SOFALA
This ride was advertised on the GRO internet site. Sofala:
Leaving Penrith Maccas and heading out Castlereagh Road to Richmond
Up Bells Line to Lithgow
Break at Maccas Lithgow
Take the Mudgee turnoff after Lithgow ( Castlereagh Highway )
Turn left at Ilford and follow to Sofala
Return will be via Bathurst
On a double demerit point weekend? Well, it should not matter, should it?! No, it didn’t. There seemed to be no police out there. I guess they must have all been at the Footy Final.
We met at Penrith Panther’s Maccas and16 bikes turned up for the long ride to Sofala. Amongst us was someone on their P’s and a Learner, who must have had a most terrifying time on a fairly bumpy road to Lithgow. Apparently her skinny tyres made it very difficult for her and she and her dad went home from there.
We had a quick stopover at Lithgow. Just enough to get a tank full of petrol and for those that smoke… well, let’s not go there.
Taking off towards Mudgee and along the bumpy country road to Sofala. Some cars made way, some others made an effort to keep us on our toes. I noticed Tegan, who I had met on the Wiseman’s run. Our photo was up on the group’s site for a while and this time she was a pillion on her boyfriend’s bike. He was very skilled, but I couldn’t help asking her if it was much the same for her.
” I would have had a hard time trying to keep up on my 250 today…”, she answered politely.
Ben, in his second year riding, joined us for the first time on his Yamaha 1000. He kept up very well. Came across a little strong at first, but he was warming up quickly, once he met Sandy, our Ride Captain.
Poor Trish met with yet another snake on the bitumen. “This one,” she said, “ did not pop”. Wondering what that meant, we listened to Trudy’s description: “It was hilarious. I looked back in the mirror and there was Trish, legs right up in the air, looking worried.” Trish was sure that we had all quite aggravated that snake as we were all riding past, but by the time it was her turn, the slithery snake was quite done with hissing and decided to go for it…” From now on we will call SV-Mama the ‘Snake Charmer’.
I rode well, but had a scary moment at a bumpy section of the road, which made me hold on hell for leather, affected my breathing and got me quite fatigued by the time I made it into Sofala. After all, I rode for another hour and at least a half longer than most of the others by the time I got to the meeting point. That should account for my level of exhaustion. Let’s see how they will do when it is time to get down to the Kangaroo Valley. But hey, it’s not a competition. For a while around Bathurst way, I rode with Alison. She owns a 600cc bike as well and I enjoyed her style. She too has simular aged children at home. Apparently she has done a Stay Upright course at Oran Park and enjoyed the content. “It was very helpful and makes you more aware of certain habbits.”
I think I’ll have a go at that course fairly soon. There is also another one at Wakehurst Park Way, a Superbike course, that apparently does wonders for bike control.
Well, I’ll keep you posted.
Later on we exchanged e-mail addresses and I hope that we will meet some sunny Sunday. Unfortunately she lives all the way west in Parramatta. Perhaps she’ll fancy a ride down the coast one day?!
At Sofala I marked the corner, so the next person would not miss it. It took quite some time for that next person to get there and I was wondering whether they all thought that it took me That long to catch up. Naaah…
The pub, The Royal, was our first port of call. I had a small shandy, which was very refreshing and loosened the tongue a little. Mark I had briefly met at the Berrima run, sat outside with a couple of other riders and I took the opportunity to introduce myself. Little did I know that he was suffering from deafness. So I ended up asking him questions he could not quite hear. We were talking about the fatigue factor and he was saying that by sitting quite upright as he does, you get very little pressure on the arms and back. With my bike the seating position is leant forward and I automatically put the weight on the handlebar. I guess that’s a habbit to get out of, but then, I’ll have to strengthen my stomach and back muscles…and that won’t happen in a hurry…
Located right next door is a great little take away shop and most of us got what we needed. A group of riders (horsy ones) arrived on a pub-crawl. There were at least 6 horses in that group and it seemed as if they all had had a good run. They were a little spooked by the bikes parked by the paddock entrance, but all went well and their riders had a little rest with a cold beer in the shade of the hotel’s balcony.
Most of the buildings are quite derelict and there must not be a great deal of money coming in, as the township struggles to keep viable. Some of the buildings look as if they are about to collapse, especially those opposite the pub. Some have been beautifully restored, including the post office, which is now the lolly shop. How could I pass up some freshly made Rockyroad???
