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...

               The Three Wise Men   With inclement weather in the offering,13 riders set off from McGraths Hill, with one nameless rider mistakenly ready to depart from Pheasants Nest, some 103km away. Scotty & Karen had planned to meet us at Oberon for lunch. A pleasant ride through to Oberon where the full group of 16 assembled, including Pheasants Nest Andrew! It was then a spirited ride down to Trappers Bakery at Goulburn via Shooters Hill. We then routed east to Bungonia and rejoined the main road at Tarago. At this point the dark clouds had moved in and the sky's opened up. Some stopped to put on their wets while others soldiered on to Braidwood. Suffice to say most ended up a little on the damp side.   It was then off to the Royal Hotel for a couple of 'frothy' ones and dinner. I was glad to see Bangers and Rissoles featured on the Gordon Blue menu. I had phoned Nina a week earlier to make a booking for 16. Whilst consuming a ...

We had 15 riders join us for an early   start at 9:30 , with 14 making it all the way to Glen Davis despite some showers along the way. Naturally the rain stopped as soon as Rod pulled in to put is rain jacket on!   Smoko was at Maccas in Lithgow and lunch was in the picnic area in Glen Davis.  Most of the riders stopped on the way home for a break at the Fruit Bowl in Bilpin where Frosty arrived in his car, having been on a sightseeing tour of the Blue Mountains. Another great ride and the road from Capertee to Glen Davis is in overall very good condition despite a few pot holes that were well marked by painted circles. Thanks to all for your company and thank you to our TEC, Africa Twin Peter

Well, didn't we have a great time yesterday. Nine riders gathered at McDonald's at Heathcote for a 9.30 start. Promising to be a beautiful day around 24° where we were riding and lots of twisty roads in the destination area, so what could be better. Rocket was there on his new BMW R 1300 GS in all its glory, ready to put it through its paces.   Unfortunately I had to change the end destination, because a bit of research a few days earlier showed that the road to Tallowa dam had suffered storm damage and was closed now, and unlikely to be opened until the middle of the year. Fortunately, there is an equally good destination called Camberwarra Mountain Lookout - about the same distance and all nice twisty roads to get to it so off we went. Steve Sampson on his blue 1250 RT volunteered as tail end Charlie, so everything was sorted.   We turned off the highway into the Royal National Park at Waterfall, went through Stanwell Tops Lookout, up to Helensburg and then back onto the old...

Last year I led a four ferries ride, that turned out to be a 2 ferries ride. This year the four ferries ride turned into a no ferries ride. Frosty was looking at his phone and informed me that 2 of the ferries were closed. Apparently because of the recent heavy rain. So I had to come up with a new plan. I made an executive decision to go to Catherine Hill Bay. Most people were okay with the new plan, so we headed up the old road to Bumble Hill and the triangle for coffee break. It was here that I found out that the ride  in 2 weeks  is to Catherine hill Bay.  So the leader of that ride decided to make it a four ferries ride. Worked out pretty well. Then it was up Hue Hue road to Wyee and then a right turn to the  Pacific Highway and on to Catherine Hill Bay. It was a beautiful day, although a bit breezy. After lunch it was every man, and woman, for themselves. A nice day and a nice ride. Cheers, Suitcase

  14 lads braved the threat of rain to front up at Berowra and one numpty suggested a ride and ended up leading it there and back. Guess who that was  😜 Anyway smoko was at Jerry’s which was still closed but we didn’t care, roads were clear, pace was brisk. We did have one delayed starter when his BMWobbleU spat the dummy and refused to cooperate. Aided by TEC Peter of the Braces (thanks Pete) and KTM Pete the manual was duly studied and stuff was reset resulting in a trip to Jerry’s but time was called after that in case it threw another tantrum. At Jerry’s a few other riders also called it quits whilst the rest set off for Millfield cafe for lunch.  Again a drama free trip got us to Millfield before  12pm  which wasn’t bad going. A couple of the more aged riders admitted to “forgetting” we weren’t stopping at Wollombi so did the trip via the park. After lunch the choice was via Cooranbong or back the way we came. One rider was eager for a swim so set off for ...