You can't buy this grin...

Firstly, here is the short version:

I've got blisters on my gas hand!

The weather was amazing. Three days of heat and nice and cool for the last homebound leg.

The food was perfect and the beers cold...(swishing down the dust of the road and quenching our mighty thirst).

...you can't buy this grin!

Thank you Phil, Paul (great to see you come thus far!), Will (and Jen for letting him out to play!), Ralf, Joel (hope you'll get home allright!) and DaMan for fulfilling my sweet Oxley dream.

...

The long version starts here:

Scrap what we had planned ...

We are back and boy, was it a great trip! DaMan is my hero...2000km on the back of my sports bike and he did not complain once... now that's a challenge well met.

We ended up making it a four dayer and found ourselves in Glen Innes via Waterfall Way and Grafton...well, I guess if you've come that far, you might as well go the whole hog...

I don't have to tell you that I was late getting to my own ride, but I'll own up...when we finally arrived at the meet point, some 10 minutes late, we were greeted by five guys doing a choreographed tap on the wrist (which was very funny!)...and then I still had to go and fill up! Bad form!

I had it all planned out how we'd get to the Putty Road, but when I rattled it off to Phil, he said...here's what we do...and it sounded a much better option to go via Picton and Wallacia, then via Appin and Campbelltown...doh!

So, he got to lead us all the way and we followed gladly.


Picton -Wallacia -Wilberforce -Putty Road -Stroud -Dungog -Gloucester -Walcha (o/night)

I remember distinctly looking at my milage and I had done a measly 20 km since Fairy Meadow, thinking that I'd be doing onehundred times that over the next couple of days. The grin widened...

Our first stop was the Caltex...(BTW these days I prefer Caltex...no ethanol!) at Wilberforce, just before hitting the Putty Road. We had planned a regroup and refreshments at the Halfway House, but did not want to pay the exhorbent petrol price to refuel there. I know it's only a couple of bucks, but it all adds up...

The Halfway Roadhouse on the Putty Road does the best milkshakes! Iced coffee was not on the menu, but that coffee flavoured milkshake was heavenly!

Singleton saw us make a wrong move, but a quick shortcut got us straight back onto the road less travelled. An overturned truck at the Jerry's Plains turn-off was just about all the excitement a road that leads through the open cut mines has to offer. It looks like the surface of the moon. No life...nothing at all. Quite the contrast.

Not long after the moonscape we headed along some interesting backroads in some 40 degree heat when I experienced what I thought was a gradual loss of compression on all four cylinders. No matter how hard I throttled the throttle, I could not get it past 5000rps and it seemed to get worse! The boys were almost out of reach and I tried to get their attention by flicking the light on and off highbeam and waving. There was not one bit of shade anywhere along that road...and the last thing I wanted to do was to sit on the hot bitumen next to a hot engine on a hot and sunny day without a clue about what the problem might be.

Ralf slowed to meet up with me after one of my handsigns got his attention and he stayed with me until the next stop. I thought maybe the engine is overheating and it has some sort of an automatic cut off point... good idea, actually! So I pulled the clutch and let it roll down the hill and bingo! At the bottom of the hill I had my full compression back. A few kilometers later it happened again...and that's when we had some lunch in the airconditioned comfort of the Gresford 'Crossroads Cafe' just about 20 kms out of Dungog. Once I got back on the bike it had fixed itself again... I realised then what the cause of the problem was...my grip glue had deteriorated and I kept pulling the grip, not the throttle cable. Nothing Joel can't fix... a couple of cable ties later and I was back in business.

After the Putty Road, Thunderbolts and Bucketts Way are two more roads mentioned in the Australian Motorcycle Atlas. Great to tick them off as we went along.

The bike was humming along perfectly and the added weight made it sit right and comfily on the road. I can't thank Steve enough for the last service. He's just a Magician for my ZX6R. After Gloucester the roads were a bit of a mixed bag. Some stretches of the Bucketts Way were quite well prepared, whilst Thunderbolts saw us dodge pools of melted tar right on the line on 25s and 35s.

This is where we saw a Dingo by the side of the road. It was the first Dingo I've ever seen out in the wild...a very healthy dark orange specimen...prancing off into the woods. It was surreal. I always associated these animals with the desert sands and was surprised to get that glimpse.



Thunderbolt's Way lookout turned Ralf into a Knight in shining armour for a desperate couple. Earlier we had passed a broken down car on the side of the road, but as we approached the driver closed the bonnet and started it up. He looked a little resigned, but seemed to have it under control. They turned up at the lookout...which was a much better option...looking for water for the car, but there was none left. Ralf rang the NRMA for them. It turns out that they have not paid last months bill, have no credit card and no phone. They did have a problem (both he and the woman). Ralf was very kind to help out.Enjoying the view


That night we stayed in Walcha at the Apsley Arms Hotel, where the unmentionable happened... No-one dropped it, nobody was hurt or endangered. The incident delayed our morning departure a little and one of our patrons did not feel as relaxed as the rest of us, but it was all worked out in good time. "What happens on tour, stays on tour!"Early morning Walcha

Walcha's township is littered with imaginative wood sculptures. Some of the verandah pillars were made of bellies and busts... my early morning walk produced some interesting pictures...






Oxley Highway -Ginger's Creek for coffee -Raleigh -Waterfall Way -Bellingen for lunch Dorrigo -Ebor -Grafton (o/night)

The Oxley...
The Ginger's Creek guestbook now reads
"6/1/09...Finally made it...for Don! ZX6R Illawarra Riders".

The big sign out front has gone and another one, about 150 m from the entrance reads 'Closed Tuesdays'...it was Tuesday and my heart sank. However, I just could not believe this: the owner had opened a little while earlier, as he could see that it might get busy... oh boy, did I feel lucky!

