Seven riders met at 7-Eleven Menai for a 9:00 a.m. start. The weather was fantastic, with clear skies, light winds, and pleasant temperatures. Scafe was the Ride Leader, and Colonel was TLC.
We headed out via Menai Road and turned right onto Heathcote Road. The road was clear with little traffic until we reached the road upgrade at Holsworthy, where two lanes merged into one. This caused a delay of approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Lucky and Monkey went ahead, lane-splitting to reduce the wait, and arranged to meet at Greendale Road and Bringelly Road via the M5.
Lucky arrived and waited about 10 minutes until the others caught up. Unfortunately, the group had reduced by one—where was Monkey?
We continued to Penrith, stopping at McDonald’s for a rest break, a chat, and coffee. Colonel texted Monkey to ensure all was well and received a reply: “Took a wrong turn, am going back.”
Half Way Dave lived up to his name by leaving us here—at halfway—and heading home.
After coffee, we continued onto Castle Hill Road, turned right onto Cranebrook Road, and rode through Richmond. We made our way to Lower Portland, crossed the ferry, and discovered a very narrow dirt road that followed the river through Sackville. After crossing another ferry, we eventually arrived at Tractor 828.
Lunch was purchased and enjoyed during discussions about Trump and other world issues.
Having had our fill, we all decided to head home via the most direct route.
I lost the group due to heavy traffic and proceeded to Menai via the M7, M5, and Heathcote Road. I arrived at Menai with 2 km left in my reserve—glad I didn’t hit any more traffic.
