Ok, so here goes...I've been home nearly a week now and have had a little time to collect my thoughts, pics and maps together. Are you sitting comfortably, grab a beer, settle back and enjoy!
I'd like to start, though, with thanking every one of the Krew that I met or rode with along the way for making me feel so welcome, for getting a bike together for me to ride and for the excellent kamaraderie and good humoured banter over a few coldies. It really was a tremendous effort and one that I will remember for a very long time to come. Good onya mates!
Saturday 16 April 2016: Day 1 - Arrival and ride from Castle Hill to Greta: 149 miles (North to left!)
After leaving London Heathrow at 21:35 on Thur 14 Apr, a brief stop in Singapore to re-fuel and change crew, I finally touched down in Sydney bang on time at 05:05 on Sat 16 Apr. To say I was excited would be an understatement - I'd been looking forward to my week in Australia for a long time and I was finally about to make the dream come true and meet some of the Krew while I was in town. After a clear run through immigration (we were the first flight of the day, so things were still quiet) and bags safely recovered from the reclaim area, I made my way through customs without incident. RT had warned me about the boarder force rubber gloves and toe touching...and I was certainly glad not to have go through that ordeal! Not that I had anything to hide, with a few bike parts in my suitcase, a plausible story and some other goodies, I was still well under the permitted import limit. So no worries ... the whole set up is designed to make you feel guilty though.
Exiting the terminal, the temperature already a very pleasant 18 deg C and as we took a taxi into Sydney, the rising sun bathed the sky in a warm orange glow. Traffic was reasonably light and we made good time to the hotel. It was 06:30. I had arranged to meet TacKler and Rosskko in the lobby at 07:00 for breakfast, so I sent them both a text to say that I had arrived and was just checking in. Rosskko texted back - saying that he wouldn't be able to do breakfast, but would be along to pick me up a little later. Since leaving home at 13:00 (BST) on Thursday, I had been travelling for over 32 hours and I was looking forward to a shower and shave. Jet lag had been a big concern of mine, and a potential real weekend spoiler. My cunning method of avoiding it seemed to be working though, and I felt pretty much OK and ready for the day ahead. I had booked the hotel from Friday and informed reception that I would be a late check in - it was a good move and one that enabled me to go straight to my room on arrival. Suitably refreshed and clean, I got a call from reception that TacKler had arrived in the lobby and made my way down to meet him.
TacKler had ordered a few bits and bobs (including a comfort seat!) from motorworks/motobins and had flown down from Brisbane to collect them from me. He had stayed in town overnight, but sadly was not able to join us on the ride. We discussed where to go for breakfast and opted for a local greasy spoon (cafe) nearby that he had noticed was already open. It was a good choice and served up a welcome platter of breakfasty grub along with juice and tea. A perfect start to a cracking weekend and, with good conversation and a great welcome, really set the tone of what was to come. As we finished our breakfast, TacKler got a call from Rosskko, asking where we were. No sooner than he had called, I spotted a person in BMW evolution T shirt approaching and there was Rosskko! He had spotted the cafe as he had driven past and had parked just around the corner. After introductions and some more amiable chatting, Rosskko suggested that it was time to go - just as well as I'm sure we could have sat there talking all day long (which was not the plan). Returning to the hotel, I handed the bike bits over to TacKler and grabbed my "weekend gear". Loading up Rosskko's car, I said goodbye to TacKler, feeling guilty that he had come all the way down from Brisbane for such a short meeting.
It was less than 45 minutes to Rosskko's house, and included my first (of several) crossings of the Sydney harbour bridge. Outside his house, 2 K's were parked up - Indian036 (Bill) and WarrenC had ridden in to join in at the start of the ride. I was duly introduced to both Bill and Warren and my bike for the week, Rosskko's naked RT. As detailed in several previous posts, Rosskko had moved heaven and earth to get the bike ready for my use, with alternator changes and even shorter notice water pump repairs keeping him busy - several other members of the Krew (Klompy, Gaz and Tom Grabau) had gone way out of their way too to help him and the many offers of spares and advice from others, epitomised the very best of the nature of the people on this 'ere beloved forum. I fastened my GPS to the handlebars and was all set to go. Gaz had spent quite a lot of time in both preparing a route for me, sending me a SD card ahead of my visit, and finding a really useful link to a set of free maps that could be uploaded onto my Garmin Zumo and managed using Garmin Basecamp. I also met Mrs Rosskko (Sandra) and enjoyed my first cup of "loffee" before we were ready to set off on the ride.
The day was really starting to warm up now - I'd asked for sunshine, and sunshine (for now) was what I was getting in abundance. I was certainly glad of the cooler, nakedness of the RT as we rode through the suburban streets.
Rosskko on his K1100RS followed by a naked visitor...
I stress that the RT was naked - aka with summer fairing - and not a cafe racer. All the comfort of the K100 had been retained, it was just the front end modifications and lack of fairing/screen that was different. Regardless, I was on a K, some 10,000 miles from home, in Australia and in heaven!
We made our way quickly through the town and out into the surrounding countryside and followed the twisty road down towards the ferry at Berowra Creek. Here we joined a gaggle of other bikes waiting for the ferry, our quartet of K's mixing in with a variety of rice rockets and Hardlys.
