April-on-a-bike, the Report .....

Williamson

Part of the furniture
Pokerface Sufboards is a qld surfboard maker. If you look at the sign without that written on it, it all looks well spaced. The "Pokerface Surfboards" doesn't quite fit, but it's a nice job. I'd say someone has just stuck a sticker on a spare space on the sign. It looks like it's supposed to be there. Good job, you sticker artist, whoever you are... my bet is the culprit had a surfboard on the roof of their kombi.


Good find, plausible idea.

:clap:

That Clarence -Shuffle certainly looks interesting, good find.
Another one stashed away for the next trip up there. Merci! :thumbs:

And did I mention that it's free? That's why we went forth and back.
 

Williamson

Part of the furniture
Monday 22 April (cont.)

The afternoon ride went like this:



Fuel up and get some lunch at Grafton, head up the Gwydir Highway, turn off at the Old Glen Innes Road. The scenery was always changing:

An old church:


A renovator's delight:


An old bridge:


Good but slowly deteriorating sealed road for around 35km, then ...........

Gravel road, first section very loose, gravel marbles, very slippery, very slow - 1st and 2nd gear for the Mighty CB, engine temp guage showing over 100 Celsius at times. Surface improves, faster speeds, 3rd and 4th gear, temp drops.

Around a few hundred corners, uphill and down dale, and turn a corner to see the Nymboida River at Buccarumbi:
:glu




Then Dalmorton:




Around 6km further to the Tunnel on the edge of the Boyd River:







:glu:glu:glu:gluSome interior decorator had been there already:


The tunnel is listed as a "convict built tunnel" on many websites, but this has been disputed. I don't care either way, it's just something I saw on a map around 30 years, and wanted to see it since.

It's about this time I should mention that Mal's Harley has almost brand new when he left Melbourne, at this stage it had around 3,500km on the clock. From my point of view riding a new Harley on a road like this, and keeping with the Mighty CB, that's Adventure Riding. Well done Mal!!!
:clap::clap::clap::clap:
Mal & I had our lunch, boiled the billy (well the whistling kettle on the gas stove), had our cuppa, chatted to some gnarly adventurers on a Transalp and a KTM, drank a James Squire each, turned around (Mal had to find a spot for me to around the Mighty CB and trailer).

On the way back Mal spotted the James Squire stubbies I had left behind to keep the XXXX stubbie company, he made me put the back in the Esky.

Two hours to the tunnel from Grafton, two hours back. Arrived Grafton intime to get a pub room, off-street, under cover, lock-up parking at the Great Northern Hotel, $60.00 per twin.

Whilst this ticked all of the boxes, I'd never, ever, ever, ever go back there, but that's another story.

This afternoon's distance = 145km

This afternoon's fuel consumption = 9.5 litres per 100km

It was worth it, the Tunnel was the highlight of the trip so far, and it can't be topped.

Or can it???
 

Williamson

Part of the furniture
Monday 22 April (cont.)

The evening went like this......

After checking the Great Northern's credentials, settling on a bar stool with a schooner each, exchanging some pleasantries with our host Ken-the-publican and Cookie-the-cook-and-barmaid, Cookie says (as best as I can recall), "... and I suppose you c#nts will be wanting dinner too ...."

Mal and I look at each, quietly whisper shyte, but reply yep, "What's on the menu?". Menu arrives, and Cookie says have good look but I'm only doing bangers and mash.

Cookie returns from the kitchen, Mal and Cookie compare tattoos (Cookie wins). From the conversation, Cookie figure Mal's a cook, and says, "Are you a cook too?. Mal responds, "No, I'm a chef".

Now that's not the sort of response you wanna give to someone who's cooking your bangers.

I return from the Gents to hear the end of an conversation between Mal and Cookie, where Cookie say, "So how do ya want ya dinner served? Tits in, or tits out? I figure this may be some sort of code between cooks and chefs.

I found out what it means in a few minutes when dinner is served.

Warning, stop here if semi-nudity offends...........
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I guess this is what tits out means:



Note: Permission asked and granted re. taking pic.

So after a good start to the evening, it got even better. The bangers, mash, plate full of freshly cooked veggies and Cookie's own gravy were excellent. But then it went down hill very very fast. Mal and I had an early night.

When checking-out in the morning I asked Ken if there was any charge for last night's entertainment. He said there wasn't.

The Great Northern, it ticks all the boxes, great meal, and entertainment, just don't go there.

The night's tally = 0km and too many schooners.
 
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Williamson

Part of the furniture
Coupla days, not comments, I guess you are as stunned and Mike & Mal.

In the meantime, I've found this one on Panoramio. This is shared thanks to fiddyschmitt:


Explains why there is a tunnel.
 

