Day 12: Boorowa to Sydney
24 March 2017
Click on the image for a detailed map
It may stretch credibility, but the day dawned bright and sunny. Not all my gear was dry, but it didn’t seem to matter.
We had breakfast while Inhouse Bob talked happily to the hotel’s only other guest who had a son living in Texas.
The day’s plan to ride north up the Bylong Valley and back to Sydney along the Putty Road had effectively been trashed from the moment I’d decided we’d stop in Boorowa, but I made the decision knowing there was a pleasant ride from there to Sydney. Inhouse Bob had expressed interest in seeing a Blue Mountains escarpment; Pterodactyl knew of one which, by riding a modest 30 kms of dirt in and then back out again was worth a look.
It felt good to be riding in sunshine again
By the time we got our filthy bikes to Crookwell and refuelled the weather had returned to normal and we put our wet weather gear on once more. My recollection is that the rain came and went and was inconsequential compared to the downpour we’d suffered the day before.
At Crookwell
Pterodactyl led us along a favourite ride into the Abercrombie River Valley and up the other side. Shortly afterwards we turned off to the Kanangra Walls Lookout. Two things happened on the dirt road on the way in: Inhouse Bob discovered the real joys of the BMW with its adjustable suspension and versatile tyres and vanished into the distance; and I became concerned my blasé belief that we would have enough fuel in the CBs to get into Kanangra and then back to Oberon may have been foolhardy.
I didn’t enjoy the dirt much: it rained a bit and sections were quite slippery on the CB.
Dirty CBs at Kanangra. Photo courtesy of Pterodactyl
The Cormanus CB in its natural state
Leaving an infirm Pterodactyl to rest his ankle, Inhouse Bob and I took a 10 minute walk in mild drizzle to inspect the Kanangra Walls.
Inhouse Bob really enjoyed his ride out on a bike that was built for the dirt. I also think he probably had to wait quite a long time for me to get there. I was being careful on the dirt, but was also aware of the return of a clunking noise which I assumed had to do with the chain. When I arrived at the end of the dirt, I rode around a bit for the others to see if they could hear anything. Pterodactyl heard nothing; Inhouse Bob thought he heard something. But we could see nothing wrong, so we kept going.
We made it to Oberon without running out of fuel and enjoyed a late but hearty lunch in a local café. I remember having a hamburger with the lot — beef patty, cheese, onion, fried egg, bacon, pineapple, beetroot, lettuce, tomato and barbeque sauce in a bun — and realising I was very hungry.
We left Oberon later than I’d expected, but the weather was clearer and we had a pretty enough final run through Torana and Lithgow to Bells Line of Road and back to Sydney.
Between Torana and Lithgow
Back in Sydney with the traffic—mercifully—heading in the opposite direction
We were all, I think, relieved to make it back to Pterodactyl’s place and one of Mrs Pterodactyl’s splendid meals. I recall falling into bed early and sleeping very well.
