Well we have the pillion seat back after being re-tuned by Mick from MJM in Goulburn so we need to get out there and test it. Initial feedback from Miss Bec on a short ride around the ACT was that it was much improved but how would it fare on a longer ride?
A 1,000km ride was plotted to Dartmouth, VIC return for the FarRiders FarRide # 48 and with all preparations complete the morning of departure finally arrived. The route was a simple one, north up the Federal Highway to Yarra, just south of Goulburn, turn south on the Hume, then Wagga through to Albury via Henty and across into Victoria beside the Hume Weir before finishing up at Dartmouth. The homeward leg was planned as much scenic ride through the Snowies to Kiandra, Cooma and home.
Sounds easy when you say it that quick.
Collecting that all important receipt!
So Saturday morning pre-dawn we were off down to the local ATM to collect our start dockets and we rode out 3 minutes ahead of schedule at 4:27am. Cruising up over Redhill the Clearwater’s pay for themselves again with a large Roo spotted in the median strip ahead on his way across our path. Speed adjusted to ensure good separation and all parties continued on our way happily. Not much else to say about the ride north on the Federal, not a lot of traffic about but enough to be noticed. An hour later we took that grand 35km/h hairpin that slingshots you off the Federal Highway and onto the southbound Hume Highway.
A lot more traffic now, the usual trucks and the odd car. Between Gunning and Yass we come across a Roo sharing our lane heading in the same direction, we have time to hit the anchors and gently gave him space as he heads off the Highway. Other than it was uneventful as we motored southward watching the sun rise behind us. Oh, and it was cold.
Sunrise on the Hume
Taking the Sturt Highway turnoff for Wagga the temperature keeps dropping, and dropping. I’ve dressed for warmer temps and my airflow jacket is clearly not the right kit for this morning. As we motor into Wagga, Miss Bec does her thing in the pillion seat and we locate a great little coffee place to warm up and grab a bite. Feeling slightly warmer we continue on before taking the turn off for Albury via Henty. The sun is well up now and it’s a glorious day to be out on the motorcycle. The feedback from Bec at Km 300 is that the pillion seat is much improved. All good!
Enjoying the morning sun
We ride southward past Henty and Culcairn enjoying the morning sunshine. Just before Albury we jump back onto the Hume for a brief time before taking the Thurgoona off ramp to make our way eastwards beside Lake Hume towards the Dartmouth/Omeo turnoff. There is a bit of Saturday morning traffic around but once we take the Omeo Highway the traffic is almost non-existent other than fellow riders heading for Dartmouth. This section of the ride is glorious, winding roads, sun and great scenery. Life is beautiful!
Rules....so many rules
Crossing over into Victoria
Arriving at Dartmouth we take off a few layers and seek shade while catching up with fellow riders, some we haven’t seen for a long time! Once Check In is open we complete the formalities and get going again, time to head for home! Part of our practise is learning to keep moving as a team while being efficient with our time off the bike.
The International Airport at Mitta Mitta was having a quiet day when we rode past
We retrace our steps back through the pretty village of Eskdale, past the international airport of Mitta Mitta (I kid you not) before re-joining the Murray Valley Highway for our planned stop at Corryong. We had grand plans for lunch in Corryong but alas it was not to be. Arriving at 2:00pm everything is closed other than the bakery and that’s not far from closing. Still we managed to feed ourselves and once done we were off to the Alpine Way before taking the turn off for Cabramurra. This was another wonderful road to ride, the suns out, not a lot of traffic and as we climbed up towards Cabramurra the temperatures cooled. Our journey was jolted slightly by hitting a rock that lay in our lane. It was on a steep downhill section in the shade, I missed seeing it but certainly felt the impact as the front wheel bucked from the impact. I quickly checked the tyre pressure sensor but all seemed good and I didn’t think much more if it until later.
Taking a moment in the Snowies
I think someone was enjoying a moment off the bike?
We call in briefly to Cabramurra to enjoy the view from the look out and use the facilities. From there it was a short ride to Kiandra where we took the Snowy Mountain Highway towards Cooma then home. This section of road from Kiandra to Adaminaby is a wonderful downhill piece of sweeping corners. We stopped in Cooma to take a moment and shed some layers before getting going for the last hour to home. Riding out of Cooma I checked the tyre pressure again, to find it dropped a few PSI, not enough to trigger the sensor alarm but enough to be noticed. I monitored it closely for the next hour but it stabilised and didn’t drop any further, a good thing!
Miss Bec had been silent for last hour or so and I suspected as the kilometres mounted she was starting to feel fatigued. Sure enough as the 1,000km rolled up on the dash, she said as much and not long after when we rolled into the garage she was grateful to get off the bike. Having said that I thought she looked in great shape after a 1,000km ride! Her longest pillion ride in one day!
That all important 1,000km point - almost home!
So, what did learn from testing our limits? Well making haste slowly is a good thing. We didn’t rush, took a couple of reasonable breaks for brekkie and the Check In at Dartmouth and the changes to the pillion seat was a welcome change. We are adjusting things to find our rhythm as a Two Up team and we are making steady progress, you can’t run a marathon on your first run and the same is true for Long Distance Motorcycling.
