Borgnis Street lights One solitary rider turned up on his Can-am at St. Ives (plus ride leader)!!! Luckily he volunteered to be the TEC. We waited until 7.45pm before leaving as sunset was 8.06pm and it needed to be a little darker to make the lights more effective. I had driven part of the route last Sunday and selected additional locations from the Northern Beaches 2023 Christmas lights website. Off we went to Childs Circuit off Forest Way. There was only one house with lights but they were quite impressive. It wasn't quite dark enough to make them stand out. Next we went to Prince Charles Road but nothing much happening there. After that to Carnarvon Drive, Frenchs Forest .... sod all there (so much for the website). Then on to Borgnis Street, Davidson which was chockers. We did a lap  admiring the locals handiwork before heading to Gondola Street, Narrabeen via the Wakehurst Parkway. This street is pretty impressive, even up to Borgnis Street standard!! We saw a few impr...

Hi All, 5 hardy souls including newest & youngest Ulysses member, Mike (on a shiny black Kwaka GPZ900R sporty thing) braved the elements of light drizzle fading to brilliant sunshine as morning progressed. Waited til 5 past, just in case, then headed through Roseville Chase, Frenchs Forest, Seaforth to Dobroyd Head for quick chat about ……. Back roads to coffee at West End Cafe for more chat about …… Then up to North Head for more chat about……. Thanks to Mike, Rob, Bonny & Geoff. Cheers, JW Here is a Brain Teaser from John for all you smart arses Tom Tightwad keeps his money in a safe, the code for which is a 10-digit number that uses every digit between 0 and 9.   Fearful of forgetting the code, Tom wrote it on the front of the safe, but disguised it.   He wrote the first five digits (C 1  to C 5 ) along the top of a 5x5 grid, and the last five digits (C 6  to C 10 ) down the side.   Then he multiplied each digit along the top by each digit down the side...

  It was a small, sad-arsed group. But we’ll come back to that.     The morning started off interestingly. We motored off, eight of us, and almost immediately we were arrested. By the police. Of course, we denied everything, dobbed each other in without being asked and in due course, none of us having been found to be intoxicated by anything but the warm weather, were released. Soon the small and grumbling traffic jam we had help create moved on.   Off to Jerries at Kulnara for morning tea, or coffee. Some interesting news from Jerry. His establishment will be closed from next week to the end of January. He, with his family, are off to Vietnam. He has subbed in a catering van, so that coffee will be available but there will be no Portuguese tarts. Jerry was unwillingly entertained as we displayed; excruciatingly, patronisingly, and competitively, our knowledge of the five principal dialects of the Vietnamese language and of our last holiday in Hanoi. Eventually out o...

  15 arrived for the ride and to enjoy the sun shine and fabulous company. This included 1 virgin, who we were happy to give the clap and 2 dirty riders who went their own way via Portland Ferry and Upper Colo to Mt Wilson via Bilpin.   The remainder had morning tea at Mt Tomah gardens after a short wait at the roadworks. Tea and bickies done I timed it perfectly to catch the tail end of a batch of vehicles that had just cleared the said roadwork which included a very slow truck. Once past the truck we came up to speed and not much over as I had just regained a clean licence and was keen to hold onto it for at least a week or two. My caution paid off as an unmarked piggy heading the other way was seen at the top of Lithgow. The original plan was to take the road that goes past the entrance to Hassan Walls but that road was closed. The alternate plan was to go around Hassan Walls and cut back in to Hartley Vale. Another change in plan as the only road I did not recon. was close...

  GONBUG “Not to Bombo Beach” Ride report, Sunday 3 December 2023 Well !!! The best-laid plans can go awry, but don’t quite turn to custard. After meticulous ride-planning one week early, and with good weather forecast, I thought I would at last lead Northern Beaches group to a virgin destination – we had never ridden to wonderful, tantalising Bombo Beach. Then it unravelled – with an invitation from no less than the Lord Mayor of Sydney to her fancy-pants Lord Mayor’s Town Hall Christmas Party, 3 rd December, starting at 2pm back in centre-city. Ever the “opportunist”, I reckoned this would be just the event to publicise Ulysses Beginnings, at the Elizabeth Hotel (since demolished) in Elizabeth Street, City, forty years before, on 6 th December 1983. We had even (almost) been awarded a bronze plaque in the footpath near the site. This I explained to the gathering of five riders, that two of us riders would need to get back to centre-city by 2pm for the Town Hall shindi...

I received a call on Monday from Al Scott, who was todays designated ride leader, asking if I would lead as he has a problem with his shoulder and has not been riding due to it. Great I thought, looking at the forecast that showed rain. I am pleased to say the forecast was wrong, the weather was sun and blue skies. Briefing done a dozen or so familiar faces left Berowra a few minutes before 10 where we proceeded to have a nicely paced ride to Calga for regroup. A small amount of road work with traffics lights that did not hold most of us up very much except Peter of the fluro braces who had kindly agreed to be tec. After a long wait at Calga a rider with fluro. as part of his top rounded the corner so off, we went only to find out later it was not our tec. One corner at the top of Bumble hill was all I thought needed marking and as we all arrived at the triangle that theory was validated. Morning tea consumed we were off again this time every corner was marked and again we all arrived ...