The Gathering

It’s been awhile since I’ve got together with my people, my long distance riding community. And Nambucca Heads was where it all started for me,  it was the destination of my first 1,000km day. Here I found a community of like-minded people who enjoy the open road and doing big miles. Where a couple of days can see you anywhere in the country.

Lunch at the Centre of NSW

Over the last 5+ years my calendar has not lined up with the FarRider’s calendar, so it was good to add the Tottenham ride to my calendar.  From Canberra, Tottenham is about 430km so it won’t take much of a detour to make up the full 1,000km for the day. And compared to the longer IBA rides I can leave and get home at a very reasonable hour.

The Flying Boats of Lake Boga

Back in the 40s during World War II a secret base was built at Lake Boga in heart of Victoria to service and repair Catalina flying boats. When Ed suggested a ride to Lake Boga to check out the Catalina Museum I had to look up what a Catalina was, and where Lake Boga was as I really hadn’t heard of either. And although I’m not a plane buff I am always interested in checking out interesting history.

Easter Camping by the Murray

With the disappointment of not getting away on the bike in March we were able to get away over Easter for some time under canvas (well nylon). A recommendation from a riding friend suggested a small village on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Tintaldra. That was enough of a recommendation for me and they had space. Done.

ACT Insanity ride

When I first heard about this ride I really couldn’t see how I could ride around my city 20 times without it doing my head in. When I do a big ride I don’t like droning up the highway just to do the miles, I like a destination, I like new roads, I like getting out of town. So the thought of going in circles for no other reason than just to clock up miles just isn’t me. However this is a challenge and I’m up for a challenge.

The Silo Run

This morning I was going for a ride with Ed who is heading to Western Australia to visit his folks as he hasn’t seen them since before Covid. I had set my alarm for 3:45am and was planning to meet Ed on the highway at 4:45am and tag along with him for 500km to Hay where I would peel off and drop down into Victoria and check out some more silo and water tower art to add to my collection before heading home. I packed an overnight bag in case I needed to stop.

Memory Lane

In school I had my future mapped out – I was always going to follow my father’s footsteps and go onto the orchard. Greenhill Orchards has been in our family’s name since 1865, and with such a long history there is also a strong connection and many memories.

Getting Away … plan E

Looking back on last year’s trip to Cairns we were really keen for another epic trip on the bike to explore more Australian countryside. Plan A – head to WA and visit Deb’s brother. The plan was fairly simple I’d ride straight to Perth and pick Deb up from the airport, then head south following…

Getting away for a few days

With a few days off between Christmas and New Years we took the opportunity to escape for a few days and get some much needed open road therapy before we head into another year of unknown. The plan was pretty simple, catch up with Deb’s sister in Denman, head west to check out some painted silos and find somewhere to stay, then head back to Canberra. All up about 1,200km.