Rosskko at Berowra Creek ferry
Boarding the Berowra ferry
Indian036 & Rosskko on Berowra Creek ferry
Comprehending the limitations of their cumbersome beasts, the Hardly riders graciously allowed us all to disembark ahead of them. A steeply rising road with tight twists and hairpins lay immediately ahead and they clearly preferred to let the more capable bikes enjoy the freedom of a clear road. The rice rockets, of course, were gone in a puff of blue smoke and scream of tortured engines, leaving the slightly more sedate K Quartet to follow on up the hill at a more sensible pace. It was a lovely stretch of road, freshly tarmac'd and smooth as you like...the K's purred as loudly as their riders!
We followed the twists and turns until reach the Pie In The Sky (PITS), near Cowan, and pulled off the road and into a bustling
car bike park.
The Krew gathering at PITS
From Clockwise: Indian036, Smithy, Tom Grabau, Basic2, Marie, GroverK, WarrenC, Rosskko, Klompy, Al58 & Gaz80 and, of course, the sKroll
Gaz80, Smithy & Al58
Basic2, Indian036 & GroverK - one pie too many Ed?
View from the PITS - beautiful!
Lots of introductions, even more K talk and pies, loffee and ice creams consumed in a most agreeable location with a most agreeable crew and a stunning view. Newer forum members like Basic2 and others that may have missed previous signings (while the sKroll was on it's foreign travels) added their mark to the fabled plastic parchment. I was invited to embellish my original mark with a special down under (upside-down) addition, naturally I accepted the invitation.
Suitably refreshed, the posse reformed - unfortunately, Rosskko wasn't able to remain with us and bugged out home, and Al58/Marie had other BMW plans for the weekend, but a fine colleKtion of 8 K's pulled out of the PITS and headed north on the Old Pacific Highway (B83) and soon crossed the majestic Hawkesbury River.
As per the map below (track recorded on my Garmin Virb Elite action camera GPS), not only does "Old Pacific Highway" conjure up all sorts of romantic images, it is a fantastic K road as it randomly wiggles through some tight twists and turns.
Near Gosford though, we joined the MI Pacific Motorway for a fast transit up to Wallargh. Nothing romantic about a motorway at the best of times, but on a naked RT with no fairing and no screen, it was enough to convince me (like I needed any convincing) that BMW got it right and the Cafe / Naked boys got it wrong. At any speed over 80kph, I could feel my arms stretching as I took the full force of the wind. To be fair, Rosskko had offered me a choice of bars and I had opted for the RT bars, but with hindsight, the riding position was just too upright and I really needed to be contorted over the tank to reduce the wind resistance, so would have been better off with RS bars. Not complaining, mind! With temperatures hovering in the 25-28 deg C region, the forced air cooling was highly effective...just my arms became 5cm longer!
At Wallargh, we pulled of the M1 and rejoined the Old Pacific Highway and headed outwards Catherine Hill Bay for our luck stop at the Cathco Pub.
K posse L to R: GroverK, Smithy, Indian036, Tom Grabau, BAE Naked, WarrenC, Klompy & Gaz80
At the Cathco Pub, I met Ainsjac (Stan) and Rickmeister (Uli)...Tom's little brother! I'm sure that Ainsjac said he would be recognisable by the rose in his teeth, but I don't recall seeing any roses. Kaptain Hollister was originally going to meet us here too, but a change in plans meant that he would not catch up with us until later in the evening.A very nice lunch of calamari and a nice long, cool OJ/lemonade followed by a healthy serving of some good banter was just the ticket. So far so good - no hint of jet lag and I was having a fantastic time. Good food, good weather, good riding and great Kompany.
After lunch, we headed down to Catherine Hill Bay beach for my first good look at the shimmering Pacific Ocean. Despite the warmth and the sunshine, the beach was surprisingly empty - if it had been the same conditions in the UK, there wouldn't have been a patch of sand visible for sweating pink bodies (and we would call it a heat wave).
Catherine Hill Bay
Tom Grabau & Rickmeister: Does Tom really need this level of protection when talking to his little brother?
K's at the Bay
Jumping back on the bikes, we continued our journey north on the Old Pacific Highway before taking a dogleg detour down to the beach at Redhead, just to the south of Newcastle. No food or drink here, but a nice little wander across the sand to gaze at the clear blue ocean again. After a short break, we rode on to Newcastle where we stopped by the Newcastle Memorial Walk and took a hike down a section of the Anzac Memorial Bridge overhanging the cliff edge.
Anzac Bridge looking South: A poignant place to be a week before Anzac day
Time was marching on, it was about 16:30 and the sun getting low and the temperature cooling down fast, so after a period of reflection, we once again hit the streets and rode through Newcastle, following the Old Pacific Highway as it headed inland up the south bank of the Hunter river. GroverK, as the resident local, took the lead and guided us through the streets of Newcastle. Tom peeled off just after leaving the Anzac Memorial Bridge, but we would see more of him on Sunday.
Near Beresfield, we pulled off the highway for fuel - a naked RT is a little thirstier than it's fully faired sisters, so guzzled a little more gas at the servo.
L-R: Klompy, Gaz80, Smithy & GroverK
GroverK headed home from the servo, leaving the rest of us to proceed up the road towards Greta and our stop for the night. Traffic had been pleasantly light for most of the day and we made good time, joining the M15 Hunter expressway to blast the last few miles up to Greta. Once again, the motorway was a bit of a slog on the naked RT, but it was approaching sunset and there wasn't time to take a more scenic twisty route. We turned off the expressway at Greta and headed up to Kasa del Gaza. Leaving the road and riding over the grass, we entered Kasa del Gaza via the executive K bike garden entrance arriving at 17:30 after a cracking days ride.
