A Day & A Bit NAv Ride that wasn`t !!!

[Dwayne OMember]

Well the leadup to this weekend ride was shaky to say the least, with all the fie activity, winds and blistering heat, one would only presume that it would be called off right ???
Well NO !!! Factor in some keen as mustard and most likely crazy peps decided to give it a crack.
The weather had calmed considerably by Friday arvo ad I was scanning the News and RFS website, checking fire location and burnout maps to look for any excuse I could to get my head into the right place about going,,,
Then, Bang ! It was on !!!
So last minute throw some gear together, organise the family duties I needed to complete, then off right on time at 1.30 sat arvo :woohoo:

TB had called me at midday and said he would be there but was out for the Sunday ride, and promptly told me I was leading
It was a good solo ride thru the Wattos with no one else around other than 1 guy on a WR450 having a rest trailside. Conditions are tinder dry up there, as dry as I have ever seen it and it is a concern actually :blink: :S

I pulled up at Bucketty end of Settlers Rd for a reststop and took some pics to try and capture the weird colour in the surrounding skies, obviously from the fire activity and smoke in the air.
It was a dull orange effect that usually means it would be stifling hot,,, But it was cool and calm riding weather,,,

Arriving at the lake area, there was a Carp Fishing Comp on for the weekend, people camping out and doing there bit ridding the waterway of dreaded European Carp. I also have never seen this area following the roadside so dry for kilometres, mudholes where there used to be wetland type areas running off into the paddocks :unsure:

On arrival at St Albans, There was Kat sitting on the tables out front having a great old time. She had made friends with a few people and reckons she had already downed half of bottle of white while waiting 😆

A while later I heard the familiar rumble of a 690 and sure enough It was Tryhard popping in for a visit and maybe a campover, yes maybe !!! He had a Flanno shirt and his riding jacket, that`s it, No tent, No sleeping bag, no mat, no food, but did have his priorities in order `cause he had his truty mug strapped on and a bottle of Scotch in his backpack. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :sick:
That`s Joe for ya !!!

Then it was Wigster turning up on the Trumpy loaded to the hilt in comparison to Joes effort :pinch:

Soon followed by from the opposite direction Mr Squiggle on his Trumpy and a guy on a Blue Tenere who pulled up and we all said G`Day mate, but had no honest idea who the heck it was,,, until off comes the helmet and sunnies ???? :whistle:

WOW !!! What a surprise visit that was,,, Great to see ya mate but I am keeping the identity a secret until later

Anyway, that was where we stayed for a few hrs, chatting, laughing and catching up on some yarns. A great time was being had by all, until the special visitor had to ge to get home and we headed over the road to setup camp before dark, We just made that in time :laugh:

More later

[jim cadyMember]

Thanks for the weekend guys and girl . Although not the full compliment of riders all in all an enjoyable weekend out and about on the bikes.

I gotta say I am shattered, not from the riding but the laughing and lack of sleep :blink: :blink: will have to rectify the camping situation before the up coming Nav ride must get a mattress :pinch: and a sleeping bag I can fit into 😆

I had my suspicions about you Tryhard before this ride :silly: but the weekend confirmed it, you are a lunatic, classic

Well done and thanks to Kat and Eags for steering the ship,Mr squiggle for help with the chain and placement of your drink, bombs away :laugh: :laugh: Wigster, :silly: for the tears for Toy Story story and yes the Farrier is a Farrier.

So all in all not such a big ride but one funny weekend bring on Nov 30 :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:
Thanks heaps guys
James

[Dwayne OMember]

We setup camp across the road as we usually do when staying here.

