Riding the iconics? When I started that topic I certainly didn’t have in mind the ride I did last Wednesday, August 27. Though the forecast was for a brilliant day it started off dark, cold and foggy down here in Melbourne. But the promise … well … a day with that kind of forecast just couldn’t be ignored. Planning had been going on quietly for a few days; trying to work out how to get the tag for the Game of FarRider’s TAG from somewhere in South Australia’s near eastern “desert”. But not only! Could a SS1600 or SS2000 or maybe even a BB2500 be worked into the “rescue” mission. Hmm … The possibilities … The route that surfaced started out from Croydon Hills in Victoria, out through Ouyen (Victoria) to Pinnaroo then to Paruna (SA), site of the “tag”. To make all three rides “fit” I needed more kilometres than just to Paruna and back. I have wanted to ride again the Horrock’s Pass Road (aka Wilmington-Port Augusta Road), a portion of South Australia’s Main North Road, another “iconic” ride. With that in mind, Port Augusta came into the “equation”. Where to from here? To get to Wilmington and Port Augusta I selected the road from Paruna to Loxton, then Waikerie, to cross the mighty Murray River to get to Morgan and Burra. From Burra I planned to go via Spalding and Gulnare to pick up Main North Road, but a wrong turn … Hmmm. I ended up going via the R M Williams Way to Jamestown. A left turn in Jamestown had me going via Caltowie and Laura to pick up Main North Road at Stone Hut. And that was just one of the issues that changed “the plan”. Being just after sunset after 1) refuelling, 2) posting the new tag site to FarRiders website before I continued, and 3) it being now night time I was no longer prepared to ride the road from Gawler to Williamstown, Mount Pleasant and Palmer to Murray Bridge. Issues of wild life and unfamiliarity with the route, you know. Wouldn’t like to get stuck or lost – not on that night: with no moon, very dark, and not hot! Not the way to go on this night. Playing it safe, it became National Route #1 to Gepps Cross, down the city by-pass to Glen Osmond, the Eastern Freeway to Tailem Bend and on the Dukes Highway to Melbourne. This route, like the original would cater for all three possible rides; SS1600 complete at Bordertown, SS2000 complete on return to the start point, viz, 42 Plymouth Rd, Croydon, and the BB2500? A sleep over at home in a comfy and warm bed, then a quick return trip to Glenrowan, Ned Kelly country. It didn’t take long for that proposal to go out the window. Melbourne had been experiencing some relatively cool to cold weather, but not the extremes that Border run riders endured. My hat is off to all you guys and girls that completed that ride. Before I left home it was apparent that this ride would have some temperatures down near 2 or 3C. I was hopeful that these would be in areas I wouldn’t pass through, or would be ridden at times before or after my arrival in the locality. Wishful or misguided thinking, me thinks – or is that called having a positive mental attitude? Since my last cold ride, I had acquired and tried out several different but warmer clothes to wear through these colder conditions. Included was a JETT heated vest, a couple of extra or different layers to prevent or reduce wind penetration of my jacket, and a much thicker “hunting” vest picked up when in Tasmania some time ago – and the Tasmanians know how to build better, and warmer clothes. All improved my situation, but none, for me, kept the cold out for long enough or permanently. By the time I arrived at Charlton, my first stop, I needed to spend time warming up; same at Ouyen. On the return sector it was Port Wakefield, Glen Osmond, Bordertown, and along the highway from Bordertown to Stawell. From Ouyen, on the way to Paruna, ambient temperatures started rising, but already my times were in disarray. Not to worry, that’s why I did three plans in one, alternatives for various contingencies that may arise. Other reasons for multiple plans were to consider the time that might have been taken: 1. At Paruna, finding the place, and getting the pics 2. On the Wilmington to Port Augusta road, without a GPS, a) to try and find the Davo memorial plaque, (although walking about 500M both ways along the northern fence-line I didn’t find it. On checking some of the pics when I arrived back home, I think I must have been too near the Port Augusta-Adelaide road. Beaten down “bushery” seemed to indicate that others had also been trying to find the memorial), b) check out the memorial to John Ainsworth Horrocks, a European settler of the Clare Valley who “discovered” the route, and c) enjoy the ride through the pass. But, for me, this was a ride that was, in some ways, like no other; road work delays? Yes! Wide- loads? Yes! In addition, every time I saw a motorcyclist, and there weren’t many, coming in my direction, I was thinking, “FarRider with the tag? Hope not!” Before reaching Paruna I was one of the first on the scene of a motor incident. Not good. Fortunately for me and the “victims”, the two or three who preceded me had everything under control. Those in the vehicle were, apparently, not injured after their car had run off the road between Pinnaroo and Paruna. And just the day before I came across an “off” by one of the Black Dog riders going down the Black Spur towards Narbethong. Oh dear! Then, and again, before reaching Paruna I caught up with a wide (as in really W I D E) load. There would not have been any more than four feet of pavement on the extreme right hand side of the load. Not good. The “highway” through this area of the country-side included many full-on, full-speed (limit?), and predictable corners, many “lost” because of the wide load. Eventually the escort vehicles allowed me through, but goodness only knows when the other five or six vehicles were allowed to pass. After Paruna the ride was quick to say the least (but not like the NT drag strip); very enjoyable, very little traffic, and great road surface. From Loxton to Waikerie should have been incident free, but … you probably guessed it. The wide load passed before Paruna, had passed me while I was taking pics at Paruna. And this time there were more vehicles following. Just love it when, on the bike, one can wind one’s way around traffic on occasions like this. There was much more traffic coming in the opposite direction here on the Sturt Highway than on the Loxton-Pinnaroo Road. Eventually though, the passing manoeuvre managed … only to find, in plain view about a kilometre up the road, another wide load with escort vehicles! The first load looked like it was some kind of super-sized switch-gear cabinets, the second, the blade only of some huge bull-dozer, again with very limited space to move around it. A very pleasant surprise waited at Waikerie. The ferry to cross the Murray had arrived at my side of the river. And it was just about ready to load. No delay, least not as long as it could have been. Once on the north side of the Murray, it is pretty open country, a little bit of irrigation for the agriculture and then Salt Bush Bill’s country once on the Goyder Highway to Morgan, and then all the way to Burra. Open country frequently can mean open throttle … Observed the speed limit all the way to Burra and beyond! From Burra the Barrier Highway presents a quick option for getting through to Port Augusta via Peterborough. But there are some interesting roads for bikes going through Spalding and Gulnare near the Main North Road before George Town. And those I missed! Bother! Oh well, guess that will give me an excuse to get back out into that country, what? On leaving Port Augusta I reckoned that my score for this ride would be 100%. Principal reason for the ride was to bring back the “Tag”. Done! Mission accomplished. The rest of the ride, whether picking up an SS1600, SS2000 or BB2500 would be bonus. Once I realised that any SS2000 or BB2500 was out of the question I knew I had plenty of time to get the SS1600 completed so could indulge, to some extent, the warm up, comfort and food and drinks stops. Now to the paper work and log sheet for the IBA. If they see things my way, and they should and have in the past, there should be another SS1600 to add to my collection. Total time start to Bordertown? No prizes here, just a slow and leisurely time of 23 hours and … For those wondering, the condition of the bike’s tyres after 9000 or so kilometres is that they’re looking rather flat on top. Need more corners!
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 11:17:16 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015