Wagga - Cabramurra - Tumbarumba - Wagga

Yesterday I decided that as the local Ulysses were going to be riding a couple of my favourite rides I'd tag along.

We met at the Macca's on Fox st (Wagga). I asked them what 'ride etiques' I should be aware off. I was told, you don't go infront of the lead rider or behind tail end charlie. Someone else jumped in and said "Don't pass anyone". The look on my face must have said more than I realised, because the ride leader countered with, "You can if they are going a lot slower than you can". If you are immediately behind the lead rider and we make a turn then you stop and 'mark the corner'. Fair enough I thought. We were told there'd be a fuel stop at Tumut and we'd have morning tea there as well.

So we left just after 9 and headed out on the Sturt Hwy on to the Hume and then turned on to the Snowy Mtns Hwy. This was a leisurley ride, actually compared to how I usually ride this section slow would be a better description. We got to Tumut at around 10:15, found a coffee shop and had morning tea. Then just after 11 we hit the road again and headed to towards Talbingo. As we left Tumut I thought to myself, what happened to the fuel stop? It didn't bother me too much, I knew I could make Tumba on a tank, but I don't have enough in reserve to top someone elses tank up.

Up Talbingo hill, a bumpy but very enjoyble bit of road. It was a relaxed run up the hill, a lot more relaxed than I'm used to and I started to get a bit frustrated at the pace, or lack of pace. Got to the top and continued on to Kiandra and turned right to Cabramurra. Another very nice piece of road that was ridden at a fairly leisurely pace. It was at this point, I decided that I'd take the oportunity to look at and appreciate the scenery, something I don't usually do on these roads.

We stopped at Cabramurra just after 1pm and waited for the stragglers. We had a very enjoyable lunch and chat, for about an hour and a half.

I asked someone what had happened to the fuel stop at Tumut, and they said "Oh, sorry, we filled up while you guys were having coffee". I thought fair enough, but I'm used to when someone says there's a fuel stop that WE ALL stop. Apparently no, they stop for morning tea and if you need fuel you go get it and then meet back at the coffee shop. They held a quick raffle, which I won. Yeah, a model of a BMW GS650 to add to the collection.

Anyway, we left Cabramurra at about 2 and headed down the Elliot way. This is one of my favourite twisty bits for scrapping toes, foot pegs, and removing chicken strips. But, not today. This day wasn't about that, it was about being relaxed and unhurried, taking in the scenery and enjoying being in the wonder of nature. I do have to say though, I was behind the lead rider and on all but the slower corners I didn't feel he was holding me up too much. That might be more due to my new mind set than the actual pace we were travelling at.

At the intersection of Elliots Way and the Tumba Rd I 'marked the corner' only to be told "Don't bother, the others will be quite a while, we'll just meet them in Tumba" Ok, so they do 'corner marker' but only when the group is closer. When the group is really spread out, they don't bother. Strange. We arrived at Tumba and re-fuelled. Strangely, this time as a group. After re-fuelling we had a bit of a break, by which time it was about 3.

We left Tumba at about 3:30 and headed towards Wagga. The Tumba to Hume Hwy isn't a bad piece of road either and we generally kept a reasonable pace, some of the corners saw us slowing more than I'm used too, but I suppose you get that.

I pulled in to my driveway at about 4:45. I put the bike away, sat in the lounge and thought about the ride. Yes I enjoyed it, but not for the usual reasons on those roads. Will I go for a ride with the Uylsses again? Yes, but it would depend on where they were going. I also realised that I have to be more understanding and accepting of people and the way they ride. I suppose the pace was also dictated by the fact that the B12 was the second sportiest bike on the ride, there was a ZX9R, Caponord, ST1300, BMW GS1200, K1200LT and the rest were cruisers. I feel sorry for the guy on the ZX9R, he must have been bored.

I've re-read the above a couple of times, and it does come across as negative and that's not fair. I think the problem is more with me than them. I have preconceived ideas and expectations on what sort of pace is possible on certain roads, and when those expectations aren't met, then I get a bit dissapointed and frustrated.

For the record we covered nearly 380km in just over 7hrs. Not exactly a big day in terms of distance covered, but it was enjoyable.

thanks for the story mick my bandit,s been sitting idle for a couple of weeks and it,s killing me plus we came back from annual family hols from bermagui and i was drooling at thredbo-kancoban road and amount of bikes on it,no-one over my side except one rock ape on a harley whom i had to dodge his foot on highway peg way over my side.might try to meet a mate and his wife from wagga at jingellic pub this sunday if boss and weather are agreable.cheers rick

The club I usually ride with does a couple of rides to Beechworth each year. Next time we plan a ride there, I'll let you know. In fact how about anytime we plan to head south from here I post it up. The only problem is that we often don't know where we are going until we get there, our rides tend to be organised chaos.