A Midweek Ride Down the Coast

A Midweek Ride Down the Coast
Wed 8 April 2009 - meet at 9.00am at Logan's Cafe Bungendore

After reading (here) that the Midweek ride group were planning an overnight ride down the coast to Merimbula, and noticing that the weather forecast was looking very favourable, I decided to join in:

John and Floyd were already drinking coffee when I arrived, and Ernie walked in a few minutes later.
Lorraine, Len and Graham had all been held up at the Kambah petrol station, and finally arrived just as we were about to leave. Another round of coffees and we departed Bungendore at about 9.40am. The weather was perfect as we set off towards the coast.
My plan was to do the whole trip in one day (down the Clyde and up the Brown) and, because this was an official club ride, suitable for concessional plate bikes, I was able to take my 1972 BMW R75/5.
I had to work the next day so I could not afford to stay overnight with the others.

An old school friend of mine, Grant, lives at Moruya, and owns a 1958 BMW R69 (a very rare machine in Australia), so I rang him the night before to let him know that we would be passing through, and suggested that maybe he would like to join us for part of the way. He was enthusiastic, so I said that I would call him from the Bay.

After an early lunch at the Batehaven Bakery, Floyd and Ernie left us and returned to Canberra via the way we came. The rest of us continued on to Moruya, where Grant joined us on his R69, and rode with us through to Narooma.

After a short stop at Narooma, John, Lorraine, Len and Graham continued south towards Merimbula via Bermagui and the (all sealed now) coastal road. (see Len's report HERE for the overnight run)

Grant returned to Moruya via Dalmeny, and I stayed on the main highway and headed for Bemboka via Cobargo, as I wanted to get back to Canberra before dark.

The weather remained perfect for the whole trip. After stopping for a coffee at the Bemboka Pie Shop, I continued up the Brown Mountain and on to Cooma, filled up the tank and didn't stop again until Michelago, as the sun just dropped down behind the mountains. At this time of the day, with the autumn poplars lining the road, the Monaro Highway has never looked so good. The twilight remained until I reached the lights of Canberra.

- Steve Keough

The MID WEEK RIDES web page can be found HERE