We're departing south of Brissie on Wednesday the 12th, stopping first night at South West Rocks. Wondering if any K brethren are available for a meet up for Koffee (or tea) Thursday the 13th or the Friday? - we have to be in Sydney that arvo.

My riding partner has a two day class in Surry Hills that weekend which frees me up to explore during both weekend days.

We're then heading south towards Canberra, Jindabyne then onto Clunes to visit the rellies for a few days before pointing the front tyre at Phillip Island for MotoGP. It'd be sweet to catch up with old mates I've known and missed, but also some forum legends I've not yet had the honour of meeting in person.

I'll be transporting The Banner, as well.

Hey TWB. Would be good to meet up on your way thru. I'm in Surry Hills and free for a coffee or ride Fri, Sat or Sun. Maybe we could get a few of the Sydney Siders out for a gathering.
Cheers

Mate, well I'll be looking to explore the city and area after dropping off a K11 tankbag to KiwiK' s daughter at Bondi on Saturday morning. Let's get something going if we can. I'll PM my OZ mobile number to you soon.

Just a suggestion. Maybe a meetup for coffee in the morning with anyone who wants to catch up and anyone interested can head off for a ride.... how about south to Scarborough Hotel for lunch via National Park and the Sea Cliff Bridge. Other suggestions welcome.
Cheers

Enjoy your time whilst in "town" TWB . Plenty happening by the sounds . 
This weekend is out for me . I have been roaming these great roads of ours for the past month , 
given it is our anniversary celebrations this weekend , I need to give less attention to the other woman - Smurfette. Methinks I don't like the doghouse.
Hope your travels find you in good Kompany Dazza. enjoy your ride.
The banner - not sure how well you are travelling with the sKroll on this trip , is a pic at Phillip Island possible , or can someone assist as a Kourier along the way .

The Banner, ah yes, The Banner. It's strapped to the topcase and heading south with us. I thought it'd be fun to return it to you in Beresfield given that it's just off the motorway a few kms.

If you're away anyone else want to pick up the baton for a run?

We'll be departing Beresfield by car at around 11am , 
I'm thinking this could offer us a brief stopover for coffee at Pie in the Sky as we pass by at 12.30 or so . 
Our intention is to then mosie on down the Old Hume through Picton .
how is your travels so far Darren. Its turned meek and wet on the coast at Newcastle . Nice to light the fire .

I've PM'd my no. to TWB . Cheers Ed.

We'll be arriving in Sydney early this arvo after meeting up with Grover for The Banner handover. It's been five or so years since I had a good look round The Big Smoke and I'm looking forward to it.

The ride down over three days has been pleasant, with potholes galore, roadworks all along at various intervals, a truck rollover south of Coffs Harbour, an horrific three truck/one SUV smash we got stopped in, and yesterday's frog strangling rain, being the only stains on what is otherwise a good run. We didn't get bitten by snakes or mauled by drop bears so that's a plus.

After this weekend it's down through Canberra, possibly Alpine Way if the land slip has been cleared (I doubt it, the universal road worker shovel lean will be in effect) and then over south of Albury/Wodonga to a riding mate's place for a visit.

Phillip Island is on next weekend, after a quick run to the rellies in Clunes, and a few of the Krew plus some Queensland riding mates will be there.

All in all some kilometres covered, some fine roads and a few good connections will be made. Ain't these old Ks grand?!

In south Sydney, safe & sound. I'm free after nine AM until five PM if anyone's up for a meet on either Saturday or Sunday.

I'll be available sometime soon after 9am but will need to be back around 2 or 3pm. Sunday would be ok if that suits others better. I need to throw a new set of plugs into the K1100. Had to order them in and only picked them up this evening.

How 'bout we meet for Koffee somewhere in Newtown and make a decision about where to from there. I think I made some suggestions above... Sea Bridge about an hour or so south, or pick a couple of destinations in Sydney like Bondi, Manly and back. That would take a few hours.
Maybe there's somewhere you've been hankering to check out.

Anybody else up for a spin?

Cheers

Holister wrote:Anybody else up for a spin?

Wish I was! 

It would be good to ride along Sir Bertram Stevens Drive and over the Sea Cliff Bridge again - in daylight!! My ride to Manly was OK, but dominated by very urban roads which weren't very exciting- I had a much better trip there by ferry (aided by the ability to drink copiously while there), the ride out to West Head look out was nice though. 

