It’s nearly winter, and I wanted to get one more IBA ride in before we headed away for a few months R&R. As I’m a coffee fan, (some might say addict) I thought to myself why not do the IBA theme ride Coffee Cup 1000?
The rules say:
- Drink coffee at 4 different permitted locations – in 24 hours
- You must take a selfie at each stop drinking, what else - coffee - and get a DBR at that store.
- Each coffee selfie must be at least 150 miles apart.
- Your ride starts at your first coffee location after you drink your first cup of coffee (and take a selfie).
-Your ride ends at your last coffee location stop, AFTER you drink your final cup of coffee and take a selfie. Don't forget the final receipt.
Sounds doable? I had a rough route worked out, to give me a mix of freeway/inner city(IBR Prep?) and some great country roads, plus I had an added bonus of meeting Tabldrain for lunch. Sounds awesome on paper, right?
Down to the local servo to fuel up and consume my starting cup of coffee. To be honest, it was hot and wet, with I think some caffeine in it. For 1:50am, you have to be grateful.
I paid for coffee.....my starting selfie for the Coffee Cup 1000 bonus
Heading out of Canberra, I had Federal Highway totally to myself. Just me…..and the rain, which started just after Lake George. It was to stay that way all way into Sydney. At the Hume I joined the usual swarm of trucks making their way to Sydney, with the added joy of the impenetrable wall of rain/water coming off them, making life a little damp and interesting. Rolled into my next coffee bonus, in inner Sydney ahead of schedule, despite the rain. (had I miscalculated my ride time?) Just after 5:00am and the coffee place of choice was already busy. Coffee and breakfast was dispatched pronto, and once the documentation/selfie was completed, I was on bike, keen to head north before the rush hour traffic.
Sydney, and the coffee is better, even at 5:30am
Heading north towards to the Hunter, the rain finally stopped and I had a dry road up to the Hunter Express Way, which I took heading for the New England Highway. Topped up both tanks at the BP Truckstop at Whittingham, before threading my way through the Singleton rush hour.
Sunrise and taking a moment after topping up the fuel tanks in Whittingham
Once clear, it was an easy run in the now thick fog up to Murrurundi, my next coffee bonus was the Life of Pie. Right on cue as I rolled into Murrurundi, the fog burnt off and it became a clear blue sky morning. Perfect. Pie and coffee documented and dispatched, it was time to head onto Uralla.
Murrunrundi - That pie was delicious!
I stopped briefly along the way for photos, plus roadworks, lotsa of roadworks, including once neat little 1km section on Calala Lane on the outskirts of Tamworth, where I timed my arrival perfectly with the just finished placement of 2 inches of uncompacted gravel/road base to the amusement of the roadcrew as they watched me weave and stagger the K1600 through this. Phew, made it out upright and got the hell out of there. Uralla next stop!
Blue skies and temps in the low 20's, music to my ears
Spotted Ian as planned in the main street of Uralla, and we enjoyed a lazy lunch and excellent coffee, he had chosen well the lunch venue! It was great to catch up and shoot the breeze, before we ducked back to the Ural dealership to check out the hardware.
Checking out the Ural dealership....possible IBR mount?
Time to get moving, we made our goodbyes and parted our separate ways. Ian, northwards to warmer climes and me southwards to slightly cooler country. Stopped briefly in Walcha to collect another coffee bonus (this one didn’t count as it was less than 150 miles but was good practise anyway) before heading for Gloucester on Thunderbolts.
Walcha Coffee stop
Strangely, for mid-week, there was no traffic coming the other way, which I thought was odd. And then, about half way down I come across an electronic messaging board to say the road is closed between the hours of 9:30am and 3;30pm. Ruh Oh! Bugger! As it was only 1:30pm my choice was wait the additional 2 hrs or reroute. Garmin gave me a choice of back to the NEH through Dungowan, for an extra 50 minutes, so with that I retraced my steps to Topdale Road and headed into uncharted territory for me, having never been through here before. I can report it was well worth riding, a tight winding sealed farm road, with the descent to Ogunbil being quite demanding, with some great views, not that I was looking.
