Ulysses Club - Port Macquarie Mid North Coast Branch

A night away staying at Mt Seaview with a few club members celebrating the branches 35th aniversary . Meeting there during the afternoon for a light lunch and chat . Phil and Louse arrived around 4 pm and joined for some drinks and cheeses, very nice. Back to our rooms for a freshen up and back for dinner with a few wines. Plenty of chat and laughter provided a very nice time. Heavy rain overnight put a stop to any further rides. So home it was ! Very good night had by those attending, thanks guys it was great.

Bit of a Mystery Bag today for the 10 Members at Oliver's. Hàkan & Paul L called by to say 'Hi'.
Dodger itching to go to Comboyne to avoid a possible drenching ! Look Spiffy Dodger !
Phil led the Group of 8 via the usual Scenic Route. Stoney Creek Road, Pembrooke Road, Telegraph Point Road, Kundabung, Kempsey & then the Cafe. Onya Phil !
Plenty of niceties on offer there.
Newbie, 'Hop', (Ian), joined us again. Still not a Carded Member yet. In the Pipeline. Couple a days !
Rain held off.
Rambler reconnoitred Tumblegum Bakehouse & Cafe, 54 Elbow Street, West Kempsey. Opposite West Kempsey Hotel. Good parking & plenty of room inside. Great Delectables. Blackwhite Expresso Coffee served.
Rambler did the Reverse Loop home.
Kempsey, Gladstone, Crescent Head, Kempsey, Kundabung, Telegraph Point, Pembrooke Road, Wauchope, Bago Road.
Dry until Kew !
A great day after all !

Amended May Rides

Another great roll up this morning of 20 plus riders ready for a run south. Quick meeting to cover our intended route as well a little general business and we were ready. Bob S lead the ride today via a mirriad of back roads turning what would normally be a 20 minute ride into one and a half hour ride. He adopted the corner man principle and it was a great idea given where we went. Great job Bob everyone said how much they enjoyed the ride to Stones Oysters and Seafood at Harrington. This time not just coffee and cakes but seafood too. Kevin L ordered fish and chips , what a massive serve of fish . No dinner you tonight Kev. Two visitors joined today with one being a prospective new member. Welcome Ian on his Ducati , hope you enjoyed our ride. Dale D also joined us today, he is holidaying in Port for a week and thought a nice ride with us old fellas was a good idea. And a good idea it was as he thoroughly enjoyed his scenic ride through the many back roads taken today.

Great morning! Meeting at Oliver's for early committee meeting then time to mingle with the guys, 24 riders today I was told. Another fantastic roll up. As part of our ride briefing were today's formalities. Of welcoming Terry and his Royal Enfield to our branch. Terrific to see support for our branch continually growing. Other formalities were Stuart receiving his 20 year membership badge. Well done Stuart 20 years is a long time buddy. Also were 70th birthday badges for Trevor and Peter, welcome to the official old fellas club ( just like most of us) . Ride through our usual north via Crescent Head and Belmore River to Gladstone Steam and Cedar. Plenty of coffee and cakes to keep the hordes quiet for a while and I managed to grab evidence by way of Woodsy hooking into a big juicy cake, go Woodsy proud of you buddy. From there Dij, Phil, Al and myself rode into town and presented a donation to the Anglican Church Kitchen. Supporting local charities is a huge plus for our club and we do the best we can for them. Beat the rain home which was everyone's number one priority. Terrific morning had by all

Friday coffee for 17 members today at Black Market Bagels Port Mac. Short ride to town then the chat started. Plenty of noise and I hope it didn't deter other customers from the venue. Staff were very happy to have us and they even took a group photo of everyone to post on their own FB page. Ian received his official 70th badge and welcomed into the 3 score and 10 club . After formalities and chat the group visited 4 Life Pantry for a charity donation. It's great to support local charity groups and we'll done to our club for raising funds to assist these local charities. Good to see Marrrtins dog allowed him out to join us all this morning. Extra pats for that. We dispersed around 11am and I followed Pat down the Oxley. Good to see Pat back on his bike and back to his chirpy self.

Please note : A change of date for our branch AGM which will now be June 16th. Same venue, same time as previously posted. Wauhope RSL 11am sharp.

Beautiful day for a ride, and ride we did! 20+ members joined our ride to Sth West Rocks. Leaving Oliver's after a quick briefing on intended route we saddled up and headed out via Oxley, then Pembroke Rd, Tele Pt, freeway to Kempsey, Crescent Head and left to follow Belmore River Rd to SWR. Minor hiccup for Phil but all good and no issues to speak of. We lost Chris, who disappeared somewhere in SWR. Saw him walking down the street, then he vanished. Shout out to new members who joined us for their first Ulysses ride!! Marilyn on her BMW and Michael from Comboyne on his VStrom 650 , welcome to both. Hope you enjoyed the ride and you had the opportunity to witness all the piggies wolfing into their coffee and cakes. I managed to grab a shot of one in action. The group stayed together well today which was fantastic, well done everyone.

Members please note, our AGM will take place at Wauhope RSL, Sunday June 9th @ 11am sharp. Please use nomination forms previously emailed to submit your choice on committee members. Please attend if you can.

