Armidale 4 day ride report Day 1 – Tuesday 2 June 11 riders registered for this four day tour but one unfortunately had to drop out on the morning of the trip due to mechanical issues. That makes 10! [Three Peters, Two Frasers and a couple of other ‘unique’ individuals on the usual assortment of BMWs, a couple of Hondas and a lonely Kawasaki representative.] Nine riders set off from Berowra with a plan to pick up the remaining rider on the way. It was the usual route out of town (OPH to Calga, Peats Ridge Rd, George Downes Dr and then onto The Great North Rd). Morning Tea was at the Trading Post at Laguna and then it was off to Singleton to pick up Rider #10.  This Singleton detour had us discover a couple of really lovely back roads that I hadn’t ridden before (Stony Creek Rd, Middle Falbrook Rd, Glennies Creek Rd) before hopping back onto The New England Highway. Well worth the diversion! We copped a little bit of rain as we headed into Scone for lunch. We blamed this on R...

    There were thirteen eager riders at Berowra 7-Eleven waiting to pounce on my arrival and to let me know that because I whimped out on my ride to Swansea Heads last week due to adverse weather conditions that I should lead that ride today. I was way ahead of them as I had already made up my mind to volunteer to do just that, so all their self-righteousness was quickly put back in the box!!!   The plan was to have morning tea at Jerry’s and then progress to Swansea Heads via Bumble Hill, Yarramalong, Hue Hue road, Rutleys road and Pacific Highway. All good. We were honoured by the presence of our illustrious leader Rocket who bravely left his sick bed to make an appearance.   The weather was cool and occasionally overcast but at least the rain kept away.   At Jerry’s Rocket plus A. N Other left us for various reasons??    Unfortunately on the onward journey from Jerry’s there were a number of “phantom” roadworks which delayed our progress somewhat. N...

  It was a beautiful sunny morning in Berowra where I made the mistake of of suggesting a route and as a result was designated ride leader.  There were a dozen brave souls trusting me to find my way and thanks to Brian (who was immediately behind me ) giving me blinker signals we made it without mishap. It’s not like it was a complicated route. But I’m often lost as soon as I leave my street. So we went up the old road and out for morning tea at Mangrove Mountain. Then through Spencer and on to Wisemans ferry for lunch.  It was a very pleasant and spirited ride which all seemed to enjoy. Thanks to Mark for his tail end Charley duties    Thanks to all Peter Maynard (on the Busa)

  Yesterdays ride down south to Kiama had perfect weather for riding, around 19 degrees and sunny. Hardly any cars on the road and we moved along briskly, National Park, Old Highway, Mount Kembla which is now closed by a chained gate….so u turn down Mount Kiera to Jamberoo for smoko. Thoughtful conversation ensued about divisions 296 and 855 of the  Income Tax Assessment Act.  Lots of discussion about the recent budget, no discussion about dodgy motorcycles or dealers, financial matters consumed the conversation.   Then up to Saddleback Mountain lookout, quick run down to Kiama Marina for fish n chips, we all left together, all but two of us diverted on the way home for some more National Park, quick stop at a very windy Bald Hill.   It was a nice day out, thanks to those on the ride.   Rod

  I was surprised to find clear blue sky at Castle Hill. The weather report indicated otherwise when I checked the day before. I arrived very early, which is unusual for me, and found a few others already waiting. Ride briefing  at 9.50am . Old Road to Calga, morning tea at Jerrys, hunter valley via Wollombi ending at the Hunter Valley Gardens. No virgins, we were all happy that we knew exactly where we were going so no corner marking until Cessnock was needed. 18 started off along the Old Pacific Hwy on a slow ride due to my concern about the road being wet and the possible gravel and vegetation that may be on the road. This proved to be the case in a number of areas so my sphincter was right.   We all made Jerrys for morning tea safely with two arriving late due to a helmet issue. 7 did not continue. The sky was now clouding over but still not too bad, on the way to lunch there was a few sprinkles but generally no real rain, thanks to Richo for donning the wet weather g...

  Well it was a cool morning but 17 eager souls turned up for this short ride. There were two newbies (Brian and John) who were given the obligatory “clap”. One rider advised that there was a mobile speed camera up past Berowra, but that didn’t faze this group as we were heading down to the ferry. I was contacted by Andrew that he would be doing us at Wylde and Northern Road. Everyone except one (said it was cold and wasn’t wearing the right gear) crossed over the ferry and with good corner marking and excellent work by our TEC we arrived at Wiseman’s for coffee. Our next destination of Ebenezer had a variety of route options which I put forward to the group. 1. Cross Webbs Ferry then onto Bi-Centenarary road, which is gravel, hair pins and tasks a plenty 2. River Road which is narrow, twisty and mossy in parts 3. Back up Wiseman’s Ferry Road to Maroota then down to Lower Portland FerryNeedless to say it was a resounding YES to Maroota (but I am sure if Peter KTM and Rod M were her...

