While last year I traveled alone this year I would have the company of fellow Redlands rider Col Dunks on his new GTR 1000. Other friends from the Gold Coast (Peter & Judi) were to join us, but unfortunately work commitments got in the way and they had to back out the week before we were to leave.
Day one was to be our longest day of the trip. An early start saw me out of bed at just before 3am to meet up with Col by 4am. Our destination for today was Dubbo in central west NSW. Given we were leaving early we decided to head straight down the Pacific Highway to Bangalow to avoid the possibility of encountering any early morning wildlife that tends to roam the roadside of the back roads in the wee small hours.
Once at Bangalow we turned off the Highway and headed west to Lismore and Casino, then down the Summerland Way to Grafton. After a quick refuel in Grafton we headed out through Clouds Creek to Armidale. The road through here has only been completely sealed in the last few years, and the twisty sections make for very pleasant riding.
To add a new dimension to the trip this year I hooked up a video camera inside my helmet so we could record some on board video footage of the trip. The mini camera was kindly loaned to me for the trip by fellow Redlands rider Mike Dangerfield. We tested the camera out along this section of road and found the images we were getting were really good considering the lens on the mini camera was about the size of a match head.
Once we got the other side of Ebor the road to Armidale starts to open up more and we made good progress all the way into Armidale, then followed the new England Highway to Tamworth where we stopped to refuel the bikes and ourselves. We encountered the only brief (but heavy) shower of rain for the day just before coming into Tamworth.
After leaving Tamworth we headed towards Werris Creek, then cut across to Premer.
They'd had a lot of rain through this area, and as a result a lot of the causeways we crossed were covered with water about six inches deep. We negotiated the causeways carefully and continued on into Premer then onto Coolah and finally into Dubbo where we stayed the night at a friends place.
Day two saw us leave Dubbo around 7am and head south east towards the town of Molong along the Oberly Rd which runs through the villages of Yeoval and Cumnock. This was a delightful road that offered some sensational views of the surrounding area. The road has an excellent surface and there was virtually no other traffic on the road. Once we hit Molong it was time to sample some of the local pastries at the pie shop.
From Molong we continued south through Cudal, Canowindra and into Cowra. The weather ahead of us at Cowra was looking decidedly bleak. A large band of dark black storm clouds lay ahead, and the ominous lightning and thunder had us going for our wet weather gear.
While the rain was rather heavy, thankfully it didn't last all that long and by the time we reached Koorawatha halfway to Young, the rain had stopped and the sun was out again.
At Koorawatha the Olympic way does a dog leg left and right turn over the rail line. With the road still very wet unfortunately Col managed to momentarily lock the rear wheel on his GTR as he approached the first left hand bend at about 30 kph.
The result was the bike slipped out from under him and I watched in my mirrors to see both Col and GTR sliding down the road behind me.
While the GTR was a little worse off for the incident, thankfully Col escaped serious injury, and after taping the GTR's screen back on we were able to continue the rest of the ride without further incident. The only dilemma caused by the accident was that Col's front brake lever broke off in the crash and Col reported that riding the GTR with only a back brake was no fun at all.
Once we got into Young, with the help of the local tyre dealer we managed to find out that the Kawasaki dealer in Albury had a new front brake lever in stock. So we had a quick bite to eat in Young then hot footed it over to Albury via Cootamundra, Coolac and the Hume Highway to get to the dealer before they closed, so that the new brake lever could be fitted to Col's bike.
At the end of the day we were able to wash the troubles of the day away over a good meal and a few beers at the local club in Albury that was right next door to our motel.
Day three was to be an easy day with around 300 kilometres to travel to get to our final destination Thredbo. Leaving Albury we took the road that follows the Victorian side of the Hume Weir through the villages of Talgarno, Granya, Jingelic and Walwa. This is a truly spectacular road to ride on a motor bike. The scenery is quite spectacular, the road surface is brilliant, and there are lots of flowing corners that make it one of the top motorcycle roads in Victoria. The section of road from Walwa to Khancoban was just fantastic. At Khancoban we refueled the bikes and enjoyed a hearty lunch at the local pub.
The final leg for the day was the run up to Thredbo. While it's only about 80 kilometres, it's through some spectacular Snowy mountains country and the scenery is breathtaking. We were advised before leaving Khancoban that there were three Police radars operating between here and Thredbo so we behaved ourselves for much of the run, and adhered to the 60 and 80kph speed limits all the way.
We stopped at several scenic lookouts along this section of road and took the obligatory photo or two, although no photo can do justice to the landscape here. You need to see it to appreciate it fully.
We arrived into Thredbo mid afternoon and settled into the ski lodge which was to be our accommodation for the next few days. We took a stroll through Thredbo and picked up some supplies (ie: Beer) and then had a walk about town to check the place out.
Later that afternoon we agreed to meet up with some friends from Canberra in Jindabyne for dinner. So we headed off to Jindabyne in the later part of the afternoon and caught up with Lionel and two of his friends and chattered about bikes over a few beers and a Kebab before riding back to Thredbo later that evening.
Day four was the Snowy Ride. Our plan this year was to do the full Alpine loop from Thredbo to Jindabyne, across to Adaminaby. Then up to Kiandra, Cabramurra and across to Khancoban before heading back to Thredbo to complete the loop (approx 350 kilometres in all).