Hark at me! A blooming Pom advising the locals about rides on their own doorstep, based on less than a weeks experience!!!

Have a great ride, where ever you go.

good to see bae

there are many exciting roads around aussie ...and nearly none  of them around city traffic ...unless it 2 am ...grin

just an old fella that did at one time do the run up through the spit ..on the way to and from manly .. a few times ..at night ...giggles

have fun guys

It's a beaut morning in the big smoke. I'm going for a burble, currently in a more, shall we say, gentrified part of Redfern. Let's find a coffee shop that does tea in a mug.
☕

Too right charlie. Many great rides in Oz to blow the cobwebs away. Not too many good ones within an hour of the city tho. I do like the run up to Church Point for fish 'n chips and a coffee on the wharf. McCarrs Creek Road is probably the best ride in Sydney without leaving town. And then on to Palm Beach. The pace up that end of town is always a little more relaxed.

BAE, when you come 'down unda' again we'll do the sea bridge in daylight and have lunch at the Scarborough Hotel and a run back up thru the Natonal Park.
Yeah... You Poms come out here and think you know your way round after one week... . Truth is most tourists have seen more of Oz than many of the locals. I've met people who've never been out of the Metro area.

Cheers

Today's turned out alright. After catching up on Macquarie Street Holister and I rode toward Mona Vale in traffic, reached Church Point where a nice little cafe provided some sustenance for the arvo while a bushfire scorched the hills across the bay, its dense smoke wafting across the treetops and into the fine homes ringing the shoreline. It's going to be a dry year by the look of it.

Akuna Bay was reached by a tight and twisty road where we stopped for a photo opp and to toast Rosskko, whose flask was passed, containing something peaty, of single malt origins I presume, to me by Grover yesterday when we met to exchange hands over The Banner.

After a spell we tore back up the narrow, curvy road and into late afternoon, weekend traffic, headed into the city. At the 'Coathanger' we parted our separate ways and I drifted down narrow urban streets til I came to my appointed destination with minutes to spare.

Holister likely has some photos to share later. My mobile is technically incapable.

Cheers to a fine day.

Holister wrote:BAE, when you come 'down unda' again we'll do the sea bridge in daylight and have lunch at the Scarborough Hotel and a run back up thru the Natonal Park.

You're on and I'm buying!

Hollister wrote:Yeah... You Poms come out here and think you know your way round after one week... . Truth is most tourists have seen more of Oz than many of the locals. I've met people who've never been out of the Metro area.

 
Ain't that always the way - everywhere you go. Tourists are under time pressure to see everything, locals have all the time in the world and seldom make use of it. That's why it is always great to have visitors - forces you out and about!

Thanks Daz for a great day. It was good to be able to put faces to the forum handle and actually meet in person.

After meeting up at the 'Legal Grounds Cafe' in the courts district in Sydney CBD (just down the road from where you stayed during your visit BAE) and having a long chat and a coffee, we headed off into the city traffic, onto the Cahill Expressway and over the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
We'd decided on a ride up to Church Point on the beautiful Pitttwater. My pigeon nose was not working too well and managed to take us slightly off track but we made it ok but from the other side. That worked out well because the run up the hill heading back from Cottage Point is a better ride.

We ordered Barramundi Burgers and a cup of tea and sat on the wharf enjoying the view and more K-Chat.

On our way back we made a detour down to Akuna Bay to get a nice photo of the Ks


... and a sup from the RossKKo flask. A nice tipple it was too.

A very brief enkounter with TWB and Pamela at the northern end of the M1 freeway linking Newcastle to Sydney . 

Good to see another friendly face from this wonderful forum enjoying ride time here in Oz .
I've seen that Kanister before , methinks the sKroll perhaps . 


The lovely Pamela , hope you enjoy your visit down under .



Enough carpark talk , Dazza and Pam take in some quick brekky before the ride south to meet Hollister in Sydney .



Dazza surprised us on our journey south , 
Tracey and I spent the weekend in the beautiful Southern Highlands for our 20th 'Versary . 
We chased after these two for a pic , not easy keeping up with a 120kph K in a 4 cylinder van . 




I was hoping to catch up with Bill at short notice whilst visiting the Wombeyan Caves and Goulburn , 
Sorry Bill , next time . Some nice roads around Taralga . 
Couldn't pass up a postcard pic with the Big Merino . 


