Jindabyne, Australia Day Weekend            23rd to 26th  January, 2010

 

I made it as far as Bombala at which point my R6 decided to ‘spit the sparkplug’ with a bang and a puff of smoke.  The boys tried in vain to re-fit the spark plug but no success as the thread in the cylinder head was stripped.  Ah well, what to do? Park the bike at Bombala Police Station, then jump on the back with Misho and enjoy the ride at a more thrilling pace.

Ben Warden took full advantage of our fast-riding little group to cover a lot of kilometres every day.  Beautiful weather – a touch too hot mid-afternoon on a couple of days but frequent stops helped revive the body.  

A couple of moments which remain vivid in my mind:

  • the ride through the claustrophobic cutting in Khancoban, constant blind corners which always evoke much fear in me -  except this time it had the exciting dimension of speed - Misho… my heart was beating very fast
  • the first sight of the blueness of Eden triggering the desire for fish and chips
  • finding respite under two shady cherry plum trees after doing a lot of dirt on a hot afternoon on the way to Dalgety, lying underneath the tree and eating cherry plums – felt like a little oasis in the seemingly endless sunburnt and barren landscape
  • the beautiful Orbost road – 80 kilometres of non-stop Reefton, Black Spur, Chum Creek and Myers Creek all rolled into one
  • the amazingly fast run up and down Charlotte’s Pass – felt like we were racing at Phillip Island

Many thanks Ben for leading us on 4 days of challenging, action-packed rides – you did a great job… as usual.  To darling Misho for having me as pillion for 2,500kms and to my fellow riders  Ben (Fuller), Peter, Cliffy, Ron and partners Barb and Julie, your company made the weekend so enjoyable –  thanks for being there.

 

Pina Garasi