hey guys
heading south this break period , with some time on my hands , I hope

hoping to catch up with ainsjac (stan ) at his new place up near taree on the 27th or something
then off to the newie to visit tom , (one of my brothers also lives around there somewheres who ill meet also )

Sydney next , but my family is also heading south ..to escape Sydney , (figures I guess ).
hope to catch up with klompy at least (on the 28th )

then onto the gong in case gf  didn't get a fairing tree with the rs fairing bits  (got one to drop off to him )  , perhaps Macquarie pass on the way up the hill (29th ?)

possibly Canberra ?

then heading back

through sydney , newie , likely up through buckets way to Uralla ,(never done the hill in a underpowered 4wd before  so could be interesting )  will call into smithys and seanis if they are home 

then to brissy again .

hope to get a few hours to drop a line in the drink along the coast

some bits and pieces to drop off - pickup etc along the way

so if you not doing anything in particular would love to catch up along the path for a coffee and a chat

Merry Christmas guys

Hey Charlie have a safe trip along the way!!

I'd love to head south for Christmas too. Whereas it looks like you're trying to avoid the heat, I want to get into it! It's a miserable shite of a morning again here.

Hey Charlie,
  let me know when you hit the 'Gong and I'll take you up the Pass and down through Kangaroo Valley to Cambewarra Lookout for a coffee.

  Cheers
  Andrew

There's nothing like a roadtrip to clear out the cobbies of the past year, whether in car or on bike. Dunno if it'll be any cooler going south but you won't be in the humidity as much at least, Chazza.

Bit crappy in the weather department round here, too, with nighttime lows below freezing, black ice about come the muddy dawn, a wisp of fog until two in the afternoon, then two hours of grey sunlight before the hazy golden orb drops behind the snow-covered Olympic range. Beaut stuff.

Whether happy or merry, I'm putting the X back in Xmas!

Charlie . I'll be working during your wanderings , but stay safe and enjoy the trip .

to start off the expedition

I had planned a trip up to Albys place on old Gerty , just to say g'day and seasons greetings

I had attempted to clean the old girl up somewhat the night before heading off (not having the time to do so since the Mt Kaputar run with the Crew on smithys northern tablelands adventures )

but you guessed it, I had just wiped over the cockpit plastics with armour all , making it shiney , then the heavens released the rain ,..  about right I guess ...murpheys law I figured

so I gave up , praying for some sunshine come morning

as luck would have it, at about 5 am ..there was indeed some sunshine fighting its way through the clouds



off by 6.00 am after a fill at the servo $1.59 per litre ....blast
low clouds - fog enclosing the valleys from ipswich  right through the dams area around Esk and further to the hills

made Albys by 8.30 am , after a rest break - smoko at blackbutt  along the way ...a quiet little town at the top of the hill out of the Brisbane valley

note,, caution was exercised as we are in double demerit points scam for any speeding or traffic offences .  but the climb up the hill out of Moore to Blackbutt  was irresistible  layed her far over up that section . then back to caution mode .always a good way to get a feel for the road eh?


Good to see Alby and Nick and catch up with recent developments

Alby passed on to me some sadly "no longer required" bits and pieces , now that "Ophelia" has departed to a new owner ..I was glad to take a hold of many things with the thought that they will be passed onto others , to keep our steeds alive and well , in our small community .
amongst the goodies was the "IC3000 " injector exerciser , of some note during our collective workshop days at Albys "Hes  Mad  Lab " workshop meetups which seems just a short time ago now .

we said our good byes and well wishes , with a plan at hand

pass on the "IC3000 " to Blakey

so off down the hill and onto all those tiny towns with paniers and top box full to the brim , some of the really small town are just a couple of shop fronts for the coffee addicted ,, at moore I stopped for pie purchased at blackbutt bakery ,,,was delicious under the shade of the a few trees at the picnic grounds




then onto woodford , peachester range , and lastly Blakeys place

shock ...he was home !!!

you should have seen blakeys  face as he opened my bag of gifts . he instantly recognised the valued equipment with some reminiscent appreciation




enjoy Blakey mate

you have been a great support along the path

now just back home after more than a few hours on the old girl , getting acquainted yet again  after a very busy time at the workplace   



and more to come in a few days

Gday Charlie,

Kerry and I will be home. You're always welcome to call in and have a cuppa or stay over if you need to.
The hillbillies will be glad to see you as well.
ENjoy your road trip!
Schoorn.

and off we go

cheers guys !

