The Super Adventure: February 2011

Finally a Saturday that was predicted to be nice weather all day. Probably the first since I had picked up the Thunderbird. I planned a big ride. I got away from home about 9am. A few dark clouds in the sky that were not supposed to be there. Petrol at Engadine then from Waterfall down the old Princes Highway. I almost always take the old highway. much less traffic and some nice sweeping bends that give me a bit of a warm up in cornering. I find when I take off that I like to take a few familiar corners early on, think my way through them and set up the pattern for the rest of the day.

Through Helensburgh and down to Bulli Tops where I turn left on to the Appin road and head due west. Its about 20 k to Appin. Quite a good road, but a little busy and a few coal trucks to watch out for. At Appin, I turned left on to Wilton road. This is where the real enjoyment starts. A windy country road. Hardly any traffic. Rolling green hills and valleys, Although today the hills were looking more brown than green. The result of a few weeks of no rain and hot weather. 4 weeks ago this area was green and lush.

Cataract river - Broughton Pass

Wilton Rd takes you down through Broughton Pass where you cross the Cataract river. A beautiful spot. On to Wilton. In Wilton I turn right on to Douglass Park Drive and head towards Douglass Park. On this part of the ride you cross the Nepean river at a beautiful spot, with the Hume Highway towering above on huge columns of concrete. Through Douglass park and left on to Menangle Rd. Down a beautiful rural valley til you come to Picton Rd at Maldon. Right onto Picton rd and into Picton.

Nepean river - Douglas Park

Picton is a beautiful little town surrounded buy green hills. It is a very historic town and has some lovely historic buildings as you can see by clicking the link at the start of this sentence. Picton is also the the home of another of my favourite cafes. r. coffee. More information available on my Cafes and Pubs page. Time for some breakfast. I'm still trying new things at r. coffee and today was a salmon and egg sandwich with dill mayonnaise. Smoked salmon, boiled egg (not too hard) and a light dill mayonnaise served on a turkish style bread roll. Washed down with 2 flat white coffees. Great food, great Service. Great coffee.

From Picton I take Thirlmere Way to Thirlmere, cross the railway line and take West Parade which follows the old rail line and takes you through Buxton, Balmoral Village, hilltop and Colovale. Another great road for riding a motorbike. Gentle hills, winding roads, little traffic and some nice forests. From Colovale you join the Hume highway for about 500 meters before turning off into Mittagong.

Through Mittagong and out the back on to Range Road which takes you South. Range Road is absolutely beautiful with green valleys rolling out on either side of you. Working farms are booked ended by millionaires mansions. Every time I go down this road I have a few fantasies of living right here. Heaven.

Friendly Inn - Kangaroo Valley

View from Berry Mountain


Fitzroy Falls

Berry Mountain

Range Road becomes Ridge road and then joins on to Sheepwash Road which takes you south across the Illawarra highway between Robertson and Moss vale, and on to Fitzroy Falls. From Fitzroy falls I take Moss Vale Road which winds from the Southern Highlands down to the Kangaroo Valley below. Along the valley and into the the village for a stop at the Friendly Inn Hotel. Quite a few bikes there including a beautiful red Thunderbird. See the cafes and Pubs page for more about the Friendly Inn. Still full of Salmon and Egg sandwich, I had some Bruschetta and carried on south to Kangaroo Valley Road. This takes you up and over Berry Mountain. This is a more challenging road. Narrow, steep and very winding, it is slow going. But every now and then you are rewarded with glorious views down the valley that stretches from Kangaroo Valley to Berry. You also travel through some magnificent forest country.

Into Berry that I'll leave for another day. Berry is bustling with travellers on any weekend and everything is crowded. I went straight through and headed north on the Princes Highway, passed Gerringong and on to Kiama. At Kiama I turned left on to Jamberoo Rd. More rolling green hills and valleys. The type of road and scenery that make motorbike riding so enjoyable.Through Jamberoo and up Jamberoo Mountain pass to Robertson. More beautiful country roads with million dollar scenery and million dollar houses tucked away amongst the trees and original farms.

Robertson sits at the top of MacQuarrie Pass is one of the gateways to the Southern Highlands. A quick stop here for coffee and a muffin at the old Cheese factory.

Cheese Factory - Robertson

Then on down Kangaloon Road towards Mittagong. Kangaloon road is another joy of a country road. Climbing hills, winding through valleys and cutting through native forests.

Back to Mittagong, up the Hume to the Picton road turnoff, back through Wilton, Appin, Bulli tops, Helensburgh and down to Stanwell tops for a quick breather. then through the National Park and home. From 9 am to 5-30pm. Just over 400 kms. A beautiful day. And my new long haul touring seat was an absolute marvel.

Kangaroo Valley

My name is Michael Derrig and the intention of this blog is to record trips around Sydney on my Triumph Thunderbird. I returned to motorbike riding 3 years ago at the age of 50. First with a Honda Shadow 750, then a Yamaha XVS950 and now a brand new, 1600cc Triumph Thunderbird. The dream machine. Most weekends I try to get a ride in, usually around the Souther areas of Sydney, enjoying some of the many cafes on my travels. The Southern Highlands and the Picton area have become particular favourites, with beautiful winding country roads and some very nice places for a cup of coffee and a lite meal.