    15 riders gathered at McDonalds, McGraths Hill, with little idea where where they were going! After the Megalong Valley ride was scuttled by a collapse on Victoria Pass, several replacements were considered. The winner  was a ride via the Grass Farms, Kurmond, Comleroy Rd. through to Sackville Ferry, Wisemans Ferry, Spencer and Mangrove mountain. Concensus then took us to Somersby and the the full length of the 'Old Road'. It was pretty slow through the Grass Farms, partially due to the ride being very spread out. After gathering at Kurmond we followed Comleroy Rd and then Bull Ridge Rd. through to Sackville Ferry where a flight of swallows put on an aerial display, missing me by less than 30cms. several times. We were again spread out on the way to Wisemans Ferry for morning tea. The run up to Mangrove Mountain (I have always wondered where the mountain is?) was stopped 3 times due to roadworks but otherwise, it was a clear run.  Maybe the police gave tacit appr...

  Make me the ride leader for the regular NBR Mudgee standard destination -  I generally go further West, I asked myself when I saw the new years calendar - I'm thinking last year's ride leader must have done something wrong, nobody likes Cowra!!   I accept the dates / destination - I think about planning - easy - same motel, same route, everybody knows the drift. Wait - Pete Walshaw calls me while the plan is still in my head - saying that he asked about Motel availability at the Soldier Motel as a by the way - and it's booked out for our week. I'll get onto it next week - looking on line - make a couple of calls - the town sounds full. Ask a few more questions - check the Web - big Touch Footy comp on for our week in Mudgee, options - delay the week, means changing the schedule, too late set in stone.    So if not Mudgee - where to go, same old same for me - Cowra, Tasy - nah  The Oxley - no wait Steve Simpson is ride leader in June for Arm...

  With so many on the "Not the Mudgee Ride" it was left to 6 riders to start the PADPAL. I say start as we dropped riders along the way. Plan was for smoko at Ebenezer Church on the banks of the Hawkesbury River, then onto Grey Gums for lunch. All went well, we even found Halcrows Rd off Cattai Ridge Rd as there are major road works at the intersection. As ride leader I arrived in 3rd place even though we were on the same Sackville Ferry trip. Lots of talk was had along with scones and tea - a great way to enjoy the company and day. A mutiny was had where the group decided to change the lunch destination, whereby as leader I objected and required the mutineers to go through leadership for any changes. Okay, we agreed to change to Wisemans Ferry for lunch. But only 3 headed that way, losing 2 at the church and another at Wisemans Ferry Rd - they had other interests. Luckily I managed to remain at the front and not come 3rd again, as this would have meant performi...

  A beautiful autumn day in Sydney saw 6 senior souls depart Maccas Heathcote for lunch at Shoalhaven Heads, via the long way. Seems like there had been a nasty outbreak of SCRAS (South Coast Ride Avoidance Syndrome) which had decimated attendance levels.   Never mind, it was perfect weather for riding and off we went via National Park and Albion Park to the Robertson Pie Shop for morno's. New owners have implemented a number of changes as well as a splash of paint...still a great location for a stop!    We then journeyed down Pearson's Lane, Kangaroo Valley, Berry Mountain and Berry to arrive at Shoalhaven Heads where we enjoyed a lunch on the shores of the river. The usual banter and lies imbued with Trump featuring prominently in our discussions.    Similar to the Straits of Hormuz, we noted the New Zealand Navy had initiated a hostile blockade of the Shoalhaven Heads with three of its largest Māori War canoes. Fearing we could feature on the menu of a M...

  It is our sad duty to inform you that our great friend and fellow Ulyssean, Graeme Andrews died last Tuesday 14th April at the Northern Beaches Hospital. He had been battling cancer for quite some time.   Graeme was a generous and dedicated member of the Northern Beaches Branch of the Ulysses Club. He was Treasurer for many years and also a keen volunteer at our Bunnings Sausage Sizzles. He would donate the contents of his famous "Shrapnel Jar" to the sausage sizzle which was always a considerable sum. We had many "Maintenance Days" in his mechanics magic cave when he would help us solve all sorts of maintenance issues with our motorcycles. A true gentleman, may he rest in peace.  

  Last week’s ride to Dungog was a long but very enjoyable day out, so I was looking forward to a shorter day in the saddle today with the destination, Nords Wharf, on the shores of the lovely Lake Macquarie. We were blessed with a cooler and sunny day and approx. 16 riders turned up at Berowra for the ride. There were no virgins but we did have one newby, Simon, who’d ridden with us previously a couple of times but hadn’t received the clap, so we rectified that   this morning !! Welcome Simon   The route was going to be pretty straightforward, it had to be as my BMW Nav 6 (my third) crapped itself a few days ago when I attempted to load todays route onto it.  ☹  Briefing over we headed up the Old Road, at Kulnura turned right onto Springs Rd, down Bumble Hill, onto Yarramalong Rd and stopping at the Triangle for morning tea. Very little traffic. Interestingly, as I was corner marking the turn into the Triangle car park, there were two bikes coming up behind me,...

