Canberra to Bega loop
- nic-t7
- Oct 28, 2017
- 4 min read
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow! What a Ride!’” - Hunter S. Thompson.
Had a few days and felt like a good ride.
Rode out from Canberra to The Loaded Dog – a great small pub in Tarago that leads out to some good rides.
Conditioned the leather on my weather-beaten jacket that evening and took a little time for a beer on the balcony before a good sleep.
Next morning, I rode out through Morton National Park – stopping at the dry Tianjara Falls.
The sound of secadas was so loud nearing Parma Creek that I could hear them over the motorbike through my helmet and earplugs (rated 33db). I stopped to listen to them, amazing.
Riding towards Jervis Bay, stopping for an amazing toastie sandwich then rode the spirited run down the coast passing a woman on a cross-trainer bicycle.. yes I did a double-take, but apparently they’re a thing..
Stopped off at a garden nursery café for a coffee where the owner told me that the secadas were early this year. Then it was off to Ulladulla where I had a terrific meal and doing everything from pondering the depths, looking at the moon and meeting the Granite Falls Chicken.
Yep. That chicken in the middle of the bush still makes me smile. The Granite Falls was dry as well but the view and the echo was amazing.
Riding to Bega, the rain started to come down wet enough that I had to pull into a general store at Tilba Tilba to withdraw some money for a room for a cabin down the road – had the money in my hand and turned towards the door only to see the sight and sound of a downpour falling sideways in strong gusts, far too dangerous for riding even a short distance not least due to branches being blown onto the twisty road. So I booked into the only place available in the township, the Tilba Two-Storey Guesthouse. Far above my normal budget, it was none-the-less an extremely beautiful place with a balcony which I sat out on relaxing with a coffee while my clothes dried on the heater
There was a piano. I’ve been thinking of hiring a studio for a few hours to enjoy unrusting my fingers somewhat and it was the perfect opportunity to play all evening.
Next morning after being treated to a cooked breakfast and good chat by the cottage hosts (who are a rider and pillion – and who owned at 1940s Harley at one point) I rode the rest of the way to Bega dodging the rain and crossing lots of single-land wooden bridges which always invoke a bit of special-feeling nostalgia.
Turned inland and rode the Snowy Mountains Highway stopping at this view..
Then continued across the Great Dividing Range towards Cooma. But I noticed an unusual regular clunking sound coming from the bike whenever I would turn a corner at middling speeds and would dissipate as I rode straight. Not good, I pulled over and inspected the bike, couldn’t find anything wrong inspecting the front wheel, front suspension, front brake and such. I had it in my head that because it happens in turns, the problem must be in something directly involved with the steering. I should have had the bike transported because I didn’t know what the sound was but I continued on.
It did become worse, but after an overnight stay at Cooma I rode the beautiful stretch to Queanbeyan. Funny, but I remember this stretch of Monaro Highway as being a bit of a boring stretch of road but it is absolutely beautiful coming over slow rolling hills to see cascades of hills in panoramic view in front of you.
Granted it is between Canberra and the amazing Coopracambra National Park which I love riding through on my way to Cann River - a small town near the bottom-right corner of Australia I am very fond of as a quiet peaceful place, but perhaps I have dismissed this gentle road rolling over and around green and kind hills between Canberra and Cooma.
Riding into Queanbeyan, the clunking was worse and I parked the bike and did a lot of examination and research – it seems that a link in the chain might is seizing, which is tightening the chain and causing it to clunk on the sprockets as the bike flexes with the forces of cornering. Possible, since the chain is 25000km old – fairly due for replacement even though it looks in good condition – and lubing the chain (which I don’t do as often as I should) coincides with the sound not occurring the next day. So a new chain and set of sprockets seem to be what will fix the problem – about $300 of work, along with tappets and general maintenance bringing a $600 bill and no apparent clunking. You don’t want a chain falling off a sprocket, that can leave you standed at best and high-siding at worst, but it’s good that it’s an easily fixable result.
I had planned to ride to Melbourne and back but by the time this all occurred, I parked the bike to fly there and back since I would have had to ride big k's each day to get there in time. I’ll take a ride in the next couple weeks to feel out that the bike is fine (there’s a chance the clunking is something else and it was just co-incidence that it stopped with the lube and chain/sprocket replacement) before a longer ride at some stage.
A postscript - Melbourne has such interesting buildings. Spied these new ones while I was there.
Commentaires