This ride was planned by Rocket Mick and what a ride it was. We met at the Mt Keira Lookout for a 9.30am departure and headed off right on time at 9.50am.
Based on feedback from the bookface page, we were looking at around a dozen people. However Mick and Nas brought friends and we ended up with 16 riders.
- Mick – Triumph Rocket III
- Anton – GayTM 1290 Adventurer
- Jarrod – Suzuki GSX600R
- Tony – Harley
- Paul – Harley
- Phillip – Honda CBR1000RR fireblade
- Lee – Triumph Sprint 1050ST
- Craig – Suzuki GSF 1250S Bandit (New bike for Craig)
- Tom – CBR1100XX Blackbird
- Stephen – CBR1100XX Blackbird
- Allan – Kawasaki Ninja 300
- Nasir – Honda CBR500R
- Greg – Yamaha MT09 (new bike for Greg)
- Darren – Yamaha 950 Bolt
- Paul – Kawasaki 1400GTR (New bike for Paul)
- Wayne – Harley
3 riders showed off their new machines.
Paul sold his Rocket a week earlier and only the day before this ride, picked up a Sports Tourer (Kawasaki 1400GTR) from Maitland. Paul drops 900cc from his Rocket and still rides a missile on two wheels.
Craig, one of most recent to join Random rides, added another to his stable. His Honda CBR1000RR is joined by this beautiful example of a Suzuki GSF 1250S Bandit). Thanks for correcting me Craig, sorry to cut you short by 50cc.
Greg, traded in his Kawasaki Ninja 300 for a Yamaha MT09. A great looking modern sports bike that he absolutely loves the more he rides it.
A short ride up Picton Road and we arrived at our first destination – Cordeaux Dam. Some facts and history for all you dam lovers out there.
- Cordeaux was the second of the four dams constructed to collect water from the Illawarra plateau.
- It stands 57m high and is 405m in length.
- Its total capacity is 93.6 gigalitres
- Construction started in 1918 and was completed in 1926.
The next leg was the longest, taking us up to Nattai and the Burragorang Valley lookout. Our usual process of stopping at each major turn was not adopted, and very quickly the group separated. Those who didn’t know the route struggled. As a result, the group split into 5 groups. The lead group, a smaller group of 4, a small group of 3 who failed to turn right at Macarthur Drive and continued on to Picton. Tone, who forgot to turn at Douglas Park Drive and went down Broughton Pass and myself (Paul) who was at the tail of the group and didn’t see the guys ahead of me miss the turn.
From there, the 4 groups behind the lead pack finally met at Cawdor Road after a number of phone calls and tracking back to find others. In the end, we finally regrouped, not without some differing opinions. But anyway, water off a ducks back, everyone was safe, we kissed and made up and headed off for a Bargo pie.
The group remained tight after that and we arrived at the Bargo Pie Shop and cleaned out the joint. A few of the lads backtracked for fuel and shortly after we headed to Avon Dam. Here are some dam stats to compare against Cordeaux.
- Cordeaux was the third of the four dams constructed to collect water from the Illawarra plateau.
- It stands 72m high and is 223m in length.
- Its total capacity is 146.7 gigalitres
- Construction started in 1921 and was completed in 1927.
While we were admiring the dam construction, a group of Ducati riders arrived in their dozens. The small carpark adjacent to the dam became very full very quickly.
With Dam No.3 done, we headed off for some craft beer tasting at the Eden Brewery in Mittagong. Some tried individual beers while others tried a paddle (5 tasters).
That was a great experience and something different from the usual pub counter meal. from there we headed off home in different directions. Thanks Mick for organising a great ride.
We encourage anyone to step up and design a ride.
See y’all on the next one and thanks to all those new blokes who joined us on the ride today.
Paul
Random Rides 