A bit of a ride

[Cormanus]

Note: For those desperadoes confronting winter and with not enough to do, I’ve made sure the pictures of the daily route link to the original on the Google Maps engine. That way, if you’re interested, you can drill down a bit into some bits of the route.

Day 1: Pomona-Dorrigo

551 kms



I woke tired, after not sleeping terribly well. It was less than 48 hours since I'd got home from the [URL=https://cb1100forum.net/threads/61231/]LionsTT and I’d spent a bit of that on the road—a 100km round trip to get the bike serviced and another 300 km round trip to deliver my wife and her friend to the airport. Another 400 km day!

I planned to get away early and failed. Because I was going to be away nearly a month and had to include camping gear, I'd added an extra bag to my luggage and it took a while to figure out how it was all going to go on the bike. So, by the time I left Pomona it was mid morning and, although the weather was glorious, it was getting decidedly hot. For the fourth time in 3 days I took to the Bruce Highway and pointed my nose south, getting off the freeway after 164 kms when I turned onto the Mt Lindesay Highway just south of Brisbane.

That part of the trip was uneventful, except for an incident which I’ve described in another thread. I was getting near to stopping for fuel and a break and was approaching some lights when I decided to change lanes to get the jump on the cars in front of me. I didn't check carefully enough and was just moving to the left when I realised there was a large, white van, about to mow me down. Luckily, oh so luckily, I was in time to leap apologetically back into my lane. Moral? If you're getting tired and your concentration is starting to wander, get off and take a break. Don't wait for your planned stop.

I refuelled at Beaudesert and headed south trying to decide which of the Lions Road or the Mt Lindesay Highway I should ride again after a weekend spent traversing both. I decided on the Mt Lindesay Highway and a terrific, twisty ride to Kyogle, where I stopped for lunch. The place was beginning to feel like home.

You leave this mountain to the left on the way across the Mt Lindesay Hwy


This lot hang about on the right


The Queensland-New South Wales border. You only have to stop if you’re carrying livestock

When I stopped I discovered a water bottle had leaked in my top box so I took everything out and spread it on the lawn in a park to dry while I ate lunch. I was worried that all my tickets for the MotoGP and the ferry to Tasmania might be irretrievably damaged; mercifully they weren't, so I stowed them in a waterproof bag. My top box and containers with liquid seem to share a mutual antipathy, but more of that later.

It was really hot as I set off, aiming for Dorrigo. To get there, I had a straight ride of 132 kms to Grafton and then another slower 115 kms on the pretty and winding Nymboida Rd. I hoped to make it before kangaroo time and then dark.

By the time I refuelled in Grafton, the temperature had dropped and clouds were gathering. The forecast was OK and, if there was rain, it wasn't likely to be bad, so I headed out. It's a lovely ride through Nyboida and gradually up the side of the Great Dividing Range. The road surface is basically good; the scenery is lovely; and, even better, there's lots of twists and turns to keep a rider interested.


Of course, by then it should have been clear the day was not meant to go smoothly. When I was about 40-50 kms out of Dorrigo and searching for the Tyringham Rd that I'd turn on to for the final stretch, the drizzle set in and the light level lowered. I stopped and put on my waterproof gear. The last bit was no fun at all—drizzle, fading light, low visibility and an unlit country road. I was relieved to get to the pub in Dorrigo, have a shower, spread out the contents of the top box then get some dinner. It was a pizza and very good to boot.

 

[emptysea]

I'm beginning to become familiar with the roads and some of the towns there. While I thoroughly enjoy your posts, they make me want to travel to your land, something I cannot afford to do. Keep posting so I can, at least, travel vicariously through them.

 

[Cormanus]

Day2: Dorrigo-Denman

536 kms



It was foggy, drizzly and much, much cooler than the day before when I woke. I breakfasted, put the thermal liner in my jacket, donned the waterproofs and set off up the range. In spite of mist and the cool, it was a lovely ride to Ebor, where I’d had breakfast with Pterodactyl on an earlier ride, I got fuel and then pushed on. The top end of the Waterfall Way is lovely, and would have been lovelier in better weather. I must ride it again from the bottom to the top.

At Armidale I took to the New England Highway until Uralla where I turned left, heading along Thunderbolt's Way to Walcha. Most of the countryside on this road is alpine plain cleared for farming. It was much greener and prettier than last time I was here with Pterodactyl. It stays like that for a good distance past Walcha, but it's good riding and fast as there is little traffic.

The CB1100 in Walcha—first time it was warm enough to fish out the camera

It's all worth it for the descent into Gloucester, where one rides alongside twisting streams, up hills and eventually down a very steep mountain. It's a great road and heaps of fun. I felt I'd earned my late lunch. I was also more cheerful as I'd shed the wet weather kit at Walcha and the temperature was now decidedly warmer.