  Dungog Ride Thursday 2 April 2026 Left home  at 7:30am  to beat traffic, starting the ride from 7-Eleven Berowra  at 9:30am . Rode through thick fog and 16°C temperatures via Berowra Waters Ferry, but overall, it was an enjoyable trip to Berowra.  Thinking I would be the first to arrive, there were already 3 other riding groups parked up including the regular Thursday ladies’ group on their little Pee Wee size bikes and always up for a friendly chat.  It was somewhat surprising to see 20 or so riders turn up for a long ride and ready to go considering double demerit points kicked in  at midnight for the Easter Long Weekend, and with that in mind I thought it was worth emphasising in my ride briefing,  so with the double demerit points in force we were going to take it easy particularly on the Old Highway where there is a ridiculous 60 kph speed limit where it makes it hard to comfortably ride in top gear. Anyhow, we had one new rider Erikh from ...

The weather forecast for today was, in a word, lousy. But as the leader there is no choice but to turn up and see what happens. The original plan was to head off down the Bells Line of Road towards Lithgow and Bathurst for a special run around Mt Panorama but unfortunately a few cracks in a convict bridge would thwart our good intentions. An alternate plan was required, one that would not put us in danger negotiating the Scenic Hill into Lithgow with the complete west bound convoy of large and larger trucks to fill the Western Plains with their daily supplies. As we hadn’t been to Mangrove Mountain Dam Rec area for some time while it was closed for renovations, I thought that this would be a suitable destination for the days ride. Now how to approach this from the ride start point of Maccas Windsor? There are a few roads in the area that, to my knowledge, we hadn’t done before or hadn’t used for some time. So, following the briefing we set off at the modified start time of  10:00 ....

  7 riders gathered at Berowra for the   9:30am  start of the trip to the airfield which was 6 more than I expected. There was wide agreement that this destination was very much weather dependent given the frequent showers already experienced on the way to the gather. As part of the ride briefing it was agreed that we would review the destination on approach to Kulnura and if that was good we would review again at morning tea in Wollombi. The weather apps gave differing views on the rain risk, some showing a dry trip and others not so much. Turns out these latter fortune tellers were on the money as it rained steadily but not heavily all the way to Central Mangrove. Just as I was set on calling a halt at Jerry’s the rain stopped and the roads became dry so we pushed on to Wollombi for smoko. Another look at the weather apps at Slacks Park showed lots of rain activity over Cessnock and Luskintyre so the group unanimously decided to give the airfield a miss and head back to...

  Departing Heathcote Macca’s   at 10:00am   6 riders (Peter #1, Peter #2, Peter #3 and Peter #4) along with one Dave and one Kieth tracked southward and through the Royal National Park and onto to Stanwell Tops. The road now is in very good shape after the completion of recent roadworks which hindered our last attempted ride through the National Park. Maintaining a steady pace down the Princes Highway to the Kiama Blowhole for morning tea where we were faced with blustery and windy conditions on arrival so diverted to the more sheltered and infamous Fish and Chip Cafe located next to the boat ramp. The weather was being kind to us as we prepared to tackled Jamberoo Road which took us up to the recently renovated Robertson Pie Shop for lunch. Whilst enjoying tradition Robertson delicacies (Potatoes Pies, Potatoes Milk Shakes, Potatoes Finger Buns) there was no need to discuss any worldly affairs as things appear quite normal when you are out and about riding motorbikes. A...

  On this misty  Thursday morning  ten brave riders gathered at McGraths Hill to test may famous navigation skills again. In my haste not to be late I  forgot  my manual navigation aid , but found Windsor without it. The destination was Bulga. The research on the internet revealed , that Bulga, in Aboriginal language, means  mountain or hill , ( Ayers Rock obviously got a wrong name ) and is on Putty road , not Bulga-ria next to Turkyia Sebia and Greece . After this geographic lesson  I have decided to take a chance on the Putty Road way. Peter W. volunteered for the tail end Charlie duties. After successfully navigating out of the car park we where  on the way. There was very little traffic and Peter kept everybody close together so. we arrived in Grey Gum at the same time. I think he had been practising on sheep in his home country. After usual solving world problems , particularly AUS economy ( Mr Chalmers should learn from these sessions ) we ...

Well the Berowra turnout wasn’t huge given the forecast rain and the Braidwood ride but there was sufficient interest to prompt a ride to Jerry’s to assess the weather  north of Sydney. As it turned out there was no rain on the ride all day and the roads were quiet and clear so it was a good day out all round. With such a small group we made Jerry’s early so the decision was made to push on to the park in Wollombi and reassess there.  After smoko, with the weather cooperating, it was agreed we’d head to   Cooranbong park for lunch arriving there  around 12:30pm . The park had obviously had some rain with large puddles in the parking area but the sun was out for our lunch. After lunch it was the classic Mandalong, Dooralong, Yarramalong run back to the pie which we reached just after  2pm  for coffees and pies. Again we had missed recently rain in Cowan and sitting under the shade sail was gonna be wet so we didn’t. Problems were solved and a number of other...