DOING IT IN STYLE

“You meet the nicest people on a Honda”:
I can’t vouch for the veracity of the statement, but it was one of the most successful advertising
campaigns from any motorcycle company in my memory. People still remember the phrase today, and the ads haven’t run for decades.
And while I’m happily prepared to say you also meet your share of arseholes on a motorcycle, there tends to be something particularly enjoyable about spending time away with friends who share your passion for bikes.
The thing about bike trips with a group of people is that it’s not just about the
things you do at your destination, it’s about the getting there part too. You’re not cocooned in a car, cut off from the people in the other cars. You’re on your bikes, sharing the experience of travelling with other riders. But we know that. That’s all good and well.

So, I got to wondering, until I met my lovely wife who also rides a bike, most of the trips I did with other riders were with blokes. Why was that?
It’s not as though there aren’t girls who ride. You only have to look at the success of groups like Girls Ride Out and some of the other female social ride groups to see that.
Then I thought about the kinds of trips I used to do, mainly with other men (and Left: The Husky Pub is right by the sea, so you’d expect the odd girl here and there). They were great seafood.
Above: Matt Moran outside his Rockley Pub.
Below: Bathurst National Motor Racing Museum.
trips that generally involved riding a lot, then staying in a pub, or some other average lodgings, and eating and drinking at a pub at some little town.
That’s all fine when it’s just a bunch of blokes who want to sit around a salubri ous shithole getting drunk and talking about the crap that drunk blokes talk about. But I can see why not many girls wanted to go on those trips.

Girls are usually a bit more sophisticated than that. Sure, they’ll put up with a trip like that once in a blue moon, and probably even enjoy it on some level, but in reality, most of them want a little more from a weekend away than that.
The more I thought about it, I couldn’t even think of a time when one of the male riders even brought their partner as a pillion on one of those rides. That could be for a variety of reasons. Maybe their partners didn’t like going on the bike at all, or maybe the guy just wanted to ride by himself.
Or maybe it was just that the trips were boring as batshit for a lady with a little class.

I asked my lovely wife about my developing mental conundrum. Her response was simple. She is happy enough to go on rides with people that just end at a pub for the night, but probably only a couple of times each year. But to go on more of these adventures, she would like to do some Interesting things along the way. Which leads to the obvious question, “what the fuck does interesting mean?” So, I began to hatch a plan for a trip that would appeal to a crowd made up of equal parts men and women. No, not as any kind of motorcycle Tinder thing, but a trip that would make couples want to go on a group ride together. Maybe the ladies have their own bikes, maybe they’re riding pillion, or maybe the blokes are riding pillion on their lady’s bike, what- ever, but I wanted it to be a trip that would appeal to a couple as something they might both enjoy.

Good riding roads are a vital requirement for a great bike trip. of a great bike trip is a given requirement. Nobody wants to go on tour on the freeway. We like some bends, some elevation changes, some nice scenery to look at along the way. That’s non-negotiable for any motor cyclist. Some of us like some dirt, and even a creek crossing or two. Whatever floats your riding boat is all good by me. But what to do to make it more appealing in a couple-friendly kind of way?

I thought about what my lady and I do when we want a nice weekend away that doesn’t include the bikes. For us it is often a trip to the city for a nice dinner, maybe some theatre or a band, and a night in a nice hotel.
So, the plan began to evolve. If we were to appeal to couples we needed good food, not an overcooked schnitzel with chips and salad limper than my cousin Nigel’s handshake. It must be proper food, well prepared, by someone with skill and care in that regard. We needed a little entertainment of some kind, some culture thrown in, and nice digs. Chicks don’t generally like crappy pub accommodation
with a dozen reprobates all sharing a bathroom. Neither do I when it comes to it.
And don’t get me wrong, it’s not just the ladies who like nice food and decent lodgings. Most guys do too. We’re just happy to forgo our self-respect a little more cheaply than the fairer sex.
Eventually the trip came together. This would be a three-day ride, lacking dirt, as half the crew were on road bikes, but still full of adventure.
It was Number 1 and me, plus three other couples, and it was shaping up to be a fun weekend. The weather gods were smiling, and although one couple had to pull out just before we went, the remaining six of us met at Windsor on Sydney’s outskirts on a Saturday morning There was Glenn and Cate aboard Glenn’s Ducati Multistrada Enduro, and Clare and Andrew, riding a Yamaha Tracer and Kawasaki ER6F respectively. They were joining my sainted wife on her KTM 890 and myself on my Ducati Multistrada. None of the couples had met before, but everyone hit it off immediately. It was apparent quickly that this would be a fun crew.
We headed west over the Blue Mountains to the sleepy gold rush town of Sofala.
After a poke around there for a bit (and chuckling at the very low door heights on the old buildings), we took the often forgotten and enjoyable road to Hill End, another historic gold rush town, to take in the sights and enjoy some lunch at the cale.