And what of the front wheel on the K1600 after a hitting that rock in the Snowies? One badly buckled rim, that got us home OK but is to be replaced before any further rides.
A 1,000km ride was plotted to Dartmouth, VIC return for the FarRiders FarRide # 48 and with all preparations complete the morning of departure finally arrived. The route was a simple one, north up the Federal Highway to Yarra, just south of Goulburn, turn south on the Hume, then Wagga through to Albury via Henty and across into Victoria beside the Hume Weir before finishing up at Dartmouth. The homeward leg was planned as much scenic ride through the Snowies to Kiandra, Cooma and home.
Sounds easy when you say it that quick.
Collecting that all important receipt!
So Saturday morning pre-dawn we were off down to the local ATM to collect our start dockets and we rode out 3 minutes ahead of schedule at 4:27am. Cruising up over Redhill the Clearwater’s pay for themselves again with a large Roo spotted in the median strip ahead on his way across our path. Speed adjusted to ensure good separation and all parties continued on our way happily. Not much else to say about the ride north on the Federal, not a lot of traffic about but enough to be noticed. An hour later we took that grand 35km/h hairpin that slingshots you off the Federal Highway and onto the southbound Hume Highway.
A lot more traffic now, the usual trucks and the odd car. Between Gunning and Yass we come across a Roo sharing our lane heading in the same direction, we have time to hit the anchors and gently gave him space as he heads off the Highway. Other than it was uneventful as we motored southward watching the sun rise behind us. Oh, and it was cold.
Sunrise on the Hume
Taking the Sturt Highway turnoff for Wagga the temperature keeps dropping, and dropping. I’ve dressed for warmer temps and my airflow jacket is clearly not the right kit for this morning. As we motor into Wagga, Miss Bec does her thing in the pillion seat and we locate a great little coffee place to warm up and grab a bite. Feeling slightly warmer we continue on before taking the turn off for Albury via Henty. The sun is well up now and it’s a glorious day to be out on the motorcycle. The feedback from Bec at Km 300 is that the pillion seat is much improved. All good!
Enjoying the morning sun
We ride southward past Henty and Culcairn enjoying the morning sunshine. Just before Albury we jump back onto the Hume for a brief time before taking the Thurgoona off ramp to make our way eastwards beside Lake Hume towards the Dartmouth/Omeo turnoff. There is a bit of Saturday morning traffic around but once we take the Omeo Highway the traffic is almost non-existent other than fellow riders heading for Dartmouth. This section of the ride is glorious, winding roads, sun and great scenery. Life is beautiful!
Rules....so many rules
Crossing over into Victoria
Arriving at Dartmouth we take off a few layers and seek shade while catching up with fellow riders, some we haven’t seen for a long time! Once Check In is open we complete the formalities and get going again, time to head for home! Part of our practise is learning to keep moving as a team while being efficient with our time off the bike.
The International Airport at Mitta Mitta was having a quiet day when we rode past
We retrace our steps back through the pretty village of Eskdale, past the international airport of Mitta Mitta (I kid you not) before re-joining the Murray Valley Highway for our planned stop at Corryong. We had grand plans for lunch in Corryong but alas it was not to be. Arriving at 2:00pm everything is closed other than the bakery and that’s not far from closing. Still we managed to feed ourselves and once done we were off to the Alpine Way before taking the turn off for Cabramurra. This was another wonderful road to ride, the suns out, not a lot of traffic and as we climbed up towards Cabramurra the temperatures cooled. Our journey was jolted slightly by hitting a rock that lay in our lane. It was on a steep downhill section in the shade, I missed seeing it but certainly felt the impact as the front wheel bucked from the impact. I quickly checked the tyre pressure sensor but all seemed good and I didn’t think much more if it until later.
Taking a moment in the Snowies
I think someone was enjoying a moment off the bike?
We call in briefly to Cabramurra to enjoy the view from the look out and use the facilities. From there it was a short ride to Kiandra where we took the Snowy Mountain Highway towards Cooma then home. This section of road from Kiandra to Adaminaby is a wonderful downhill piece of sweeping corners. We stopped in Cooma to take a moment and shed some layers before getting going for the last hour to home. Riding out of Cooma I checked the tyre pressure again, to find it dropped a few PSI, not enough to trigger the sensor alarm but enough to be noticed. I monitored it closely for the next hour but it stabilised and didn’t drop any further, a good thing!
Miss Bec had been silent for last hour or so and I suspected as the kilometres mounted she was starting to feel fatigued. Sure enough as the 1,000km rolled up on the dash, she said as much and not long after when we rolled into the garage she was grateful to get off the bike. Having said that I thought she looked in great shape after a 1,000km ride! Her longest pillion ride in one day!
That all important 1,000km point - almost home!
So, what did learn from testing our limits? Well making haste slowly is a good thing. We didn’t rush, took a couple of reasonable breaks for brekkie and the Check In at Dartmouth and the changes to the pillion seat was a welcome change. We are adjusting things to find our rhythm as a Two Up team and we are making steady progress, you can’t run a marathon on your first run and the same is true for Long Distance Motorcycling.
And what of the front wheel on the K1600 after a hitting that rock in the Snowies? One badly buckled rim, that got us home OK but is to be replaced before any further rides.
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