A view to the west from the mountains leading into Gloucester






This safety device may be common in other countries, but I’ve seen it only in NSW in Australia. The final picture shows a sandy ramp running up the hill into which you can steer if your brakes fail. Occasionally they’re on the opposite side of the road, so I’m not sure what happens to anything in your way as you try to cross.

There is a very steep descent into Gloucester





The pretty river at the bottom of the very steep descent. Of course a bit of a climb follows.

I was looking forward to the road from Gloucester to Singleton. It's got plenty of twists and turns and a few hills—I love hills on the CB as I've yet to find one I can't accelerate up. The surface is occasionally ratty, but it's a great ride. My first post-Gloucester stop would be Dungog. As I climbed the first hill, I realised the odd mark on the road was cow sh*t. It quickly dawned on me that it was very, very fresh. It seemed to be worse on left-hand corners. I quickly realised why as I came around a corner and came upon a cattle truck. As it climbed the hills, the contents of the cows' bowels, deposited on the floor, all surged to the back of the truck; as it rolled on the left handers, said contents found a natural escape from the truck and flowed out onto the road. I figured it would be really slippery which reduced my pace and limited my enjoyment of the corners. I did not want to fall off and end up in the sh*t.

A straight appeared and I shot past the truck. Phew.

 

[metallyguitarded_imp]

Quite a ride! Looks beautiful. That stinks about getting stuck behind that truck. You must have been really moo-ving to get past it like you did. It's so disappointing when what could be a great road is allowed to just go to cr@p. Umm...I think I'm done.

 

[Cormanus]

Day2: Dorrigo-Denman (continued)

A mountain to the west of Gloucester.


A couple of Harleys in more of a hurry than me.

After Dungog, the weather cleared and the sun came out. I was saddle sore and my knees hurt. I couldn't work out why until it occurred to me that the bigger load was pushing me right to the front of the seat. There would have to be some load readjustment in the morning!


An underpass between Dungog and Singleton. The quality of the road surface is apparent.




A ridge and one of the great hills between Dungog and Singleton.

After Singleton, it was a main road, past coal mines, flat and not very interesting.

It’s very much like this the whole 68 kms from Singleton to Dungog.

I was happily tired when I got to Denman. It was good to stop; not only was I saddle sore, but it was getting decidedly hot. I found a room in the pub, showered and settled down to a beer. Of course, it immediately got very cold. I went inside for dinner of crumbed lamb cutlets with a creamy mashed potato. Excellent. The house red was average.

 

[Rocky_imp]

Having been to Australia last January I really enjoy your ride reports and pictures which always bring a knowing smile.
This is another good one

 

[hb9400_imp]

Great thread and pics.

 

[redbirds_imp]

Great story and pics Cormanus. The failed brakes escape ramps are common in the US where steep grades can be a problem for semi trucks.

 

[the Ferret]

Awesome report as usual Cormanus. Beautiful country, beautiful mountains.

Man that semi could not have made it under that underpass and stay in his own lane. Wonder how many have made that mistake?

 

[Pauley]

Great story and pictures, Cormanus. Thank you!

 

[Cormanus]

Great story and pics Cormanus. The failed brakes escape ramps are common in the US where steep grades can be a problem for semi trucks.

Thanks redbirds. I'm not surprised about the escape ramps. They're a good idea and I kind of expected they would be used elsewhere.

Awesome report as usual Cormanus. Beautiful country, beautiful mountains.

Man that semi could not have made it under that underpass and stay in his own lane. Wonder how many have made that mistake?

Good spot, Ferret. I'll try to remember to slow down and check for scarring next time I go that way.

 

[Cormanus]

Day 3: Denman-Sydney

446 kms



I'd pondered the whole business of the final day’s ride into Sydney. After Pterodactyl's descriptions on this forum, I was keen to ride the Wollombi Road and check out Lemming Corner but, when we discussed it at the LionsTT, he’d persuaded me that the road through the Bylong Valley was a more entertaining proposition given a day to do it. It was the reason I’d ended up in Denman and I'm very glad I took his advice. It's a great ride.

I came across dirt road just after leaving Denman and cursed Pterodactyl for not warning me I was in for that. It didn’t last long at all, no more than a few kilometres and, had I only known it, could easily have been avoided. Turned out Pterodactyl had no idea about it as he had taken a different route on to the Bylong Valley Way. But he wasn’t there to defend himself, so I got some satisfaction from cursing him.

But on the Bylong Valley Way I was soon racing alongside enormous coal trains through pretty agricultural land flanked by striking mountains. You have to climb some excellent road over a couple of the mountains.

A coal train to the right


Load adjustment


More coal train

The ranges west of Sydney produce great hills and mountains with sheer rocky faces that look like they mean business. I really like them.

