Canberra Riders novice run to Tidbinbilla
With perfect motorbike weather it seemed like a good idea to get a bunch of folks together to do a short easy run round the twistys behind Canberra – and there had been some talk on the Canberra Riders forum of doing a novice run – with about even numbers between newer riders and more experienced riders. The idea is that the newer riders can get experience riding with a group without the pressure that can come from trying to keep up with the hard core racers. The Canberra Riders are good that way – a loose group of riders across a wide range of skills from new learners to old stagers and some pretty quick racers in between. But they’re very supportive of other riders and willing to share knowledge and expertise 🙂
So after yesterday’s cruise to Bungendore, the antique Honda Bol d’Or was ready for another gentle run. And Gosling1 had made a suggestion on the forum that a run to Tidbinbilla might be a good one for a novice run. Some of the wrong bits of Seph’s bike had recently come in contact with the ground so he was looking for a gentle proving run to make sure the repair on the alternator cover was oil-tight, and the bike was straight. Ausjc is a learner looking to gain experience, and Gosling1 had done much to ensure that Seph’s bike was back on the road after a couple of weeks.
So with the finishing touches done they all headed over to my place for a quick pre-ride brief and we headed off up the Cotter Road with a stop at the car park at the old Cotter Bridge (now causeway) – this is the site of the old Cotter Road Pub that was destroyed in the Canberra Bushfires in 2003.
We met up with a mob of other riders and admired some fine machines (that black Honda Bol d’Or is particularly nice 😉
Then on for the ride to Tidbinbilla Deap Space Tracking Station – there’s a great coffee shop there called the ‘Moon Rock Cafe’ – very friendly to bikers and excellent service
The dishes made a great backdrop to the bikes
Funny how that black Honda kept getting into the photo!
And there was some good discussion about some of the local roads and some good places to explore for later rides. And what better backdrop to a coffee is a dish big enough to play cricket on 🙂
Seph’s bike needed push starting at every stop – he found later that great results can be achieved by plugging two wires together just near the clutch lever…
And I’d also like to say thanks to the anonymous rider who found my phone on the road, made the right assumptions as to likely destination, and returned it to me at Tidbinbilla – that sort of thing restores faith in human nature 🙂 And I’ll be keeping the phone in a zip-up pocket from now on 🙂 And yeah the phone still worked – they made the old bricks tough!
Thanks guys for a great ride and hopefully we’ll do it all again soon
Cheers
Jerry