I’d stayed at that pub once before. The brass bed is also original and so was its mattress, which forced me to almost sit up when sleeping on it.
The walls are quite strangely angled, the floorboards warped and it made me wonder how long the place is going to be held up by its coat of paint? Out the back of the pub I met Bird,
the eldest inhabitant of the town. A cockatoo, which is so old, that he is missing most of his feathers. A true survivor!
Heading back we stopped over at Hartley. Tegan’s uncle runs a Teahouse there and we truly enjoyed that stopover with our scones and cappuccinos. As we were riding there, I noticed one of the girls ahead of me was wearing a T-shirt under her leather jacket, which fluttered in the wind, exposing her lower back area to the elements. The sun was getting to it and whilst she would not have noticed it that much in the wind, it was slowly getting red. She could have done with some sunscreen! I don’t quite remember her name, but she rode very well. She was a Postie in a previous life…plenty of practise!
The highway did not seem too busy whilst sitting on that veranda, enjoying the view and the mild spring afternoon. I guess a lot of the punters were getting ready to watch the big game on telly. Grand Final Day.
Four of us took off and we ended up with just the three of us. No idea what happened to the fourth lady, but she did not overtake as frequently as we did, so she must have been stuck in traffic. Down the hill things got a little congested with a milk truck taking it VERY slowly around the bends. I guess it’s so there would be no need crying over spilt milk!
The good thing was that we were able to do some creative lane splitting, mostly on the left side, which was a nice break. Trudy on her Harley led Trish and I all the way. Trish and I separated at the Great Northern Road’s Bringelly turn off. After that I was on my own again all the way via Campbelltown, Appin Road, petrol time (even the servo attendant, who barked at me via the PA system about a month ago for not taking the helmet off, was chatty and friendly!), Bulli Pass, back home.
In Trish's words: 470km, feeling a little saddlesore, but a smile on my face...
And what did the rest of the family get up to? They enjoyed a day at Avoca Beach. Ahhh well. Can’t have it all. Can we?
When I left for my ride, Mark suggested insistently to pack the rain gear, which meant taking it off the hanger, folding it and squeezing it into the tiny bum bag and then make space in my tank bag too. There was not a cloud in the sky all day. It was just the comfort of knowing it was there and of cause: to lean on…
This ride was advertised on the GRO internet site. Sofala:
Leaving Penrith Maccas and heading out Castlereagh Road to Richmond
Up Bells Line to Lithgow
Break at Maccas Lithgow
Take the Mudgee turnoff after Lithgow ( Castlereagh Highway )
Turn left at Ilford and follow to Sofala
Return will be via Bathurst
On a double demerit point weekend? Well, it should not matter, should it?! No, it didn’t. There seemed to be no police out there. I guess they must have all been at the Footy Final.
We met at Penrith Panther’s Maccas and16 bikes turned up for the long ride to Sofala. Amongst us was someone on their P’s and a Learner, who must have had a most terrifying time on a fairly bumpy road to Lithgow. Apparently her skinny tyres made it very difficult for her and she and her dad went home from there.
We had a quick stopover at Lithgow. Just enough to get a tank full of petrol and for those that smoke… well, let’s not go there.
Taking off towards Mudgee and along the bumpy country road to Sofala. Some cars made way, some others made an effort to keep us on our toes. I noticed Tegan, who I had met on the Wiseman’s run. Our photo was up on the group’s site for a while and this time she was a pillion on her boyfriend’s bike. He was very skilled, but I couldn’t help asking her if it was much the same for her.
” I would have had a hard time trying to keep up on my 250 today…”, she answered politely.
Ben, in his second year riding, joined us for the first time on his Yamaha 1000. He kept up very well. Came across a little strong at first, but he was warming up quickly, once he met Sandy, our Ride Captain.
Poor Trish met with yet another snake on the bitumen. “This one,” she said, “ did not pop”. Wondering what that meant, we listened to Trudy’s description: “It was hilarious. I looked back in the mirror and there was Trish, legs right up in the air, looking worried.” Trish was sure that we had all quite aggravated that snake as we were all riding past, but by the time it was her turn, the slithery snake was quite done with hissing and decided to go for it…” From now on we will call SV-Mama the ‘Snake Charmer’.
