April Fools ADV Ride - Part 1

It has been quite a while since I last did a decent ride on the Desert X, in fact, way back here! Sure, there have been some short coffee rides or rides with the kids but no real expeditions. So it was time to change that sad statistic and what better day to go than April 1st? (Well, I had a couple of days off from then so beggars can't be choosers as they say!)

I wasn't in a huge hurry to get away as there were quite a few showers around. In fact, it has been a very wet year up until now, despite the Bureau of Meteorology prediction of an El Nino summer (how wrong they were!)  I got the bike loaded then squeezed into my gear....FFS, a hot, wet summer spent sitting on the couch in the air conditioning hasn't done my girth any favours!

With weight minimisation in mind (mine AND the bike's) I tried to make do without the top box (4.8kg empty!). As much as I hate wearing them, a backpack was loaded for the few items that I couldn't fit in the Mosko Moto bags. But with my tent and sleep kit in the drybag on the seat pushing it up, I just couldn't get comfortable with a backpack. While I like the look and idea of the Mosko Reckless 80 luggage, it simply just does not have the volume and ease of use of my simple Andy Strapz Avnduro soft pannier set that I used on the Africa Twin and BMW before that. I just wish Barrett made their customised pannier carriers for the Desert X. I don't have the skill/equipment/time to fabricate a mounting system if I were to buy their loops.

So, I put the top box on and loaded it as lightly as I possibly could.

Once outside the boundary of greater Brisbane I stopped for a quick photo at Flinders Peak under brooding skies. Yeah, I was going to get wet at some stage...

As I had left home quite late I only had a modest distance to a destination planned. Tenterfield would do for tonight, so how best to get there? Well, The Head road had been reopened again after major land slips closed it again for a prolonged period. Yep, even though it was Easter Monday and there would be mad traffic on it I took the risk on this narrow winding climb.

I can't help but do this particular road as it always make me feel like Jack climbing that beanstalk to another dimension! I wind up that narrow ribbon of asphalt and when I pop out at the top a mere ten minutes later I am in a whole other realm!

I love this old Nissen hut's location here peering out over the Scenic Rim toward South East Queensland. I may have mentioned it before but in case I haven't, I recently discovered it was used in a music video by Australian group Killing Heidi back in 2000. "Live Without It" was the clip. The hut looks to be in much better repair in the clip - but it was 24ish years ago. The interior is obviously a set somewhere though - or this is the best sleeper Nissen hut on the planet!

I pressed on toward my destination without too may more stops as the day was getting on. The Mt Lindsay highway to Tenterfield is sealed all the way these days and is a VERY underrated ride. A lonely little ribbon of tar that winds it's way through picturesque countryside at a relatively high elevation for Australia. In fact, I cranked the heated grips on once the temperature dipped below 19C. I was so nice to be cool (as opposed to sweating my arse off like I had done since last Novemeber. It was a looong, hot, sweaty summer!)

A quick stop at the WWII tank traps and I noted they have re-planted some of the stumps that have rotted away over the decades. It's become quite the tourist trap. Thankfully it wasn't needed as intended to stop these.

Lobbing into Tenterfield I filled the bike up then went looking for a bed for the night. I thought it might have quietened off after the holiday weekend but it proved to be a bit tricky to find accomodation - until someone said "have you tried the Bowling Club motel"? I'd never heard of it but what a score! Modern, clean rooms, a solid, free continental breakfast in the fridge and a club restaurant, which of course, was all at Aussie tax shelter* rates!!

This is CHEAP for Australia.

This could be a bowling club, golf club or an RSL. They all look the same.

* Sporting clubs and Returned Services League (R.S.L.) clubs have special tax status so food and drink is always cheap in these places.  

Day 2

I had a great nights sleep and set the alarm for a reasonably early rise. 

Well, 0730 early. 

I had a rough idea to get down toward the Barrington Tops area today. I thought I would head south west out of town and retrace the dirt route I had taken on my way back from the Adventure Moto Dirty Weekend last year. (which I don't think I blogged about actually...)

A quick stop on the edge of town to get a photo of some rolling stock in the Tenterfield railway museum. Sadly, yet another long closed railway spur.

This morning I took the slight detour up to the Mount McKenzie lookout. It was sealed road all the way to the top and I can't believe I haven't stopped here for a look before. The outlook across Tenterfield to the East is stunning!

Tenterfield is granite country, so the roadside scenery is all granite boulders and slabs, dotted with gum trees. It is that sort of haunting, empty Australian landscape yet comfortingly broken up by these rocky outcrops.

Heading out Gunya road I was soon cursing my rear tyres lack of tread. The downside to all of this granite is that the roads are all constructed of crushed granite. Loose, ball bearing like gravel over hardpack. It is super grippy when wet but feels very loose when dry - and it was DRY! It took me a while to tell myself to relax on the tight, downhill corners. This is why I wanted to keep the weight down on the bike - I don't like the rear end trying to overtake me down hills. I was also riding like an absolute noob this morning....so I stopped on the massive Gunya road granite lookout boulder to strip off some layers and to take in the breathtaking view. It was just me and the kangaroos this morning.

Find this here.

Once I dropped down into the farmland in the background of the above photo I relaxed much more and really enjoyed the ride. It was still granite road but much more open. Perfect big adv bike territory.

Looking forward.....

looking back.

