Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB - Ride I did last August...

I am no great RTW rider or even great long distant rider at the moment. But I do enjoy a good ride. So here is a ride report from a ride I did last August....

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I knew where I was going today. Outside of Sydney in a big figure 8. South and then north. By myself. This was also a good excuse to run in my new Nolan N84 helmet that I bought yesterday. 300kms will do nicely too thank you Mr BMW.

I hit the road at about 9am. Headed to the Caltex on the freeway that heads west to the Blue Mountains for the first fuel stop. 98 octane Unleaded fills the tank. I will not have to look for fuel for at least another 200kms. Back onto the freeway and play dodgem with the silly Sunday drivers who have no idea how to drive on a freeway. When it says keep left unless overtaking that’s what it means. But do car drivers obey this? NO! They sit at least 10kmh under the speed limit in the right lane. AAARRRGGGHHH...... High beam soon wakes the driving dead up.

It was not my intention to photograph any war memorial today but as I came into Mulgoa Village on the left is a Bofors gun. There is a thread at the BikeMe forums showing your bike and war memorials. So of course I stopped and took some photos. I feel a bit strange taking photos of war memorials with a German bike in front of them. Some vets would be most upset by this. Sorry if this offends anyone.

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Next stop was Picton. The road to here from Mulgoa is in great need of repair. It is very choppy and bumpy most of the time. The run down the hills into Picton is better as the road has been resurfaced in the last few years.

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A quick stop at the pub in Picton to have a snack and some water. It is 11am and there are hardly any bikes at the pub. That will change in an hours time when the car park fills with all manner of bikes. From Harleys to Yamaha R1s.

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I know I should now be heading north as I had planed but want to have a quick look at Thirlmere. I toyed with the idea of going to the train museum but I already ride a bike that is like a locomotive. Instead I went past the museum as I wanted to see what the Queen Victoria House is. I had never heard of it before till I saw the sign that’s aid it was up ahead. It looks to be a 1800s mansion that has now been turned into a hospital. It was around here that you can tell that spring is so close. The roads are lined with wattle trees in full bloom. It sure looks beautiful.

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I did a loop back to Picton and sure enough bikes are rolling into the pub. This has been a popular bike meeting place and watering hole since bikes went up and down the old Hume Highway. Crawled out of Picton heading for the Razor Back. I say crawled out as Mr Plod was on my tail. So I could not open the BM up for a few Ks.

I get to the top of the RazorBack and the bladder is let me know it is not happy being full. Truck stop will do with some bushes. As I go to pull out after doing my business I see this memorial to the 1979 Truck Blockade. I do just remember something about this happening up on RazorBack as truckies blockaded the road to protest against the conditions they were forced to drive under. I don’t mean the weather conditions but the fact that their employers pushed the truckies to drive more and more hours making it very dangerous.

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Dropping down the other side of RazorBack I spy this old ute. It is not the rust that tells you it has been here for years.

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Camden comes and goes. Onto the Northern Road. Now I am heading for Penrith and lunch. Northern Road is really smooth and flowing. Love it. Not much in the way of traffic around. In no time at all I am in Penrith looking for lunch. So I go to Westfield’s Shopping Town to the food court. I am very surprised to find their car park has a section for motorcycles only. Well done to the centre manager for putting this in place.

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I have fuelled myself with a very good Chicken Wrap so it is off to Windsor for fuel and where to go from there. I can head back home via Westmead and James Ruse Drive or head out via Pit Town to Glenorie. I don’t want to go home yet. There is a section on Cattai Road that I love. It is only a few hundred meters long but the Gum Trees are right up to the road.

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Cattai Road has been resurfaced and is so smooth. It has been like this for a good six months now. Maybe the truck traffic through here is not heavy?

The T intersection of Old Northern Road. Left is Wisemans Ferry. Right is heading for home. I would love to keep heading north but I may not go home if I do this. So right I go and hammer along to Glenorie. Another war memorial.

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One last diversion to take. Glaston Gorge. The road is covered in drying moss. It is green. But not slippery at all. The tires of the cars must be scrubbing it back???

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Hornsby, Beecroft and I am home. Just under 300kms today. The BM did not miss a beat. Nothing fell off it either. The helmet is bedded in and is really comfy. Next ride? Who knows.....

The markers are not in order of this run on the map below. It is mainly just to show you the route I took.

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