We parked up our K's for the night with Smithy's bike taking a well earned lie down. Fortunately no damage was done and there was plenty of assistance with getting her back up again. Ruth appeared and welcomed us all as we unloaded our overnight gear. I had a surprise in my panniers - a closely guarded secret! Olaf had made 6 Christmas puddings, which I had collected from him on the St Pats Irish Eccentric gathering. Yes - I know it was not Christmas, but apparently they had been well received when Gaz80 and Ruth had met the Eccentrics in Ireland in Nov 15, so Olaf had kindly baked another batch.
Kasa del Gaza
Kasa del Gaza is a lovely villa in a sprawling rural setting, complete with swimming pool, covered verandas, fruit trees and a man Kave to die for. Garry's man Kave is bigger than a lot of small houses and was well provisioned with bikes, spares and tools. I imagine Garry has spent many a happy hour working on his K's in the luxury of his Kave. While we were marvelling at the man Kave, it was mentioned that my naked RT tail light hadn't been working. With darkness having fallen rapidly, I rode the bike into the Kave for a look see. Rosskko had mentioned that the bike carried enough tools to do a main seal change, and he wasn't kidding! The ducktail was filled with all manner of tools and I took a few minutes to pull them all out so that I could remove the tail light cluster. Many hands make light work, there have probably never been so many experts on hand to test a light bulb. The bulb proved to be good and there didn't appear to be an issue with the electrical connector. The tail cluster was replaced, but still didn't work. the problem was traced back to fuse No.2 which had blown. Fuse replaced and tail light worked - hurrah! While we were playing, we also changed the left rear indicator - just because it wasn't as bright as the right hand one! Job done, the bike was returned to the grass parking area - it couldn't stay where it was as the Kave was allocated as Smithy/Indian036/Klompy accommodation for the night. I, on the other hand, was treated like a king and had all the comfort and luxury of the guest room! Totally unexpected, but very gratefully accepted - thanks Garry & Ruth.
Toys all put away for the night, it was time for a much needed coldie. An eski of beers was conveniently placed on the veranda and that first cold guinness just slipped down so nicely, as did the second and third etc. Garry and Ruth were just wonderful hosts, laying a delicious spread for tea which was much enjoyed by all. Kaptain Hollister joined us for the evening, he hadn't been able to ride with us due to other commitments, but we exchanged mobile numbers and he promised to call during the week to do a sunrise ride over the Sydney Harbour bridge.
Now, had been warned about all manner of life threatening beasties that inhabit Australia, but aside a few hungry mosquitos that were uninvited guests at dinner and a few bees/wasps that were angrily attacking the lights, there was no sign of anything particularly harmful. That, of course was about to change and Garry presented me with a special gift from Australia...a venomous red back spider, that he had found in a wood pile. Fortunately, she was captive in a vegemite jar...and stayed that way. A great surprise though and a truly memorable moment!
Apparently, she was just a baby and they get about twice as big (shudder)!
We whiled away a most pleasant evening, drinking, eating and talking, including a skype hook up with Olaf, and surprisingly I was not overcome with weariness. Well not until about 23:15 when we made the mistake of sitting down - it had been a long, but thoroughly enjoyable day, but as soon as I sat down I could feel myself falling asleep. However, I don't think I did so bad considering - and clearly my method for avoiding jet-lag had worked pretty well. Slinking off to my guest room, I stretched out in the nice comfortable bed (having checked under the duvet for spiders!) and before I could feel sorry for Indian036, Smith and Klompy lying on the hard Kave floor (albeit on airbeds etc.) I was sound asleep.
Sunday 17 April 2016: Day 2 - Greta to Sydney (via Putty Road and Windsor): 195 miles (North to left!)
I woke as dawn was breaking after a deep and uninterrupted sleep. The morning air was cool and refreshing and a myriad of noisy birds were busying welcoming in the new day. After a shower (who said the English don't wash?), I was dressed and ready for the day ahead. My Kompanions slowly emerged from the Kave, with Smithy braving a swim. I hadn't thought to bring swimwear!
Garry and Ruth put on another great spread for breakfast - complete with fresh loffee. As we finished our feast, GroverK and Tom Grabau arrived ready for the second day's ride. As is Kustomary, before riding, we paid homage to the bikes.
GroverK, Smithy & Indian036 with GroverK & Smithy's bikes
Ruth, Tom Grabau,Gaz80 & Klompy with Indian036's bike
Ruth, Gaz80 & Klompy with Klompy's, Rosskkos naked RT & Gaz80's bikes
With bikes loaded up and having thanked Ruth for her boundless hospitality, we set off. Well, I tried to move but my bike centre stand had sunk into the ground overnight and the bike was stuck in a rut. It took a fair bit of effort rocking the bike back and forward to get her moving and on my way.
It was a few degrees cooler today and with full cloud cover, perfect riding conditions! We rode along some lovely quiet roads and I saw my first wild kangaroos off to the side of the road. Incredible! Along some of the highway, fences had been erected to keep the roos off the road, but not on all roads and there were several road-kill victims rotting at the road side.
Sorry Skippy - times up.
For those that don't know, the Hunter Valley is one of the biggest wine growing regions in NSW and we rode past many vineyards, with acres of neatly tended vines adorning the sides of the road. Sadly it was too early to stop and sample some of the produce, and certainly it would't be conducive to bike riding. All I could do was ride and stare - I vowed to have a nice bottle of Hunter valley wine when I get home to refresh all the memories again!
