UNB Ride to 2023 Ulysses National Rally, Lismore.

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 Here follows my Report for the ride to and from the Rally. There will no doubt be lots more to say about the Rally itself, which overall was a great success for the town, the organising committee and the participants. I understand there were well over 800 registrations with around 15 from Northern Beaches. 

Weds 3rd May  Off to Lismore.

Four 9am starters from St Ives - Geoff, Kevin Hardy, Peter Walsh and Keith Bourdon. Picked up Erica at Berowra and headed up the Expressway to the Peats Ridge exit, and on to Wollombi for a leg stretch. Then through to Broke for a non-coffee stop.  On via Mt Thorley onto the Golden Highway and up through Jerrys Plains, across the Edderton Road and to Muswellbrook for fuel. Beautiful day so far but the breeze picking up.

Up the New England Highway, round the Scone bypass, and arrived at the pie shop at Murrurundi with 5 minutes to spare. After a pie and a chat we added a layer or two and headed up through the Liverpool Range into colder and windy conditions through to Tamworth, and then up the Moonbi Hill to arrive at our hotel at Bendemeer at 4.10pm. What a great pub! Sheds for our bikes, warm fire, good food, comfy beds, great atmosphere and welcoming hosts.

Thurs 4th May

Up and ready by 7.30 and away by 8am. A cool and damp morning but with dry roads and the sun breaking through. Up to Uralla to meet Paulette and Edwin for a cafe breakfast, then refuelled and headed onto Armidale where we turned east onto the Waterfall Way. We had heard of rough surface and roadwork delays but apart from a couple of roadworks sections this road was in quite good order and gave a good run through to Ebor, where we detoured to the Falls for a look-see and toilet stop, then on into the twisty bits through Tyringham and Clouds Creek and down to Nymboida. A great road!

Along the river and stopped at Coutts Crossing for lunch at the servo cafe. Then through Grafton and out along the Clarence River to cross the ferry at Lawrence and into Maclean for a fuel stop. Onto the new highway at Harwood and down the concrete for 40 kms to exit to Woodburn, where we crossed the river and headed north-west through Wyralla and into Lismore, arriving at the AGM Check-in at the showground at 4.15pm.

Sun 7th May  Heading home.

Again five starters but a different crew - Geoff, Keith Crowe, John Hutchison, John Osborne and Peter Baulch following in his Tiguan. Left the showgrounds at 9am and firstly headed cross-country to Casino for a fuel top-up before heading on down the Summerland Way to Grafton. The day started out cloudy but slowly we overtook the clouds and by Grafton it was sunny and warming up nicely. A quite long and relaxed coffee and cake / late breakfast stop, then another fuel top-up before we started back up the Grafton Road / Waterfall Way. As we headed up into the hills the temperature came down and thunder clouds began to threaten, and at Ebor when we stopped for lunch we rugged up. The afternoon was colder and windy as we approached Armidale, and we went straight through and on to Uralla for fuel and on again to Bendemeer, back to that great hotel.

Mon 8th May

Windy and cold in Bendemeer this morning, but no frost and sunshine peeping, so looking like another good day. But COLD.  We lingered and breakfasted at the hotel and didn't get going till nearly 9am, and even though we were heading "downhill" the day didn't seem to warm up at all till we stopped in Muswellbrook for fuel and found a good coffee spot in an arcade off the main street. This was our first and last stop, so we lingered and chatted till nearly 2pm before saying our farewells and heading on, out towards Denman then up Edderton Road, onto the Golden Highway and right through to join the New England Highway just before Belford, and swinging onto the Hunter Expressway. From here it was around 2 hours of expressway madness to Berowra, and through the back way to St Ives and home by 4.20pm. Well, that's another AGM trip done and the old R1100 didn't miss a beat. Mandurah next year? Well..... that's a different matter, eh?  West Australia - three or four weeks away? Nullarbor? We'll see...      

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