This pic showed up in my Facebook memories this morning. Unremarkable as it shows one of my favourite photography spots, just east of Kangaroo Valley and before you begin the climb up Cambewarra Mountain.
The photo is from 6 years ago and, checking the original listing, I realised that this must have been the first time that I did The Lap on Rhonnda, having purchased her just a couple of weeks previously in January 2017. It sure doesn’t SEEM like 6 years ago, but the timeline doesn’t lie.
I don’t know how many times I have done The Lap, but it must be hundreds. I started when I came back to live here in Wollongong in early 2004 and it was a favourite run of the early Illawarra Riders gang. Of course, the road wasn’t quite the same then; in fact, it was much better as a couple of years of constant rain had caused massive damage to all the mountain roads on the highlands, repair work which the local councils are struggling to complete. Indeed, the uphill run to the top of Cambewarra Mountain is still restricted to one lane and the damaged section can be seen as gradually disappearing off the edge of the mountain and into the valley below. Just how much time it will take to restore and how much money it will cost is anyone’s guess.
Anyway, it’s nice to be reminded of one of my favourite roads and my favourite photography spots.
Incidentally, you may notice that the registration of the bike is different here. When my brother bought his 2nd VFR it had AUW 02 on it but he had a personalised plate which he wanted to keep. Knowing that I’d be interested in his plate because of its racing connection, he offered it to me and I handed in the plate seen here and Rhonnda has worn the AUW 02 plate ever since.
It seems like forever since the MotoGP season finished and it’s still a way to go till the new one starts. Testing is happening at Sepang at the moment with the top 13 bikes all within a second of each other, which looks good. Testing times, as I have said on many occasions, are totally meaningless but it does look like, on the surface, that the Japanese manufacturers have made some strides in bridging the performance gap to the Ducatis. Let’s hope so.
Off to the speedway tonight, it’s going to be 33 degrees this afternoon so the track preparation crew are going to have their hands full.
Catch you tomorrow.