I'd readjusted my load and was much more comfortable, but it wasn't quite stable. Just after getting off the dirt I stopped and re-secured it. Almost every driver, car or bike, slowed to make sure I was OK. A couple, he on a large BMW, she on a Honda 900, actually stopped. Having checked that I was OK, the bloke proceed to tell me how much he liked the CB1100 and how he had very nearly bought one. I suspect that was really why he stopped: for a bit of a drool. They headed off, but I soon caught them up and stayed with them until they stopped, I think at Bylong.


Load adjustment


More coal train




Approaching one of the mountain passes

 

[Cormanus]

At Kandos I had a very ordinary cup of coffee and refuelled. I was assailed by one of those helpful people who wanted to tell me there were lots of kangaroos about, which was very kind, but he then wanted to talk about every single one that had been run over, and give me the details of its heritage for two or three generations. I was worried he was going to move to a history of the drivers who hit them and so politely made my excuses.

Looking back near Sofala



From Kandos I had a quick trip to the outskirts of Bathurst where I had to resort to the GPS briefly to find the back road Pterodactyl had pointed me at. By this point there was a fair bit of traffic about and it dawned on me the major V8 supercars (The Bathurst 1000) was on over the weekend. I was glad to be going the other way, although it occurred to me I’d like to ride the circuit one day. I’m pretty sure it’s basically a public road the rest of the year.

I wasn’t on the Great Western Highway for more than a few minutes before I turned right onto O’Connell Rd. 9.5 kms later I turned left onto Tarana Rd which I followed through the delightfully named Brewongle. It’s a pleasant enough road with great scenery. A few blind corners and an almost total absence of painted lines make it a wee bit treacherous.







Tarana Road

Arriving in the tiny town of Tarana, I stopped at the pub for lunch.


I ate this very ordinary looking and average tasting chicken burger and was forced again to ponder why people insist on overheating the milk for cappuccino.


At the pub I met a chap with a 250 Honda road racer which he said could do 180 kph at 22,000 rpm. He assured me he’d be in Lithgow in 11 minutes. I’d be lucky to do it in 25. He also told me I should have given the Tarana Road a miss and driven another 11.5 kms and ridden the apparently much better Mutton Falls Rd. In this game, there’s nearly always another reason for ‘next time’.

 

[Cormanus]

I had a more leisurely ride to Lithgow through pretty country and past the dam at Lake Lyell.









At the dam

Pterodactly introduced me to Bell’s Line of Road on our first ride together in June and I was looking forward to riding it again. For the serious Sydney riders it’s lost its appeal because of an over-regulation of the speed limit. I see what they mean but for riders like me—unfamiliar with the road—the speed limit is mostly fine.





Bell’s Line of Road

At Windsor I stopped for a cup of tea and to set up the GPS for the run into central Sydney where I would be off the bike for the weekend at least spending some time with my eldest son.

I made it through the traffic filled with a plan to take a photo from the CB as I rode on to the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge. I managed this shot and then immediately got the now familiar ‘Battery exhausted’ message.

Not long afterwards I reached my son’s place, showered and changed and walked just around the corner to a new restaurant called Ester. We had an excellent meal with a more than tolerable Shiraz to help it down. The menu was structured so that we shared dishes and, for the benefit of EmptySea (and others) I’ll mention that we ate raw fish with warm mandarin and nori; beef tartare with oyster and horseradish; chicken and garlic bread sauce and salted caramel semi freddo.

It was a welcome change from most of the food of the past week or so.

 

[Rocky_imp]

Nice road report

 

[emptysea]

As always, a great report. I'm curios about the last picture caption; is the name of the road "Bell's Line of Road"? Seems like a cumbersome name, but maybe the "of" and/or "line" are part of Australian speech convention?

 

[Cormanus]

Yes, ES, it is called 'Bell's Line of Road'. I also find it a very strange name. There's certainly no speech convention that I'm aware of that would give rise to it.

A cursory Internet search doesn't help, other than to discover it was originally an Aboriginal route and was then called Bell's Line. Why it wasn't called 'Bell's Line Rd' is likely to remain a mystery to me unless one of my NSW based colleagues can shed further light on it.

 

[VTR1000F_imp]

Wow, thank you for great friday reading for me. Work day is painfully slow today and this helped!

 

[The Spaceman_imp]

You should start the Aussie equivalent of MotoQuest. Your ride routes are amazing; I'd happily pay to have you guide for a 3-5 day trip!

Do you ever takes rides out in the vast central desert areas? Is it even possible or practical?

 

[Cormanus]

Spaceman, never have done a ride out west. May well sometime, although it's not hugely appealing as it's terribly flat and the roads are very straight. In summer it could be agonizingly hot and, on the CB at least, access to fuel might be an issue. There's a place called Birdsville, right our near the Queensland/South Australia/Northern Territory border that I've a yen to ride to one day. That'd probably be enough.

As I recall, Mr Tim rode his CB from Perth WA to Melbourne, Vic. That's quite a haul across some lonely spaces. See here.