- a Perfect Day at Wangi Wangi It was a beautiful day, perhaps the most beautiful day of the year. A few fluffy clouds, a steady 23 degrees dipping to  a freshening 21 degrees as we ascended up to Peats Ridge and - Life is Good. You know the feeling! There were an indomitable dozen of us. Actually a couple more who left at morning tea, but not before they paid their dues to UCARF, who had arranged the perfect weather which ran contrary to the misleading, dire and deceptive representations from the weather bureau and the ABC. I was amused at the way, in almost perfect (sorry to use that word again, but it was that sort of day) formation the dozen followed me. Swooping up the old road at precisely the speed limit, if the speed limit had been the one I thought appropriate. A quiet coffee at Jerry’s, swooping and tweedling down Bumble Hill and a lovely run through Yarramalong, Dooralong, Mandalong and along the Lake to Chez Wangi in Little Wangi Bay. Rob Toshack did a perfect jo...

Bright and early on Tuesday morning the day held lots of promise, that was until it was time to leave for our meeting place at Sutton Forest. Just as leaving time arrived, so did the rain. Soon it was heavy, and then it was torrential. I stopped for ten minutes at Shell Forestville to clear my visor, and to wait for a break in the deluge. When the rain steadied down a little I was on my way again, joining the slow traffic. By the time I reached the M2 the sky was only offering a sprinkle, and that didn’t last long. My gloves were soaked, inside and out, so by the time I reached the meeting place, my fingers were slightly blue, as I had forgotten that I had grip heaters. With the help of some extra Watts the gloves soon dried out. We had perfect weather and sunshine for the rest of the trip. There had been a couple of late cancelations, so our day one group was John W, MTC, Geoff, Keith, and myself. MTC and John were in their quadbikes; MTC rode with us until  lunchtime, and then re...

  Australian Infantry Museum Ride The weather lately has been all over the shop and as a regular motorcycle rider one tends to keep a close eye on the weather forecast and this week more so for me. When my name pop’s up on the ride calendar to lead a ride, one invariably has a sense of duty to see it through, if it is to be its up to me.    On checking my weather apps including the BOM radar I wasn’t completely satisfied so looking out the window blurry eyed to double check I was convinced that it was going to be a good one and more than likely would be greeted by thirty or so overzealous riders at 7 Eleven Berowra. Sadly, this was not the case although easier to manage with only thirteen mildly enthusiastic riders on various makes and models of expensive petrol guzzling powerful machines, however nobody ever seems to complain about little things like that, it would only demoralise the pleasures of life we take for granted.   There were no newbies to welcome just the...

A perfect day greeted 26 enthusiast riders at Berowra heading out to Pokolbin via Jerry’s and Wollombi then to Pokolbin Park. Newby Sil was given the customary clap much to his surprise.    All started well with relatively clear roads until, while stopped at the Brooklyn Bridge Frosty noted a constabulary vehicle two cars ahead. Some cat and mouse unravelled as it appeared they sped up then slowed down as if to tease us. Eventually they disappeared and we continued merrily onto our coffee fix.    Jerry’s was a popular venue with like minded riders enjoying the open roads and coffee in the sun. We turned at Wollombi to enjoy the vineyard valleys and with some additional help from Richo we found our mark. Noted that the lead rider did take a wrong turn at one point!    Lunch and a leak was enjoyed by all before setting off in a variety of directions towards home. I did not pass go and went straight home to prepare for a Tassie adventure starting the next day....

  Six riders gathered at Berowra looking for a ride and 3 of them made the same suggestion. “Given the Luskintyre Ride got scrubbed last week why don’t we do that?” Who was I to disagree?   So, mindful of the fact time was a’tickin’ we set off a couple of minutes shy of  10am  for morning tea at Wollombi with Peter of the Braces in TEC role (thanks Pete) and with no corner marking nor regathers as everyone knows how to get to Wollombi!   Four riders arrived together, then another after 10 mins and then Pete after another 5. Again, cos it was now after  11:30am , Pete had to chug his coffee so we could get going again.   With corner marking in full swing now we set off for Cessnock and the Old Maitland road. After Bellbird we consolidated the ride group for the only suburbia portion of the ride, trawled through Bellbird Heights and Cessnock before forking left of the Old Maitland road. The first part was AOK and pace was brisk but after a few k’s we hit...

  Hi all and sundry   I am not sure this is politically correct to compose a salutation as I have done. The Oxford Dictionary defines 'Sundry' as "various items not important enough to be mentioned individually". That is certainly not what is intended as there are just too many names to mention, although come to think of it, there may be some applicability...........Stephen. Sorry Stephen, that was uncalled for.....maybe!   Before departing I sought out some expert advice re the weather. My not so trusty BOM app suggested that we may experience a few showers in the morning. That proved to be a lie. Think they have been watching Trumpy too much as we were eventually confronted with showers for most of the day.   11 riders duly assembled at Maccas, McGraths Hill. Shortly after departure, the showers indeed kicked in and did not break until we arrived at Bell. Some smart arse was later heard to mumble.....'it's as clear as a Bell'. A bit sad rea...

