2013 Black Dog Ride

This ride was something new for Cathy and I, as it was a large event, with Sydney's contingent consisting of over 200 bikes.and over 600 bikes expected to take part from all over Australia, eventually meeting at Alice Springs. We weren't sure of what to expect because when it comes to riding, everyone can be very different as to speeds, patience with other riders, and distance between breaks. As it turns out. the ride was great, albeit long, and the atmosphere at Castle Hill, where we started off, was quite exciting.

Day 1: (600 kilometres travelled) Map 

We left home at 6:30 to be at Castle Hill for just after 7:00 am, ready for the start of  today's ride. Although the start wasn't until 8:30 am, many bikes were already beginning to arrive. The main street, behind the shopping centre was closed to traffic and quickly filled up with bikes, their riders and pillions, media and the general public.

Meet Winston, the ride mascot.

The scooter, sporting her new, larger bag at the rear.

The main street of Castle Hill, filling up with every bike imaginable.

Our friends Joanne and Joe. How we found them so easily in the crowd, Ill never know.

Formalities before the ride start.

Our first stop, at the Full Throttle Diner at Hartley.

Lunch stop at Mudgee.

Lunch was put on by the good people of the Lions Club - Mudgee. For a simple gold coin donation, you received a hot roast roll, tea or coffee and cakes.

 Here, we pulled over for a pic to show some idea of where we were.

After lunch, it was off to Dubbo for a refuel and short break, before continuing on to Narromine.

The road from Narromine to Nyngan is 125 kilometres of dead straight road but not at all boring. By this time we were focused on getting to Nyngan for a hot shower and a meal.

Yep, that's as dead straight as it gets.

We arrived at 4:30 pm and were booked in at the Riverside Caravan Park at Nyngan with some friends, but as it happens, we were the only ones that turned up due to illness and trouble having children looked after.So the two of us had an eight berth cabin to ourselves, WOO HOOOOOO. The handicap ramp came in "handy" for our scooter to be parked under cover. Ah well, people often call me a retard but it kept the dew off the woollen seat covers.

So here's a tour of the cabin starting with the kitchenette.

Main sleeping area.

A second bedroom.

Bathroom.

Day 2: (551 kilometres travelled) Map 

This morning we were greeted with a temperature of just 3 degrees Celsius! Yes it was bloody cold but we were geared up so that we were comfortable even in these cold conditions.

We left the park at 7:30 and fuelled up down the road and a quick bite to eat before starting off. We decided that we were going to pace ourselves and take a different route home through Wellington and Orange.

This sign was 20 kilometres outside Nyngan. I always thought Dubbo was a long way from home.

You know you're a fair way out west when you see these bloody big chickens running around the paddocks.

Truth be told, we saw this group of Emus on the way in the afternoon before, but were focused on getting to the cabin for a wash and a rest. This morning we find them in the same area. There were about 6 in total.

Also on the way in to Nyngan , we spotted these huge blocks of fluffy white stuff.

In some parts, they were stacked 2 high and 2 deep. These continued on for a kilometre.

Yep, it was good old Australian cotton. Tonnes and tonnes of it.

Arriving back into Narromine, we stopped for a visit to the Glenn McGrath statue, dedicated to the famous cricketer. Someone thought it wise to dress him in a shirt. Ah well it was very cold.

 Down town Narromine.

A refuel and break in Wellington.

The scenery on the road to Orange was lush with its green pastures and countless sheep.

We stopped for lunch in Orange, then on to Lithgow for another refuel, then along the Bell's Line Rd through Richmond, arriving back home at 5:15pm.

This was another great ride and the scooter performed well again. We have never done so many kilometres in any given day and still prefer to limit them to 300 - 400 in a day for our comfort. Still, we enjoyed it and it was great to see parts of our state we'd never seen before, especially those bloody big chooks roaming the paddocks.