Day 3: Sydney
15 March 2017
As Pterodactyl and I stood in the arrivals hall at Sydney’s international airport, it dawned on us that neither of us had the faintest idea what Inhouse Bob looked like. Nor had either of us taken the sensible step of wearing a CB1100 rally or forum t-shirt. Brilliant!
Inhouse Bob, on the other hand, was much better prepared and emerged from immigration wearing a t-shirt bearing his design for the 2016 CB1100 Rally.
We took him to the bike shop where he was to pick up his rental, all the while thinking it was a courageous thing to pick up a bike that you then had to ride on the wrong side of the road when you had just spent at least 15 hours cooped up in an aerial sardine tin. But Bob’s a brave bloke, and he did it. Luckily, as it turned out, his accommodation was just on the other side of the road and he could travel to it quickly via back streets.
His rental bike, by the way, was a BMW F700 which the turkey at the rental shop positioned rather trickily for Bob to mount. He was outsmarted though: Bob insisted on a lesson on boarding in tight circumstances, then got aboard and away without mishap.
We left him at his digs to unpack and rest. We would collect him later for a quick drive around a small part of Sydney and one of Mrs Pterodactyl’s splendid dinners.
Day 4: Around Sydney
16 March 2017
Click on the image for a detailed map
As arranged the night before, Pterodactyl and I arrived at Inhouse Bob’s accommodation to take him on a bit of a familiarisation ride. He had to practice riding on a different side of the road. We planned to go across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and then on a favourite local ride north to Wiseman’s Ferry.
Getting ready to ride at Inhouse Bob’s
The weather was not looking brilliant, although we expected only light showers. Nevertheless, Pterodactyl and I donned our wets while Bob decided to stick with his water resistant riding gear.
It was an uneventful ride across the bridge and for some of the way north out of the city. Pterodactyl and I sandwiched Inhouse Bob between us while he got the hang of being on the wrong side of the road. At some point I realised one of his panniers had come loose at the top and was about to fall off the bike. I had to overtake him and then pull over to get him to stop while we refastened it.
It was about that time that the rain set in. It pelted down and, for ten or fifteen minutes at least, was downright unpleasant to ride in. Eventually, just as we got to a lookout before Wiseman’s Ferry, it cleared. I took this rather watery photo.
The rain held off while we wound our way down the final hill and the sun came out while we had a coffee (or a Coke in Inhouse Bob’s case). Other similarly soggy riders arrived while we enjoyed the sun. Similarly, it held off while we crossed the Hawkesbury River on the punt.
This poor shot of Inhouse Bob and Pterodactyl on the Wiseman’s Ferry was it for the photographic department this day. Rain consigned anything that resembled a camera to a very dry place
And it held off until we were settled into our ride along the side of the river whereupon it treated us to another drenching.
Of course it stopped at the Pie in the Sky café where we stopped for a bite to eat and stayed away until after we’d eaten and ridden a little further down the road to refuel. To be honest, I can’t now recall whether it rained again that afternoon, but I’d be kind of surprised if it didn’t. I do know we had gear all over Pterodactyl’s garage drying before the next morning’s adventure.