Now, the plan of the day was to ride the "Putty Road" - a renown biking road that cuts between the Wollemi and Yengo National Parks from Singleton down to Windsor - about 110 miles of fast sweeping turns and tighter bends and twists. I was a little apprehensive of the term "Putty", from other ride reports from down under, I know that much is done on dirt roads and I was expecting the Putty road to be such a dirt road and was wondering how I would handle it on road tyres. My fears appeared to be founded as we left the security of the tarmac and hit the putty...
Was this the start of the Putty Road?
Fortunately, it turned out that this mud and gravel part of our route was just a section of road works and the tarmac soon reappeared. I breathed a sigh of relief - 110 miles on gravel would be interesting, to say the least. It turned out that the Putty road was actually a pretty decent bit of tarmac! However, because the road is a bike magnet, with many choosing to ignore the speed limits (not us your honour!) and a regular site of bike accidents - it is heavily policed (for our safety, of course). We passed a number of police cars - both marked and unmarked, and rode with a little extra caution!
Sneaky! But clearing a tin box from our path. Thanks!
Not so sneaky...
Apparently, one of the police cars did fall in behind us for a short stretch, GroverK who was tail-end charlie flashed a warning, but as none of us were kicking the pants out of it, he soon lost interest and pulled off to wait for some proper criminals! Riding the Putty road was a great experience and the K's effortlessly ate up the miles, constantly twisting left and right, accelerating though the bends and thoroughly enjoying ourselves in the process!
Eventually, we came upon the fabled Grey Gum Cafe and pulled off the road for a much needed loffee. Riding past the lines of flag poles bearing the flags of many nations, I did notice that the Union Flag (aka Union Jack) was being flown upside down. Whilst I did mention it to the management, I did realise that the union flag being upside down in Australia was actually the right way up back home. It wasn't something that was going to bother me unduly. The Grey Gum Cafe is a very bike friendly joint in the middle of nowhere and clearly have a sense of humour - forcing us to cross a soft deep bit of sand just to see if they could provide entertainment for the punters sitting outside. I wonder if they have a hidden camera to capture the action? I'm glad to say, though, that none of the Krew fell victim to the heinous trap. As we entered, I spotted a couple of K's parked up on the right...and started wondering, but I didn't recognise the bikes (why would I?).
Hmm...a couple of K's spotted
We parked up and, imagine my surprise and delight, when we discovered that the mystery K's belonged to none other than RickG and Marg. The crafty duo, unbeknown to any of the Krew, had ridden down from Stanthorpe in neighbouring Queensland just to meet us all at The Grey Gum Cafe - a stupendous effort and a fabulous surprise. I guess that RickG didn't fancy eating worms after all! Instead we grabbed a table and ordered loffee and, I (and others) couldn't resist, a bowl of apple crumble!
RickG and Marg: A wonderful surprise meet.
We were well looked after and GroverK received extra special attention from the waitress
The Grey Gum Gang: L to R
RickG, Marg, GroverK, BAE, Gaz80, Tom & Smithy (Klompy had ridden off on a mercy mission, so skipped this stop)
With loffees and puds packed away, GroverK flew the sKroll between a couple of flag poles by the bikes and we lined up for more photos to record the event for posterity.
Identity Parade: 8 K's....wait, make that 7 K's and an imposter!
L-R: GroverG, Gaz80, Smithy, RickG. Marg, Tom Grabbau, Indian036 & BAE
Sadly, RickG and Marg weren't able to ride on with us and were returning in the direction of home, so we bid them farewell as we hit the road to the South West and on toward our lunch stop in Windsor. We experienced a short, light rain shower as the road twisted and climbed up the Colo heights. The air carried the smell of wood smoke, perhaps from some distant wild fire?
A road sign reminder of the indigenous dangers...
After a short while, we dropped down into Windsor and made our way to the Macquarie Arms Hotel. Riding around the block a couple of times, we eventually managed to find somewhere to park all the bikes and headed into the Hotel. Having ordered lunch (a nice bit of barramundi ), we gathered in the beer garden where a band was setting up to play. Here I met a few more of the Krew - Larrikin, DaleRT, RT and Waz. Once again, more good banter and K talk ensued, but as soon as the band struck up, we left! Well, you can't talk over that racket and some of us had riding to do!!
Windsor was to be a major parting of ways. The plan was to ride up into the Blue Mountains as far as Katoomba and Mount Victoria, but with heavy rain forecast most opted to run for home instead. I tried to say goodbye to all those bomb bursting away (and failing, I'm sure as our bikes were parked all around the hotels and not in one central location - I did apologise to GroverK by PM later, when I realised that I had missed saying farewell to him - apologies to any others that I may have unintentionally missed too). A fearless quartet of K's remaining, namely Gaz80, DaleRT, Klompy and me, set off in the directions of the hills with Klompy in the lead.
DaleRT & Klompy near Richmond NSW
The going was pretty flat to begin with and we roared past the Richmond Australian Airforce Base in glorious sunshine. Once we turned off the main road, we started climbing, and enjoyed some tight hairpins as we rapidly gained height
DaleRT & Klompy climbing up the Hawkesbury road
Satellite view of the road to Hawkesbury Lookout.
We stopped off at the Hawkesbury Lookout to take in the panorama across the Nepean River valley and Penrith Lakes Regional Park - apparently, the location for the Olympic rowing events back in 2000. Whilst we were bathed in hot sunshine, it was clear that a significant weather change was heading our way. Looking to the South East, we could see forbidding rain clouds already dumping their load on the distant landscape.
