Ride Report  28 th   March  202 4  to  Dungog  NSW   It rained during the night so I made a mental note to give the Thursday ride to Dungog a miss…… then I realised I was leading the !@#$ ride. I dragged my sorry beetroot head out of bed, donned my trusty  Rukka  waterproof riding gear and headed to Berowra hoping no other moron would turn up. I was wrong there were fifteen morons hiding under the awning at the 7-Eleven with steady rain falling. Don’t these people have something better to do on a wet Thursday!!! On Wednesday I received a couple of texts inquiring where the morning tea was. I told them Melbourne so they should have arrived there by now but they both piked out because of the inclement weather??? Back to the ride briefing. There were no virgins, except for one dishevelled creature claiming his virginity back due to lack of use or memory. I told the assembled group that DOUBLE DEMERITS were in force … much mumbling of I didn’t kn...

Team leader Mitchell here to report on our day ride to the Hunter. Sixteen enthusiastic riders meet at McDonalds. After usual debate about morning tea and lunch menus or the route, it was agreed bring your own and Putty road. In addition there was the “we didn’t think you’d show and please don’t run out of petrol” jokes endured by the lead!  Anyhow all else was forgotten after we experienced blue skies and traffic free, excellent regional roads at a healthy pace. What could be better. Before we knew it we arrived at Grey Gums had a drink and a munch then headed back out on the road. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves! A couple of roadworks stops didn’t matter and we all passed through Broke and arrived at Pokolbin Park together. The toilets were exquisite and the view not too bad either. The usual chaos ensued deciding the best way back to the Pie. There were a few concerns about fuel challenged bikes? Anyhow I went to the nearest servo at Cessnock and speed with a posse to ...

  The 2024 Moonan Flat weekender was a pleasant and fairly quiet affair with seven UNB riders attending. Five of us left St Ives at 8am Saturday and met Al Scott at Wollombi then went on to Singleton Bakery for an early lunch stop. From Singleton we separated and four of us enjoyed a short dirt ride of about 20k’s over the Albano Road to Rouchel and past Glenbawn Dam while Alan B and Terry went round via Aberdeen on the tar, and we met John Hutchison at Moonan Flat. I had booked both bunk rooms at the Victoria Hotel at Moonan Flat and we filled all seven of the beds. Arriving variously from around 2pm, we sat and yarned through the afternoon and enjoyed a few drinks and an excellent dinner at the restaurant. Yes our weekender clashed with the Ulysses AGM week. What a terrible decision – to ride or fly to Perth and trek down the scenic west coast of WA to Mandurah, a 5000km journey from here at least – or to sit and enjoy the afternoon at a quiet country pub in the glorious f...

  Despite the hot weather forecast, 17 riders turned up at Mcgraths Hill and 14 of them made it to lunch. Due to the road into The Garden of Stone still being closed the destination was changed to Glen Alice in the Capertee Valley. The ride up to Lithgow was frustratingly slow due to road works and trucks but after smoko at Maccas we had a clear run to the Capertee Valley. Lunch was at the cafe 'From the Paddock Farm Market' which is worth a visit if you have not been there before. As I needed to get back to Sydney, I abandoned the group and headed for home. As I pulled out the temperature was a pleasant 38 degrees! I assume everybody made it home safely with most returning the way we came and some continuing home via Rysltone and Denman. Many thanks to our TEC Peter. Regards  Peter Walshaw

As you are aware, 10th March 1788 was the date on which La Perouse and his two ships departed Botany Bay after their six weeks encampment at what is now known as Frenchman’s Bay. Sadly, they were never seen again, but the wrecks of the two ships, La Boussole and L’Astrolabe, were discovered about 40 years later near the Solomon Islands. Our ride on Sunday 10th March 2024 took us from St Ives along the Link Road, through Northbridge, over Long Gully Bridge, then via Cahill Expressway to Botany, where we followed the Foreshore Drive, past the huge Shipping docks, past Botany Cemetery (holding many First Fleeters’ graves) then on to easy bike parking at La Perouse near Bare Island and the Museum. There was no commemoration of 10th March, despite previous ceremonies which I have attended – sad. We wandered around the Museum’s 3 sections – specialising in a. Communications b. Indigenous history c. La Perouse’s six-week visit (26 January – 10 March). Randwick Council hosts Bastille Day (avec...

 Eight riders gathered at St. Ives for this coffee ride to the Corrugated Cafe in Peats Ridge. Actually it was nine riders as there was a young woman checking us out in case she wanted to join us. Needless to say after seeing this all male mob of geriatrics she shot through pretty quickly. The plan was to ride straight to the Corrugated Cafe and not pass GO at the PITS. I dropped in there to check if the mighty "Suitcase" was around and lo and behold he was, with coffee and fag in hand. I rode on to the Peats Ridge Ampol where I filled up with 98 which was 40 cents cheaper than anywhere else en route!!! No cartel???? The rest of the mob arrived at the Corrugated Cafe including Brett on his beautifully turned out Honda 1100F. Coffee and cake were partaken of and much bullshit was shared. Eventually the weather had to interfere when it started raining and all riders beat a hasty retreat home. A very pleasant morning with great company while it lasted. Cheers Alan In case you mi...

  During the week, Rod had called to discuss the weather and to gear me up for a likely limited turn-up to today's ride.  The forecast was for temps of 39deg. And who wants to ride in that?  Well, four of us did!   When the alotted departure time of  10.00am  arrived, the Heathcote Macca's carpark came alive with the sound of BMW exhausts - three triples and a four-pot with me as ride leader on the RT joined by Tony (with the four-pot XR!) and Peter (GSA) - both having travelled two hours from the Northern Beaches for their McMuffin! And Jeff (on another GS) having travelled a similar distance from The Hills district.   So, a ride with four silly buggers! What could go wrong?  Well, nothing actually! We all left on time, arrived on time, we lost nobody enroute and enjoyed solving real-life issues over coffee (grand-children, siblings, and yes, Trump got a mention!).   There aren't a lot of options for 'fun' heading South so the roads were lar...

  With temperatures expected to soar during the day the 9 riders at Berowra were under no illusions regarding the ride comfort wise, it was already quite warm at 9:30am. The suggestion was made of a ride to Spencer via Ebenezer Church on the basis that there was shade at the church and some shade along River and Wisemans Ferry roads. It also should result in a loop to the Pie in time to escape the worst of the heat. Ah the best laid plans of mice and men eh! Naturally the suggestor had other things planned so couldn’t possibly lead such a ride and since I had managed to avoid leading for at least a couple of weeks I put my hand up. Clearly I had learned nothing from the last hot day ride I was on which involved ferries. Anyway, the ride group was all experienced Thursday Riders who knew where Ebenezer Church and Spencer were so I announced a TEC (thanks Alan) to gather up any stragglers but no corner marking because sitting stationary out in the heat just wasn’t on. With that very ...