This photo is out of sequence, but I stopped to grab the photo? (didn't partake)
There was one oh shit moment when I cam around a corner on a one lane width section of the descent to see a truck and trailer crawling up hill. (We both breathed in and I squeezed between the truck and the rock wall) Once through Ogunbil I enjoyed the road through to Dungowan, before taking the Duri Dungowan Rd back to the NEH. There was another oh shit moment not long after, when I came to a concrete floodway which I had about 2 inches of water slowly flowing across it. Through the water I could see the shiny green algae, great! Slow to 2nd gear, keep the bike vertical and straight, and hold my breath. The bike slid across and out the other side, just upright. I breathed again, changed up a few gears and just kept on going. From looking at Google maps, I think it was Sandy Creek?
Ourimbah & it's hosing down
Back on the Highway, I turned the bike towards Newcastle and got back up to speed. Made good progress as the sun started to set. It was still warmish in the low 20’s. I timed the arrival into Singelton badly this time with the evening rush hour taking me a good 30 minutes to get through. Back onto the Pacific Highway right on nightfall ready for the run home to Canberra. The rain started, and just got heavier and heavier. I stopped at Ourimbah to clean visor/lights etc and just take a moment of the bike. Of course then it just got heavier, so once sorted, it was back on the road, just making steady progress back into Sydney. North Connex was a blessing as it allowed me to dry out and enjoy the warmth of the tunnel. (it was 27 degrees!) back on the M7, the rain eased to occasional showers and I was optimistically thinking I was done with the rain. Not so fast! Just before Wilton on the Hume down it cam again, this time, quite heavy and steady, and it stayed that way until just before Collector, with the temperature dropping to 12 degrees.
My Spotwalla Track
The lights of Canberra came into view through the inky darkness, and I rolled into my local servo/Maccas to collect my finishing coffee bonus. Job done with 1,694kms on the odo for the day. It had been a wet ride, with most of the rain ridden in the dark. Bike and clothing gear/gloves and boots all performed flawlessly with no water ingress to report.
Finishing Selfie, glad to be out of the rain!
1,694kms for the day and the odd coffee too!
Rebecca and I are away travelling for the next few months so that’s me for IBA rides for a while, see y’all in spring!
The rules say:
- Drink coffee at 4 different permitted locations – in 24 hours
- You must take a selfie at each stop drinking, what else - coffee - and get a DBR at that store.
- Each coffee selfie must be at least 150 miles apart.
- Your ride starts at your first coffee location after you drink your first cup of coffee (and take a selfie).
-Your ride ends at your last coffee location stop, AFTER you drink your final cup of coffee and take a selfie. Don't forget the final receipt.
Sounds doable? I had a rough route worked out, to give me a mix of freeway/inner city(IBR Prep?) and some great country roads, plus I had an added bonus of meeting Tabldrain for lunch. Sounds awesome on paper, right?
Down to the local servo to fuel up and consume my starting cup of coffee. To be honest, it was hot and wet, with I think some caffeine in it. For 1:50am, you have to be grateful.
I paid for coffee.....my starting selfie for the Coffee Cup 1000 bonus
Heading out of Canberra, I had Federal Highway totally to myself. Just me…..and the rain, which started just after Lake George. It was to stay that way all way into Sydney. At the Hume I joined the usual swarm of trucks making their way to Sydney, with the added joy of the impenetrable wall of rain/water coming off them, making life a little damp and interesting. Rolled into my next coffee bonus, in inner Sydney ahead of schedule, despite the rain. (had I miscalculated my ride time?) Just after 5:00am and the coffee place of choice was already busy. Coffee and breakfast was dispatched pronto, and once the documentation/selfie was completed, I was on bike, keen to head north before the rush hour traffic.
Sydney, and the coffee is better, even at 5:30am
Heading north towards to the Hunter, the rain finally stopped and I had a dry road up to the Hunter Express Way, which I took heading for the New England Highway. Topped up both tanks at the BP Truckstop at Whittingham, before threading my way through the Singleton rush hour.