I'm sure many other forumers will be pleased to catch up during your stay , TWB . Remember to toast RossKKo as you go .
I've added some of RossKKo's words of wit to be shared along the way .


Cheers Dazza , thanks for dropping by .

Departing Sydney on Sunday arvo in the humidity and late weekend traffic, we buzzed the Hume Hwy for a short while under greying skies. We exited at Mittagong and found a room right on dusk. Parched, a local tap offered succour. Hungry, the pub's menu offered Mexican, with nary a Hispanic in sight. I've gotta say, it was a bloody tasty enchilada con pollo, smothered in avo, sauce and a dollop of sour cream as it was. Rested, we got away in light, steady rain.

This morning we chose B roads through towns like Bundanoon, Melrose and Bungonia. By the time we hit Tarago the wind was sideways and growing stronger. We tucked in and motored on, the Mighty K revved and rolled. I've recently put the standard K100 injectors back in after wasting a lot of expensive premium petrol using K11 injectors for several years, in spite of the K11 35mm TBs fitted.

Now, rested, watered and fed in Cooma, we're enquiring if the Alpine Road really is shut due to a landslip. If so, towards Cabramurra we'll go, then west to Khancoban and beyond. Tomorrow, Barnawartha, Victoria and a dear mate I've not seen since I left OZ for the States over four years ago.

Pictures when I'm not on my mobile - d'ya know how hard it is to type into a tiny screen and not make typos!? 😉

TWB, the NSW Live Traffic web site can be found at the following link. It says the road from Thredbo to Khancoban is open to light vehicles single lane with traffic control. Last updated on 14th October but repairs are being carried out by the local council so doubtful that anything will have changed in this short time.

Here is a screen shot of the page early this morning if you can't get on the web (bit hard to read).


 If you happen to be carrying a smartphone (??) then both NSW and Victoria have mobile apps for their Live Traffic.

Look forward to maybe catching up at the Island.

Cheers

What a great trip report and such fun adventures y'all share.  Looking forward to hearing about the Phillip Island leg and race.  It is one of my favorite tracks for MotoGP, and i would love to make a trip one day to watch the race.

i would consider riding a kbike during a visit, but i'm a bit concerned about the reports of attacks on tourists and travellers, whereas the results suggested that people born in Australia are significantly less likely to be attacked by drop bears.  i don't fancy having one to drop on me during a ride.






Other than we ride on opposites sides of the road, it's clear that we are the same fun-lovin, k-bikin type of people only separated by a common language...

Kennybob, the trick to dropbear avoidance is to wear a helmet or keep your hair cut close so there's nothing for them to grapple.

Grover, I swear we didn't go over 109 km/h on that short motorway blast!

Update:
We departed Cooma bound for Jindabyne, but the road and the weather conspired against us. We did a rethink and headed toward Tumut. At the Khancoban turn we headed towards Cabramurra. Up, up, twisty, with a persistent wind and heavy cloud. The rains began anew and we entered the clouds. Packs of bikes trundled along, their riders visibly miserably judging by body positions and signs of lack of proper riding gear. I stopped for a layer and we pressed on. Now atop the hills in Cabramurra we've ducked inside. The weathervane says 3 and rain, but with the windchill it's -2. There's a fire, and my arse is hard against the glass. The gear is wet, but only on the outside!
We're at 1500 metres and Khancoban is downhill from here. Our stop for the day is still faraway Barnawartha, Victoria.
Onward we go.

have fun !  hope you get to see that down hill in daylight ...giggles 

last time (first time ) down that track we were kicking wombats out of the way of albys trailer ...grin 

scarey little monsters in the dark them things

enjoy the ride guys

After that soul-warming hot cuppa at Cabramurra we remounted, partially drier and definitely warmer, and headed up to the lookout. The wind nearly blew us off the peak and the view was the clouds in front of our faces. We skedaddled the 77 kms down the mountain towards Khancoban. But first, did I take the wrong turn back there? I haven't seen a sign since we left the village. My visor is fogging, I shoulda put the Pinlock in before we rolled. Open for clearing and fresh air. Is that sleet hitting my face with a sting? That's sleet build up at the roadside! Why are still climbing? The thought of having to brave the night out there became words to my pillion, though words of caution more than alarm. We had no lighter or matches, and what wood up there is green or sodden. Then a rest area appeared with a corrugated cabin and sturdy chimney attached. There's that helpful green sign that say 'K 40'. On we go.