It was an emotional ride there, but little did I know that there was so much more to come. After a most pleasant cuppa under a shaded verandah, surrounded by lush rainforest, a quick photo session and my obligatory Ginger's Creek cap purchase, we found ourselves back on that magical road heading towards the coast. Well, if riding the twisties through the forested hinterland of Port Macquarie does not do it for you, then just wait for the view to open up along the green slopes...it was just simply too beautiful to hold back those tears of joy!

Once we hit the coast we avoided the highway until Kempsey, but then we had to join the heavy traffic on the Pacific Highway to Raleigh. Ralf's fuel light decided to play up and he went straight ahead to have it checked out in Coffs Harbour's Harley Dealership. Whilst we went off on another adventure up The Waterfall Way via Bellingen where we stopped for lunch and Dorrigo to Ebor, we planned to meet up at Grafton to head out to Glen Innes. However, by the time we finally made the meet point we've all had enough and whilst looking forward to a cold beer, decided to tackle the next part of the route in the morning.

We stayed at the 'Australian Hotel' in Through Street. It was a shocker! Cheap and worth every cent. 'Grin and bear it' was the motto. There was not even a mirror in the Ladies bathroom. Downstairs was a different story. A lot of it was in the process of being renovated, but the beds (and sheets) were unbelievably well used and the covers had seen better days twenty something years ago. The man and I ended up in two singles, as the only available 'double' had been slept in, which I discovered when I pulled back the cover, as I was curious about a bump in the middle of the bed.

They did lock up the bikes on the premises, which made me feel a little better about the Outreach Centre being across the street and the interesting clientel in the bar.

I always believed that things happen for a reason. Same here: Had we not stayed there, we would not have discovered a magic little place to dine at. It is the 'South Grafton Bowling Club' (the little one at the end of the road ...1 Wharf Rd), which sports a Thai Restaurant with a verandah that has outstanding views up and down river and is right opposite that amazing double level Grafton Bridge, which is quite a show stopper as the light changes in the evening hours. I must not forget to mention those thousands and thousands of fruitbats, which emerged as if on cue from the island in the middle of the river. What an experience...delicious food, great views and a bunch of top blokes to share it with!

Joel decided to keep going North along the coast that next morning. From Grafton we were happy to turn our back on that accommodation to take off along the well maintained Gwydir Hwy towards Glenn Innes. Thank goodness for the single lane roadworks at Mulligans Bluff, as it slowed us right down...enough to take in the view across the 'Mann River' bed, as it's water bubbled at a fair pace across smooth well worn boulders and pebbles... a flyfisher's paradise!

Nothing prepared me for the steep incline to Glen Eling. Of all the roads we've travelled I enjoyed that one the most. It may have been because the temperature had pleasantly changed a little as we climbed up along the side of the mountain range. The rainforest vegetation of staghorn lined trees, pencil cedars and palms was lush and provided shelter from the sun. Luckily the wildlife did stay in it's habitats, which almost gave me a heart attack, when I spotted a rather large and dark lizzard...not a bluetongue, not a goanna...not sure what it was there at the lookout, but I let out an involuntary scream, when I saw it move quite suddenly about a meter in front and I mistook it for a snake... hey, I'm a city slicker...kind of!

Glen Innes -Tamworth for lunch -Singleton (o/night)
A couple of kms out of Australia's Country Music centre, the home of the Golden Guitar, Will let us have a taste of what was to come. He turned up his CD on his BMW spaceship ...very funny! He intended to cruise into town like that with a straight face... but did he? "What happens on tour stays on tour!"

By the time we hit Tamworth I was famished and the Ninjalista in need of chain lube, which I did not carry. So we got our priorities right and decided to leave the bike shop until we've eaten somewhere along the main drag in an outdoor cafe on the footpath. This is where Phil almost got hit by a reversing 4x4 Volvo driver, who in true Volvo shite fashion did not find it in him to take responsebility for his actions, but proceeded to make a joke of the situation. That just made my blood boil and genuinely spoilt my lunch, whilst he and his Trophy wife flitted off to do a spot of bling shopping. No idea!

To my surprise Ralf showed me another way of oiling the chain...and here I was, thinking I'd know how to do at least that! Apparently you'd want to do it on the inside of the chain, so the centrifugall forces push it out through the o-rings...well, I never... keep an open mind and you never stop learning... thanks Ralf!

A freshly oiled chain makes for a smooth and quieter ride...or was it my earplugs I was beginning to enjoy?

The Imperial Hotel (The Impy) at Singleton had very basic, but much cleaner accommodation available for us. They too allowed us to lock up our bikes at close of Bistro business and even though I had to shower in the Gents, as the Ladies' shower was shot (I had a guard by the door on both occasions), it was still a much more civilised experience. The food at the Impy was excellent. No complaints here!

Broke -Wollembi Rd -Old Road -Tom Ugly's (even the ride through traffic was fun!)-Sutherland and Coast Road home
Heading off on a grey and finally much cooler morning, there was even a little drizzle about. I felt a little weary about doing the Wollombi Road. So many people had come to grief on this rough and ready goat track! It had a little sandy corner slide in store for me and that was all...thank goodness! it seemed to me the road had a lot to offer for a sightseeing afternoon drive, but I just did not catch much of it this time.

Once we got to the Old Road we got to do both ends and had the obligatory 'Pie In The Sky' stop over (now, that Road Warriors is no longer, they must get a fair bit more business)...their Vegie Pie is not as nice as Will's though!





More photos to be added as they become available...
Ginger's Creek
Thousands of Fruitbats
Due West
Western side of Grafton Bridge at dusk (the view from the Thai restaurant)
Thunderbolt's Rock

This one was taken by a friendly passer-by...thanks Phil!
...and here is a link to Phil's report
'Half of my life'