This dirt road wound past some farm houses here and there and seeing this tennis court reminded me of growing up in country NSW in the 1970s. Tennis was a huge social sport and Australia was a tennis powerhouse on the back of this grass roots fanaticism from the 1950s until the late 1970s or so. It brought communities together, with courts and clubs in some of the most unlikely locations. Random little "localities" often had several well maintained tennis courts and some of the flasher ones had small community halls. Steve and I spent many a Sunday in the '70s and 80s being dragged around the district to the Interclub tennis competitions which have left me with some great memories of growing up in the bush. Sadly, many (most) of these little tennis clubs have folded and the the facilities have fallen into disrepair. Australian tennis is nowhere these days. 

No coincidence.

I was soon back on the blacktop at Deepwater and decided that I should just get going and make some distance. Dirt roads are interesting but are much slower going, especially here on the Great Dividing Range. I grabbed a pie and coffee in Glenn Innes then just blasted through to Armidale, where I fuelled up at the airport fuel station - not realising there is a big new station about four hundred metres further south. Next time.....

I did get to look at some ag aircraft though, so not a total loss?

Not too far down the road I turned east at Uralla to go check out the amazingly beautiful Gostwyk chapel. 

They still hold services in the little chapel on one Sunday per month.

I had noticed a squiggle on my Gaia mapping app here and upon further inspection I realised it was the New England Cycle Trail route that I had copied from Andrew Demack a year or two ago. It went right past Gostwyk and took quiet dirt roads through to Walcha from here.

So, I followed the route and was rewarded with a quick trip on quiet roads all the way into Walcha. Coming into town from a slightly different direction to usual I spotted this unusual monument at the local caravan park. Who thinks "I know, I'll put a Piper Cherokee fuselage in my front yard"?

I took a bit of time to fuel up here in Walcha. There was a large contingent of adv bikes fueling up and milling around the cafe'. They were a little unusual as they were all in full leathers and not the usual rag tag of gear that adv riders wear. Upon closer inspection they all appeared to be of Asian appearance.

 COOL!

They were obviously on some sort of organised tour and they were sure to be enjoying some of the best riding on the east coast around here.

Heading up to the local supermarket I stocked up on some food for this evening and for breakfast tomorrow. The plan for tonight was to camp....but while loading my bike I noticed that the sky to the west was looking pretty dark. Much darker than this photo would indicate.

Hmmmm..... checking out the BOM weather radar site showed a band of rain moving in from the west. It looked to be lighter along my intended route which was via Topdale road and Forest Way to Nundle. Do I put my wet liners in now or wait? 

Hmmm...I'll wait.

Half an hour or so later, as I turned into Topdale road, I was going to get wet. The traction control lights were flashing pretty hard as I accelerated away from the intersection. Best be careful as there are some mossy sections along here!

I persevered for a while but as the drops got larger and heavier I decided it was time to put in the rain liners. Of course, the problem with lined riding gear is that you have to basically strip to get the pants liner in when you are on the road. That wasn't going to be happening. This is about the only feature I dislike with my RST ADV suit. The top liner is no problem but you basically need to decide at the start of a day if you need pants liners or not. Maybe I should buy a voluminous pair of rain over pants and just pull them on over the top.....?

By this time I was on the dirt in Nundle State forest. A very pretty change room indeed.

Back on track and the heavens really began to open! I slowed to between 40 and 50km/h, just to be safe. The road is mostly of rocky, grippy construction as this is a working forest but it is interspersed with red clay sections which I found were getting harder to see as my visor fogged up. Yep, my scratched-up Pinlock was safely on my study desk at home.

There was the standard Aussie road kill to avoid as well.

Actually, the road surface was fine. I didn't have any slips bit I was getting that sinking feeling that every motorcyclist knows. You know, the one where water slowly infiltrating your groinal region. It just feels oddly cool to start with, not wet....until you realise that you are sitting in a pool of water and you are in fact saturated.

Ewwwww......

The weather wasn't getting any friendlier either. I came through a clearing and could see I was in for worse, not improving conditions as the weather radar had indicated.

I wasn't sure how much further to Nundle but I did know that the Ponderosa campground was coming up on my left soon. I decided to take shelter there for a while.

There was a basic long drop toilet in the campground and it looked like an inviting palace to me at this moment!

I spent the next 15 minutes wringing the water out of my gloves until the weather seemed to be improving.

By improving I meant not raining. The visibility reduced to about one hundred metres in cloud.... Good enough though!

I was soon in Nundle. Wandering into the pub, dripping a small Olympic sized pool of water on their floor, I meekly enquired if they had a room available. There was not going to be any camping in this saturated state! Thankfully they had a room. In fact, they had every room available. I was going to be the only person staying tonight. 

Great!

I wasn't cold, just wet so I grabbed a celebratory beer and sat on the verandah of the Peel Inn. I got chatting to a kiwi woman whose husband worked in the forest as a logger and before I knew it over an hour had passed. Nundle is a VERY small town and I got the feeling she missed having someone to talk to! I know I have been the same after days in my own head on long mountain bike trips.

Extricating myself and finding my room I stripped all my wet gear and hung it underneath the air conditioner to hopefully dry out overnight. Interestingly and pleasingly, my AlpineStars Tech 7 ADV boots which were on their first outing were completely dry. I am glad I went with the Drystar version in spite of what the interwebs said about being hot. Dry and warm is better than hot pretty much any day on a bike.

Then it was a nice warm shower before heading downstairs for a delicious steak dinner washed down with a couple of glasses of wine. The food and drink option of the Peel Inn are pretty damn good.

All in all, not a bad day on the bike. Certainly a memorable one!

Cheers.