Time for my second ride report. The first was the epic 11km from Boronia to Selby when I collected the bike from being roadworthied and serviced. The day after someone crashed into the back of my car which put me off riding for a couple of months. Over the last few months I have done short rides on most Sundays.
I had this weekend available to get out on the bike so I had to make the most of it. It was a cold and wet weekend so I didn't stop to take many pictures.
Friday
I took Fri 22nd June off. Spent the morning in the pouring rain sorting out some chores. Planned to leave at about 1pm but the rain + cold looked like I might have to cancel. Anyway, it cleared up, I left from Selby and rode to Monbulk, Seville, late lunch at Healesville up to Taggerty. Stopped to send this picture to my colleague with the message: 'one of us does not have 3.30 itis'.
Then Alexandra then round to Mansfield via Bonnie Doon. Coffee and fuelled up in Mansfield leaving at 5pm and planning to get to Myrtleford knowing it was going to start getting dark soon. Took the interesting road (C521) not the fast road. It got dark and foggy and my visor kept misting up. Spent the last 40 minutes riding in the dark and cold with the visor up.
Stayed at a motel in Myrtleford. Had a well earned Parma and a few pots at the Hotel.
Saturday
In the morning it was cold, there was low cloud and no wind so I decided to stay off the hilltops. I had coffee in Bright then took the road to Mt Beauty via Towonga Gap:
This is what it looked like heading down from there:
From Mt Beauty I headed north and ended up in Tallangatta for lunch. Noticed the pub had a big sign offering a deal for motorbike riders. I had planned to stay in Albury / Wodonga but changed my plans. I did a loop, heading towards Corryong, then north on the C546 and round via Bungil, Tintaldra etc to Corryong. The low cloud meant I couldn't see Mt Kosciuszko. I took a few pic's by a lake:
And stopped to look at this trestle bridge:
Back at Tallangatta. I was pretty tired as it had been a long day on interesting/challenging roads which meant I had to concentrate a lot. The pub was lively and I had another parma. I managed to keep myself up until 9.30 by reading the paper. Had a great sleep.
Sunday
Left at 9am. Rode to Yackandandah for breakfast. Headed to Beechworth and the rain came in and the visibilty dropped. I was very happy to just follow the tail lights of the slow car ahead into town. Fuelled up and then headed off thinking this will be a rough day if it is like this all the way to Melbourne. Luckily after a few km's the visibility and rain improved.
After Beechworth I headed towards Wangarratta and took the faster M31 Hume Fwy until Benalla. As conditions were better and the Hume was boring I took the B300 south to Mansfield where I stopped for fuel. Headed on to Alexandra for lunch then hacked down past the Cathedral Ranges and then to Warburton via the C507 Acheron Way. On the map, that road looks interesting and goes straight to Warburton. >10kms of unsealed roads. In the wet. And cold.
I do not recommend taking a VFR on slick road tyres here:
The road was mostly pretty good but did have some big potholes, some rutting and a few slippery muddy patches.
Anyway, the bike and I made it through to Warburton without too much drama. The roads in Warburton were dry. Tea and cake and lots of stretching the legs as my knees needed it then home to Selby.
Did 1,200kms over the three days. 350km's on Fri, 410km's on Sat, and 440km's on Sun.
I was pretty lucky as I didn't have too much rain. My gear did ok. I was happy that I got through and did most of what I wanted even with the pretty cold temperatures.
The bike. I am really impressed. For a 22yr old bike it was fantastic. Cosmetically it is a bit tatty but all the working bits work well. It just went without missing a beat whether it was doing 80km's, 110km's, 170km's (very briefly) it felt the same. I am really liking riding it now.
I need to get a tank bag or magnetic map case. There were a few navigating errors that could/should have bee avoided.
All in all it turned out to be a good weekend of riding. I will definitely be heading back to that area again.
I had this weekend available to get out on the bike so I had to make the most of it. It was a cold and wet weekend so I didn't stop to take many pictures.
Friday
I took Fri 22nd June off. Spent the morning in the pouring rain sorting out some chores. Planned to leave at about 1pm but the rain + cold looked like I might have to cancel. Anyway, it cleared up, I left from Selby and rode to Monbulk, Seville, late lunch at Healesville up to Taggerty. Stopped to send this picture to my colleague with the message: 'one of us does not have 3.30 itis'.
Then Alexandra then round to Mansfield via Bonnie Doon. Coffee and fuelled up in Mansfield leaving at 5pm and planning to get to Myrtleford knowing it was going to start getting dark soon. Took the interesting road (C521) not the fast road. It got dark and foggy and my visor kept misting up. Spent the last 40 minutes riding in the dark and cold with the visor up.
Stayed at a motel in Myrtleford. Had a well earned Parma and a few pots at the Hotel.
Saturday
In the morning it was cold, there was low cloud and no wind so I decided to stay off the hilltops. I had coffee in Bright then took the road to Mt Beauty via Towonga Gap:
This is what it looked like heading down from there:
From Mt Beauty I headed north and ended up in Tallangatta for lunch. Noticed the pub had a big sign offering a deal for motorbike riders. I had planned to stay in Albury / Wodonga but changed my plans. I did a loop, heading towards Corryong, then north on the C546 and round via Bungil, Tintaldra etc to Corryong. The low cloud meant I couldn't see Mt Kosciuszko. I took a few pic's by a lake:
And stopped to look at this trestle bridge:
Back at Tallangatta. I was pretty tired as it had been a long day on interesting/challenging roads which meant I had to concentrate a lot. The pub was lively and I had another parma. I managed to keep myself up until 9.30 by reading the paper. Had a great sleep.
Sunday
Left at 9am. Rode to Yackandandah for breakfast. Headed to Beechworth and the rain came in and the visibilty dropped. I was very happy to just follow the tail lights of the slow car ahead into town. Fuelled up and then headed off thinking this will be a rough day if it is like this all the way to Melbourne. Luckily after a few km's the visibility and rain improved.
After Beechworth I headed towards Wangarratta and took the faster M31 Hume Fwy until Benalla. As conditions were better and the Hume was boring I took the B300 south to Mansfield where I stopped for fuel. Headed on to Alexandra for lunch then hacked down past the Cathedral Ranges and then to Warburton via the C507 Acheron Way. On the map, that road looks interesting and goes straight to Warburton. >10kms of unsealed roads. In the wet. And cold.
I do not recommend taking a VFR on slick road tyres here:
The road was mostly pretty good but did have some big potholes, some rutting and a few slippery muddy patches.
Anyway, the bike and I made it through to Warburton without too much drama. The roads in Warburton were dry. Tea and cake and lots of stretching the legs as my knees needed it then home to Selby.
Did 1,200kms over the three days. 350km's on Fri, 410km's on Sat, and 440km's on Sun.
I was pretty lucky as I didn't have too much rain. My gear did ok. I was happy that I got through and did most of what I wanted even with the pretty cold temperatures.
The bike. I am really impressed. For a 22yr old bike it was fantastic. Cosmetically it is a bit tatty but all the working bits work well. It just went without missing a beat whether it was doing 80km's, 110km's, 170km's (very briefly) it felt the same. I am really liking riding it now.
I need to get a tank bag or magnetic map case. There were a few navigating errors that could/should have bee avoided.
All in all it turned out to be a good weekend of riding. I will definitely be heading back to that area again.