Hawkesbury Lookout...and "look out" indeed....something nasty headed out way
Bikes L-R: Gaz80's, Rosskkos Naked RT, DaleRT's & Klompy's
Nepean River Valley - Water water everywhere...and a whole lot more coming too.
DaleRT and Gaz80 cast a knowledgeable weather eye over the vista from Hawkesbury Lookout
Undeterred, after a short stop at the lookout, we pushed on up the road with DaleRT in the lead. Within 2 minutes, the first drops of rain were falling, but as we passed through Winmalee another 3 minutes on, the heaven really opened. Now, in the UK we get rain, we get lots of rain and sometimes it rains all day long. We get rain in Spring, rain in Summer, rain in Autumn and rain in Winter. I guess, you could say we're used to rain, but boy oh boy, this wasn't "rain" it was more like the tide coming in. It absolutely chucked it down! Klompy sensibly pulled off into a servo and sheltered under the canopy, we didn't and rode a little further up the road before DaleRT pulled over to the kerbside.
ChucKing it down in Winmalee: DaleRT
Gaz80 getting very wet in Winmalee
In the space of just 5 minutes, we had gone from sunshine to monsoon. I noticed that my fuel light had come on, so suggested that we return to the servo to get some gas and decide what to do. Turning the bikes round, we headed back and joined Klompy under the canopy, where he was sensibly putting on his waterproofs. I was already waterproof, wearing my all weather bike gear but it certainly wasn't pleasant riding conditions. Gaz80 mentioned that my tail light was out again, so after fueling the bike, I look for a packet of spare fuses in the Servo shop. They had a good selection of pretty much everything, but not fuses! Gaz80 depleted his stock of spare fuses further in order to get my tail light working again. There was no obvious cause for the No.2 fuse regularly blowing and it was starting to get annoying.
As the rain kept chucking it down, we discussed what to do. Klompy decided that enough was enough and bugged off for home. DaleRT mentioned that Mount Victoria had been in cloud earlier in the day and that it was unlikely to have improved with the weather front that had moved in. Gaz80 was concerned that if we pressed on with the plan, we would be returning in darkness and my dodgy tail light might give us bother. We had the option to ride on regardless of the rain, sit out the storm and ride on when it stopped or to bang out and head home. It didn't look like the rain would be stopping anytime soon and there was little point getting soaked just for the hell of it, so reluctantly we had to agree that home was the most sensible option. I punched my hotel address into my GPS and DaleRT, Gaz80 and me set off for home. At the A32 in Springwood, we waved goodbye to DaleRT as he took the right and we took the left turn. Traffic was very busy as we headed down to the start of the M4 Western Motorway and remained so all the way back to Sydney. I guess that everyone that had been out enjoying their Sunday afternoon drive had had the same idea...go home!
I rode with Gaz80 for about 20 miles until we reached the intersection with the M7 West Link Motorway, but we were separated by traffic and I was unable to wave goodbye as he turned off onto the M7 and made his soggy way back to Greta. I continued on the M4 which took me straight into the heart of Sydney, an uninspiring ride in heavy traffic, but at least I rode my way out of the rain. I had found a secure parking place near my hotel on Macquarie Street and found it fairly easily with the help of my trusty GPS and having memorised some local landmarks from Googlemaps Streetview. The flat rate charge for bikes was $15/day which was not too unreasonable, although I had to tell the attendant what it was and show him his own tariff board before he would believe me. He seemed bemused that I was parking up just half an hour before the parking locked up for the night (early closing on Sunday, usually open until midnight). I explained that I wanted to be parking over night and he eventually showed me where to park. I hadn't realised that Sunday was early closing (17:00), so it was fortunate that I got back as early as I did. Having parked up and secured the bike, I noted that my tail light was still working - hooray! I wanderer back to my hotel, peeled off my bike gear and left it to drip dry over the bath. I was glad to note that, underneath, I was bone dry! Probably more than could be said of Gaz80 when he got home.
I had enjoyed an incredible weekend in truly excellent Kompany and ridden a total of 344 miles through some spectacular scenery, mostly in beautiful weather. OK, I know that 344 miles over two days is nothing to write home about, I could do that in a fraction of the time, but it was 344 bonus miles that I never had anticipated enjoying when I first put up this thread and, remarkably, I had met up with 21 of the Aussie Krew in a 34 hour whirlwind tour and... I'd seen real live (and dead) kangaroos! Fantastic! Who could wish for a better reception than that?
The Grand Ride Down Under: 344 miles
I spent the evening preparing for the work meeting that had payed my way over to Australia, but my riding adventure was not over by a long chalk (whatever that really means!).
Monday 18 April 2016: Day 3 - Sydney to West Head & return (the scenic long way) 98 miles
So, did the work thing during the day and earned my right to be there. The meeting finished in time to get the last Sydney Harbour ferry back from Garden Island to Circular Quay. When I had met Waz at Windsor, he had suggested meeting up for a loffee in the town one day during the week, but unfortunately, my meeting was out of the city and there was not an opportunity during the working day to get away for a meet. I had also warned my work colleagues that I was going to be anti-social and would be going out on the bike exploring in the evenings, rather than eating and drinking with them. I think they understood, that the use of a bike for the week was just too good an opportunity to miss, especially for the sake of a few beers. Let's face it you can drink any time, any place, anywhere (UK contingent - do you remember that advertisement back in the 70s? It was also used to describe certain type of girl i.e. "Martini Girls").
