20th April, 2011
I was born in Hay and spent my childhood there. For the last few years my 3 borthers and I have been getting together at Hay over the Anzac Day long weekend to catch up. This year Anzac day fell on Easter Monday. I normally avoid travelling over Easter because the traffic in and out of Sydney is horrendous. However, this year we all agreed to go to Hay over Easter. To avoid the traffic I took a day off either side of Easter so I wouldn’t be travelling in the heavy traffic.
More importantly, I decided to ride the Thunderbird to Hay. It is a 700 km trip and usually takes 8 hours in the car including stops for food and fuel. I have been thinking of riding there for some time and this seemed like a great opportunity.
The morning of the 20th was cool and there was some rain expected along the route. I was up and ready to go by 6-30, dressed and warm and waterproof gear. The bike was kitted out with windscreen, saddlebags, sissy bar and sissy bar bag.
I was off out of Sydney before the traffic got serious and the cruise to Goulburn was uneventful and a little cool around Mittagong. I didn’t stop till I reached Goulburn about 8-30am. I called in at the Big Merino. The Big Merino has been around since 1985 and used to be in Goulburn when the highway actually went through the town. These days you take the Goulburn bypass, but there is a service station with a few fast food outlets near the bypass and the big Merino has been moved here to catch more of the passing traffic. When you enter the service station you get a close up of the Big Merino’s rear and you will be pleased to know that the designers did not skimp on anatomical detail at the lesser seen end. See the photo.
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| Big Merino's Bollocks |
Coffee and breakfast and I was back on the road heading for Yass and then Gundagai. Just East of Gundagai, the rain finally started. It got quite heavy, but only for short bursts. The wet weather gear worked perfectly and the Thunderbird never missed a beat, only having to slow down when visibility became a problem. I kept going on to Wagga Wagga where I stopped at a Roadhouse for fuel and refreshments. I ordered a toasted sandwich and when I asked if they had whole meal or wholegrain the answer was “Oh no we don’t have either of those here”. The waitress then cheerfully took my order for a flat white coffee and soon after delivered a mug of milk coffee made with instant coffee powder which quicly developed a nice thick skin over the top. I had forgotten the joys of country roadhouse cuisine, but it soon came back to me.
When you reach Wagga Wagga you usually feel like you have done a full trip, but Hay is another 270 kms. 100 kms to Narranderra, where I stopped again to stretch the legs and have a cup of tea (I wasn’t game to try the coffee) . Then it’s off for the final 170 kms across the plains. From here on in the country is flat and the roads are generally straight. You are heading due west at this stage so it’s a good idea not to get here at sunset or you are looking straight into a setting sun without even a hill to shade the glare.
I got to Hay about 4pm. The bike looked like it had buckets of mud poured over it. This was from the spray thrown up from the road by cars and trucks. 719 kms from door to door. All in all I was in pretty good shape. I had left a day earlier than my wife and kids thinking that I might have to stop overnight along the way if fatigue or the sun became an issue. But that was not the case. If I were travelling for a number of consecutive days I think it would try to limit each day to about 500 kms. But, as a one off, 700 kms was not too bad.
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| Very muddy Thunderbird - Arriving at Hay |
I spent the next week in Hay living on beer, red wine and dead sheep, with lots of stories about my brother’s lives since we had last met and a hefty dose of laughter. My wife, son, daughter and her boyfriend were there as well and it was nice to slow down and enjoy small country town life for a while.
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| Hay - Early morning fog |
The two boys got to shoot some quail, ducks and rabbits and ride a couple of old dirt bikes that my eldest brother has had at Hay for about 20 years. I am always amazed that they even start.
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| Boys on the bikes |
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| a 1995 Thunderbird 900 at Hay 150,000kms and still going strong |
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| My daughter on the Thunderbird - First time she's been near it. |
My wife and family left to come back to Sydney on 26th which was the last public holiday. I stayed one more night to miss the traffic. On the 27th I left Hay about 8-30 am and made the return trip. There had been quite a lot of rain about but I managed to miss it all except for a few drops around Goulburn.
This time I went into the main street of Wagga and found a lovely café called De Lish which served me a delightful breakfast and 2 cups of flat white. In Gundagai I came across my eldest brother and his wife who were also travelling back to Sydney that day. They followed me from there to Goulburn at a cracking pace.
On the return journey I adopted the system of stopping separately for food and fuel. This gave me twice as many stops which is great for stretching the back and legs and also meant I could be a bit more selective about where I had coffee or food rather than just sticking to petrol stations. A good plan for future trips.
I got back to Sydney about 5pm, a little tired but none the worse for wear. 1500 kms in a week was a good workout for the Thunderbird and I.
