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Junee in Junei or June in Juneeii ; 26 June 2011
By Peter Thomas
Ian Paterson Honda GL1800 Alan & Lyn Munday Kawasaki GTR1000
Darryl Palin Honda ST1300 Andrew Campbell Kawasaki GTR1400
Garry McCurley Honda VFR 1200 Linda Blake Honda CBR1000F
Brian Agius Honda ST1100 Chas Towie Honda ST1300
Peter Arday Honda ST1300 Chris Dietzel Yamaha FJR1300
Richard Hay Yamaha FJR 1300 Michael Winters Triumph ST1050
Peter Thomas Honda Deauville David Robinson Yamaha FJR1300
George Attard Triumph Speedmaster Terry Mills Honda Shadow VT750
Ross Anderson Aprilia Caponord Mick Beltrame BMW R1150GSA
Ewan Ward Honda ST1100
It was a -5°, fogbound morning in Tuggeranong when I warmed up my bike for our club ride to the Licorice Factory in Junee but by the time I’d ridden up the Parkway to Nicholls the sun was bright in a clear blue sky. They do say it’s warmer up north.
Twenty of us gathered to hear our esteemed leader brief us on where we’d be going, how we’d get there along with other sundry advice on safety and Alan and Lyn volunteered to be our tail-end-Charlies. Standing in the sun warmed us all and there was even some foolhardy talk about taking off some layers but the sages amongst us cautioned against such recklessness.
We headed off along the Barton Highway amongst fairly light traffic but even under a clear sky it was still cold and the wind chill seemed to increase by the kilometre. The 110 Ks to Murrumburrah via the Burley Griffin Way brought us to our first stop and some very welcome and warming cups of coffee, standing once more in the sunshine.
Ian announced a slight change of plans. We’d head back to Harden and take the Jugiong Road with a few surprises along the way to Cootamundra. We were soon following him past the Jugiong Reservoir along the Jugiong Road then on to the Rose Hill Road and on to another Jugiong Road posting corner markers along the way. It was a lovely ride with lots of 85Km curves, no wind and a not quite warming sun. However, just before we reached the Gundagai Road to take us the five kilometres in to Cootamundra, Ian received a transmission that Alan and Lyn had a puncture in their rear tyre. Darryl went back to help them. They had puncture kits and a compressor. They put one plug in but it didn’t work. They put another plug in (their biggest) and it was still leaking so Lyn went on the back of Darryl’s bike while Alan gingerly rode GTR into Cootamundra. The tyre couldn’t be fixed in Coota so Lyn rode back home on the back of Darryl’s bike while Alan used their NRMA Premium Care membership and waited 1½ hours for a tow truck from Gundagai to pick up Alan and the bike and deliver them home to Holt. There’s a big hole in the tyre so it’ll probably have to be replaced – a bummer as it was brand new just before the ride to Dubbo on the June long weekend!
The rest of us raced the railway for fifty kilometres along the Olympic Highway to Junee and the Licorice Factory in an old flour mill. There was quite a crowd and a very efficient team seemed to be running a rather successful tourist attraction. As soon as we walked in the door, the smell of fresh licorice was pervading. There was a bit of a queue for ordering meals but it didn’t take long to order and make our way back to the sunshine outside. A few of us filled the time waiting for meals by buying lots of licorice. The food was good, reasonably priced and the service friendly and timely. Definitely worth the trip.
From Junee we followed the Nangus Road for sixty-six kilometres via Eurongilly and Nangus to the Dog north of Gundagai where some much needed petrol was taken on board. Again it was a delightful run in the sun but patches of cold were encountered in the shadows. I thought I was just on my range limit by the time we got to the Dog but the Vortex 98 fuel proved itself again as I didn’t reach reserve.
The one-hundred and eighty kilometres home via the Hume and Barton Highways was again done in fairly light traffic but cold and I was starting to shiver by the time I got home. Another great ride done and more back roads explored. Tough life!
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