Singleton to Sydney
14 October 2016
Click on the image for a detailed map
It was a truly gorgeous morning and I was on the road early, riding quickly to Broke where I stopped for fuel. On the way there, the road has been reconstructed, I suspect to suit the needs of a coal mine and probably at its expense. The result is one enormously long, sweeping corner which, with the knee down and the right rider could probably be taken at a speed faster than the CB1100 is capable of. Even with my limited talents, the corner was a lot of fun.
Early morning just south of Singleton
The Broke Village Store sells everything: petrol, beer, food. What else is there?
South of Broke begins a wonderful journey. The pretty, winding road runs alongside and crosses Wollombi Brook. From Broke to the start of Paynes Crossing Road was heaven on a stick—great road, great surface, lovely day, no traffic. From there on, the road is excellent and enjoyable, but it’s narrower and there is no centre line which increases the likelihood of finding a large ute or SUV on the wrong side of the road.
Looking back from the start of Paynes Crossing Rd: you can see the change in road quality
A section of Paynes Crossing Rd
All too soon I came to Wollombi where I once had lunch with Perodactyl. This was a week day and the population was greatly reduced as I passed through.
At the town boundary of Wollombi
The road south from Wollombi is a favourite of motorcyclists as it winds its way through the pretty bushland. It is particularly famous for Lemming Corner in which it would be humiliating beyond measure to come to grief. Pterodactyl has written of the corner, although I don’t know what’s become of the photographs. The following is taken on the other side of the corner and I didn't fall off on the way through.
Having survived I continued my ride. In my view, the road gets better to the south of Lemming Corner. It still winds happily, but the surface is better and the corners are more sweeping. It is possible to maintain a cracking pace while enjoying the ride.
The next bit of motorcycle road I was aiming for was the Old Pacific Highway. The new freeway is fast and wide and, well, a slab. The old road, which I had not ridden is a gem, even if the regulators have hacked away at the speed limit until it has to be taken at a relative crawl. (Grits teeth) To be fair, it’s a very winding road at the northern end and a great many cyclists use it, so the limit is not completely without merit.
You know this road will be good when you turn on to it
It’s a beautiful road and there wasn’t much traffic at all as I made my way through the twisties and down the hill to the old bridge across the Hawkesbury River. On the other side the road began to climb again and there was more evidence of energetic motorcycle activity. At the top of the hill you come to Pie in the Sky, a pie shop with great views. It’s also a resting place for motorcyclists. There were a few there when I pulled in, so I took some photos of their bikes.
I had a pie and a coffee, looked at the bikes and then made my way through Sydney to Pterodactyl’s place. We talked about the ride south and agreed that I would stay Sunday night before we cleared out early on Monday morning. I left my large bag of camping gear in his garage and went across the city to find my son with whom I was to stay for the next two nights.