I rode well, but had a scary moment at a bumpy section of the road, which made me hold on hell for leather, affected my breathing and got me quite fatigued by the time I made it into Sofala. After all, I rode for another hour and at least a half longer than most of the others by the time I got to the meeting point. That should account for my level of exhaustion. Let’s see how they will do when it is time to get down to the Kangaroo Valley. But hey, it’s not a competition. For a while around Bathurst way, I rode with Alison. She owns a 600cc bike as well and I enjoyed her style. She too has simular aged children at home. Apparently she has done a Stay Upright course at Oran Park and enjoyed the content. “It was very helpful and makes you more aware of certain habbits.”
I think I’ll have a go at that course fairly soon. There is also another one at Wakehurst Park Way, a Superbike course, that apparently does wonders for bike control.
Well, I’ll keep you posted.
Later on we exchanged e-mail addresses and I hope that we will meet some sunny Sunday. Unfortunately she lives all the way west in Parramatta. Perhaps she’ll fancy a ride down the coast one day?!
At Sofala I marked the corner, so the next person would not miss it. It took quite some time for that next person to get there and I was wondering whether they all thought that it took me That long to catch up. Naaah…
The pub, The Royal, was our first port of call. I had a small shandy, which was very refreshing and loosened the tongue a little. Mark I had briefly met at the Berrima run, sat outside with a couple of other riders and I took the opportunity to introduce myself. Little did I know that he was suffering from deafness. So I ended up asking him questions he could not quite hear. We were talking about the fatigue factor and he was saying that by sitting quite upright as he does, you get very little pressure on the arms and back. With my bike the seating position is leant forward and I automatically put the weight on the handlebar. I guess that’s a habbit to get out of, but then, I’ll have to strengthen my stomach and back muscles…and that won’t happen in a hurry…
Located right next door is a great little take away shop and most of us got what we needed. A group of riders (horsy ones) arrived on a pub-crawl. There were at least 6 horses in that group and it seemed as if they all had had a good run. They were a little spooked by the bikes parked by the paddock entrance, but all went well and their riders had a little rest with a cold beer in the shade of the hotel’s balcony.
Most of the buildings are quite derelict and there must not be a great deal of money coming in, as the township struggles to keep viable. Some of the buildings look as if they are about to collapse, especially those opposite the pub. Some have been beautifully restored, including the post office, which is now the lolly shop. How could I pass up some freshly made Rockyroad???
I’d stayed at that pub once before. The brass bed is also original and so was its mattress, which forced me to almost sit up when sleeping on it.
The walls are quite strangely angled, the floorboards warped and it made me wonder how long the place is going to be held up by its coat of paint? Out the back of the pub I met Bird, 
the eldest inhabitant of the town. A cockatoo, which is so old, that he is missing most of his feathers. A true survivor!
Heading back we stopped over at Hartley. Tegan’s uncle runs a Teahouse there and we truly enjoyed that stopover with our scones and cappuccinos. As we were riding there, I noticed one of the girls ahead of me was wearing a T-shirt under her leather jacket, which fluttered in the wind, exposing her lower back area to the elements. The sun was getting to it and whilst she would not have noticed it that much in the wind, it was slowly getting red. She could have done with some sunscreen! I don’t quite remember her name, but she rode very well. She was a Postie in a previous life…plenty of practise!
The highway did not seem too busy whilst sitting on that veranda, enjoying the view and the mild spring afternoon. I guess a lot of the punters were getting ready to watch the big game on telly. Grand Final Day.
Four of us took off and we ended up with just the three of us. No idea what happened to the fourth lady, but she did not overtake as frequently as we did, so she must have been stuck in traffic. Down the hill things got a little congested with a milk truck taking it VERY slowly around the bends. I guess it’s so there would be no need crying over spilt milk!
The good thing was that we were able to do some creative lane splitting, mostly on the left side, which was a nice break. Trudy on her Harley led Trish and I all the way. Trish and I separated at the Great Northern Road’s Bringelly turn off. After that I was on my own again all the way via Campbelltown, Appin Road, petrol time (even the servo attendant, who barked at me via the PA system about a month ago for not taking the helmet off, was chatty and friendly!), Bulli Pass, back home.
In Trish's words: 470km, feeling a little saddlesore, but a smile on my face...
And what did the rest of the family get up to? They enjoyed a day at Avoca Beach. Ahhh well. Can’t have it all. Can we?
When I left for my ride, Mark suggested insistently to pack the rain gear, which meant taking it off the hanger, folding it and squeezing it into the tiny bum bag and then make space in my tank bag too. There was not a cloud in the sky all day. It was just the comfort of knowing it was there and of cause: to lean on…
posted by The '95 Ninja ZX6R at 12:12 PM
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