Hill End is a lovely town that probably all adventure riders in NSW know of, as it sits at the end of the famous Bridle Track. If you haven’t ridden it, put it on your list.
We then steered for Bathurst via Turon for a quick obligatory lap of Mt Panorama and a nose through the National Motor Racing Museum.
Whilst I have very little interest in car racing these days, I was a big Peter Brock fan as a kid, and seeing so many cars from that era in there brought memories flooding back. There was a Torana there driven by Colin Bond, who I met as a child as my grandmother somehow knew him. I’d completely forgotten about it until I saw the car sitting there.
There’s also some cool race bikes from the past that are worth a look.
The Motor Racing Museum gets 3 dented fenders out of 5, or maybe 4 out of 5 if you’re a real petrolhead farm, where they raise beef, lamb, and pork for use in their restaurants.
The menu is a mix of some restaurant type meals like confit duck, or a pork chop with poached seasonal fruit (which was delicious!), plus some pub favourites such as burgers and steaks that have been given a chef’s makeover. Then it was off to Rockley for a night in no short-order cook stuff here, it’s all
the Rockley Pub.
Yeah, I know, I said no pubs. But this one is a little different. The sleepy hamlet’s only waterhole is now owned by famous chef Matt Moran. The pub has been substantially renovated, with even more work planned. The food is as good as you’ll see at a pub, as you might expect given it’s owned by the chef who also runs restaurants such as Chiswick, Chophouse, and Aria in Sydney. Rockley is close to the Moran family top class.
And I know I said pub accommodation was off the menu for this trip, but the accommodation upstairs at The Rockley is fully renovated and quite lovely. The handful of rooms are cosy and warm, with ensuites to most rooms. Guests also have exclusive access to the upstairs balcony overlooking the little town and the park.
The pub lets you park the bikes on the grassed area behind their side gate over night, so you don’t have to worry about them disappearing for use as paddock bashers by the local kids, which is nice.
We scored The Rockley Hotel 5 sucked clean t-bones out of 5. It’s a top little place for a weekend away.
The heavens opened while we were having dinner, but by morning the rain was gone, and the air was crisp and fresh. Andrew was the smart one who brought a towel down from his room, and by the time I arrived with my luggage he had already wiped dry the seats and tanks on everyone’s bikes. What a lovely fellow. You don’t get that shit on an all-bloke tour Having girls around seems to bring out the best in us. Who knew?
We headed south through Tuena and were delighted to find the bends just before town have been beautifully resurfaced. Then it was on to Crookwell for brunch and a much needed coffee at Cafe Zesst, which is well worth a visit. We awarded the cafe 4 out of 5 caramel slices. Crookwell is also the home of former NSW politician Duncan Gay, who was the Roads Minister who legalised lane filtering for motorcyclists in NSW. He’s a top bloke, so buy him a beer if you ever see him in the pub there.
From there it was on to the boulevards of power in Canberra, where we spent a couple of very interesting hours wandering around the National Portrait Gallery. Half a dozen dirty motorcyclists wandering about the halls of the gallery probably isn’t argue occurrence these, but the place is fascinating and well worth a few hours of your time.

While we enjoyed the gallery, the slow food and eclectic service in the wasn’t quite so up to south. We gave thecate Whitley out of 5, but the gallery gets full.
We went heading for Now though we timed off for the coberta and 5pm at the ksontell Jarvis Bay
The place has had a major makeover since was at the 25 your and the rooms upstairs sequence, and some have ocean views for you to wake up to Food it good, and then in the woskund. A star of
1.5 swallowed fishbones out of 5 there The next morning, we made our way back towards Sydney, vis the roadworks infested Kangaroo Valley and the obligatory stop at the pie shop at Robertson I opted for my traditional sausage roll with sauce, while Number 1 had the pleasure of indulging in her first ever Portuguese lart. How she managed to get through her life until now without discovering their sweet, curdy goodness, I will never understand.

We said goodbye to Grand Cate who were headed to Sydney for that evenings Ducati launch, and Andrew and Clare joined Number 1 and I and headed for Mittagong, where they too left us and headed for home.
It was certainly an extremely different sort of motorbike trip to what I am used to. Three couple, all meeting for the first time, having a few days away riding bikes, eating great food, and having an
absolutely hilarious time. It was as much fun as any trip I’ve done with a group of bloke. But there was m. And we all had a blast. I’m sure it won’t be the last time we all catch up for a ride
When you get great people and bikes and a mad trip and mix them all together you’re generally guaranteed a memorable time will be had. I guess this that maybe, if we plan trips that are more classy than usual, our better halves might come and join us as well