BMBEN
Registered user
Wed-Thur 19-20 Oct 2011
Denman
This was to be our overnight ride and the weather promised to be perfect. Eight of us intended to do the two day run and Eric had indicated an 8.30 start from Maccas. At 8.30 we were all there except Eric! He finally arrived at 8.45, blaming the traffic for being late. So there we were. Noel, Eric, Les, Gary, Dave C, Ross C, Spyderman (Jeff) and of course me, Franz and Bill were also there, but would not be doing the whole trip.
At 9.00am the ten of us set off up the Great Western Highway with Noel as the ride leader. The continuous roadworks from Woodford to Wentworth Falls were a bit of a drag but we had been expecting this. After all, the signs say they won’t be completed until sometime in 2012. We rode past the Hydro-Majestic Hotel at Medlow Bath where the signs also say it will be completed in 2012 and absolutely nothing is happening. Then down Victoria pass where thankfully the roadworks have been completed, through Little Hartley and up River Lett Hill to South Bowenfels where we pulled into the Shell servo for smoko. They seem to have given up on locking the toilets and only giving you the key if you buy something. It was a bloody silly idea anyway.
After smoko Bill left us to return home. Franz would ride with us as far as Rylstone. We set off along the highway past Lithgow, then took the Mudgee turnoff. We cruised along through Cullen Bullen and Capertee (widest canyon in the world) and on to Ilford. Just past Ilford we turned east and enjoyed the wonderful views as we rode towards Rylstone. On arrival at Rylstone we rode into the sports ground for lunch. The facilities here provide lots of picnic benches but no tables. To compensate for the lack of tables, they provide three toilet blocks! I pondered this strange attitude while I chewed my peanut butter sandwiches.
After lunch, Franz left us. He was going to ride his chook-chaser down some back-roads to Glen Davis and Capertee.
So I had decided to head home via Bogee, Glen Alice and back to Capertee. A terrific road through the countryside and the 20km of dirt road, did not worry me at all. Half way between Capertee and Cullen Bullen I stopped at the lookout and had a look over the Wollemi National Park. I did 360km for the days ride and got home around 5.00pm. Regards Franz.
The rest of us saddled up and headed off along the Bylong Valley Way. Most of us had never done this road before and we rode at a leisurely pace in order to enjoy the fantastic scenery it provided. Before leaving that morning I had programmed my GPS to take me to Denman and now it seemed to resent the way I was going. All the way to Bylong it kept urging me to make a u-turn. I’ve no idea where it wanted me to go but I was happy to follow Noel. He had done this road before and knew where he was going. When we reached Bylong we pulled over for afternoon tea and parked all over the place, making it almost impossible for anybody else to park. I know it’s not intentional but we seem to do this a lot. It makes lots of other road users perfect their parking skills. The little park here had excellent facilities. They had perfected the table/toilet block ratio. I was intrigued by a sign nearby which announced that Bylong was the Home Of The Mouse Races. I guessed this was an event where computer nerds demonstrated their skills at double-clicking and dragging etc. However I learned that it involved rodents in some way.
Leaving Bylong we headed north-east towards the Golden Highway. My GPS now apparently decided there were no more terrorist threats and was happy to go the same way as me. I always enjoy roads which are new to me and this was no exception. It was a beautiful run up to the Golden Highway where we turned east, heading towards Denman. I’ve no idea how this highway got its name. Maybe it had something to do with the cost of building it. Pretty soon we were at Denman where we were booked in to the Denman Hotel. There was some initial confusion sorting out rooms but it was soon sorted out and within ten minutes the beer-garden was half filled with parked motorcycles. Riding was over for the day and it was definitely beer o’clock.
After showering and generally freshening up, we took over the remaining half of the beer garden and began to sort out the problems of the world. I know we had sorted them out before but nobody had written down the answers so we had to begin again. I had been feeling a bit peeved earlier, as there was a happy hour when beers were sold at a lower rate. I had inadvertently bought a schooner just 30 seconds before the nominated time and had to pay the higher price. I was going to make sure I didn’t get caught out again and proceeded to drink as many as possible during the allotted time.
Meal time and we adjourned to the pub’s dining room. Most of the fellas ordered steaks but I felt like something different and ordered a pizza. When it arrived it was a family sized one! I managed to eat half of it and with the help of some of the others only one slice was left at the end. We didn’t survive for long after dinner as we were all pretty knackered and by 9.30pm most of us were in bed.
