought. With days to go it was as though I had farted in the phone box. Everyone bailed out and I was by myself.

Anyway, to cut the proverbial long story, I did the ride solo. Heavily modified to suit my desire to ride the Braidwood - Cooma Rd., the Bonang Rd., and the Omeo highway. Three of the four nights away I camped out, the exception being the third night when my intention to camp at the Anglers Rest Camping Ground was thwarted by the mother of all thunderstorms. Very heavy rain, hail and an early darkness convinced me that rather than push on to Anglers Rest, the Snug As A Bug in Omeo was a better option than a very wet ride and and then setting up my tent in the rain and blackness. Smart move.

Day 1: Sydney to Braidwood. http://goo.gl/maps/hJM7P
Hot as Hades and heavy traffic on the Bells Line. Oberon to Crookwell gave me the chance to blow the cobwebs from the catalytic converter. Camped at Warri Campground just short of Braidwood. Got the hoochie erected and then sipped Bundy in the company of some very hospitable grey nomads while the first of the evening's thunderstorms blew over.

Day 2. Braidwood to Delegate River Camp. http://goo.gl/maps/JB3iV
I have wanted to ride the Braidwood - Cooma Rd for some time and the wait was well rewarded. Interesting ride with about thirty kilometers of gravel/dirt through the Deua National Park. Light rain and then some mist made for an interesting ride through a rather remote area. The CB is not the world's greatest adventure bike but it works. Washed the mud off at Cooma Shell. The Cooma - Jindabyne run short with some nice corners, most of the sweeping variety. Jindabyne to Bombala completed at licence burning pace. The first section of the Bonang is a beaut and whetted the appetite for Day 3. To get to the Delegate River Camp I did more dirt and some timber trail. Interesting. Cold, clear and lonely night. Bundy bottle beginning to look like replenishment required.

Day 3. Delegate River to Omeo. http://goo.gl/maps/ckoke
If any of you haven't ridden the Bonang then put it on the bucket list. Dumbed down by some very conservative speed limits but just riding at what I think some call 'the pace" is, in itself, a challenge. By the time i was approaching Orbost the rain began and built into a massive thunderstorm which moved in from the south just after Bruthen. It dumped very cold air and truly pissed down with intermittent hail. Those "golf balls" were a tad painful on the (my) leading edges and didn't do much for the CB's fuel tank either. Torn between stopping and sitting it out or continuing. The combination of night, rain, twisties, kangaroos and wombats can be lethal. However, it looked like a long one and was getting very dark so pushed on to the Snug As A Bug (B and B in Omeo). Hot shower, beer, food, Bundy nightcap and the world was once again a good, good place. Mud washed from bike by nature's own car wash!

Day 4. Omeo to Gundagai (Camp). http://goo.gl/maps/y3hDS
The Omeo Highway is a great ride but some roadworks for about twenty kilometers. The works are at the compacting the dirt stage so with the wet from the night before it was like riding on clay colored ice. Slow and very, very careful. Not a good place to go over the edge with no back up.
The rest to Gundagai was standard except chasing a couple of local boys from Albury to Gerogery. This made up for the very, very boring Olympic highway to Wagga. Oura Road to Gundagai also a good "quicky". Replenished the Bundy bottle in Gundagai and enjoyed a clear warm night under the stars. Had an interesting campfire yarn with a couple of heavily recreationalised German backpackers.

Day 5. Gundagai to Sydney http://goo.gl/maps/uv8ex
Boorowa to Crookwell is one of my favourites. After Crookwell, rain, rain and more rain. The Hume real wet and windy. Thats life!

If you are interested a (very) few photos at:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/vemlq82yqlsrnvu/DlLyT2YGZZ
i am not a photographer but I guess it's "photos or it didn't happen". I also get carried away by the ride and generally, at the end of a long day, I have that "I shouda stopped and got a photo" feeling.

Cheers, and I better stay out of the phone box for the WSBK ride (Sydney to Phillip Island via the Snowy), Tony

Really nice pictures! Man some of your roads are barely roads. Now i understand the rain washing the mud off. Judging from your camping dinners I' m guessing you were warm inside your sleeping bag lol

Thanks for posting that up.

Excellent post! That looks like a great way to spend 5 days. No doubt you have earned the envy of all of us on the northern side of the globe, as we are just a week away from official winter.

I couldn't help but notice that your wildlife warning signs are distinctly Australian. Ours have silhouettes of deer and sometimes elk.



Just out of curiosity, what is that animal below the kangaroo. It looks like some sort of large rodent.

Mate, that is a Wombat. Natures answer to a bulldozer. A dense muscular form that looks like a small thick tree log has grown four stumpy legs and has been fur upholstered. They are approximately one meter in length when fully grown and weigh in at roughly 35 kilos. They also have a think protective shield of cartilage that they turn on attackers that is almost impervious to harm.
I’m reliably told colliding with a wombat is like crashing into a tree stump. A tree stump with a butt shield! In themselves they pose no huge risk, they are vegetarian and nocturnal of habit. They like to graze on the fresh grass shoots by the road. Sometimes they take a fancy to the grass on the other side of the road. They are not easy to see, particularly on a rainy evening or early morning. Hit one and you will become, at least, part of the scenery.

Holy crap I just google image Wombat, and those things are huge! Would hate to hit one of those. We don't have anything that even compares with that. Small bear maybe.

In Texas we have wild hogs............but we don't have the Brown snake as in Aussie land. I was down under in the 90's and there was a brown crossing the road and it was nearly as long as the road was wide............................

You know was just plowing the snow off the drive and was thonking...back in the early seventies. Hodaka had an off road bike called a Combat Wombat. Never thought what a Wombat might be. Then pterodactyl described them as little tanks, and now that name makes a lot of sense. Hmmm, who knew?

Really enjoyed the pictures but have to say I had to look up what a "Bundy" is, a little rum at the end of the day sounds good.
ferret I restored a Road Toad in the 90s , very interesting internals on those motors.

Did you have to replace the gas tank? Does it have those nice high speed dimples like a golf ball now?

You folks have a way with place name. Oiy!

Sounds like a great adventure!