Part 3-Roarin does Dorrigo (and Beyond)

R

roarin

Guest
Previous, part2:
http://www.austouring.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=245#245


Hello again. Ready for the next days adventure? Good. Before I go any further I should include a few more words of warning.

If by chance you find yourself on a similar adventure to mine you must be prepared for some side effects. Some permanent. Others that can be cured. In no particular order I have found these to be the most noticable. In my case anyway.
1. Inability to sit or stand still. For longer than it takes to fill a bike with fuel & scoff down a pie & coffee.(this however does not include any activities associated with beer)
2. Inability to sleep in. Manifests itself by waking up every ¼ hour after about 5.30am & peering out the curtains to see what the weather is going to do.
3. Lack of concentration. Especially whilst engaged in conversation with someone trying to discuss anything less exciting than hammering through a set of twisties. Your boss & your partner will find this decidedly infuriating. Guaranteed. So try your best to look interested. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
4. Feelings of depression once you are back home. Personally I have found these can be quite easily overcome by a quick blast down your favourite bit of road. For about ½ an hour. Or maybe a bit longer. Like an hour. Or 5.

Did I mention it was cold? About minus 4 according to the servo operator in Glenn Innes. Topped up with fuel again & headed south. Down the New England highway towards Armidale. Looking out across paddocks covered in a white layer of frost. As far as highways go this one is not too bad. Some nice sweeping corners interspersed with some tighter uphill & downhill ones. A bit of frost on the road here & there certainly keeps the attention where it is required. Pulled into the golden arches once again for brekky. Nothing like a 100 or so kilometer ride before breakfast to sharpen the appetite.

Topped up with fuel again in Armidale & turn east down Waterfall way heading for Dorrigo. Starting to warm up nicely now. The first 40 odd kays are a pleasant enough ride. Quite entertaining in fact. However, once you reach the turnoff just past Ebor, all hell breaks loose. Well it did in my case. The road goes from pleasant rolling sweepers winding through the bush to breaking out into open farmland and an unending succession of 55 & 65km/hr marked corners. And you can see about 3 corners ahead as the road gently drops away in the distance. The road is racetrack smooth and sealed with a reddy coloured gravel chip. So you can see any oil or diesel that may be there. Diving up & down, left to right like a 50km long roller coaster ride. If you’re riding fast enough. Which wasn’t a problem. Believe me.

If anyone ever tells you a story about spotting a little black & silver motorcycle flying past them with the rider standing on the footpegs, punching the air out in the middle of nowhere then I guess I have been busted. If they swear they could also hear that someone laughing like a lunatic then I would have to say it was definitely me. For my money this would have to be the most enjoyable road I have ever ridden. Bar none. But I have been saying that a bit of late haven’t I?
Fast. Smooth. And safe.

Rolled off the throttle & cruised through Dorrigo.
From Dorrigo through to Bellingen the road takes long steep dives followed by sharp twists over about 15 km’s down towards sea level. Intimidating. Stopped twice for road works. You can see the bush changing the further down you drop. From gums to lush green tropical forest. Getting warmer as you go.

From Bellingen followed the Bellinger river twisting & turning out to Urunga, just south of Coffs Harbour. Time for another highway crawl.
Not far out of Port Macquarie you will see a sign to your right saying Wauchope. Follow it. Another really cool little back road chock full of blind crests with corners diving off in the most unexpected directions. Take it easy. You do want to make it home don’t you?

From Wauchope turn west & head inland again. On the legendary Oxley highway. Following the Hastings river out through long flat. More never ending 45 & 55 km/hr corners. Ahhh. Heaven again. The road straightens out for a few kilometers after this. Around Yarras you start to climb. All I will say about the next 60 or 70 kays is a couple of words. Heaven. Nirvana. Paradise. Sheer bliss. Okay –you got me, I said a couple more. But you get the picture.

Just watch for the FBT’s. Especially the cattle carrying ones. You can generally smell them but keep your eyes peeled for the green slippery stuff on the road that always accompanies them.

I am actually almost ashamed to admit to this next bit. Around 2/3 the way through the Oxley run I had to stop. Cause I was tired. Physically & mentally. From cornering. On a light & nimble 400. That’s how good the road is.

The last 30 odd kliks into Walcha passes uneventfully. Time to stop for the night. Find a pub to stay at. Dump the backpack. Not a bad days ride. 150kms by highway between two towns only takes me 600kms. But was it fun? Hell yes. Only a motorcyclist would understand.

The next bit:
http://www.austouring.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=185#185
 

senfiddy

Tour Pro
"the rider standing on the footpegs, punching the air out in the middle of nowhere"

;D ;DOH YEAH!!!! ;D ;D
 
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