Then James rolled in but had to down a beer or two before setting up camp wit hthe use of my spotlight

Dinner was ordered and consumed under candlelight and then followed by many more laughs, drinks, more laughs and laughs. I haven`t laughed so hard in at least 6 months
Last drinks were called so we retired to our dark, fireless camp (Fire Ban for obvious reasons) :S
After a while Joe decided to head home instead of sleeping on the playground softfall wrapped in a tarp he was borrowing from Kat :pinch:
There were quite a few cattle strewn along the roadsides on the way down, so it would have been an interesting ride back up Settlers Rd in the pitch black. Luckily enough, Joe hadn`t touched the Scotch,,,

Morning dawned and it was nice to find a crisp cool morning, awesome for riding. It was discussed and decided that a dirt squirt back up to Laguna for coffee and raisin toast was the go 😆

Heading back up Settlers Rd

Back at the Convict Wall end

Wigster doing his Pumpkin Arms Man impersonation

Then it was a run around Boree Track loop to Finchley Trig Lookout

Squiggle was trying to work out if he could ride the Trumpy up instead of climbing the stairs :blink:

The stragglers

Kat aka MIS SHUTTERBUG 😆 :silly: Damn camera never stopped the whole time !!!

The Crew

The skies were clear with no smoke haze for a change
The smoke from the Blue Mountains and Bilpin fires was visible (not sure how clear it is in the pics)

So then we descended the mountain and headed the Yango Creek Rd route to slum it at Wollombi, it had been at least an hour since our last break and a drink ,,, We do it tough on ADV rides sometimes :laugh: :laugh:

There were bikes of all kinds as usual, as well as a parade of horses being ridden along the front of the pub at one point. We also noticed the Boys in Blue patrolling just up the Main St and we then passed one back towards Laguna checking speeds.

Wigster was keen for an early arvo finish, so headed back along George Down to home, James & Kat decided to follow Squiggle & I up Watagan Creek Rd before departing at the top to head back to the Latter A and Settlers Rd

Top of Watagan Creek Rd goodbyes. James hammered along all day

Squiggle & I then ripped backto the Pines and north until parting at the Y intersection so he could head out the top towards Paxton and I headed back down Mt Falk to the tar & home by 1.30pm
It was seriously dusty, so I sat just at the back of te Trumpy`s duststorm until the Y, then stopped to throw the last of my fuel bladder in and have a snake & a drink.

Solitude in the Watagans,,, it was so peaceful :cheer:

Great outing guys,
Thanx for the company and tonnes of laughs to Kat, Mr.Squiggle, Wigster, James and Tryhard and special guest LOTSA !
Great to see you out & about mate :woohoo:

Total of 320ks for my run

[Dwayne OMember]

james wrote:

Thanks for the weekend guys and girl . Although not the full compliment of riders all in all an enjoyable weekend out and about on the bikes.

I gotta say I am shattered, not from the riding but the laughing and lack of sleep :blink: :blink: will have to rectify the camping situation before the up coming Nav ride must get a mattress :pinch: and a sleeping bag I can fit into 😆

I had my suspicions about you Tryhard before this ride :silly: but the weekend confirmed it, you are a lunatic, classic

Well done and thanks to Kat and Eags for steering the ship,Mr squiggle for help with the chain and placement of your drink, bombs away :laugh: :laugh: Wigster, :silly: for the tears for Toy Story story and yes the Farrier is a Farrier.

So all in all not such a big ride but one funny weekend bring on Nov 30 :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:
Thanks heaps guys
James

:laugh: Thanx for that reminder James,,,
The Cocky Shit in the Bourbon was a clanger shot :sick:
And the stories of hardcore DVD watching and keeping emotions in check ??? :blink: :whistle: :woohoo:
Wigsters amazement when he realised that you were fair dinkum about the Farrier`s username and trade :laugh:

Awsome weekend, albeit a short one, but it was great thanx mate

[Dave WigginMember]

Another great week end away.

Met Katgirl for the first time and the world shrunk a bit further when we realized we had mutual sailing friends in common.

Smaller group than usual but non stop laughs on Saturday night. One of Eagle’s cousins shat in his drink. A good shot from at least ten metres. It was probably good that the pub closed early as I had just settled in to the first rum and coke of the evening after several beers, and could feel a rum thirst coming on…….

But with no fire to sit around it was off to bed. Well, for some. Tryhard, the master planner that he obviously is, had neglected to bring a tent, sleeping bag or sleeping mat. Now I have heard of travelling light but really….

Anyway, off he went in to the night. “no worries, I reckon I’ll be just under if I blow”. Yeh right, hope you got home safe mate.

