Snowy Mountains ride, 21-24 November 2017

The Club’s inaugural pre-Rally Snowy Mountains ride was blessed with fabulous weather (except for a short, sharp thunderstorm, which will be described later!), great roads, beautiful scenery and plenty of laughs for all the attendees, most of whom had never ridden in this region before. The ride officially started in Khancoban on the Wednesday morning and concluded back in Bethanga at the SR500 Rally on Friday afternoon.

Craig and Matt met in Yea on the Tuesday morning to lead a ride via Whitfield/Beechworth to Bethanga for any interested members, but as it turned out, no one else arrived, so they enjoyed a small group ride on their own! Ian, David, Ryan and Tony had trailered their bikes and camping gear to the Rally site earlier on Tuesday and were ready to go when Craig and Matt arrived. Departing Bethanga around 3:00pm, the group rode in very warm conditions on the legendary River Road around Lake Hume and beside the Murray River before taking a short break in Walwa to re-group. A short distance from Walwa is the famous Tintaldra Hotel which sits at the gateway to the Snowy Mountains. After an obligatory ice-cold schooner on the pub’s veranda (yes, it is bad luck and possibly illegal to go into the Snowies without first having a cold beer in Tintaldra!), our group crossed into NSW and followed the Tooma Road and Alpine Way into Khancoban, which would be our base for the next few days. After settling into our accommodation in Khancoban, we met at the pub for drinks and dinner, where we met up with Brendan and Nick van de Zand (who had trailered their bikes and camping gear in a few days earlier), and Jack Bridges.

On Wednesday, we were greeted with beautiful blue skies and a gentle warm breeze – just perfect for riding in the mountains.  Departing Khancoban around 9:00am, we headed for our lunch stop at Jindabyne via the Alpine Way, stopping at Murray 1 Power Station, Scammel’s Lookout, Geehi Hut, and Tom Groggin station on a very narrow stretch of the Murray River. The Alpine Way was in superb condition, with everyone enjoying the long climbs and steep decents on twisty roads through the magnificent scenery that only the Snowies can provide. After we all took a break and re-grouped on the top of the Great Dividing Range at Dead Horse Gap (1,582 m), the tight roads leading to Thredbo opened up and became wide, open sweepers as we made our way to Lake Crackenback and Jindabyne. After lunch and re-fuelling in Jindabyne, we rode towards Berridale and picked up an awesome little backroad linking us to the Snowy Mountains Highway, which in turn lead us to Adaminaby and Kiandra on wide, open, very fast sweepers (just ask Matt and Ryan!) where you can see for several kilometres in the distance and really enjoy some great riding. After another re-group and drink in Adaminaby, we headed back into the mountains at Kiandra where we picked up the link road to Khancoban via Cabramurra, Australia’s highest town. Khancoban is around 70 km from Cabramurra and virtually all downhill. The road takes you through stark tundra-type landscapes where brumbies live, and over the massive Tumut 2 and Tooma pondage dam walls. Our route back snaked through some really tight twisty sections on good quality, but narrow roads, constantly rising and falling before we rolled into the undulating plains around Khancoban. After a few beers and dinner in the local pub, we all had relatively early nights as we’d done a lot of riding that day and had another big day in front of us!

