Bowral                              22/1/2012

19 riders and 2 pillions turned up on a not too promising day weather wise. Lots of looking skywards, mutterings about rain and the lowish temps. A reminder to all that this is summer and we need to factor in global warming, il nino, la nina and anything Al Gore tells us. But I did have it from a very reliable source that it would not rain for a year. We departed almost on time. Someone’s watch had to be close.

Our first stop was planned for Marulan. To get there we headed for Bungendore then Tarago. From Tarago we road through Windellama and on to Bungonia. Then onto the Jerrara Road to Marulan. All made it safe and sound. After a 30 min break a few people decided to return to Canberra. At the time the temp was only 16 and looking more like rain.

The rest of us pushed on to our destination via the Highland Way which took us through Tallong, Wingello, Penrose, Bundanoon, Exeter and Moss Vale. We did encounter some rain however the temperature did rise about 4 degrees. The traffic was medium with the usual number of 4x4s over the centre line. Fortunately we had better road skills than those drivers so no harm done.

At Bowral we parked in Bong Bong Street outside the Bowral Hotel and the dispersed to our chosen eateries, but not before I pointed out the fossilized dingo tracks preserved in the footpath near the pub. So if you go home early you may miss out on something very interesting or not.

An hour and a half later we were all fed, rested, watered, fuelled up and ready to go. We headed back the some way until Bungonia where we turned onto Mountain Ash Rd. and headed for Goulburn. At Goulburn we did a little back road riding to get onto the Hume. At the rail underpass some bloke tried to fit his 3.5 metre pantec under the 3 meter bridge with the expected result of lowering the front meter or so of his van. We road on to the Breadalbane exit and then a quick run through the Cullerin Range to Gunning for a coffee and goodbye stop.

Thanks to all who attended the ride. The idea is to provide a good day out with good company, which this one was. Also a big thanks those who did the corner marking. Good corner markers make for a good day. We travelled 435km according to the trip meter on my bike.

Attendees:

• Garry McCurly VFR 1200,
• Kerry Illford XVZ 1300,
• Jeff Rosser VL800,
• Mark Walker NT800,
• Peter Higgs GTR 1400,
• Bill Greenwood ZX 14,
• Karen Clarke XV1900,
• Rob Clarke FJR 1300,
• Andrew Campbell GTR 1400,
• Michael & Tracey Winters Triumph Sprint,
• Chas Towie ST 1300A,
• Peter Holland Vulcan Voyager,
• Chris Dietzel FJR 1300,
• Hartmut Kehm R1200 GS,
• Ian Paterson GL 1800 and
• Peter Arday St 1300A.

Many thanks,
St. Pedro.