Wintersun Run 2014

[Cormanus]

Day 6: Mildura to Deniliquin

396 kms [url=https://maps.google.com.au/maps/ms?msid=201247423130042081552.0004fbf1797a883d8a7dc&msa=0&ll=-35.236085,143.526764&]Map

I awoke to find a coating of frost on the seat of the CB.



After breakfast, packing up the camp and saying farewell to the folk we'd met and camped with, we set out in the direction of Sydney. Our first overnight stop was to be Deniliquin. We rode backwards and forwards across the New South Wales/Victorian borders to Swan Hill before finally returning to NSW and heading north to Deniliquin.

Just before Swan Hill we were relieved to find petrol at Nyah. When we stopped, Pterodactyl had the same level of cold I’d experienced on Day 3. It’s quite unnerving and it was good to have some sun to restore some warmth.


The CBs at Nyah

Deniliquin was memorable for dinner. The Returned Servicemen's League is an Australian institution for reasons I won’t go into. However, the RSL has established clubs all over the country. Once the preserve of veterans of the two world wars (if I remember correctly it took them a good while to acknowledge that people who had served in Korea and Vietnam were also veterans), the clubs are now open to all comers and earn copious revenue from banks of poker machines. Because they're now about business not a community of interest, if you live more than a certain distance away, you simply sign in to become a temporary member.

The RSL in Deniliquin was opposite where we were staying and was recommended as the place to eat. So off we went. A carnival to be held the following day meant there was a lengthy queue for dinner, but a couple of beers eased the pain of waiting. We both ordered a rib steak and settled in with a bottle of red wine. Just when we were thinking we’d been forgotten, a waitress appeared, apologised, and said there was only one steak left. Fortunately it was easy. I’d had trouble deciding between the steak and crumbed lamb cutlets, so I ordered them instead.

While the accompanying vegetables were unexceptional, both meat dishes were excellent—probably the best we ate all trip and worth the wait.

Day 7: Deniliquin to Boorowa

457 kms [url=https://maps.google.com.au/maps/ms?msid=201247423130042081552.0004fbf17f80933720ad4&msa=0]Map

Of course it was bloody freezing again the next morning, although reasonably sunny and we set off for Boorowa—west and slightly north. Our first stop was Jerilderie, at which were back on the Newell Highway but further south than when we left. I mention it only because it was the scene of a very famous bank robbery by Ned Kelly, a nineteenth century bushranger who, despite being a tedious criminal, manages to remain a national icon of sorts. It was overcast and cold and we had a welcome coffee and a hot meat pie.

The rest of the day was uneventful, although road between Wagga Wagga (or Wagga bloody Wagga as it’s known) and Gundagai was great riding. After a stretch on the Hume Highway (the main road from Melbourne to Sydney) we turned off and the final kilometres to Boorowa also covered some good riding road.

I took not a single photograph.

Day 8: Boorowa to Sydney

433 kms [url=https://maps.google.com.au/maps/ms?msid=201247423130042081552.0004fbf18636fe0dae6be&msa=0]Map

This was the final day of an excellent ride. Our route would take us to Sydney over the Blue Mountains with some fantastic stretches of road, particularly between Taralga and Oberon. Pterodactyl was in home territory and loving it. Watching him race ahead, I wondered whether he shouldn’t be renamed Terror Dactyl.

These photos were taken at a brief rest stop next to the Abercrombie river which lies at the bottom of a steep downward windy road and then a steep upward windy road. Apparently there’s a rally held there. It’d be a great place to camp, but cold as in the winter.





We stopped just outside Lithgow for a coffee and something to eat and inspected the bugs on the front of our bikes.





And took a last look at the part of the Blue Mountains through which we’d just ridden.



The penultimate leg took us along Bells Line of Road, a ridge along the Blue Mountains behind Sydney which then drops into its far northern suburbs.

At a final coffee stop at Macdonalds in Windsor we reviewed the journey and said our farewells before riding together towards Sydney. I last saw Pterodactyl as he headed for the tunnel under Sydney Harbour while I rode over the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge. I’m still wishing I could have taken a photo as I rode across, but the traffic was dense and worrisome and I didn’t have the camera ready to go. But here’s a photo of the bridge from another day in Sydney …



It was a great trip. Together, we covered more than 2,500 kilometres and reduced the bug population of Australia by around 678,253. Sadly, we also reduced the bird population by two.

Although Pterodactyl and I parted company here, I’ve more story to tell as I still had to get home.

Better go and get a beer and await Part 3. On a serious note how was the Staintune on a longish trip, did any negatives come to light. With regard to photos the best decision I made was to buy the Sony camera with a remote control - so much easier to use than a normal handheld.

You may be right about the camera Tyke. I always struggle with photographs. I like taking them, but they can become a terrible distraction. Sometimes—as in lots of parts of this ride—it's nice not to think about anything other than riding and the music, more of which later.

As for the Staintune, Pterodactyl will have to tell you whether he was happy. I thought it looked great and sounded better. I'm not aware that he had any problems or issues.

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