It was a pity that the NSW clocks had gone back an hour just a couple of weeks earlier - finishing work and getting back to the hotel at 16:30 meant that I only had a hour of daylight for my evening rides. I really would have enjoyed that extra hour of daylight. Still, it was as it is and there was nothing I could do about it. My plan for the Monday was to ride north to West Head and then take the coast road back via Palm Beach an Manly Beach, accepting that I would be doing much of the ride after sunset and in the dark.
I recovered the bike from the secure parking lot and headed out into the busy Sydney commuter traffic. My first mission was to ride over the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge. Due to a number of road works in town, it took me a short while to get onto the right road, but mission accomplished.
Sydney Harbour Bride - north bound. Apologies for having my head crooked!
Having crossed the bridge though, I got myself off the motorway as soon as I could and headed north up the Eastern Valley Way. I experienced fairly heavy traffic, but fought my way through until turning off at Terrey Hills onto MacCarrs Creek Road. Now, this was more like it!
You can't beat a smooth bit of tarmac, a K and freedom to enjoy it fully! With dusk coming on, I had to be a little wary of things leaping out of the bushes at me, but only this little critter decided to put in an appearance and hopped across the road well in front of me and disappeared into the bush. I glad to say, I didn't have any close encounters with the wildlife.
I rode on to West Head, arriving just in time to see the view before it vanished into the velvety blackness of night. I was a little concerned that at the National Park entrance that it had said that the gates would be shut at sunset. Nice as it was, i didn't really relish being locked in the park overnight at the mercy of the creatures of the night!
The end of the road: West Head
View from West Head to Barrenjoey Lighthouse and Palm Beach
After a brief stop at West head, I was back on the bike again and racing to get out of the park before dark.
I made it - just, although I don't think that there was any gate to close after all!
Having left the park, I hung a left and followed the shore road via Church Point and Bayview. Sadly the view of the bay wasn't so great as it was pretty dark by this stage, but it was nice to see the boats bobbing about in the pale moonlight. I pulled over to check my tail light - bugger, No2 fuse had blown again and the light was out. No idea when it went, but I didn't have any spares and no Gaz80 on hand to delve into his bag of come-in-handy riding spares. Gingerly (it's funny how you suddenly feel guilty once you know something has happened and think that even car is a cop car about to pull you over), I meandered my way down to Mona Vale, looking desperately for a servo that might have some fuses in stock. I finally found one and breathed a sigh of relief when I found that they did stock a pack of assorted auto fuses. I inserted the new fuse and all was good again!
I rode on following my GPS route. I had planned a torturous route hugging the west side of the peninsular rather than taking the main road. This was not entirely a good idea as I discovered that parts of Australia mapping are the same as parts of Ireland - i.e. was is shown as a road turns out to be a dead end. In the darkness, and totally disorientated, I went round in circles several times trying to get myself back on route. I eventually made it, but am sure that I rode the same bit of road several times - in both directions in the process! Palm beach was deserted, as were all the other beaches that I passed as I headed south down the east side of the peninsular. I pressed on to Manly which was a little busier, but I did not feel the urge to stop. My works conference dinner was going to be held there later in the week, so I would get to see more of the place later and at a slower pace. My planned route took me south of Manly onto North Head and the interestingly named Quarantine Head. With a former army barracks on North Head, no doubt there is some dark history behind the unsavoury sounding Quarantine Head. It did, however, offer good views across the harbour towards the twinkling lights of Sydney. Having taken in the view, I didn't hang around long - too many dodgy cars parked up with dodgy people moving around in the shadows for my liking! Completely innocent, I'm sure...but you never know
It was a short ride back to Sydney, across the harbour bridge, and back to the secure parking lot. I got back to the hotel about 20:30 - just in time for dinner! A good ride, a successful day and just enough time to relax over a glass of local hooch and unwind before bed.
Tuesday 19 April 2016: Day 4 - Sydney to Scarborough via Royal National Park and return (100 miles)
I had planned this ride, not knowing about the Sea Cliff bridge just to the north of Scarborough. Gaz80, during the exchange of many GPS related emails in the run up to my visit, brought it to my attention. Apparently, it features regularly on Australian tourism adverts. The main part of the ride though was down through the Royal National Park which looked like a perfect K road with plenty of twists and turns.
As with the previous day, I finished work and got back to my hotel at about 16:30. Changing into my bike gear I walked to the parking lot and recovered my bike. The tail lamp was out again, so I inserted a 15A fuse (the smallest one I had) and checked the tail lamp again, all good! I made my way out into the Sydney rush hour traffic again, only this time it was worse than before. I got onto the M1 and headed south towards the airport and Wollongong. A lot of the motorway went through tunnels and, in the nose to tail traffic at the end of a very warm day, it was stiflingly muggy. I wasn't sure whether the NSW law allowed bikes to filter or lane split and erred on the side of caution and stayed behind the slow moving cars, vans and buses. With hindsight, I could have split the lanes and would have made much better progress. As it was, I crawled along with the tin boxes. To add to my misery, I was having a number of issues with the instrument cluster and other electrical problems. The GPI was playing up and randomly indicating gears and the neutral light was coming on when i clearly was not in neutral! The speedo had stopped working and my GPS kept reseting itself. To make things worse, as I was passing the airport and Botany Bay, I then had the high temperature light illuminating.
