Denman - Sydney
10 October 2014
Master Map
I'd pondered the whole business of the final day’s ride into Sydney. After Pterodactyl's descriptions on this forum, I was keen to ride the Wollombi Road and check out Lemming Corner but, when we discussed it at the LionsTT, he’d persuaded me that the road through the Bylong Valley was a more entertaining proposition given a day to do it. It was the reason I’d ended up in Denman and I'm very glad I took his advice. It's a great ride.
I came across a dirt road just after leaving Denman and cursed Pterodactyl for not warning me I was in for that. It didn't last long at all, no more than a few kilometres and, had I only known it, could easily have been avoided. Turned out Pterodactyl had no idea about it as he had taken a different route on to the Bylong Valley Way. But he wasn't there to defend himself, so I got some satisfaction from cursing him.
But on the Bylong Valley Way I was soon racing alongside enormous coal trains through pretty agricultural land flanked by striking mountains. You have to climb some excellent road over a couple of the mountains.
Coal train to the right
The ranges west of Sydney produce great hills and mountains with sheer rocky faces that look like they mean business. I really like them.
I'd readjusted my load and was much more comfortable, but it wasn't quite stable. Just after getting off the dirt I stopped and re-secured it. Almost every driver, car or bike, slowed to make sure I was OK. A couple, he on a large BMW, she on a Honda 900, actually stopped. Having checked that I was OK, the bloke proceed to tell me how much he liked the CB1100 and how he had very nearly bought one. I suspect that was really why he stopped: for a bit of a drool. They headed off, but I soon caught them up and stayed with them until they stopped, I think at Bylong.
Load adjustment
More coal train
Approaching one of the mountain passes
At Kandos I had a very ordinary cup of coffee and refuelled. I was assailed by one of those helpful people who wanted to tell me there were lots of kangaroos about, which was very kind, but he then wanted to talk about every single one that had been run over, and give me the details of its heritage for two or three generations. I was worried he was going to move to a history of the drivers who hit them and so politely made my excuses.
Looking north from the southern side of Sofala
From Kandos I had a quick trip to the outskirts of Bathurst where I had to resort to the GPS briefly to find the back road Pterodactyl had pointed me at. By this point there was a fair bit of traffic about and it dawned on me the major V8 supercars (The Bathurst 1000) was on over the weekend. I was glad to be going the other way, although it occurred to me I’d like to ride the circuit one day. I’m pretty sure it’s basically a public road the rest of the year.
I wasn’t on the Great Western Highway for more than a few minutes before I turned right onto O’Connell Rd. 9.5 kms later I turned left onto Tarana Rd which I followed through the delightfully named Brewongle. It’s a pleasant enough road with great scenery. A few blind corners and an almost total absence of painted lines make it a wee bit treacherous.
Tarana Road
I stopped at the Tarana pub for lunch.
I ate this very ordinary looking and average tasting chicken burger and was forced again to ponder why people insist on overheating the milk for cappuccino.
At the pub I met a chap with a 250 Honda road racer which he said could do 180 kph at 22,000 rpm. He assured me he’d be in Lithgow in 11 minutes. I’d be lucky to do it in 25. He also told me I should have given the Tarana Road a miss and driven another 11.5 kms and ridden the apparently much better Mutton Falls Rd. In this game, there’s nearly always another reason for ‘next time’.
I had a more leisurely ride to Lithgow through pretty country and past the dam at Lake Lyell.
At the dam
Pterodactyl introduced me to Bell’s Line of Road on our first ride together in June and I was looking forward to riding it again. For the serious Sydney riders it’s lost its appeal because of an over - regulation of the speed limit. I see what they mean but for riders like me — unfamiliar with the road — the speed limit is mostly fine.
Bell’s Line of Road
At Windsor I stopped for a cup of tea and to set up the GPS for the run into central Sydney where I would be off the bike for the weekend at least spending some time with my eldest son.
I made it through the traffic filled with a plan to take a photo from the CB as I rode on to the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge. I managed this shot and then immediately got the now familiar ‘Battery exhausted’ message.
Moments later the camera died.
Not long afterwards I reached my son’s place, showered and changed and walked just around the corner to a new restaurant called Ester. We had an excellent meal with a more than tolerable Shiraz to help it down. The menu was structured so that we shared dishes and, for the benefit of EmptySea (and others) I’ll mention that we ate raw fish with warm mandarin and nori; beef tartare with oyster and horseradish; chicken and garlic bread sauce and salted caramel semi freddo.
It was a welcome change from most of the food of the past week or so.
