The Cormanus Chronicles: The Wintersun Run 2018

[Cormanus]

As they say ... Wait! There's more.



Day 8: Mildura to Kerang (318 kms)

[url=https://drive.google.com/open?id=1OuI3NVG9CO8XF-AlH18EfeDoxhBq4wsr&usp=sharing]Link to Map

After breakfast provided by the club and a further rest, we struck camp and rolled out of Mildura in the middle of the day. We hoped to follow the Murray River east, but ended up at Hattah, a bit to the south, where we refuelled the bikes and ourselves before turning north to the river.

Signpost at the Hattah Roadhouse

We rode through Manangatang, which is of no import except that I once knew the bloke who was matron of the country hospital there.

We reached Kerang at around 5 pm. It was decidedly cool and we checked into the Exchange Hotel where the Indian proprietor served cold beer and an OK Butter chicken. According to Pterodactyl, the curry was not so good.

Day 9: Kerang to Boorowa (550 kms)

[url=https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jRE52EuH8S-L1BtPvUK7A1UR69YIRjdl&usp=sharing]Link to Map

Rain overnight left the bikes wet in the morning and it was decidedly cold as we made our way north and east across the border back into NSW. It was a chilly but pleasant day as we made our way through Deniliquin, Jerilderie, Urana to Wagga Wagga. While the roads from Wagga Wagga to Gundagai and thence north from Jugiong to Harden are excellent riding, we decided to try a different route north through Junee and Cootamundra. A pretty ride, and an overnight stay in Cootamundra will be warranted sometime, but the riding through Jugiong is better. We both agreed, though, that being back on roads that undulated and had corners was a relief.

The Boorowa Hotel has become an almost mandatory stop on Pterodactyl’s and my travels south and the evening’s entertainment did not disappoint, although we both dropped out early before it became excessive.

I took one photo all day, apparently. A milestone

Day 10: Boorowa to Denman (433 kms)

[url=https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Xv0fuKgXKfnLyxqTwBqwh8bLMzd8hyhk&usp=sharing]Link to Map

With early rain forecast on top of a decidedly chilly morning, we made another late-ish start and initially avoided the rain. We made our way through pretty and winding back roads to Lake Wyangala where we had a late breakfast. Somewhere along the way we stopped to put on some wet weather gear. As usual, as soon as we got moving again the rain stopped, although we were to be glad of it after breakfast when we got a good dousing heading towards Bathurst.

The Boorowa Hotel

A ride up the glorious Bylong Valley in improving weather conditions, afternoon tea at the Bylong General Store (mandatory under current management) found us in Denman where I had said to Pterodactyl I never wanted to stay again.

We found a different pub with better rooms than the other I’ve stayed at and had a quiet and agreeable evening with me thinking maybe Denman was not so bad after all.

Day 11: Denman to Ebor (508 kms)

[url=https://drive.google.com/open?id=1n_eJxDTchuUt88_JETQn14uiJtM25She&usp=sharing]Link to Map

Of course I was wrong about Denman. We awoke to become an unwilling audience to one of those ugly domestic arguments between the publican and his partner. Most of their overnight guests head off to work very early and I think they thought the place deserted. Sadly, it fortified my resolve to try to avoid Denman in the future. I suspect I’ll fail. It’s one of those places that is always just far enough from somewhere to be an ideal stopping point.

It was cold again; so we delayed our start and had breakfast at a Denman café before Pterodactyl introduced me to a much prettier way of getting to Jerrys Plains. After a quick stop for luggage tightening, we said our farewells as, a few kilometres further on, Pterodactyl would turn south for home.

I knew only that I was going to ride one of my favourite and oft-described roads from Singleton to Gloucester. After that, I wasn’t sure. On one hand I was a bit keen to avoid the scenic but cold New England Plateau; on the other, the alternative would involve a greater exposure to the slab that I wanted.

It was cool at Gloucester, but the sun was shining, the coffee and meat pie were OK, so I abandoned warmth for cold and riding pleasure. I rang ahead to the Ebor Falls Hotel-Motel to make sure they had a room and set off up Thunderbolts way to Walcha, Uralla and Armidale where I refuelled for the final run to Ebor.