Sunrise and taking a moment after topping up the fuel tanks in Whittingham
Once clear, it was an easy run in the now thick fog up to Murrurundi, my next coffee bonus was the Life of Pie. Right on cue as I rolled into Murrurundi, the fog burnt off and it became a clear blue sky morning. Perfect. Pie and coffee documented and dispatched, it was time to head onto Uralla.
Murrunrundi - That pie was delicious!
I stopped briefly along the way for photos, plus roadworks, lotsa of roadworks, including once neat little 1km section on Calala Lane on the outskirts of Tamworth, where I timed my arrival perfectly with the just finished placement of 2 inches of uncompacted gravel/road base to the amusement of the roadcrew as they watched me weave and stagger the K1600 through this. Phew, made it out upright and got the hell out of there. Uralla next stop!
Blue skies and temps in the low 20's, music to my ears
Spotted Ian as planned in the main street of Uralla, and we enjoyed a lazy lunch and excellent coffee, he had chosen well the lunch venue! It was great to catch up and shoot the breeze, before we ducked back to the Ural dealership to check out the hardware.
Checking out the Ural dealership....possible IBR mount?
Time to get moving, we made our goodbyes and parted our separate ways. Ian, northwards to warmer climes and me southwards to slightly cooler country. Stopped briefly in Walcha to collect another coffee bonus (this one didn’t count as it was less than 150 miles but was good practise anyway) before heading for Gloucester on Thunderbolts.
Walcha Coffee stop
Strangely, for mid-week, there was no traffic coming the other way, which I thought was odd. And then, about half way down I come across an electronic messaging board to say the road is closed between the hours of 9:30am and 3;30pm. Ruh Oh! Bugger! As it was only 1:30pm my choice was wait the additional 2 hrs or reroute. Garmin gave me a choice of back to the NEH through Dungowan, for an extra 50 minutes, so with that I retraced my steps to Topdale Road and headed into uncharted territory for me, having never been through here before. I can report it was well worth riding, a tight winding sealed farm road, with the descent to Ogunbil being quite demanding, with some great views, not that I was looking.
This photo is out of sequence, but I stopped to grab the photo? (didn't partake)
There was one oh shit moment when I cam around a corner on a one lane width section of the descent to see a truck and trailer crawling up hill. (We both breathed in and I squeezed between the truck and the rock wall) Once through Ogunbil I enjoyed the road through to Dungowan, before taking the Duri Dungowan Rd back to the NEH. There was another oh shit moment not long after, when I came to a concrete floodway which I had about 2 inches of water slowly flowing across it. Through the water I could see the shiny green algae, great! Slow to 2nd gear, keep the bike vertical and straight, and hold my breath. The bike slid across and out the other side, just upright. I breathed again, changed up a few gears and just kept on going. From looking at Google maps, I think it was Sandy Creek?
Ourimbah & it's hosing down
Back on the Highway, I turned the bike towards Newcastle and got back up to speed. Made good progress as the sun started to set. It was still warmish in the low 20’s. I timed the arrival into Singelton badly this time with the evening rush hour taking me a good 30 minutes to get through. Back onto the Pacific Highway right on nightfall ready for the run home to Canberra. The rain started, and just got heavier and heavier. I stopped at Ourimbah to clean visor/lights etc and just take a moment of the bike. Of course then it just got heavier, so once sorted, it was back on the road, just making steady progress back into Sydney. North Connex was a blessing as it allowed me to dry out and enjoy the warmth of the tunnel. (it was 27 degrees!) back on the M7, the rain eased to occasional showers and I was optimistically thinking I was done with the rain. Not so fast! Just before Wilton on the Hume down it cam again, this time, quite heavy and steady, and it stayed that way until just before Collector, with the temperature dropping to 12 degrees.
My Spotwalla Track
The lights of Canberra came into view through the inky darkness, and I rolled into my local servo/Maccas to collect my finishing coffee bonus. Job done with 1,694kms on the odo for the day. It had been a wet ride, with most of the rain ridden in the dark. Bike and clothing gear/gloves and boots all performed flawlessly with no water ingress to report.
Finishing Selfie, glad to be out of the rain!
1,694kms for the day and the odd coffee too!
Rebecca and I are away travelling for the next few months so that’s me for IBA rides for a while, see y’all in spring!
