Different plan of attack for this one….up and back in the day.
Stayed at Mum & Dads on my camp mattress with my sleeping bag but an upset tummy was root of a disturbed nights sleep. After fighting to gain more sleep was up and out at stoopid dark o’clock and off to the Metro Doyalson to gain my start docket @ 3:31am ODO 102770.
SPOT tracker red light starts flashing not long down the road – will have to wait. Fog is this mornings threat it’s not bad just present but we all know how that can change. Down the deserted freeway, well maybe only a dozen cars and 1 bike the whole way and the new Freecom4+ playing country music in my ears. Hornsby for an unscheduled stop for SPOT batteries and then back on the freeway.
Passed Campbelltown and I’m tired and know the signs well enough now to not ignore them. Into the Frank Partridge VC rest area to grab a 20min nap. Lots of truck with their air conditioning rattling away.
Back on the freeway and the fogs still hanging around. Uneventful until the sun starts to awaken around Kiama and offers some fantastic views.
Arrive in Nowra about 7:30am for raisin toast and coffee (was more like luke warm dish water) and a couple of QLD FarRider pull in for their breaky, across the road for Dudleys breaky (fuel) and we are off again. The new Freecom4+ has been great but now after stopping the voice command isn’t working. So it turns out that the bluetooth disconnects at a distance and you have to manually reconnect it, with that done, I’m off again with Troy Caser Daly singing away.
From here, the blissfully traffic free morning stops. So much road works and slow drivers, people you don’t have to do 10-15kph under the limit…..the roads clear. Note: always obeying the roadwork speed limit signs….there could be someone working on the side.
Turn off the highway and just follow the road into Bermagui. See a couple of riders at the servo, get to the check-in location, park 10:50am and only 1 other bike to be seen….hmm, check-in could be real easy. Have I got the right day??? Then like bees swarming, riders start to arrive, flag hung and check-in opens. A HUGE thanks to my esteemed FarRider assistant Hackle for helping and feeding me!!
Congratulations to the new riders for completing the first of may more FarRides.
But my ride isn’t finished still have 500km to go. Fuel on the way out of town and up the Princes Highway, a bit more traffic than this morning and a few spirited overtaking opportunities were taken advantage of. Past many times but don’t recall ever stopping at is the pink plane at Coila, so today was the day.
Heading north through the pretty town of Moruya (must stop here one day) and into Batemans Bay and as Snaggle Puss would say “exit stage left” at the roundabout. The Kings Highway is a road I have not done in years and today was perfect. Clear winding roads, a tiny bit of roadworks, great scenery and a seamless run into Braidwood, then Bungendore.
Been up for ages and thought, yep I deserve an ice-cream but the town was packed so just kept going. I haven’t been on the road that heads west out of Bungedore before (turns out it’s called Bungendore Rd) and the GPS wasn’t happy that I took this route and kept telling me to do a u-turn. In the end it messed with my head that much, that I pulled over and consulted the phone and decided to cancel the GPS route and plug in a single destination and kept going.
Watched the sky change though and thought at some stage I am going to get wet. Went to have a sip from the trusty camelbak and bring the tube around and whoshska….the sucky thingy flew straight of the end of the tube fixture. Bugger!!! Lucky it has a swivel valve and was lucky to turn it around so Dudley didn’t get soaked with drink.
Popped out on the Federal Highway and the rain clouds I’d been watching decided to shed some tears. Not heavy just enough to wet the road and say it rained. It was short and sweet only about 20 minutes and took the heat right out of the day….was sitting at 32degrees prior. Mr Freecom4+ also decided that he was tired and after being on since 3:00am that morning said “goodbye”.
Goulburn for fuel about 3:40pm and some chippies and drink for me. About 200kms to get home, a stretch of road I could “almost” ride with my eyes shut (assured I did not). Cruise control set, singing to myself and it’s just a matter of get around all the traffic. There was this one Ranger Ute that I’d watched for about 1km sitting behind another big ute who I actually thought was towing the Ranger (he was sitting that close). But no he wasn’t in tow and waited until I was at his tailgate at which point he decided to pull out……”tool”!!! Crisis averted…..some how new this idiot would do something so was prepared. He did the same thing to another driver further up the road……”tool”.
It’s been a long time since I’ve required to crank out a big day like this and the old body and bum are starting to burn. Navigating through the traffic heading and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face when I turned into home at 6:20pm ODO 103793 – 1023km for the day & FRE S#67 Bermagui….Done and Dusted.
Now to get new shoes for Dudley ready for the next adventure.
Thanks for reading.