I couldn't hear if the fan was working or not (Rosskko had proved it working during his fantastic efforts to get the bike back on the road for me), but unlike my LT with it's temperature gauge, I had no other indication of temperature. I was quite concerned that the bike was going to overheat and cut out in the heavy traffic. Fortunately, there was a break in the traffic and I was able to speed up to get enough air flow across the radiator for the temperature light to go out and remain out for the rest of the journey. Phew! Incidentally, I subsequently found that the instrument cluster plug was loose, tightened it up and no more dodgy speedo or GPI indication.
By the time I reach the turn off to the Royal National Park, the sun was already setting. I now knew from experience that in these latitudes it gets dark with 15 -20 minutes of sunset. It was disappointing that it had taken me nearly an hour to get to the turn off, and that I wouldn't get to see it in day light.
After the hassle of getting there, I was not going to turn back now, so onwards I went and into the National Park as darkness fell. It was a beautiful evening, dry and very warm and putting the traffic and the electrical worries behind me, I started enjoying the ride. Thinking about it now, it was perhaps a bit of a risk continuing with my ride into the wilderness given all the electrical issues - the nearest town was over 20 miles ahead along a very quiet, very dark twist road. It would have been one heck of a place to break down! Luckily, I put my complete faith in the K and she did not let me down!
Riding along Sir Bertram Stevens Drive (no idea who he was - maybe I'll google him?), I crossed the Hacking River at Audley Weir, with the dark water glimmering in the moonlight.
Rosskko's twin headlights were quite effective at piercing the darkness
For 20 miles, I pretty much had the road to myself, save one or two cars coming the other way and one eejit that came up behind me and tailed me for a couple of miles on full beam before he/she turned off. I was alert to the danger of night life jumping out at me, and drop bears falling from the trees above, but apart from a lot of moths and other flying insects bouncing off my visor, I was left unmolested. Because it was so dark, I was easily able to check that my taillight was still working - I could see the light reflected off the road, which was most reassuring.
It would be a cracking road to ride in daylight, but was fun to ride in the dark too. Eventually, I came out of the park at Coalcliff and crossed the famous Sea Cliff Bridge. It was a pity that it was dark as I really couldn't appreciate the scenery. I stopped at the far end of the bridge to see if I could get a photo of it in the moonlight, but it was just too dark for my point and shoot camera. I cursed not having taken my DSLR to Oz with me - with the ability to set an ISO speed of 3200, it nearly has the ability to turn night to day and would have enabled me to get a decent shot of the bridge.
Sea Cliff bridge...but not much to see in the dark.
I continued to ride through Scarborough and on to Thirroul in order to pick up the main road home. I missed my turn and ended up in a suburban area near Sandon Point. As I turned the bike around, the tail light went out. Bugger! I was on a dark side street, but glad that I always carry a small torch (flashlight). I had some spare fuses with me from the previous day, but the trouble with the assortment packs is that they don't have many small sizes. No2 fuse is supposed to be 7.5A. I had used up the 10A & 15A ones, so had to reset to putting in a meaty 25A one. I still did not know the cause of the earth that was making the fuse blow, but I was confident that there was nothing in the circuit (I checked the wiring diagram on the forum to make sure!) that would be damaged by a higher current surge. Just after I replaced the fuse and proved the tail light working again, a figure clutching a bottle of beer appeared out of one of the nearby houses. Turned out that he was also a biker and had heard me stop, saw the torch light and had come out to see if he could help at all. Whilst I doubt if he was a K rider (but who knows, he could have been?), it just epitomised just how great the biker community really is.
My return to Sydney was planned along a short section of the M1 motorway and then onto the Princes highway which weaved its way off to the side of the M1. I figured that the A1 Princes Highway would be more interesting than the motorway, besides, I wanted to ride through Helensburgh. I used to live in Helensburgh...the Scottish one not the NSW one, so the detour made sense to me! I made good time north up the A1 and, with a brief stop at a servo to buy some more spare fuses (2 packs this time!), I was soon back in Sydney. The bike behaved well and the tail light kept working. Only the power supply to the GPS gave me problems and this meant that I drained the internal GPS battery. The GPS crapped out somewhere near the Sydney airport, but the route back to the hotel was pretty well sign posted and I knew my way from the motorway to the hotel (always pays to pay attention when taking a taxi on arrival!) so had no difficulty in getting safely back to the parking garage.
As I parked up (having gone through the nightly rigmarole of telling the garage attendant how much his employer charged for bike parking), I happened to turn the handlebars and "pop" heard the 25 A fuse blow. My trouble shooting and eventual determination of the fuse blowing problem is posted else where (
https://www.k100-forum.com/t11077-fuse-2-blowing#132154), so I'm not going to repeat it here (for fear of contradicting myself!), but suffice to say, I found the broken insulation that was giving the intermittent earth and wrapped some self amalgamating tape around it to provide a temporary cure. No more fuses blowing - hooray!
Getting back to the hotel at 20:45, I had just 15 minutes before the restaurant closed. It was a posh hotel, but not that posh, so I went into the restaurant in full bike gear and with my helmet! Even with my jacket removed, it was rather hot! My favourite waitress didn't bat an eyelid and just served me with her usual professionalism and charm. I enjoyed another glass of the local hooch.
