Way Out West Ride 2-3rd Sept 2026

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 After a quick briefing 17 talented Riders (2 Ladies and 15 “Gentleman”) departed the Berowra 7 Eleven under clear Spring Sunny Skies at the scheduled 9:30am earlier start time.


As planned our group was joined by Karen Fitzgerald as we cruised by Jerry’s at Kulnura bringing the lady rider numbers up to three. Having Karen join us was a great relief to Allan Scott who was feeling very lost and lonely at the 7 Eleven departure point.

The regroup at Wollombi went smoothly as we tracked a further 30k’s north to Broke for our morning tea break.

At this point I was mindful of another well known rider Frank Henry from Armidale joining us at the township of Merriwa. 
Having used all my amazing computing skills, Artificial Intelligence and other logarithms my ETA given to Frank was to optimistic, so I searched for his “roommate” Wayne whilst at Broke so he could update Frank of a new arrival time.
Unfortunately Wayne decided to remain at a distance across the road at the servo….so at 1:10amFrank headed directly to Mudgee.
(In due course I felt compelled to explain to Frank the delay into Merriwa was due to obeying all speed limit rules, road work delays, day light saving differences and the changing El Niño weather patterns..so all was forgiven).

Cruising the Golden Highway trekking in a westerly direction brought back wonderful memories as we went somewhere near Jerry’s Plains, this time sticking to the 100k/h speed limit when two riders needed to clear some cobwebs from their exhaust systems, something similar I did years ago which resulted in my attendance at the Manly Court House…

Our group eventually arrived at Dunedoo for lunch and a well deserved break. One rider on a blue R/T stated his particular body metabolism required lunch well prior to the 2:30pm and that I was to ensure we cater for his future food intake needs.

A leisurely 80k’s down to Mudgee and all riders (including Frank) arrived safe and well, ready for dinner at the Oriental Hotel. It appears everyone enjoyed the evening along with the typical camaraderie and banter that goes with the Thursday Riders overnight trips.

The sunrise in Mudgee was spectacular (so I was told) as our group gathered for a 8:30am departure from the Soldier’s Motel car park. It was then noted (with some concern) that only one BMW R1200 bike was parked under cover during the overnight stay and opinion was divided why another F800 was not “cosily” parked very close to the R1200 in the undercover facility, speculation was quickly dismissed by the R1200 owner stating that “Life is like a bunch of coconuts” or something or other.

Again the weather people turned on another ideal riding day as we trekked along the Bylong Valley Road to Denman for morning tea, always a great place to stop and enjoy a break.

We used the great back roads from Denman to Jerry’s Plains, onto the Golden Highway making our way to Laguna for lunch, Frosty bid farewell from there, Allan and Karen had already deviated away from the mob and the rest of the group headed home, some via PITS.

What a great way to spend a couple of days, great friends and lots of good laughs, for many of us that’s what life is all about along with family and good health.

And thanks to Rod T and Steve S for their TEC duties.

Regards, Richo.
PS…Special thanks to Peter (Blue Harley) for staying with me to see Tony at Gee Tee Motorcycles in Mangrove Mountain for a rear tyre puncture repair.

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