What a day!
Yesterday I had a quick look through the ANON postings and amongst a very busy thread about tyre pressure, which seemed to go on and on, there was Spiro’s E-mail, looking for a ride partner Friday or Saturday. He located himself in the Sutherland area, which is a good thing for me, as I am always looking for people to ride with without having to cross the city to meet up with them in the first place. So, Spiros replied to my e-mail and rang on Friday night after I had clarified that I had half a day, a.m., Saturday. You Beauty!!! We organised a meet 8:30am at Heathcote Maccas. I had butterflies, since I had that confidence crushing ride to Obrrrrron a couple of weeks before and he mentioned that he was riding a GSX1000 (…a lovely blue and white, only 6000k’s old, a beautiful bike!, which, of cause I did not know at the time of first contact.) Yes, butterflies, because I was worried that I had to go full throttle all the way to keep up again….which was not the case.
I met Spiros at Maccas and we checked each other out for a couple of moments and it was ‘all good’. Another intelligent member of ANON’s. Good stuff! Like minded. All that mattered for that moment in time was to ride. It’s quite a phenomenon or maybe it’s just the assumption that the other person under all that gear, helmet, sunglasses, visor, scarf and leathers, on that bike a few meters in front or behind, has that same euphoric sensation that makes your cheeks ache and your eyes water…
Well, we made our way towards Stanwell Tops lookout and it was quite windy up there. Bikers had not really settled in by then and it seemed quite deserted up there at the time of our arrival. It was only about 9 am … what do you expect?!
The first couple of corners to Stanwell Park were the test. Is he going to gun it or is he going to take it easy? Spiros did not take it easy, but he did not gun it either. He just enjoyed it… goood start! Yes, and so did I. We rode along the coast road, the Sea Cliff Bridge up to Bulli Pass. All along: just the right mix of nice view and nice corners. I LOVE this part of the world! We hit the highway again at Bulli Tops and made good time towards Albion Park. Turned right at the roundabout and into the valley. The original plan was to go to Kangaroo Valley, but we changed our mind, just keeping ahead of time. We got some petrol at an old fashioned 'by the side of the road' petrol station.
It was time to...
Upon Spiro’s return he grinned.
”You’ll like this one…it’s a fibro shack in the backyard and you’ll have to keep the door open to get some light to see what you’re doing”, he said.
I wonder if he had also noticed the German Sheppard that started to bark like only a German Sheppards can?! The only thing keeping him from charging through the (s)light opening, sinking his long white teeth into my leather clad flesh was a rickety timber fence with a paling missing here and there. Memorable…
We discussed our options. Kangaroo Valley or Macquary Pass. The dreaded PASS???!!
Oh no, he can’t want to go THERE !...after all that beauty and serenity…
It was time to come clean about the Pass.
“I feel a bit, well…uncomfortable about the Pass.”
“Why?”
I should have said: “it is possible going to take me face to face with my personal limitations and I am not ready to face that. It SCARES me.”
” It is dark with lot’s of shadows and debris and slippery, and slimy…”
“why don’t you want to go up the pass?”
“Well I guess UP is not as bad as DOWN…”
“You have breaks…”
Hmmm, yes, well… ok then, let’s go up to Robertson. It felt like my arm was being …kept in place by my shoulder blade… “yes, let’s go! I’ll face that fear.”
Just before the very first corner a 4wd towing a caravan pulled out in front of us. So I got to do the pass at minimal speed. My heart was smiling… and my brain was wondering what could have been…
Next stop Spiros commented: “ You must have prayed for that caravan to be right there…”
“Yes!...and THERE IT WAS!!!!!!”
We rode through sunny Bowral to Mittagong and visited Kerrie, Dave and their boys. It was really neat to be trusted to meet someone’s friends. Meeting new people is really neat full stop. I don’t get the opportunity that often. After a mighty nice hot cup of tea and a chat we took off to hit the highway. Time was running out and I had to be at the Ridges by 1pm. A Lexus led me astray for a little while…until I saw the disco light car hiding at the centre strip…ooooh, that could have been…
I looked behind me to find that Spiros was not in my mirrors, so I slowed down to meet up again.
What a day, what a ride. Bliss.
I must say Spiro’s last gesture was most generous. He did guide me all the way back to Henry Lawson’s, so that I would not get lost. How cool.
THANKS SPIROS!
…for a great Saturday morning.
…for being easy going, fab company.
…for being a cool dude with nothing to prove.
Let’s do it again another time.