Have a safe trip

Looking forward to seeing you in a couple of days Charlie. Safe travels. Cheers Tom

Hi guys currently at liverpool overnight current plans are to head down to the gong am tomorrow with the idea to meet some where central abot 12.30 nsw time then go from there hopefully t meet waz after his work um 3.30 i guess so some time spare for more how does that sit with you andrew - guy ?

I'm free all day so what ever suits you Charlie. I'll PM you my number. Give me a bell in the morning and we'll make a plan.

  Cheers
  Andrew

Sounds good mate guy is out on a similar ride in the am back by 1.00pm ill call when i get down that way thinking in wollengong its self around 10 ish bsck by 2 ish ?

late response my friend but bed and breakfast always available at Robbo. Safe trip from an envious housebound.
RT

well so far its been a blast

have been inundated with 3 separate huge storm events
grafton
kempsy
and kempsy to taree again , middle of the night , which woke me up  from an impromptu nanna nap , along the path ...grin
all on the first day of travels


have met Stan (ainsjac )  and his partner at their new property near taree

met with Tom  and Ulrick  in newcastle we shared a meal and after noon
brunch on toms awesome verandah , and lucky for .me a sweet bed to straighten my weary body over night

 cheers mate  , thanks for being a great host 


caught up with my brother Bill near newcastle ,maitland  a nd found my Mum at his place , as he had stollen her away from home for a few days , just before my scheduled visit for Christmas


next morning, on the road again to sydney and environs

met again with Klompy , been years and years  actually, out at Richmond 

climbed the hill up to mount riverview  to meet Al and marie Pennykid

then off to liverpool to meet my daughter , hubby , a good meal , a few stubbies and season cheer

third day brought an early start out of "the big smoke "
off to wollengong


to meet Andrew ,  who took me on his favorite riding loop through the twistys of the neaby mountains him on a gs and me in a widdle 4wheel drive one hit wonder car , trying to keep up , some excellent views from mountain lookouts , cafe stops and "k" knowledge passed on , i hope .

tracked down Waz , and family at last
good to meet again mate , been a while since scrapheap challenge  up at nymboida

tomorrow hope to catch up with the elusive Guy , and Bob (rt)
before heading north again 

destination new england region  with a part for rockmans sidecar  to pass along

more to come as i get time

It was great to meet up Charlie. Good company, nice lunch at Cambewarra lookout and a bucket load of traffic spoiling all the corners .

  Cheers
  Andrew

Currently at gloughcester heading towards new england tomorrow

finally home and unpacked ....about 2800 kilometers this trip ...thanks to all the guys i met along the way , for spending some time and for some ,contributions to the redframe build yet to happen ...cheers seanii and Smithy for a relaxing day yesterdy and taking some time out ...appreciate it greatly , to get back here and feel far more relaxed is gold (35c and about 60 % uggghh was much better up on the tablelands )

Good to see that you made it home safely Charlie

G'day Charlie. Thanks for dropping the sidecar brake off. I'll give Smithy a ring later today and make arrangements to pick it up.

Good to see you home safe and sound. I suppose the distance of 2800km would have been much nicer travelled on Gerty. Good to catch up Charlie

Rockman wrote:G'day Charlie. Thanks for dropping the sidecar brake off. I'll give Smithy a ring later today and make arrangements to pick it up.

hi Phil ,

its at seaniis place ,
thought he might want to catch up with sidecar topics progressing

waz was looking for the stub axle but couldn't find it straight away , but thought you might have one in any case .

cheers tom , thanks for the awesome help and hospitality

charlie99 wrote:

Rockman wrote:G'day Charlie. Thanks for dropping the sidecar brake off. I'll give Smithy a ring later today and make arrangements to pick it up.

hi Phil ,

its at seaniis place ,
thought he might want to catch up with sidecar topics progressing

waz was looking for the stub axle but couldn't find it straight away , but thought you might have one in any case .

cheers tom , thanks for the awesome help and hospitality

Cheers, I'll get in touch with Seanii.