  On an absolutely filthy wet and cold day 3 riders gathered at Berowra to make the trek via Wollombi, Cessnock and Lochinvar to Luskintyre Airfield.   Luckily sanity prevailed at Jerry’s in Kulnura where we stopped for morning tea (instead of Wollombi) to thaw out. Needless to say we never made it to the airfield or anywhere close, instead making the strategic decision to retire wet and frozen, via the Yarramalong valley, Peats Ridge and the old road, to the Pie for lunch before heading home to dry out and warm up. Never mind we’ll have another go at Old Maitland Road on another ride. Until the next time Andy

  Three of us (including Newbie Glynn) met at St Ives, set off for PITS Cowan, to find it packed with Classic Cars (how dare they) and teen bikers; we hastily departed, following the Old Road and Into East Gosford, stopping for Coffee n Cake at The Bakery – monstrous “snot-slice” – good coffee, sunshine. Did I mention that the weather was cool/cold, especially if not wearing winter gloves. With wind increasing, we originally found the Walking Path and THEN made use of   “Nellie-Never-Lost” to find Dolly Ave, leading us up, up, up and further UP into Rumbalara Reserve, all the way to the circular drive, then walked around, meeting pioneers Captain Charles Sturt, Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith, and Captain Matthew Flinders – all larger than life-size bronze sculptures. (Edward Eyre was in hiding.) The ride downhill was also pretty exciting, dodging pot-holes, looking out for oncoming traffic on the narrow track –DONE. Why not visit wonderful Edogawa Gardens at East Gosford Ga...

  The pre ride discussion included that water proof riding gear was a myth, a general agreement that longer rides should have an earlier start, the weather and should we amend the destination. Having checked the weather radar I thought that we would be able to thread the needle between to rain storms so the destination remained the same. No virgins and as we had all been across the mountains many times no need for corner marking or a TEC. I regretted the lack of TEC later as I was often distracted with checking the mirrors to make sure we had not left anyone. Traffic was light, I set the pace as a cruise, and we all arrived at Maccas Lithgow together.   Further discussion on the destination and weather lead 5 of the 9 heading back. The 4 remaining, after checking the radar, decided that, yes, we should be able to get between the rain. We arrived at Sofala as the rain had turned from a few drops and were welcomed by thunder and heavier rain. We ate in the park then headed off h...

 Today's ride early start didn't happen for various reasons, so we missed our window of opportunity to join the 10am massed ride from Narellan to Cordeaux Dam. Instead we took a more leisurely route over the Harbour Bridge and down the Bay to join the Princes Hwy to Engadine for a coffee stop, then on to Waterfall, down the Old Princes Hwy to Bulli Tops, then the Mt Ousley Rd to Picton Rd and to Cordeaux Dam, arriving just after the Memorial Day speeches and just in time for a rissole on a roll. About a hundred Ulysseans there, lots of familiar old faces, bit of a catch-up, good to see you etc. etc.  Thanks again to Macarthur Branch for hosting and food. A lovely spot for a picnic lunch. Home through RNP and that was a lovely ride as well. Temp. around 22 - 24 degrees, light traffic, no hold-ups other than road closures in the CBD. Ah well, pay the toll this time, home by 3pm. Cheers!

 Springtime at last! A great day to be out on the bike, and a scenic cruise to a great cafe.  Four starters from St Ives and two pick-ups at the 711 at Berowra. And we very nearly had another, except his Guzzi wouldn't start to go onto the Berowra Ferry and he was never seen again. Hardly any traffic today. I guess dad was at home with the kids? Easy riding and a pleasant stop for coffee at the Wisemans Ferry then on past Spencer to Central Mangrove and down to Peats Ridge. The Corrugated cafe has had a make-over. They are now the 47 Oaks Cafe. New staff and good food and a "trying to please" attitude which was good to see. And not busy. All good. Home by your choice so thanks for coming and see you next time!

 The Antique Motorcycle Club of America - Australia Inc. runs an annual weekend at Bulli Showground, showcasing all things motorcycling, particularly early American motorcycles. Hundreds of bikes of every make you've ever heard of and many you've not, along with all the historic racing, speedway and marque clubs and associations, displays, swap and sell stands, food trucks and wet bar. This event is well worth the visit despite the 2-hour slog through the city to get there. If you missed it you've missed out for this year, so put it on your Calendar for next year. 

 A recce trip was carried out ( by car ) in the week preceding this ride and the judgement was that the dirt road from near Lincoln's Rock Lookout to the McMahons Lookout carpark ( 38 kms return ) was "marginal" ( i.e. chopped up, gutters and pot-holes ).  The pop-up page on the Calendar Event was  amended accordingly, and as a result on the morning of 18th August I had three "starters", none of whom were interested in riding on the dirt, but who wanted a ride anyway. Accordingly we headed off in the general direction of the Blue Mountains via Yarramundi, and some time later found ourselves having an early lunch in the park at Glenbrook, consuming various delicacies from the local Bakery and watching a southerly change and low clouds coming in over the Mountains and threatening to make our afternoon dampish. We departed for home accordingly, mostly via the Western Freeway back to Parramatta and (toll-free) onto James Ruse Drive and along Victoria Road to Ryde an...