We'd arranged to meet up with Lionel and John from the ST1100 club at the Jindabyne checkpoint at 8:30 in the morning. The morning was overcast and sprinkling rain, but the roads remained mostly dry. From Jindabyne we headed to the Berridale checkpoint to get our tickets stamped. After Berridale we headed for Adaminaby along another really spectacular section of road that twists and winds its way through some amazing landscapes. As you join the Adaminaby to Cooma rd, the valley just opens right up before your eyes and you can see for miles – it's spectacular.
At Adaminaby we again stopped at the checkpoint to have our tickets stamped. You need to have your ticket stamped at at least three checkpoints to go into the raffle at the end of the day to win the VTX Cruiser.
After leaving Adaminaby we headed north west along the Snowy Mountains Highway towards the Cabramurra turnoff. This section of road between Adaminaby and Cabramurra is just sensational on a bike. Personally I rank it as the best piece of road I've ever ridden – period!
I set the video going as we started the run (fang) through this section of road but was disappointed to find later that the video didn't work (bugger!!). Never the less we decided we'd ride the same road tomorrow on the way home.
After we got to the Cabramurra turn off we hit fog that was seriously thick enough to eat. You just couldn't see more than about 50 feet, so our progress through here was very slow. After we came out of the fog we were treated to more fantastic twisting roads down into Khancoban where we once again stopped for lunch at the pub. On the ride back up to Thredbo we encountered some pretty heavy rain and the road was wet for most of the journey.
After getting back to our accommodation in Thredbo we settled in and watched the video footage taken that day and enjoyed a few drinks with the other riders there. In the evening there was a concert put on by the original members of The Angels, and we were treated to a great concert, and the crowd got right into it.
Day five was Sunday and we were heading for home. We followed the route taken the previous day to Adaminaby. I was determined to get the next section of road on video so I made sure the camera was on and that I had a full tape ready. I only got 12 minutes into the ride when the battery powering the mini camera died, so alas, I still didn't get all the footage I wanted.
The temperature on the Sunday was very cold, my trip computer was only registering 4 degrees and I had the electric seat and grips going all morning. By the time we got to Blowering Dam and Tumut the temperature had risen to a pleasant 21 degrees making it a lot more comfortable.
We stopped at Tumut for lunch and to refuel before heading across to Gundagai. Saw the dog on the Tuckerbox and then continued on towards Yass. At Bowning we turned off the Hume Highway and headed north towards Boroowa (another great section of road). We managed to stay just ahead of a storm front that seemed to be chasing us all day.
After Boroowa we continued north to Cowra then across to Bathurst where we stayed the night.
Day six we headed to Lithgow for breakfast. Then we rode down Bells Line Rd to Windsor. The temperature was a rather brisk 7 degrees all the way across the mountains. Again it was overcast but the road remained mostly dry.
From Windsor we headed up the Putty Rd to Singleton, stopping at the halfway house for a coffee and a chat with other bikers heading home from the Snowy ride.
Singleton was a fuel and lunch stop before heading to Dungog and Gloucester and up Thunderbolts way to Walcha. We hit a lot of rain coming into Gloucester but the wet weather gear kept us 95% dry. The road along Thunderbolts way was dry but they'd had a lot of rain in the area and the rivers and creeks were all flowing very fast.
After reaching Walcha we decided we would continue up to Armidale for the night. Once we checked in we were told the local pub had a $7.00 rump steak night on, so we walked to the pub and feasted on a huge rump and washed it down with a few more of our favourite yeast based energy drinks.
Our final day was a pleasant run home to Brisbane via Glenn Innes and the Gwyder Highway to Grafton. Then up the Summerland way to Casino for lunch. After lunch we rode up to Kyogle and refueled again before heading across to Murwillumbah and home via the Numinbar Valley.
In total we covered some 4,200 kilometres in the week and had a great time. The roads we traveled for the most part were excellent. The scenery in the Snowy Mountains region is simply spectacular, and I doubt there would be any better way of experiencing it than on a bike.
If you have an opportunity to attend a Snowy Ride in the future, I highly recommend that you do it - at least once. The organization that goes into this event is amazing, and the support from the local communities at each checkpoint is fantastic. The local schools and clubs get behind the event holding sausage sizzles and having coffee outlets at each check point to help raise money, and each club also contributes to the events main charity which is the Children's Cancer Research Institute. This year I believe the event raised in excess of $250,000.
Honda are major sponsors of the Snowy Ride, and are to be congratulated for their support each year. On the Friday and Saturday Honda made test rides available for anyone who wanted to take the latest Hondas for a blast, and they also supplied the new VTX Cruiser which was the major prize in the raffle as well as many other generous offerings.
Hopefully next year we can entice a few more Redlands riders to come along and enjoy this spectacular part of our country.
As a final matter of interest for those who might consider doing the Snowy Ride next year and are wondering how much it costs to do the ride. Well after adding up all my receipts and factoring in the cash I'd spent along the way. The week away cost me just under $800 for everything including entry fees, fuel, accommodation (twin share), food and a few beers.
My thanks goes to Col Dunks for his companionship along the way.
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