Well, another Tuesday rolls around and this one looked pretty good weather wise, a fresh start but warming up to about 19 degrees through the day. At the servo we had 11 bikes and one pillion, Col, Brad, Rob, TT, Rick, Les, Bruce, Gerry, Paul, Owen and Leslie, and myself, Smoko. Col was, what we thought the last rider to arrive, so he was voted to lead the ride, only to be followed closely behind by Rick, who had no interest at all in leading…. a bit like the rest of us really.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, Col put his hand up and suggested Shellharbour, to which we all agreed. Off we went, not through Waterfall and the RNP due to the wild winds of Monday, the day before, way too much leaf / branch litter on the road, so straight down the OPH, Picton Rd. Mt Kembla where we diverted up a hill to a rather secluded lookout, really an opening for high tension power cables with a small carpark, but a great view over Wollongong and Shellharbour to the south. Back down the hill onto the Princess Hwy, Five Islands Rd. and back onto the M1 motorway around the Albion Park Rail bypass turning off near the Shellharbour Railway Station and onto Shell Cove Marina / Woolworths carpark.
We walked over to the newish Waterfront Tavern for our coffees etc. only to find they didn’t start serving hot food until 11:30am, so coffees all round with a few cakes. If you did want something hot to eat, just a short stroll to another café next door, so not too bad….great egg and bacon rolls.
Sitting in the sun outside the Pub everyone was starting to complain how hot it was getting, so after finishing off our drinks and grub, Colonel suggested going back home a different way, this time back onto the bypass but turning off heading towards Albion Park, Calderwood, Marshal Mount Rd. and back onto the M1 and OPH for a quickish trip home, we lost Gerry along the way turning off towards home, but everyone else continued back to Heathcote for our goodbyes and photos at the usual place, except Rick, who kept on going, the long way to Bundeena.
This is where Col asked me to do the ride report, as he was pretty snowed under organising the DR, so I hope I did him proud, as he led a terrific ride with the usual great bunch of followers in great weather, and of course TT for the TEC duties.
Phil “Smoko” Morris