As mentioned previously, I had exchanged mobile numbers with Kaptain Hollister in anticipation of a pre-work ride over the Sydney Harbour bridge at sunrise. I received a text from him on Tuesday evening and agreed to meet at the front of my hotel at 06:15 (sunrise was about 06:20). I suddenly wondered what time the secure parking opened and, checking on line, I was alarmed to realise that the garage didn't open until 07:00. Just as well I checked, otherwise I would have ruined the ride completely! Putting my bike gear back on, I returned to the garage and to the bemusement of the attendant, removed my bike from their care. Around Sydney, there are several free parking spaces for bikes but these are usually filled very quickly. I found one such place nearby, and being night time, found that it had lots of space. I parked up and secured the bike with my heavy duty lock and chain. I really didn't want to get Rosskko's bike stolen, although I think he was all in favour of an insurance payout! The bike would be safe enough overnight though.
Wednesday 20 April 2016: Day 5 - Sydney Harbour Bridge Sunrise ride(8 miles)Getting up early, I walked down to the street parking lot and was pleased to see that the big was safe and well. I rode back to the hotel and waited on Kaptain Hollister turning up. He duly showed and after a quick chat, we set off towards the bridge.
Kaptain Hollister in Sydney for the Sunrise ride
Our timing was good, we crossed the bridge just as the sun was rising. It was a beautiful morning and a real pity that I didn't have more time to go further afield. The traffic was light crossing the bridge northbound which allowed time to safely observe the sunrise.
We exited the bridge road as soon as we were across and made our way down to Milsons Point for a view of the bridge, opera house and Sydney on the other side of the water.
Iconic views of Sydney - Opera House and Bridge
Sight seeing done, we parked up near a local cafe and enjoyed a leisurely loffee and good chat.
Time was ticking on, and reluctantly I had to get back to the hotel with enough time to park the bike, get suited up and catch the first ferry to Garden Island. We said our goodbyes before getting back on the bikes and heading back towards the bridge. In the space of about an hour, the traffic had got really busy and it was fairly slow going crossing the bridge. Never the less, it was not far back to the hotel, so I still had sufficient time to get back in time for work. I waved Kaptain Hollister off as we parted company on the south side of the bridge and took my bike back to the parking garage. The day was already warming up nicely.
It was good to get the morning ride in as I was unable to ride later in the day due to the conference dinner on Wednesday evening. Whilst I was being anti-social to my work colleagues on other days, I couldn't really miss the group dinner! The dinner was in a Manly restaurant and we took the harbour ferry over to Manly, about a 30 minute crossing. Having seen the sun rise from the bridge, it was only fitting that I saw the sun set over the bridge too.
Needless to say, it was a very good evening out, with excellent food - lovely big yellow fin tuna steak, preceded by a bucket of prawns and followed by brownie & ice-cream(!) (I was so stuffed, I had to stop drinking!) and had the bonus of a harbour cruise thrown in.
Thursday 21 April 2016: Day 6 - Sydney to Castle Hill (28 miles)
Sadly, it was time to return the bike to Rosskko. I joined the merry throng of commuters for one last ride across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and out towards Castle Hill. The traffic was very heavy, but based on my new found knowledge about filtering and splitting in NSW (thanks Kaptain!) and a local biker to follow, I managed to bypass much of the traffic. What ever time I saved, I soon lost trying to find a servo to refuel the bike before returning it to Rosskko. Eventually, after a bit of riding around the streets, I found a servo and was then able to head to Rosskko's place.
With bike returned to its home, I had a cup of tea and a chat with Rosskko and Sandra before Sandra very kindly gave me a lift back to Sydney. I was humbled by how much Rosskko and Sandra had put themselves out for me, but was extremely grateful for all their efforts.
Epilogue - Friday 22 & Saturday 23 April 2016With my NSW K adventure at an end and the works meeting all wrapped up, it was back to the airport for the long flight back to London. Glad to say I had no issues with the Australian boarder force on the way out of the country. Our flight left on time and after changing aircraft at Singapore during a 50 minute stop over, we continued back to London arriving about 20 minutes later than scheduled (head winds, allegedly) at about 05:40 local time.
No rest for the wicked though, home, shopping and out for a 5km colour run in Bath with my, now, 16 year old daughter and her friend. It was kind of fun too!
BAE (and daughter) safely back home in UK, looking none the worse for wear after an amazing Australian adventure with the Krew
I was definitely ready for my bed that evening though!
So, after my journey half way around the world, a total of 550 miles ridden in the beautiful NSW countryside, meeting 21 of the Krew and enjoying excellent Kamaraderie, good natured banter and their endless generosity - would I recommend it to other forum members -
hell yes! I saw a tiny part of Australia in my very short visit, but one thing is for certain, it is a fabulous place and I will be going back, not sure exactly when, but it will happen. If I can ever return the favour to all those that put themselves out for me, I will do so in a heart beat. I was truly blown away by my experience. For those that I didn't meet, who knows, maybe next time?
A massive thank you to Rosskko and Sandra, for the loan of the bike and hauling me to and from Sydney. A massive thank you to Garry and Ruth too, for an excellent night out at Kasa del Gaza and for all the behind the scenes work in planning a route and sharing GPS information...and for my 8 legged gift (who I was assured was released back into the woodpile).
It was a real pleasure meeting so many of the Krew along the way and fantastic to be able to ride with many of you.
Thank you one and all.
All that remained to do, once home (apart from devoting several hours to writing this ride report), was to proudly affix my Aussie badges (kindly given to me by Rosskko) to Heidi and Gretel as a lasting memento of my time down under.
Those badges say it all - Good onya!
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Message [Page 5 of 5]
Re: Northern Visitor inbound - Sydney:16 - 22 Apr 16 Thu Apr 21, 2016 9:57 am
K1 Black 1993 60K Km 
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88....May contain nuts!