So it was Katgirl, Mr Squiggle, James, Eagle and The Glazier (think about it James) that headed off for a really good morning ride up through Yengo and on onwards. All pretty cruisy riding compared to the usual OBT fare, apart from the pace that Katgirl was setting. What is it about women on motorbikes? Why are they all faster than me? Is it because I get all misty eyed at Toy Story 3? Is it because I can’t bear to watch Marley and me? Or is it that as a motorcyclist I make a great rugby player?

We don’t know.

What we do know is that James is improving rapidly as he motored past me several times like I was standing still. Perhaps not the greatest yardstick of off road riding ability, but even so. My excuse was that I had a bad attack of Carpal Tunnel (no, it’s not a sexually transmitted disease, perhaps something you might pick up at the Mardi Gras) making it difficult to grip the bars properly. Yes, I know that is a particularly lame excuse, I promise to think of a better one for the December nav ride.

I tarred it back to Sydney to arrive early and accrue many brownie points with wife and child. I even had the energy to take my boy out for a footy training session and to put the chicken in the oven. (I didn’t dish it up though. There has to be a line in the sand somewhere.) This was in stark contrast to my usual return from an OBT’s ride where I normally slump straight in to bed, groaning with pain.

Thanks to Eagle, Mr Squiggle, James and Katgirl for the company. Another top week end amongst great people!

Wigster

[simon burkeMember]

Why would you be worried about the heat eags ??? :huh:
haven’t you got air conditioning on your bike? :laugh:
Bol :woohoo:

[JoeMember]

Thanks guys for a great night. had quite a few belly laughs :laugh: :laugh:
maybe next time I might plan it a bit better :blush: and stay the night
But that’s what happens when you do things last minute :blink:

PS no cows only 3 wombats & a possum

[katrina ratcliffMember]

Well after the week from hell at work it was time to focus on something the meets the following criteria:
1. NO mobile, IPads or any other friggen way to contact me
2. Fast adventure style riding
3. Camping
4. A pub in walking distance to the tent
5. Mates that laugh with you rather than at you (well that’s what it felt like)
6. Meet characters along the way
7. Get some good photo’s that allows me to look at during my next week of hell
8. Get home where the bike and I are in one piece.

So big tick on all fronts…. Here is the bike all packed and ready to go from Tuggerah at 11.30am

Went up to Letter A via Cedar Brush Creek Rd then straight down to St Alban’s. Stopped in at the Convict Trail and took a picture of my bike featuring one of our key sponsors Teknik. I still get comments from guys on how well the bike is balanced. Maybe they are referring to something else!!

One my way down I came across two riders on their Ducati Multistrada and BMW GS1200 bikes trying to manage the gravel conditions. Both had slick tyres and knew they were nursing the bike through so I decided to dust them up a bit and made the XR400 fly past them like they were standing still. I thought it was funny!!!

Stopped in at the lake.

I noticed there were lots of people around so I went to investigate and found a “carpometer” board, scales and pamphlets on fishing.

Then this kid turned up with a sack full of Carp. This was the annual Carp catching completion to eradicate Carp out of the lake.

The head Carp judge and land owner invited me back for next year’s event. I’ve got a year to work out how to put bait on a hook and take a fish off. Might take longer hopefully.

Got to St Alban’s pub waaaaay to early ….. like 1pm and then I had to sit there (without phones, IPads and any friggen communication) and tried to busy myself. So I started taking photos.

This old Indian was sitting outside the pub. When I saw the oil everywhere it made me feel better as I’ve seen my XR with oil over it after a failed oil ring change.

Then I decided to look up in the trees!!!

Then took photo’s of pub

Then the boys arrived on their bikes and I suggested that they needed to keep a girl company whilst her buddies arrived. I found out they were a father and son combination that had a passion for bikes all their lives. How awesome to share a passion like this together. I remember being that age and sailing with my old man to Hobart but remembered it was painful because we were on the same boat. Being on different bikes works!!

After many conversations covering everything about bikes and tiny bit about work stuff the boys departed to head back to Hornsby. As they were leaving the son came out with a pearler one liner than beats any pick up line I have ever heard in my life. “Hey do you want to see my big key”. Well I just about buckled over a laughed up my guts. The father couldn’t believe what he heard.. I think the whole pub stopped to see what the belly laughing was about. I think I was old enough to be his mum but maybe having dust on my face helped. The poor kid realised what he said and put his helmet on quickly to cover the blushing.