I managed 2 milestone photos between Gloucester and Walcha

I left Armidale slightly later than I wanted to be out and it was cooling fast. I think it focused the mind, and I had a fantastic ride to Ebor on a great surface with not much traffic, lots of good sweeping corners, Australian farmland and pretty bush scenery.

An excellent evening in the Ebor Falls Hotel-Motel with the locals and Dave, A BMW rider from Newcastle and Tasmania, capped off a good day’s ride. The promise of sub-zero temperatures and a cold morning offered the prospect of a sleep in. What could be better?
Day 12: Ebor to Brisbane (439 kms)


[url=https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kVc4esH21Tx_TP26NQDr_UkSsdEFsfP1&usp=sharing]Link to Map

The manager of the hotel told me the local weather guru had recorded -5.4ºC not long before dawn, and it felt like when I wheeled the bike from the garage into the sun.

Frost on the ground on the way to get the bike out.

I was in no hurry and packed up in a leisurely way before a final cup of tea and toast in the pub’s kitchen. It was a glorious morning when Dave and I shoved off in different directions at around 10 am.

The Armidale Road to Grafton did not disappoint, except for occasional patches of bad surface, it’s a great road for a motorcycle. The good news was a stretch occupied by a road gang rectifying some of the surface issues.

A strange and large musician on the Armidale-Grafton road

Trusting to noroomtomove’s law of motion and fuel consumption and the availability of fuel, I kept going through Grafton to a remote service station at [url=https://goo.gl/maps/yE8oUnMYPmn]Whiporie where the bike got fuel and I got coffee. At 255 kms from Armidale, it was the longest ride I’ve made between refuels. According to Honda I had 1.7 litres remaining and would not have made it to the next fuel at Casino.

Somewhere after Casino when I’d managed to get some lighter gloves on so I could use the camera more easily, I managed—finally—to get a decent rear view mirror shot.


Shortly afterwards I got a first glimpse of the border ranges.


Food at Wiangaree and a ride over the recently reopened Lions Road, sporting a couple of flash new concrete bridges, brought me back to Queensland. From there I rode through some of the Gold Coast hinterland to Beenleigh, onto the slab and home.

A new bridge on the Lions Road

A tad over 5,000 kms ridden on 271 litres of fuel, most of it in company with my good mate, Pterodactyl. Sadly, neither noroomtomovenor Aussieflyer were able to make the trek to Mildura to say g’day. I got to ride through some new and interesting country and visited some new and interesting places. A tentative approach about the possibility of some paid work evaporated after about the second day. How good was that?

All in all it was a suitable anniversary ride for my introduction to long distance touring. Thanks Pterodactyl.

When the trusty CB1100 and I set out to meet Pterodactyl in 2014, the bike had done around 10,000 kms. When I got home at the end of this trip it had 91,586 kms on the odometer. It’s done OK these past four years and didn’t miss a beat this trip.

A note on fuel consumption

I’ve tracked fuel consumption on my CB for nearly 86,000 kms. My average fuel consumption is 5.34 litres/100 kms. (Don’t ask me why the metric system measures fuel consumption like this.) It means I get an average of 18.87 kms per litre of fuel or 44.40 miles/US Gallon.

On the way to Mildura, I noticed my fuel consumption was up around 5.51 litres/100 kms or 42.25 miles / US gallon. I wasn’t riding any differently; nor was I carrying any more gear than I carry when camping. I wondered about it along the way, particularly when it fell back to more normal levels after Mildura. I have to assume it had to do with riding on long, relatively flat and straight stretches of road at around the speed limit—in other words, maintaining a consistent and slightly higher speed than I would on a windier country road. I also wondered whether the absence of a windscreen contributed to greater wind resistance and therefore higher fuel consumption. Pterodactyl says his fuel consumption on the way out was normal.

Long term I don’t think there’s cause for concern as the average for the trip was 5.36 litres/100 kms.