Day Two of the Cup weekend motorcycling adventure started before we opened our eyes... Night time is usually reserved for peaceful sleep, however the gods were responsible for heavy rain and thunder, while the snoring contingent made enough noise to rival the raspy sound of a Harley with straight-through pipes idling in the car park!
Sunday morning finally dawned but the outlook was bleak. Peeking out through the curtains revealed dull grey skies, constant rain and the thought of packing up and going home certainly crossed the minds of many...
Not much movement from the boys who were all gathered at the front of their motel rooms, contemplating what might have been had clear skies prevailed.
So it was timely to break out and share mother’s fruit cake with our early morning cuppa. Mother had insisted I take the cake despite my grumblings about an extra kilo of weight to carry on the bike and the thought of the ribbing ‘one might get’ for offering tea and cake to the ‘blokes on bikes’. However on such a dreary morning, it was an ideal pre-breakfast snack and actually appreciated by those accepting a slice.
After some time with the rain easing, adjustments were made to Jean’s 250 Suzuki Bandit. Fuel system issues had many heads thinking and ideas discussed as to the possibilities. One could visualise motor biking 10 or more years ago, when bike reliability and mechanical expertise were mostly on trial. Thankfully, the modern bikes of today with great engines, superb handling and brakes that actually work, have changed motorcycling into a riding challenge and a great deal of fun.
Anyway, while Jean’s Suzuki was receiving attention, so too were the heated grips on Dave Ward’s new Honda CBR600. These had in fact failed late in the day during the cold and wet conditions. Danny chipped in with his electrical expertise to find the problem and fix it courtesy of an early morning walk to the local garage or $2 shop.
Anyway, after kicking the tyres a few more times
as you do to pass time, the rain finally eased. Tony Raditsis headed for
Jindabyne via Bombala was the plan for the
day, with accommodation and meals at the Winter Sports and Recreation Centre.
First up though – the exhilarating run north from
On the outskirts of
Peter Jones followed Ben, I followed Misho and was much impressed at the improvement in his riding ability on Danny’s former GSXR750. Jean battled along on his 250 and was patiently accompanied by el presidente (Ian) at the rear.
We had now arrived at Bombala and with re-fuelling duties over, we were hoping to have a quick lunch to make up for some of the morning’s rain delay. Unfortunately, we now hit the slowest part of the trip – lunch at Bombala Café. It seemed every other food shop in town was closed, so it was rush hour at the café/restaurant/pizza/fish&chip shop, though ‘rush’ was sounding more like an oxymoron if you get my drift. The local talent kept the boys amused as did the harlequin Great Dane sleeping on the balcony of the Imperial Hotel, but the service was still very slow.
After finally leaving Bombala, we headed north to the
Ben now tried a slight variation to the ‘normal route’ but it turned out to be an extra 7 km of hard dirt - but comfortably travelled at 100km/h. As it turned out, this was one of many thrills of the fast and furious four days. Little did we know that during the trip we would encounter, rail, hail, shine, heat, snow, dirt, wind, fog and ice and this stretch of dirt was all part of the adventure!
With the weather fine and holding, we travelled from Dalgety to Jindabyne
for our overnight stay at the Torino Lodge situated within the Winter Sports
and Recreation Centre. With
Paul offered to do a slab run and have some coldies waiting in the fridge on our return so the starting line-up for the mountain was Ian, Ben, Peter, Misho, Cliff, Danny, Dave, Shane and yours truly…
After paying the $6 entry at the new gate location further up the hill,
it was on for young and old. Various leaders showed their paces before I made a
break and took the lead for the upper stages of the mountain. There were,
however, a few factors coming into play. Riding directly into the sun made
spotting the wet patches and corners difficult, the fuel warning light was
annoying and it was getting cold, so every breath fogged the inside of the
visor. With all that running through my mind, Peter Jones blasted past me and
promptly stopped, also succumbing to the aforementioned issues. Peter however
turned around and headed for home and the comfort of a Petrol Station. The rest
of us rode the final TWO kilometres to the top and then strolled over for a look
at our
The ride down the mountain was again fast and furious with Ben, Cliff and Danny the pace setters, Dave and Misho executed brilliant passing manoeuvres just as I was running out of fuel! I rolled for the last few kilometres whilst cussing that the special siphoning tube was in my bag at the lodge and that I had missed the fun down the mountain, but I made it to the petrol station without pushing, so all was sweet.
Back at the lodge and after a few cleansing ales, our entourage walked to the restaurant within the complex. Well, most of us anyway… Rob jumped on his BMW and rode up the steep hill. Here on offer was a buffet of culinary delicacies for our evening meal and the licensed bar serving drinks. Having moved the settings around to form a large table, Renzo entertained us with amusing anecdotes about women and motorbikes and ‘fits of laughter’ were loud and often, especially from Ben!
Most of the boys enjoyed second helpings of mains and desert before strolling down the hill and to settle into a few more ales for the night. By now the only detail not completed was the sleeping arrangements. All the heavy snorers were promptly assembled in one room so as to give the rest of us a good night’s sleep…
It was a long day…
Peter Feistl