An easy 1200 for Euston
What a great ride this turned out to be. I woke early, so I left early, not thrilled at the fog I could see out in the street as I left my garage. Sure enough, there was a heavy and very wet fog all the way down to the service station where I filled up ‘Goliath’ and prepared to head off into the unknown. The start time was 2:30 am. I had heavy fog all the way within about 30 kilometres of Narrandera. That’s 330 kilometres of riding blind! There were a few lighter patches, and even the off clear bit, but it never lasted more than a kilometre or so.
Somewhere here is a great big motorcycle! At least the bike would stand out for traffic coming up behind me (but there was none).
The Halogens actually worked ok in the fog. They lit up one roo on the intersection of the Barton and Hume highways at Yass. I’m sure it’s the same roo that’s had two other goes at me in past years and at the same place! So much for roos not being out in fog!
I pulled into Narrandera for fuel and breakfast as I had plenty of time to kill. Half an hour of non-productive riding, a quick chat to some newbies also heading to Euston, and a lovely hot brekky and two cups of good coffee! Fantastic. Warm again! The second cup of coffee proved not to be a good idea later on. Caffeine is a bladder stimulant you know! With all the bikes heading my way I figured I’d have company from Narrandera on, but it was actually pretty quiet. I even had a small (almost pathetic) sunrise behind me, so I pulled up for a shot.
You have to love riding through the night and catching the dawn of a new day.
I saw a few bikes as I breezed through Balranald and Hay. No idea where they had come from, but it was good to see a few more heading to Euston. The second coffee eventually did its thing and forced a stop after Hay. I felt like a leg stretch anyway, so I scrambled up a gravel pile and took some photos.
I do like my bike. Ugly as sin, but it grows on you. It’s a bit thirsty at 5,000 rpm (low gearing), but the big tank is such a pleasure to have. I can run to over 500 kms on a tank, but seem to have ‘lost’ almost a hundred kms range out on the Hay Plain.
I rode into Euston in the company of a few others that I came upon further out. The servo in Euston was able to supply me with a tank of premium (I think), so I did a couple laps of the town (a term I use very loosely) and went to park with the other early arrivals. I was there early due to my early start, so I killed the engine at 10:30 am, switched off the gps so it wouldn’t record my lunch down-time, and said g’day to a whole bunch of blokes I don’t see very often. It had been an 8 hour ride (including a half hour brekky stop) to do the 700+ kms to Euston. A very good run, considering the fog early on.
This is the group I parked with, but many other bikes joined us later.
And a whole gaggle of bikes starting to form up at the other parking lot.
Check-in went smoothly (thanks to Big Boss and Charleen), and the club was excellent. Really good turn-out, and I think many of the locals and visitors were there to check out the ‘bikies’ as much as to have lunch. As is usual with these rides, it was hard to say hello and have a chat with everyone I wanted to. Oh well, next time guys. I was one of the blokes who neede3d to finish my ride, so I had to leave after lunch. By the way, I had the beer-battered fish fillets and they were very nice indeed.
My departure was at 1:00 pm, two and half hours after arriving. GPS back on, and clock ticking on recording some averages. A quick farewell, a slow getting geared-up, and off home. I had a few bikes in front of me, and few behind, and some others overtook me on the road, and I overtook some as well. FarRiders travelling as FarRiders – Alone mostly! I made a small navigational error at Hay, and took the wrong turn out of town! Damn. Then I remembered that the ‘River Road’ runs parallel to the Sturt Highway, but on the other side of the Murrumbidgee River, so I took the right turn to Carrathool just outside Hay and headed to Darlington Point. Bonus! A sealed road with clear verges and no traffic. It was a fast ride.
What I had forgotten about this road was the 10 kms of unsealed road at the Darlington Point end! So much for short cuts. It was ok though, but would be frightful if wet.
Nice country out this way as well. Since I grew up in these parts, it was nice to re-trace some roads of my youth.
I made it back to Narrandera for fuel and probably lost no time even though the road I took between Hay and the Point was a bit longer, and had a bit of dirt. Fuel consumption went out the window again on that stretch. Met a few other boys still on a mission, and had a quick chat with Ricketyclik over a cup of coffee. Good to catch up with guys in person, no matter where it is. I even took a phonecall from Toura, who was clearly very sorry he missed a great shin-dig!
It got dark again on the way into Wagga, so the spotties got some more use. There seemed to be a few bikes on the road, and most (all?) were FarRiders heading home. I made it back at 8:30 pm, seven and a half hours after leaving Euston. Not a bad run, and good averages.
These are my Overall Average and Moving Average. I did not record the down-time at Euston, but all other stops are factored in. The preponderance of 110 roads certainly makes a difference.
And my total kms for the day. Not bad really. Up at 2:30 am, back at 8:30 pm, and two and half hours off in the middle for lunch. I guess that’s what FarRiding is all about.
My only problem with Goliath is its compromise rear tyres. They tend to get flat-spots fairly quickly, but are cheaper than road tyres. This now has 11,000 kms on it.
All-in-all, it was a very enjoyable FarRide. Well organised, well run, and a great turn-out. Thanks guys. Catch up next time. Mick.