Our planned route for Thursday would take us back up the Cabramurra road and back into the mountains where we would turn toward Tumbarumba on the Elliot Way before stopping in Tumut for lunch. Brendan and Nick, mounted on their XT500s, decided to hit the dirt for the day on various roads in the mountains, so the road group now consisted of six riders. The start of our ride re-traced Wednesday’s last leg from Cabramurra, but because we were riding in the opposite direction, the scenery and roads appeared from a totally different view and were just as enjoyable as before. Turning onto the Elliot Way, we rode down the mountain on smooth twisty roads to the bottom of the valley where the massive Tumut 1 underground power station is located. Normally there are tours available for visitors, but the station is undergoing some maintenance work, so plant visits have been temporarily suspended. Maybe next year! The Elliot Way is truly a motorcyclist’s dream as it snakes along the bottom of the gorge beside the Tumut River, crossing little creeks and cuttings before climbing up onto the plains towards Tumbarumba (pine plantation/logging), Batlow (apple orchards) and onto Tumut (logging and sawmills). After a bakery lunch in Tumut, the group headed for home via Talbingo, past the huge Blowering Dam and back onto the fast sweepers of the Snowy Mountains Highway. Re-grouping at the Cabramurra turnoff, it was obvious that we needed to put on our wet weather gear as the sky where we were going was black. Really black! Within a few minutes there were spots of rain. Then the rain got heavier, a lot heavier in fact. Then the thunder and lightning started, and the rain got really, really heavy – just like a tropical downpour in Queensland! Just as we got to the really twisty bit, about 5 km from Cabramurra, it started to hail – not golf ball size, more like marbles, but there was so much of it, the road was completely covered, just like a snow storm! On some corners the rain was washing the hail across the road in large drifts just to test our nerve and throttle control skills! Everyone made it to Cabramurra – unscathed, but soaked. No one dropped their bikes, but everyone’s wet weather gear had failed to varying degrees and we were wet; very, very wet! After a short break in Cabramurra, the skies cleared, allowing us to ride down the mountain in sunshine, which made it tempting to take off the wet weather gear. None of us did, which was a good thing, as about 10 km from Khancoban, the rain started again, making it a soggy end to an otherwise fabulous day. All up, we covered over 380 km on the day, saw some beautiful scenery and enjoyed some of the best motorcycling roads in Australia.

Friday morning came all too soon, and there we were, packed and ready to head for Bethanga and the Rally. Brendan and Nick had left earlier, while Dave and Ian decided to ride via Corryong along the Murray Valley Highway. The rest of the group rode back along the river road past Walwa and on to Tallangatta over the Granya Gap. Craig decided to head to Koetong for lunch at the pub, Matt had to go to Albury to buy a new rear tyre. while Ryan and Tony enjoyed a leisurely break in Tallangatta before taking the Granya Gap again on the way to Bethanga.

In summary, the ride went as planned and everyone who attended enjoyed absolutely great weather, relatively empty roads and incredible scenery. The trip covered around 1,100 km from Bethanga and return. No one dropped their bike or had any reliability issues, and everyone rode within their capabilities, so all things considered, it was a fabulous few days of riding with like-minded motorcyclists on a range of different bikes. Well done to all who attended! Roll on 2018 so we can do it all again!

Participants

Tony Jones	BMW R1200GS
Ryan Jones	Triumph Speed Triple 1050
Brendan van de Zand	Yamaha XT500 & SR500
Nick van de Zand	Yamaha XT500
David Prior	Yamaha XT600 Ténéré
Ian Janetzki	Yamaha XTZ 750 Super Ténéré
Matt Vellere	Suzuki GSX-R750
Craig Lemon	Yamaha TRX850

 

Mike Cowie reports on the Club ride down the Mornington Peninsula on Saturday, 4 Nov 2017:

The Peninsula Ride went well, even if the weather was a bit overcast and damp at the start!

See photos below, taken outside Andy Strapz’s shop in Seaford, which was the second stop of the day (the first stop was at Antique Motorcycles near Moorabbin Airport, which was after the main group rode down from the West Gate bridge meeting point).

We then rode on down to Balnarring for a lunch of lovely meat pies and coffee.

After lunch, with the weather on the improve, two of the guys, Paul and Jeff, decided the pace was too hectic and left the group to return home (or maybe they were just bored). They missed the best part of the ride!

[Actually, they got separated from the main group and headed off in the wrong direction, but still had a great ride after finding themselves on the southern side of Flinders].

We left Balnarring and headed up to the back of Arthurs Seat, then back down to Flinders, where I took a few more photos (below).

After Flinders, we headed down to Sorrento where the guys from the west of the city took the ferry across to Queenscliff , to ride home through Geelong.

The three of us that didn’t take the ferry went back to the city by another route and arrived home at 5-6pm.

I don’t know about the others, but I had a very enjoyable day, cruising about the Peninsula. There are some great roads down there, and the scenery is spectacular.