Williamson

Part of the furniture
Tuesday 23 April

Late start today, cooked breaky and a couple of mugs of latte (to erase the images from last night) at a local cafe, fueled up and left around 11:00am. The ride went a bit like this:


The last time I (we) travelled the road from Ebor to Grafton was back in 1986 in Mrs W's XF wagon. In those days it was gravel between Ebor and Nymboida, rough gravel, corrugated gravel, rough corrugated pot-holed gravel ..... well, you get the idea.

The XF wagon was only 12 months old, the road shook the crap out of the wagon, the radio fell out of the dash onto the floor. I said to Mrs W, "Don't worry, we can't get any radio reception up here anyway......". Mmm, that wasn't smart!

Fast forward to 2013, the road is all sealed, and what a magnificent road it is now. Sure, there were a couple of sections they were patching some pot-holes, err .... washouts, but the rest ........... worthwhile detouring on the next trip, but it does lead you into South Grafton.

Stopped at the M.I.T. - Museum of Interesting Things, a private museum sponsored by Russel Crowe. Just click on the link.

It's worth the $5 entry, just leave enough time for the tour, and take some fresh camera batteries.:photo:

Break at Ebor, drink, snack and rest. Still feeling a bit fuzzy from the previous night's consumption, Mal and I pulled up some grass under a shady tree and punched out some Zzzzzzeds for the best part of an hour.

Pushed on to Armidale and then Uralla for the night. Stayed at the biker friendly Top Pub, $60.00 (with biker discount) for motel twin room with ensuite, cool beers :scull:, great meal, great value. Even sweeter when we got the last room - bloke behind me wanted a room, as was told that bloke (me) just got the last one.
:clap::upyrs:

Today's distance = 218km
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Thanks God it's Monday....back to work and comp screen, ahemm...
I'd have thought something stronger than Latte would be needed after that shocker of a pub-"meal" :doh::doh:

Great run past Nymboida, isn't it? But...but you guys missed Dorrigo!! :eek:
Oh, hell and damnation!

Great yarn....where to next??
 

Williamson

Part of the furniture
Only just been made aware (catching-up on emails from a seldom used email account) that the pic from ......

Monday 22 April (cont.)
The evening went like this..........

..... was not to everyone's liking.

Pic now changed, sorry for the delay, would've been quicker if offended people(s) had have PM'd me direct.
 

Williamson

Part of the furniture
Tuesday 23 April (cont.)

Didn't get any pics today. Whilst surfing Google Maps and Photos, I found this one:

On the Road to Nymodia (courtesy of Zed14, aka Glen)


Check out the rest of Zed14's pics, as well as a few others (skip mine, you've seen them before) in his group Motorcycling in Australia in Panoramio.
 

Williamson

Part of the furniture
Wednesday 24 April

Uralla to Goulburn went something like this:


After an early night, good sleep (best bed for more than a week), Mal wanted to get on the road early and get home that day. Well 1,250km in one day is too far for me.

Mal insisted (he wanted to get home to Sarah - I think the previous night's entertainment must've got his juices going). I resisted, we had our first separation.

At 5:30am , the alarm went, "Mick, move ya bike", Mick gets up, goes down to bike, scrapes ice of seat - shyte it's cold ........... Mal goes, Mick's back in bed, 60 minutes more sleep, up again, scrapes ice off bike (again), Mick gets going.

Shyte it's still cold, check ambient temp on bike (the 10 year old Mighty CB has a beaut set of instruments), WTF - 4 Celcius????

Fill-up at Bendemeer, talk to nice (South African) lady at the petrol station / store / caravan park office. Irish - Sunday, Scottish - Monday, Ockers (sadly) - Tuesday, South African - Wednesday. I knew we had a multi-cultural society in Oz, but didn't it extended to rural Oz.

Stopped at Tamworth to get some spare keys cut - that's a separate story for another thread, breakfast, make a few phone calls. On the road again. Tried to get lost a few times, but couldn't. Through Muswellbrook, time for a pic:

View from a back road somewhere:


Lunch at Broke, a view somewhere on the Wolloombi Road :

South of Wollombi got to the Wisemans Ferry turn off at around 5:00pm, sign said 35km of gravel road, gravel was rough and corrugated, this I'll have to do another day, turned around and headed to Sydney the easy way.

Around Sydney via the M7, joined the Hume Freeway, stopped for fuel, stopped again for a meal (I need plenty of stops as fatigue starts to creep in), arrived Goulburn around 9:00pm. Checked-in to a very nice classy motel, spa room (free upgrade?) - $60.00, relatively (to previous nights) expensive but very good value.

Today's distance = 796km
 
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