When we finished our first SS1600K with the FOXY Group in January there were two issues:
1. One member had to pull out due to illness.
2. More members thought they'll like an opportunity to join the madness.
So, one young lady came to me and stated that she wanted to do one - it was now on her to do list and a plan was hatched. Working around work schedules that limited ride times and the associated recovery I suggested the long weekend in October (which meant noone needed to take additional time off work). The plan was to run the ride along the same routes we'd previously done (its a relatively 'easy' ride in terms of the route itself). A month or so ago - we opened up the ride to anyone else from our extended group that might be interested and ended up with 6 starters. Myself (for SS1600 #3), @bipyjamas (for the hell of it - making it his 3rd SS1600K but I don't think he's going to get this one certified), one of the other guys that joined on us on the original fun (for the hell of it - for his 2nd SS1600K if he applies for certification), Nick (who missed the first ride but did the ANZAC with me, but doing it on a different bike), Roxanne (first time doing an IBA ride and the reason we are doing this one) and David (on his first IBA ride).
So, we met up at our start point (most of us still not managing to work out how to get a decent night's sleep before one of the attempts) just before 2am on Sunday 1st October and got all our intercoms linked up (we all ride with Cardo Packtalks which helps with communications on the road and also means that there is banter for the entire ride - most of which should never be recorded. As it turned out, we had to deal with the changeover to Daylight Savings time and so in a matter of 1 second, an hour was gone and the starting receipt was just after 3am. The initial leg was uneventful except having to deal with a driver who was 'all over the place' (I suspect drug affected). Goulburn, Gundagai and then Wagga Wagga (for some breakfast). Gillenbah, Hay and on to Balranald for lunch and our turn around point. Unfortunately (and surprisingly) the cafe at the 'Discover Centre' was closed (last ride we had lunch there) so we had lunch at the Ampol, with our expectations around the quality of the food being well exceeded. Now to go back the way we came... Heading out we got flashed a few time so we were on the lookout until we came across a 4wd that had come unstuck and had rolled off the road between Hay and Balranald and was being attended to by the emergency services. Hay, Gillenbah and then straight through Wagga Wagga to Gundagai for dinner. Then the final stretch home. One last stop was Goulburn and the obligatory 'team photo' with the backside of the Big Merino before the final leg back to our start point. We pulled back into our starting location, did the odo photo business and received congratulations from friends in our extended riding group who had come out in the early hours of the morning to meet us.
Now just dealing with the paperwork for certification and adding yet a few more new members to the list of IBA certified riders (and looking forward to the next one).
It is interesting to note the difference over the 3 rides. At the end of this one, I was feeling pretty good. Riding a 'lounge on wheels' definitely helps with only a twinge in my right shoulder where my collar bone links in (but that is gone in the morning which is good). No pain in my hands (which caused me grief after the first ride). The only other issue post-ride is a cramp in my right calf and hamstring which only appears to come on after I've been asleep but was not tight during the ride at all. I've also noticed a lot less 'brain fog' the day after (I did some research and modified my eating habits during the ride to see if that would help- which appears to have been successful). There was one thing different with this ride - heading from Sydney don't to Wagga we noticed the temperature changes a lot more. Typically we get one or two changes (warm to cold and then back to warm again) - this time we got 8deg swings (16degC to 8swgC, 14degC to 6degC etc) over the course of 100s of metres and then back again - over and over again... quite strange... the only time I've experienced similar rapid temperature shifts is scuba diving through thermoclines.
All up - a very enjoyable ride. Was good to see lots of water in the rivers and creeks, including the Murrumbidgee. Thanks to those that joined me and made the experience what it was. I'll let the others write their reports and maybe the newbies will introduce themselves and their experience/version of the ride.
1. One member had to pull out due to illness.
2. More members thought they'll like an opportunity to join the madness.
So, one young lady came to me and stated that she wanted to do one - it was now on her to do list and a plan was hatched. Working around work schedules that limited ride times and the associated recovery I suggested the long weekend in October (which meant noone needed to take additional time off work). The plan was to run the ride along the same routes we'd previously done (its a relatively 'easy' ride in terms of the route itself). A month or so ago - we opened up the ride to anyone else from our extended group that might be interested and ended up with 6 starters. Myself (for SS1600 #3), @bipyjamas (for the hell of it - making it his 3rd SS1600K but I don't think he's going to get this one certified), one of the other guys that joined on us on the original fun (for the hell of it - for his 2nd SS1600K if he applies for certification), Nick (who missed the first ride but did the ANZAC with me, but doing it on a different bike), Roxanne (first time doing an IBA ride and the reason we are doing this one) and David (on his first IBA ride).
So, we met up at our start point (most of us still not managing to work out how to get a decent night's sleep before one of the attempts) just before 2am on Sunday 1st October and got all our intercoms linked up (we all ride with Cardo Packtalks which helps with communications on the road and also means that there is banter for the entire ride - most of which should never be recorded. As it turned out, we had to deal with the changeover to Daylight Savings time and so in a matter of 1 second, an hour was gone and the starting receipt was just after 3am. The initial leg was uneventful except having to deal with a driver who was 'all over the place' (I suspect drug affected). Goulburn, Gundagai and then Wagga Wagga (for some breakfast). Gillenbah, Hay and on to Balranald for lunch and our turn around point. Unfortunately (and surprisingly) the cafe at the 'Discover Centre' was closed (last ride we had lunch there) so we had lunch at the Ampol, with our expectations around the quality of the food being well exceeded. Now to go back the way we came... Heading out we got flashed a few time so we were on the lookout until we came across a 4wd that had come unstuck and had rolled off the road between Hay and Balranald and was being attended to by the emergency services. Hay, Gillenbah and then straight through Wagga Wagga to Gundagai for dinner. Then the final stretch home. One last stop was Goulburn and the obligatory 'team photo' with the backside of the Big Merino before the final leg back to our start point. We pulled back into our starting location, did the odo photo business and received congratulations from friends in our extended riding group who had come out in the early hours of the morning to meet us.
Now just dealing with the paperwork for certification and adding yet a few more new members to the list of IBA certified riders (and looking forward to the next one).
It is interesting to note the difference over the 3 rides. At the end of this one, I was feeling pretty good. Riding a 'lounge on wheels' definitely helps with only a twinge in my right shoulder where my collar bone links in (but that is gone in the morning which is good). No pain in my hands (which caused me grief after the first ride). The only other issue post-ride is a cramp in my right calf and hamstring which only appears to come on after I've been asleep but was not tight during the ride at all. I've also noticed a lot less 'brain fog' the day after (I did some research and modified my eating habits during the ride to see if that would help- which appears to have been successful). There was one thing different with this ride - heading from Sydney don't to Wagga we noticed the temperature changes a lot more. Typically we get one or two changes (warm to cold and then back to warm again) - this time we got 8deg swings (16degC to 8swgC, 14degC to 6degC etc) over the course of 100s of metres and then back again - over and over again... quite strange... the only time I've experienced similar rapid temperature shifts is scuba diving through thermoclines.
All up - a very enjoyable ride. Was good to see lots of water in the rivers and creeks, including the Murrumbidgee. Thanks to those that joined me and made the experience what it was. I'll let the others write their reports and maybe the newbies will introduce themselves and their experience/version of the ride.
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