On Saturday, 25 Feb 2017, a half dozen or so members of the Club enjoyed the hospitality of Russell & Christine at their home in Clunes (VIC).

Paul, Jeff, Tony & Craig met at the BP Truckstop at Rockbank at 9:30am as planned, and after coffee, proceeded at a leisurely pace up the Western Freeway to the Ballarat Swap Meet. There we found Andy, Colin, and Darren selling their wares! There were not too many bargains to be had (although Paul managed to pick up a Ford Mustang petrol cap as a memento for $5!). From the swap meet, it was only a short ride to Clunes.

At Russell’s & Christine’s house, we met up with Nick & J’nel, Manny, Chris Phillips, and Denver, and were taken on a tour of the expansive shed/workshop/man-cave which houses Russell’s & Christine’s motorbike collection, bar, table football, and pool table.

A plentiful & scrumptious dinner was provided by Russell & Christine and their neighbourhood friends, and we all had a very pleasant evening.

Paul, Jeff & Tony chose to ride back to Melbourne after dinner, whereas the rest of us stayed the night – sleeping in either the house, the caravan, or the campervan.

Sunday morning, after a yummy cooked breakfast, we all went our separate ways.

Unfortunately, Craig only made it about 35 km before getting a flat tyre near Bungaree. Valiant attempts by Manny to fix the puncture were unsuccessful, so Russell was kind enough to pick up Craig and return to Clunes (and subsequently organise a replacement tyre the following day).

Thank you Russell & Christine for your generous hospitality over the weekend!

Tony Jones reports on the Club ride he organised for 5 Feb 2017:

Originally, the ride was to have covered about 320 km through the scenic rolling hills north of Melbourne before stopping for lunch in Alexandra before returning home via Yea, Flowerdale (stopping at the famous pub for refreshments, of course!) and finishing up at Whittlesea. This was changed when I realised the Herald Sun Tour and their support crews would be jamming up the roads in the area… bloody cyclists!  Then there was a bushfire that closed the Bulla-Diggers Rest Road, which was on the revised route, and of course, Melbourne’s infamous weather which had forecast for torrential downpours and severe thunderstorms!  Perfect day for a ride, you say?!

Not surprisingly, given the forecast, the turn up for the ride was minimal.

Jeff Gillman and myself waited at BP AA Calder Hwy Outbound until 9:00am before making our way across to Bulla (via the re-opened Bulla-Diggers Rest Road). Passing through Oaklands Junction, we headed for the Whittlesea coffee stop on twisty backroads via Konagaderra Road, Darraweit Guim, Wallan, and Eden Park on the superb Janna & Glenburnie Roads.

Ugo had just arrived at the coffee stop, so the timing was perfect! While we were enjoying our coffee, there was a very brief shower, which barely wet the road, but it did prompt us to check the weather radar! The plan was to ride to Flowerdale for a counter lunch at the pub via Strath Creek / Kerrisdale / Yea; however, this was scrapped when the radar indicated heavy rain to the north of us, smashing the intended route.  To the south was clear and dry, so we headed for the Coach & Horses Inn, Clarkefield, on some outstanding roads that took us back through Wallan, Romsey, Kerrie Valley, and Riddells Creek.

After a nice pub lunch and an enjoyable ride, we headed back towards Melbourne Airport via Wildwood Road to Oakland Junction, where Jeff and Ugo turned towards the city, while I headed home to Sunbury.

All things considered, and despite dire predictions about the weather, it was a great ride of some 220 km or so on DRY roads under cloudy skies, which kept the temperature down to a very pleasant 27°C. Good roads, great scenery, good company and lots of laughs, and we didn’t get wet! Everything you need for an enjoyable day out on the bikes!

On Saturday, 15 October 2016, the SR500 Club visited Mid Life Cycles in Cremorne (Richmond), to check out their premises, and extensive new Royal Enfield showroom. The staff at MLC made us very welcome, and Mike even took a Continental GT for a test ride. The visit was followed by an alfresco lunch at a nice café in Swan Street. An enjoyable morning had by all!