The ice never appeared on the tarmac, the sleet stopped, the clouds stayed dense but an occasional 'blue cloud' showed us the way. We wended our way down twisting, turning roads, over dams, up hills, through valleys. At last we reached the turn for Khancoban, but the day was late, we had two hours to go, needed petrol, and the clouds were burgeoning dark black and grey with more rain. At the Murray we stopped for photos of the swollen, fast-moving river. In a flash the rain was upon so we gave the red RS some stick and down the Murray Valley Hwy we went.

At Tallangatta we found 98 premium and estimated our arrival just down the Hume highway. Lake Hume was filled, brown, angry with wind swirling over its surface. The rain fell heavier. We changed course and headed towards Wodonga instead of around on B roads to Barnawartha. The last fifteen minute were a frog strangler with standing water on the road surface. We pressed on to a warm home of longtime friends, to a fine welcome and a blazing fire in the wood-burning stove. I think the four of us emptied four bottles of Barossa Valley red. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

Today dawned bright, cool and sunny, the birds singing and flowers blooming. I've washed the bike and gone over various fasteners, checked air in tyres, emptied out panniers and repacked for tomorrow's journey across Victoria to Clunes. But first, a good meal, some more wine and convo with new and old mates.

By Sunday we'll be at Philip Island, though I'm far less enthusiastic now that the title has been claimed by mathematical calculation in young hotshoe Marquez's favour due to both Rossi and Lorenzo folding. It's a fight for second and third.

The weather in Vic has been good the last few days but Saturday and Sunday at the Island is gonna be Fn freezing. Like it is most years.
I'm sorta glad I'll be heading for the sunshine state on Friday.

Great writing TWB.

Welcome back to your "home state" TWB and P.
Following along.
I hope the weather is more kind to you.

Cheers,

Thanks, Dennis! Will we catch up this time? We're in Mooroopna, heading to Clunes, and in state til Monday or Tuesday.

Weather's breezy and beaut.

New OZ mobile oh for dubble too ate nein tree seben oh nein.

Our paths have come close at some time I left Mooroopna at 6.00am and am in Singleton now

Hope you travelled away from the weather yesterday Rick G. Phillip Island turned on the worst for us yesterday. Winter woolies & wellies will be required today.

Winter conditions at PI and the region. Intermittent cold wet falling, constant wind but some optimistic blue clouds showing through.

We're in central Victoria with rellies. If it stays like this I see no reason why, feet up, perhaps a blazing fire going, room upstairs in the pub for sleeping in on Monday, we'd watch the circus on channel One.

I don't enjoy a crowd in less than ideal conditions.

I have just arrived home in Stanthorpe and it rained all the way from Singleton. Hope you guys are getting slightly better weather.

Stopped in Bendigo, a nice little motel with a pub within stagger.
It has rained for the past 36 hours, often in waves of fire brigade buckets. We're only wet on the outside due to excellent gear, but the wind helps it find its way to your neck, your cuffs, and with wet comes cold. Best part, Pamela never says a word wrong or gets agro about any of it. Nice visit with auntie, uncle and cousins, too. Well be back in Queensland in four days time.

Parked up in Blackheath at Gardner's Inn (Charles Darwin apparently stayed here). It's been some sweet riding from Wagga, up the Olympic, green everywhere, rivers running brown, creeks overflowing, and sunshine with only light wind.

Tomorrow, Three Sisters, Bells Line of Road and the Putty. Who's up for a coffee and fun run?

It occurs to me I never finished this travelogue, tho' the ride is long over. We made it back up to Queensland (busted lower shockie stud and all) after a terrific weekend stopover with the Krew, rain, wind, feasting, drinking, and all, at Smitty's fine place in the hills. There's cold in them thar hills.

Now here we are six months later, watching the rain fall outside from the comfort of our front room in Washington state, near Tacoma/Seattle. I had said I was pretty firm on not being able to get back home this October, but, damn, how could I not!? That loverly red RS is sitting there all covered up in the shed in Beenleigh, oil & filter changed, petrol treated with Stabil, but not a wisp of battery breath to keep the LCD clock company. I hope Chazza is getting some use out of the bright yellow Motobatt.

I reckon the first week of October will do, stay three weeks or so. We've got an old riding friend from Victoria and her South Australian mate stopping here for the month of September. If hearing some pure Aussie after six more months of 'Murican doesn't fire us up for a return...