Thursday morning and there was an early fog. We had a continental breakfast and by 8.00am the fog had cleared and we were ready to roll. Out onto the Golden Highway again, then through Jerry’s Plains. I was already regretting the extra cup of coffee I’d had and was dreaming of toilets. At Warkworth we turned onto Wallaby Scrub Road. This brought us out on the Putty Road near Bulga. At Bulga we pulled into the servo to re-fuel and have morning tea. In the paddock over the road there was an outlaw bikie gang who had camped there for the night. While we slurped our coffee the outlaws rode off quietly at 120 decibels each. After all twenty one of them had gone we were able to resume conversation.
There were indications that there might be roadwork delays on the Putty Road, so Noel decided to take us down the Wollombi Road. I had only done this road once before when the weather had been pretty dismal. Today the weather was glorious as we headed through Broke and down to Paynes Crossing with its 300 metres of dirt. Then we followed the river down to Wollombi. This is another one of those great motorcycle roads. From Wollombi we rode through Kulnura and down to Mangrove Mountain where we stopped for lunch. The hamburgers and bacon & egg rolls went down a treat.
After lunch we rode down the mountain to the Hawkesbury River, through Spencer (hub of the universe) and onto the Wisemans Ferry, which was conveniently waiting for us. After disembarking from the ferry we pulled into the picnic area for afternoon tea. I decided to buy a Drumstick ice-cream from the kiosk as it had been many years since I’d had one. When I got it, it seemed a lot smaller than I remembered them. Also, instead of a piece of paper stuck across the top it now had a plastic bubble. I guess environmental awareness hasn’t reached the ice-cream industry yet, but it still tasted good. While I was sitting on a log, pondering the mysteries of the universe, I was approached by an attractive young lady. This often happens to us Harley riders so I wasn’t surprised. Under the guise of conducting a park user survey, she managed to get all of my personal information, including my phone number. I expect she’ll give me a call tonight. I’d better get to the phone before Diana does! While I had been chatting with her the rest of the group headed off on their separate ways home. They probably didn’t want to cramp my style. There was just Eric left, who’d stopped just up the road to film us.
After a pit stop (still being careful with the spelling there) at Hawkesbury lookout and re-fuelling at Valley Heights I arrived home at Blaxland at about 3.30pm with 606kms on the clock for the two days.
I had a terrific time and I reckon we should do more of these overnighters.
Peter M
Thanks to Spiderman Jeff G for some of the photos.
Denman
This was to be our overnight ride and the weather promised to be perfect. Eight of us intended to do the two day run and Eric had indicated an 8.30 start from Maccas. At 8.30 we were all there except Eric! He finally arrived at 8.45, blaming the traffic for being late. So there we were. Noel, Eric, Les, Gary, Dave C, Ross C, Spyderman (Jeff) and of course me, Franz and Bill were also there, but would not be doing the whole trip.
At 9.00am the ten of us set off up the Great Western Highway with Noel as the ride leader. The continuous roadworks from Woodford to Wentworth Falls were a bit of a drag but we had been expecting this. After all, the signs say they won’t be completed until sometime in 2012. We rode past the Hydro-Majestic Hotel at Medlow Bath where the signs also say it will be completed in 2012 and absolutely nothing is happening. Then down Victoria pass where thankfully the roadworks have been completed, through Little Hartley and up River Lett Hill to South Bowenfels where we pulled into the Shell servo for smoko. They seem to have given up on locking the toilets and only giving you the key if you buy something. It was a bloody silly idea anyway.
After smoko Bill left us to return home. Franz would ride with us as far as Rylstone. We set off along the highway past Lithgow, then took the Mudgee turnoff. We cruised along through Cullen Bullen and Capertee (widest canyon in the world) and on to Ilford. Just past Ilford we turned east and enjoyed the wonderful views as we rode towards Rylstone. On arrival at Rylstone we rode into the sports ground for lunch. The facilities here provide lots of picnic benches but no tables. To compensate for the lack of tables, they provide three toilet blocks! I pondered this strange attitude while I chewed my peanut butter sandwiches.
After lunch, Franz left us. He was going to ride his chook-chaser down some back-roads to Glen Davis and Capertee.
So I had decided to head home via Bogee, Glen Alice and back to Capertee. A terrific road through the countryside and the 20km of dirt road, did not worry me at all. Half way between Capertee and Cullen Bullen I stopped at the lookout and had a look over the Wollemi National Park. I did 360km for the days ride and got home around 5.00pm. Regards Franz.
