The Summer Solstice ride that got away

[Derrick]

The Summer Solstice Ride that got away.

Since i'd knocked off work for the year on the Friday the 19th and Liz was still slavivg away till the 23rd I had a small window to go for a spin. Looking at the weather and the calendar had me zoom in on the Summer Solstice ride, slated for Monday the 22nd, 2.08 am to be precise.

A nap in the evening of the 21st saw me in at work swapping the sidecar for the RT before heading about 5kms to the Shell/Reddy Express Westgate Freeway Inbound/North for a start docket just before 1am




Plan was to head out through Gippsland and stop to mark the actual Solstice at 2:03 am. Except that i was so lost in my thoughts that the Solstice passed without acknowledgement and before too long i was fuelling in Bairnsdale.

The thought had crossed my mind to drop some "Penny Bangers" or such in Hackles mailbox (or maybe the modern equivalent, a couple of blasts on the Denali SoundBombs) , but common sense took hold and I continued on



I seem to have lost the photo, but Cann River was quiet at 6am, and the bakery not yet open, so on up to Nimmitabel via Bombala. Given the hour I wasn't too surprised to see maybe 10 kangaroos between Cann River and Bombala.

A half hour or so power nap at the Nimmitabel rest area and then some baked goods for breakfast



I took the Polo Flat "shortcut", just to see where it went. And where it went was too far past the servo's so i turned back south/west? to the BP there.



I've started carrying a GME XRS660 UHF GME XRS660 and can report perfect integration with the Cardo Packtalk (And the Bluetooth Push To Talk Accessary Push to Talk- when I remember it..., which I hadn't this trip). So, while I could hear that there were 8 "Double Bubbles" in Cooma, I couldn't ask where That was solved as i headed east - they were running a breath teasting station targetting both directions. Got waved through.

More reports (and plenty of flashed headlights) of Police activity near Adaminaby - sure enough what looked like one of the locals was clocking people coming in from the west (near the Big Trout) after shift change at the Snowy 2.0 project. Quite the number of busses and other vehicles heading back into Cooma.

I had an awesome free flowing run all the way across the top of nthe Snowy Mountain Highway to Tumut - the few vehicles I caught either pulled into slow vehicle pullouts or I came up on them on dashed lines. Some sort of National Parks works at Yarrangobilly Caves, and no horses to be seen.

Ducked through Tumut and onto Gocup Road to Gundagai. Hasn't that road changed from the back way goat track it was 30 years ago to the Road Train rated transport link it is today. A brief jaunt on the Hume (no stop at the Tuckerbox) before I take the long way through Cootamundra for some more baked goods! Can highly recommend the Outback Bakery here - there's Public Toilets next door and a Newsagent and Coffee House across the street if needed/more your flavour



Leaving here I'd plugged Grenfell into Google Maps, but it must've felt I needed extra kms because it "took some liberties" you can see in the Spotwalla Track below. I was happy with the back way to Grenfell, but Google dragged us back to the outskirts of Young before turning North again. Surely straight up the highway to Young would have been quicker?

1,020 kms down by Grenfell at the roughly 13 hour mark. Steady and on track



So I didn't feel guilty with a powernap at the Rest Area in West Wyalong. Shaded with a bit of light wind, aluminium base for a bit of give- perfect. Helped also with a doubled up Thermarest - damn you skippy and ongoing back nerve pain


5 Kms south of West Wyalong and i feel something hit the underside of the bike. Looking across my devices - they're all still there, but by then the TPMS was going beserk - 27 PSI (from 42) and the telltale squirminess of a rear puncture. By the time i limped off the road into a driveway 300 metre later the TPMS was reporting 0 PSI!

So I was expecting an easy to spot hole. But it took two turns of the wheel to spot this inch and a quarter full depth gash next to one of the sipes. Now, i'm no expert on roadside tyre repair but i was fairly certain I didn't stand a chance of plugging this safely even though I had all the gear/spares/pumps etc etc



So, I looked at the time.. Near enough to 4pm. So I had an hour before close of business (It was a Monday). AND there's a bike shop in West Wyalong - I've bought chain oil there in the past. I might be able to save this yet!

Matt from Davies Motorcycles and Power Equipment couldn't have been more helpful. And while they normally keep a couple of tyres in stock for just this occassion, he didn't have any at the moment. So we wouldn't be mobile tonight.

BUTT, he would source one for me and have me back on the road tomorrow afternoon. So that just left me with the tow - RACV Total Care didn't take long to have the local fella out with a bike trailer.