So by now after a few drinks I decided to lie down and keep a lookout between the legs and I knew Eagle was coming from that direction.

Waiting … waiting… the seat is still empty

Then I heard motorbike noises but turned out not to OldBuller’s

Then Eagle had landed…..

As we were chewing the fat the noise of another bike was ringing in our ears and didn’t take us long to work out when he arrived it was Tryhard …. I somehow worked it out from the stickers on the bike. Oh and notice all his camping equipment is in his backpack!!! He travels light. I so told him that I had a spare tarp but THAT WAS ALL.

Then I got to meet Mr Squiggle for the first time …… on the Tiger

So by then I was 3 drinks ahead of everyone else and I thought I was hallucinating when this bloke arrived on a Tenere and took his helmet off and there was standing in front of me was Lotsa…. WTF . After his sickening accident hitting a sheep and spending time in ICU not so long ago I was stumped to see him in person.

Next to arrive was Wigster. Again I hadn’t meet Wigster but after nano-seconds we realised our sailing background had connections that made us laugh.

Whilst some were somewhat sober we set up camp

Then it was back to drinking

This is when James arrived from Arcadia and then it quickly got dark. As you heard from earlier reports the next bit was funny but blurry in many respects. I remember the poop in the glass… lots of laughing about Toy Story but I couldn’t remember why and watching the boys eat desert in the dark. I nearly relented to go a sticky date but my will power was still remarkably strong… go figger.

Well the next morning had the normal experience of an Oldbull hangover for some.

Oh and Eagle has a very precise why of setting up his tent…. Is anyone surprised?

Mr Squiggle was last out of his sleeping quarters

I noticed some art work on my way to the toilet

James and Mr Squiggle checedk the chain tension on the Tenere

Then it was off to Laguna for a well needed coffee or two. I blasted ahead so I could get some photos.

Bit dusty down the back so flew past the guy’s again and got up the top section of the road to get more shots

Then we regrouped before hitting the tar to Laguna

Then coffee at Laguna

We did the Boree Track to Finchley’s Lookout and made the boys walk to the top of the lookout.

Then to Wollombi Pub for quick lubrication. Again the will power was good and I stayed away from the rum.

This is where Wigster hit the tar and headed home and the rest of us went back up into the Watagan’s via Watagan’s Creek Rd for a last blast on dirt. I think the throttle was pinned open and I was on Eagles tail features all the way.

This is where we parted ways with a final chat, handshakes, cuddles, kisses….

Top weekend, top mates, unexpected top experiences….. TOPS on all round.

Thanks guys and till next time keep riding……. HARD and LONG.

Oh and by the way… you know you’ve had a good weekend when you have hands like this.

[GregMember]

Awesome Kat great read made me laugh

Cheers

TB

[murph the surfMember]

Top reports, Adventure Riders.
A lot of effort went into those
Good stuff
Cheers
Murph

[Geoff ForshawMember]

Yeah a great read by all!! It sounds like you all had a cracker of a time with a lot of laughs. Good times eh!!

Cheers, Lefty

[jim cadyMember]

Great report and pictures Kat and Eags, good to see the earlier photos before I got there.

A few drinks were consumed Wigster , that’s for sure :laugh: :laugh:

See you all on the next one James

From memory there aren’t any trees in the beer garden at Woodstock Mr Squiggle you bourbon will be safe from aerial attack

[Andy CosterMember]

Awesome report & pics guys/gals… cheers 4 the read

[MichaelMember]

Great write up guys and girls

Looks like Saturday night was a lot of fun , great photos too

Cheers

King Strucky

[terryjhaynesMember]

Thanks for that great read and pics there guyes and girl,realy enjoyed it,made me wish I was there 😆
But I’m realy way too soft to be an ADV rider,couldn’t take all that drinking :laugh: So I just keep to the rocky trails on my little trail bike and try to stay a bit hard that way :laugh: :laugh:
Cheers Teza.

[Author]

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