Yesterday I had a quick look through the ANON postings and amongst a very busy thread about tyre pressure, which seemed to go on and on, there was Spiro’s E-mail, looking for a ride partner Friday or Saturday. He located himself in the Sutherland area, which is a good thing for me, as I am always looking for people to ride with without having to cross the city to meet up with them in the first place. So, Spiros replied to my e-mail and rang on Friday night after I had clarified that I had half a day, a.m., Saturday. You Beauty!!! We organised a meet 8:30am at Heathcote Maccas. I had butterflies, since I had that confidence crushing ride to Obrrrrron a couple of weeks before and he mentioned that he was riding a GSX1000 (…a lovely blue and white, only 6000k’s old, a beautiful bike!, which, of cause I did not know at the time of first contact.) Yes, butterflies, because I was worried that I had to go full throttle all the way to keep up again….which was not the case.
I met Spiros at Maccas and we checked each other out for a couple of moments and it was ‘all good’. Another intelligent member of ANON’s. Good stuff! Like minded. All that mattered for that moment in time was to ride. It’s quite a phenomenon or maybe it’s just the assumption that the other person under all that gear, helmet, sunglasses, visor, scarf and leathers, on that bike a few meters in front or behind, has that same euphoric sensation that makes your cheeks ache and your eyes water…
Well, we made our way towards Stanwell Tops lookout and it was quite windy up there. Bikers had not really settled in by then and it seemed quite deserted up there at the time of our arrival. It was only about 9 am … what do you expect?!
The first couple of corners to Stanwell Park were the test. Is he going to gun it or is he going to take it easy? Spiros did not take it easy, but he did not gun it either. He just enjoyed it… goood start! Yes, and so did I. We rode along the coast road, the Sea Cliff Bridge up to Bulli Pass. All along: just the right mix of nice view and nice corners. I LOVE this part of the world! We hit the highway again at Bulli Tops and made good time towards Albion Park. Turned right at the roundabout and into the valley. The original plan was to go to Kangaroo Valley, but we changed our mind, just keeping ahead of time. We got some petrol at an old fashioned 'by the side of the road' petrol station.
It was time to...
Upon Spiro’s return he grinned.
”You’ll like this one…it’s a fibro shack in the backyard and you’ll have to keep the door open to get some light to see what you’re doing”, he said.
I wonder if he had also noticed the German Sheppard that started to bark like only a German Sheppards can?! The only thing keeping him from charging through the (s)light opening, sinking his long white teeth into my leather clad flesh was a rickety timber fence with a paling missing here and there. Memorable…
We discussed our options. Kangaroo Valley or Macquary Pass. The dreaded PASS???!!
Oh no, he can’t want to go THERE !...after all that beauty and serenity…
It was time to come clean about the Pass.
“I feel a bit, well…uncomfortable about the Pass.”
“Why?”
I should have said: “it is possible going to take me face to face with my personal limitations and I am not ready to face that. It SCARES me.”
” It is dark with lot’s of shadows and debris and slippery, and slimy…”
“why don’t you want to go up the pass?”
“Well I guess UP is not as bad as DOWN…”
“You have breaks…”
Hmmm, yes, well… ok then, let’s go up to Robertson. It felt like my arm was being …kept in place by my shoulder blade… “yes, let’s go! I’ll face that fear.”
Just before the very first corner a 4wd towing a caravan pulled out in front of us. So I got to do the pass at minimal speed. My heart was smiling… and my brain was wondering what could have been…
Next stop Spiros commented: “ You must have prayed for that caravan to be right there…”
“Yes!...and THERE IT WAS!!!!!!”
We rode through sunny Bowral to Mittagong and visited Kerrie, Dave and their boys. It was really neat to be trusted to meet someone’s friends. Meeting new people is really neat full stop. I don’t get the opportunity that often. After a mighty nice hot cup of tea and a chat we took off to hit the highway. Time was running out and I had to be at the Ridges by 1pm. A Lexus led me astray for a little while…until I saw the disco light car hiding at the centre strip…ooooh, that could have been…
I looked behind me to find that Spiros was not in my mirrors, so I slowed down to meet up again.
What a day, what a ride. Bliss.
I must say Spiro’s last gesture was most generous. He did guide me all the way back to Henry Lawson’s, so that I would not get lost. How cool.
THANKS SPIROS!
…for a great Saturday morning.
…for being easy going, fab company.
…for being a cool dude with nothing to prove.
Let’s do it again another time.
posted by The '95 Ninja ZX6R at 9:25 PM
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