The rest of us saddled up and headed off along the Bylong Valley Way. Most of us had never done this road before and we rode at a leisurely pace in order to enjoy the fantastic scenery it provided. Before leaving that morning I had programmed my GPS to take me to Denman and now it seemed to resent the way I was going. All the way to Bylong it kept urging me to make a u-turn. I’ve no idea where it wanted me to go but I was happy to follow Noel. He had done this road before and knew where he was going. When we reached Bylong we pulled over for afternoon tea and parked all over the place, making it almost impossible for anybody else to park. I know it’s not intentional but we seem to do this a lot. It makes lots of other road users perfect their parking skills. The little park here had excellent facilities. They had perfected the table/toilet block ratio. I was intrigued by a sign nearby which announced that Bylong was the Home Of The Mouse Races. I guessed this was an event where computer nerds demonstrated their skills at double-clicking and dragging etc. However I learned that it involved rodents in some way.
Leaving Bylong we headed north-east towards the Golden Highway. My GPS now apparently decided there were no more terrorist threats and was happy to go the same way as me. I always enjoy roads which are new to me and this was no exception. It was a beautiful run up to the Golden Highway where we turned east, heading towards Denman. I’ve no idea how this highway got its name. Maybe it had something to do with the cost of building it. Pretty soon we were at Denman where we were booked in to the Denman Hotel. There was some initial confusion sorting out rooms but it was soon sorted out and within ten minutes the beer-garden was half filled with parked motorcycles. Riding was over for the day and it was definitely beer o’clock.
After showering and generally freshening up, we took over the remaining half of the beer garden and began to sort out the problems of the world. I know we had sorted them out before but nobody had written down the answers so we had to begin again. I had been feeling a bit peeved earlier, as there was a happy hour when beers were sold at a lower rate. I had inadvertently bought a schooner just 30 seconds before the nominated time and had to pay the higher price. I was going to make sure I didn’t get caught out again and proceeded to drink as many as possible during the allotted time.
Meal time and we adjourned to the pub’s dining room. Most of the fellas ordered steaks but I felt like something different and ordered a pizza. When it arrived it was a family sized one! I managed to eat half of it and with the help of some of the others only one slice was left at the end. We didn’t survive for long after dinner as we were all pretty knackered and by 9.30pm most of us were in bed.
Thursday morning and there was an early fog. We had a continental breakfast and by 8.00am the fog had cleared and we were ready to roll. Out onto the Golden Highway again, then through Jerry’s Plains. I was already regretting the extra cup of coffee I’d had and was dreaming of toilets. At Warkworth we turned onto Wallaby Scrub Road. This brought us out on the Putty Road near Bulga. At Bulga we pulled into the servo to re-fuel and have morning tea. In the paddock over the road there was an outlaw bikie gang who had camped there for the night. While we slurped our coffee the outlaws rode off quietly at 120 decibels each. After all twenty one of them had gone we were able to resume conversation.
There were indications that there might be roadwork delays on the Putty Road, so Noel decided to take us down the Wollombi Road. I had only done this road once before when the weather had been pretty dismal. Today the weather was glorious as we headed through Broke and down to Paynes Crossing with its 300 metres of dirt. Then we followed the river down to Wollombi. This is another one of those great motorcycle roads. From Wollombi we rode through Kulnura and down to Mangrove Mountain where we stopped for lunch. The hamburgers and bacon & egg rolls went down a treat.
After lunch we rode down the mountain to the Hawkesbury River, through Spencer (hub of the universe) and onto the Wisemans Ferry, which was conveniently waiting for us. After disembarking from the ferry we pulled into the picnic area for afternoon tea. I decided to buy a Drumstick ice-cream from the kiosk as it had been many years since I’d had one. When I got it, it seemed a lot smaller than I remembered them. Also, instead of a piece of paper stuck across the top it now had a plastic bubble. I guess environmental awareness hasn’t reached the ice-cream industry yet, but it still tasted good. While I was sitting on a log, pondering the mysteries of the universe, I was approached by an attractive young lady. This often happens to us Harley riders so I wasn’t surprised. Under the guise of conducting a park user survey, she managed to get all of my personal information, including my phone number. I expect she’ll give me a call tonight. I’d better get to the phone before Diana does! While I had been chatting with her the rest of the group headed off on their separate ways home. They probably didn’t want to cramp my style. There was just Eric left, who’d stopped just up the road to film us.
After a pit stop (still being careful with the spelling there) at Hawkesbury lookout and re-fuelling at Valley Heights I arrived home at Blaxland at about 3.30pm with 606kms on the clock for the two days.
I had a terrific time and I reckon we should do more of these overnighters.
Peter M
Thanks to Spiderman Jeff G for some of the photos.
