Tamworth Back Home

You might notice there were no photos on this trip. One reason is we didn't take any, but also, I didn't carry the laptop this time and posts were to be done on the iPhone.

Turns out to be a little more time consuming, due mainly to the tiny keyboard on the phone. Also no mechanism that I know for uploading photos to Blogger from iPhone. Something to look in to.

The ride home was as pleasant and uneventful as the first day. Just a lovely ride up the New England. Only scare was near Tenterfield when a police car came over the hill and it caught a flash of the sun in the rooftop lights looking like they were on. I was only doing 107 so there was no worries.

Once again we stopped at Maccas Stanthorpe. Not so much for the love of Maccas as for the convenience, being part of the servo where we needed fuel. But their McCafe coffee is as good as any coffee shop. It also keeps the local kids employed and off the streets.

We were home in plenty of time to catch the F1 on the tele.

All in all a very pleasant 1720km run down and up the New England Highway at a lovely time of year for riding. Not what we would call a Long Distance ride by any means, but motorcycle touring at its finest.

Muswellbrook to the Ulysses AGM

From Muswellbrook in to Newcastle isn't a very inspiring ride. Lots of small towns and traffic and this Saturday morning was election day in NSW so everyone was out.

We took a couple of hours to get in to the city.

I noticed, pulled up behind a shiny car, that I only had one headlamp working so when we got to where the Ulysses AGM was being held, we spied a Honda dealer. In we went to find they were all out of headlamp bulbs. Not surprising I suppose seeing as there were a couple of thousand motorcyclist staying across the road fr the week.

Next door was Triumph shop, so we went in and sure enough they had one.

The next few hours were spent meeting up with mates. Everywhere we turned there was another familiar face.

In to the Maccas across the road for a bit of breakfast and a chinwag. Lots of people there.

After an hour or so it was a very short ride - 600 metres - to where the actual meeting was being held. There was a little confusion before we were allowed in and the meeting eventually got under way.

We came out to find it raining. Luckily we had put the cover on the bike to protect our helmets and jackets.

A quick look at the radar showed it would be raining up the east coast and probably along the Bucketts/Thunderbolts roads, so we retraced our path to the New England Highway.

We got through the lousy bit and still had plenty of sunlight and so pressed on and arrived at Tamworth just as it got dark.

A great day meeting up, albeit briefly, with many great folk.

Long Day in the Saddle

Brisbane to Muswellbrook

What a lovely day for a ride. Clear sky, cool weather. We didn't leave early - no need.
Turns out the run to Stanthorpe was pretty slow due to plenty of roadworks. Bit of a break for a cuppa then on down the New England.
This is a lovely highway to ride. Few passing opportunities, but the 'Wing dispatches slow traffic efficiently.
Once on our own the hills and curves are a delight and the scenery on a clear day, spectacular.
It wasn't too long before we left the cool heights of the tableland and plunged down the Moonbi Range to Tamworth.
Another hour or so and we were in Muswelbrook, close enough for a short ride in to Newcastle tomorrow.
A tasty meal at the Workers Club finished off the day nicely.

See the previous entry for a map showing our locations.

It's Been A While

But we are off on a little jaunt on the GoldWing.

Just down to Newcastle for the Ulysses AGM.

This map should be showing our location.