Young 26 June 2016 - Ride Report

It was minus 5 and foggy when I went out to get the papers, minus 2 and foggy when I left home on the Wing, and a bit above zero and fog-free when we headed out from Nicholls on the Barton Highway. The sun shone, the grass was green, the crops were leaping out of the ground, the frost was steaming, the farm dams were brimming and there was water everywhere. It was like riding through Scotland.

After Murrumbateman it became even more like Scotland when we again disappeared into cold, damp fog and the temperature dropped back down to minus 2. By the time we got to Boorowa we were feeling the chill. All the tables inside the bakery were taken so we dragged the big al fresco table out into the feeble sunshine and huddled together as we warmed up with coffee and pies.
But it was all a bit too much for Mick and Tracey (Mick’s dodgy knee had turned to ice) and Manfred (he was just too bloody cold) so they turned back and presumably rode through all the freezing fog again on their way home.

Farm dams are full and the countryside around Young has been transformed by all the rain

 (Those familiar with the countryside around Young may suspect that Ian is confused to the locale of this photo - or is perhaps indulging in a little whimsy)

The rest of us headed out in the weak sunshine to Murringo and, rather than turning left towards Young, kept riding north down through the gorge and out to the Olympic Highway. A right turn, a few kilometres on the highway, then a left through Bendick Murrell took us up to the top of the range with its expansive views (which are especially beautiful in September when the canola is in flower). 

This is a lovely detour, and there were so many corners to mark that everyone got a go (except me, for I was leading, and Sandy, for he was tail-end Charlie).
We turned left near Iandra Castle and rode south through Monteagle to Young for fuel at the BP and then lunch at Wilder’s Bakery in the main drag. 

Peter and Trevor consider their lucky escape from the perils of imagined roadworks

Ian fangs in while his companions politely avert their gaze

Drone tech view of Wilders Bakery

 
At the bakery we met Peter and Trevor, who, having heard rumours about wretchedly repulsive roadworks on Lachlan Valley Way between Yass and Boorowa (memo to P & T: the roadworks are finished and the road’s great), had made their own way to Young via Harden and possibly Lake Cargelligo. They were full of warnings from Harley riders of a giant pothole on Burley Griffin Way but it turned out to be a bit like an election promise and failed to materialise.
 
From Young we had a quick run down the lovely Moppity Road (no traffic holdups in Galong, which was a relief for everyone) to Burley Griffin Way and then home via the highways.

Ian Paterson

The Riders were:

Ian Paterson            Honda GL1800
David Formica        Kawasaki ZX14R
Alan Munday            Yamaha FJR1300
Michael & Tracey Winters    Triumph Trophy
Les Robinson            BMW 1150GS
Manfred Halton        BMW R1200R
Peter Arday            Honda ST1300
Andrew Campbell        Yamaha FJR1300
Chris Dietzel            Kawasaki GTR1400
Peter Daniell            BMW R1200GSA
Sandy Fisk            Triumph Speedmaster
Trevor McLeod        Yamaha FJR1300