So quick in fact that we were back in town in time to catch Matt (having just knocked off) in the main street, and so he turned around and the three of us deposited the bike in his yard for the night



I seem to do a loop like this at least every year or so. Depending on the who/when/why it might involve a return via Wagga or adding some Kms up to Marulan or some such. Todays plan would've had me back in Victoria for dark and back in Melbourne sometime between 11pm and midnight,. Not to be

 

[Derrick]

The RACV Extra Care team took an hour or so to pay for the room I'd found, so Dinner it was. The Scotch Fillet, helped with few alcohol free beers hit the spot at the Metropolitan Hotel West Wyalong



After dinner a quick trip to the IGA next door for a toothbrush and some deoderant (and some dessert!) saw me retiring by 9pm.

Next morning I dropped my tankbag and shopping back at the bike shop before finding some breakfast and doing the walking tour of West Wyalong. Christmas spirit was evident, the town had a good feel to it - no doubt helped by the Gold price and the investment and jobs that had bought to the town



Santa's subcontractor has a red ute!



Like a lot of people I'd always wondered why the Bland Shire was so named, and why didn't they give themselves a glow-up/makeover name wise. So I appreciated this sign and photo opportunity! I asked my Scottish sister in law if she'd been to Dull, to which she responded "Yes, it didn't leave much of an impression!"



After inspecting the refurbished plane I got the call that the bike was ready.

There was about 20 kids bikes in pre-delivery in the workshop



Mmmm, that looks like a big enough lift for the Ural


Whats this - a mural with a wheel on it!

 

[Derrick]

On the road about 1.30pm I had a lazy run down the Newell, fuelled in Jerilderie and then dropped in to see a mate in Shepparton now i was coming through a bit earlier.

Took these out the back of the Wahring Roadhouse near Goulburn Weir



Before I kept following roads that paralleled the highway (aka investigating slower backroads for the URAL) and rejoined the "big road" at Mangalore



Since i wanted to swap back to the sidecar which was in the secure garage at the bank I decided to go back to the starting servo, part of the original plan.



And since I was off the clock i deliberately didn't get an end receipt! . a few extra kilometres seem to have crept in



At the end of the day I got pretty lucky here:
- the RT's TPMS was great for a quick visual confirmation we had trouble quickly brewing
- no traffic at the time, this was in a 110kph zone on the Newell
- there was a driveway maybe 100 metres from where I might have rolled to a stop
- It was still early enough in a work day that getting a tyre and tow sorted was a painless exercise
- it wasn't too close to XMas that I might've needed to hitchhike to Melbourne (I note now that the bike shop is closed from the 24th December till the 12th January 2026)
- it was 5km from a town with a bike shop

And who'd have thought - with all the troubles we had with the sidecar going to/from Cape York in August that it would be the RT that was completely disabled and need to be towed

 

[HACKLE]

My wife and I appreciated your discretion.

 

[Brunhilde]

There's a "Dull Men's Motorcycle Club (DMCC)" group on Facebook that I think has its origins in Dull. Maybe some Bland Shire members, too?

 

[Kimmie]

Sorry you didn't achieve your goal. Sometimes fate has a different plan for us.
Still a great ride report and piccies.

 

[SimonB]

Shame you weren’t able to complete the ride you’d planned, but it sounds like you made the best of the situation.

And that is a nice mural!

 

[Martin Little]

Great outing, and just goes to show you gotta ride your luck & be ready to adapt to circumstances.

Loved your ride report & photos, plus the recurring commentary on bakeries (very helpful for future rides)

 

[Biggles]

I'll endorse the value of a wander through these western towns with history. Some communities do it very well- e.g. Naranderra.
Interesting account and good photos. Not all was lost!
Three years too late finding that wheel mural for the Team Strange Grand Tour!
The BUTT on the window of the "Elf Was Here" shop isn't quite an Iron Butt!

 

[tabledrain]

Loved your story mate...flat tyres are always a crap shoot as to roadside repairability..

 

[Tele]

A great yarn with top commentary and picks Derrick. A great few days on the road, despite the tyre issue. I had a similar experience on a ride a few years back. 100kph on my K1600 on a twisty road. The flashing TPMS saved my bacon that day. My luck with road service was less than satisfactory. Shit happens, as they say, and walking away to write the story is win-win on any assessment.

 

[ACTCapo]

Nice story! Thanks for taking the time to post.