 A short run today from St Ives up to Pie In The Sky via Comenarra Parkway, New Line Road, Northern Road and the Berowra Ferry. MTC in the lead and four willing followers. Yours truly as tail-ender. All went according to plan, the ferry was waiting for us and PITS was located successfully. Coffee and cakes and chat followed. Another lovely morning to be out on the bike!

 We've had a couple of wash-out rides lately, so a "catch-up" brunch at the Marina Cafe was certainly in order as a follow-on ride after a wander round St Ives Showground at the 4th August Cars N Coffee. There's always a fascinating assortment of rare and unusual cars on display, and often a fascinating assortment of owners and lookers wandering about. We five fine UNB bods felt that we fitted in. We shopped around, drinking our coffee and pretending to know all the history and finer points of the models. Hmmm, should I purchase that lovely MGA 1600, or a new R1300GS Beemer? Dreaming again? Yep. Aren't we going for a ride? Yes lets go on down McCarrs Creek to the Marina Cafe. Done. This is the life. A late breakfast on the wharf with all the beautiful people. And the sun was shining!!! Cheers!

  Gloucester Glide. Sunny day 30 degree forecast & 11 starters from McGraths hill with morning tea at Gray Gums. After half an hour my bike was behaving unpredictably in the corners. I had a flat rear tyre. Dave Sipple “topped me up” twice with is battery operated compressor to get me to Singleton. Kim continued as ride leader to Maccas at Singleton & onto Gloucester via Dungog.  I can recommend the Singleton Bike Shop on the main road. They fitted a set of Pirelli Angle GTs. When they removed the front the bearings just fell onto the ground. They couldn’t believe I got there safely.  TEC Rob held my hand over a pub lunch. Danny lost the main group at Maccas & the 3 of us had a very pleasant ride arriving in time for the cocktail hour. We stayed at the Gloucester Country Club Motel & ate at the club. The rooms & food were quite OK & very reasonably priced.  We had a meeting to plan the return ride over dinner & John Randal was elected ride...

  This was Not the Gloucester Ride, for the pussies that couldn’t put up with a strange night away with “gentlemen” at Gloucester.   We gathered, six of us, at Berowra, as scheduled. I asked Andy, who I was sure would be ride leader, if we could please go via Wollombi because it was in my interest. I was immediately catapulted into the job of ride leader, to the concern of everyone else other than Andy. Paul Margereson demanded, out of the blue, for me to describe the sea level rise in Sydney Harbour. I didn’t know. I didn’t have my trusty Dogge’s “Guide to Sea Level Rises” (Penguin, 2023) with me, although I suggested at Nuku’alofa the rise was 1.76cm and that was enough to worry us. Shortly after, Paul was washed off the Old Pacific Highway by an errant tidal wave, which goes to show….   Off we dawdled, down the Old Highway, me in the lead, the five tail-end Charlies close behind. We assiduously obeyed the speed limits, but for another road. The weather was magnificent,...

We had 20 plus riders yesterday, the destination was to my neighbours’ farm (Tarana) and then the Tarana Pub for lunch, the Bells Line of Road is now clear of road works and we had a quick run to Bowenfels for smoko before heading to the farm.   The farm was a great experience, apart from the usual cows and sheep they breed, emu, ostrich, bison, buffalo, deer, horse and miniature horse, donkey and camels, hand feeding the camels was a lot of fun, the bison were a bit grumpy. It seems the ride group enjoyed the farm. Lots of pics on our Facebook page.   The Tarana Pub was a classic small town country pub, food was good and great atmosphere, I can recommend it.   The road to Tarana has a few more potholes than usual, we found a new road back to Lithgow with no potholes which I will add to a ride plan in the future.   Thanks, Mark McMahon for TEC duties on the ride, it all went to plan.   Below is a “one man ride report” from last week, Peter Greenwood was on his m...

  As predicted, with many riders away and the weather abominable , it was a no show on Thursday .     I left Freshwater in light but constant rain , but once past the airport the roads became dry .    Arrived at Heathcote Maccas  9.40 am  , no takers by 10.15 , so as I scouted some roads down south in case I get to lead a ride that way in the future .    The road from the top of Mt Kiera to Mt Kembla was very pleasant and worth another look .    Regards  Peter Greenwood

  Today’s ride departed Berowra under clear sunny skies and “near warm” temperatures. 20 plus riders tracked north to Jerry’s for morning tea, first time I’ve pulled up there and not one other bike to be seen, the place was deserted. With a large contingent arriving in rapid succession we quickly took over the available parking slots and picnic tables for a relaxed morning tea break. Shortly thereafter a single (but colourful) Chrysler 360C quietly slid into the parking area, not a problem, then another colourful BMW 5 Series arrived and nuzzled beside the 360, both looking very dapper and just as everyone returned to the general Thursday conversation of the day we had another colourful BMW 5 Series snuggle up to the other two colourful cars. After finishing morning tea and having two male colourful cars and one female colourful car (thinking 3 is a crowd) it was deemed best to depart the venue and track back towards Yarramalong Valley towards our destination before any territorial...