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Ton-Up-Boys Motorcycle Club |
VINTAGE JAPANESE MOTOR CYCLE CLUB RUN TO MANGROVE CREEK DAM, 28th DEC, 2008Another fine morning beset Ian and myself leaving at 6.50am to meet up with the VJMC after their member Bill’s cordial invite.
Opting to leave the Dommie at home and ride his XJ 900 workhorse (it was a Jap bike run after all) Ippy was ready and waiting on my arrival at his home. I was on the OIF Bonnie, which I must admit felt, a little intimidating, not knowing what reception to expect (though I was ready to defend the Empire if the gauntlet was thrown down!).
Ippy is my favourite person to ride through Sydney with, his indelible knowledge of the back streets makes the sometimes frustrating journey to the outer limits almost as much fun as the ride proper. He also knows where the speed cameras are and has an eagle eye for the boys in blue.
We arrived at Berowra Mobil at around 7.55am, the only person before us being Paul (President?) with his immaculate Suzuki GS1000G. Before too long the bikes started to roll in…
Expecting to be besieged by Honda 750 fours and Kwaka Z900’s, I was extremely surprised to not see one! That said, the group (approx.20?), was quite diverse. Yammy XS650’s were best represented. The bikes there were generally immaculate and my pick of the bunch was an early RD 250 that I am kicking myself that I didn’t get a photo of! Others that were spotted was a really nice 350 four Honda, an SR 500, an early Goldwing and an RE5 rotary Suzuki. You can imagine my surprise turning into relief when a member of the BSA club turned up on a clean 1955 A10 Golden Flash, I was not alone!
The party launched just after 8.30am by heading north up the old road. The pace was modest; obviously the front runners’ wrists were reluctant with the threat of the loss of double demerit points and an obvious police presence. It was quite eerie passing the Mt White Café closed and all roped off with “Keep Out” signs at the entrance. Ippy and I had never been to the Mangrove Creek Dam before, and it is a very pleasant ride, as long as you don’t mind fragrances from the many chicken farms, especially around Central Mangrove. The views from the lookout are worthwhile for a brief stop; it was very obvious by looking at the water marks on the flood gate control tower and the dam wall how much the level has dropped.
This is where we left the guys, who were heading back to Kulnura to a café that was an obvious bike stop, as I had to be home to avoid the rolling pin and Ippy also had somewhere to be, so we hit the freeway as soon as possible only ducking back onto the old road at Brooklyn, to enjoy a few of the corners at our normal pace which inevitably can be a little restrained when you are riding in procession. A nice ride with some great motorcycling people!
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