Great day, 480 odd klms . Meeting at John's River with around 18 riders keen to saddle up. Phil lead out to Coopernook , Lansdown, Taree to our intended watering hole Garden Grub Wingham. Of course it was coffee and cakes with the odd egg and bacon roll just to keep the tribe happy. Pleasant ride through those back roads and everyone stayed together, which proves it CAN be done! Six rebels broke rank and extended the day to Gloucester, Barrington, Walcha, Gingers and home. A stop to fill at Gloucester then Thunderbolts Way, what a beauty. Great riding and next to no traffic for lunch at Walcha. Spent a little time talking to the local police who were incredibly personable and up for a laugh. Final stop at Gingers before hoping back onto the magic of the Oxley, again next to no traffic. We had clear road with twisties galour to satisfy any rider. Kev joined us on his brand new, shining cherry red triumph tiger 900 . Beautiful bike Kev , well done mate good choice . No Richo today! Shout out to Wendy dearest who has taken to reading about our rides with interest , well that's what she says. She laughs about the how much the piggies love their cakes. Maybe you can hitch a ride with one of us one day Wendy. Incredibly satisfying day and special thumbs up to Voges and Roger for some fantastic ks today

Nothing special today to post. Excellent roll up to the donut but many differences of opinion on destination. Comboyne with its lengthy roadworks and stop signs or Seaview with much of the same saw the group broke into 3 . Majority to Comboyne, 6 to Seaview and the smart ones, being Woodsy and Fish off to Crescent Head which should have been the choice to take. Never the less good to get out and about .

Everyone home safe which is the number one best outcome. Cold departure from Tamworth, plus wet. Not the best start but we left in 3 splinter groups. First out of the blocks left at 7am followed by next group not long after and Hutcho went his own way to Moonan Flat. Sunrise made for hard going early, added with wet road to Walcha for cups of coffee and scones for W***y. Very wet to roughly Seaview but road dried and remaining distance provided great riding. Overall a terrific 3.5 days in both riding and as a group. Talk of next one already happening ( sorry ladies but boys must have a bit of fun after working) . Sorry no pics today way too busy watching road conditions. A hearty thanks guys I personally thoroughly enjoyed myself and judging by the banter I'd say everyone did too !!!!!

Another top day! Fresh start from Mudgee at agreed time for departure ( 8am) and hit with a super strong cross wind. So uncomfortable with both bike and head copping it through to Coolah where we stopped for morning tea. Hutcho lead the troops straight to the bakery. Coffee and cakes of course, what else could it be! I asked a lady in the street if she could get the mayor to turn the wind off. She replied " the wind never stops here love " , bloody annoying for a couple of hours I'd go mad if I had to live there. Once we hit the hills and tree line all wind stopped, bliss from then on. Uneventful trip to Tamworth, booked in to our motel where Phil and Ray had dip ( to cold for the rest of us) . Cuppa and yaking with the guys before we heard the call for alcohol. So shower, brisk walk to the pub for a couple then beautiful Vietnamese for dinner. Unanimous decision, fabulous dinner. Hutcho mowed into the biggest laksa I've even seen. So big he couldn't finish. Now back, footy and early start for home. Everyone has been having a great time and talk of next one in the wings.

Today is what motorcycle touring is all about, sensational day. Day started with a tiny drama, Ray couldn't start his bike so pulling covers off, setting jump start only to find it was in gear with side stand down. We were offering helpful hints and I think his patience was close to the limit because he politely said " too many cooks thank you " . Anyway sorted out and away with first stop Rylstone, beautiful little town, Kandos, Ilford, then Sofala. Historic gem, hasn't changed in donkey's years. Short run around town the Hill End pub for lunch / drink. Another fabulous place! Final run to Hargrave then Mudgee . Everybody is pumped it was such a great day and this is just day two.

After meeting at John's River the group going to Diamond Head had their briefing while the mudgeesmuglers made saddled up and headed out. Voges tagged along until Singleton where he turned around for home. A few mishaps or brain fades by W***y missing our turn off at Nabiac, then Phil had a turn at it and missed our turn off at Stroud. Plenty of jokes at their expense gave quite a few laughs. Lunch at Singleton, then onto Denman . Good motel to end the day after around 365klms. Going to be stinking hot tomorrow , phone say 37 degrees . So early start for us poor old fellas to beat the heat by getting klms done before we cook.

Excellent ride today. Ray counted 26 bikes at Fredos Pies Fredrickton. Most rides did the long loop to Fredos via Pembroke, Kempsey, Crescent Head, Smith town to finally meet at Fredrickton. A small group rode direct via the freeway. We filled Fredos pretty quickly but staff were on the ball and coffees / cakes / pies were served incredibly quickly. No complaints from the hungry ones who were licking their lips with anticipation at hooking into their Wednesday luxuries. Woody, Fish, Voges, Swampy, Big Al, Brian W and myself extended to Bellbrook. Great ride, road was passable and very enjoyable with enough twisties to get a buzz. Ah the joys of motorcycling, it's the best. Bite to eat, plenty of chat over lunch before chasing Voges back via Dondingalong , freeway and home. Chalk that one up as a beauty!

What a massive day! Voges clocked it at 563 Klm, my arse agrees with him. Meeting at John's River and a very good roll up of 18 + riders. A briefing on route plus club business then saddle up to Lansdowne Rd and looping around to Taree, left back to Harrington then Crowdy Head. Seating was a premium however no complaints because the piggies had a great choice of coffee, cold drinks, fish and chips for Hutcho, Phil busted and knocked off a cake while Wayne scoffed not one cake but two of them, good on you buddy. Beach was way too tempting for Ray and he hit the waves for swim, have to say it did look very inviting. Ted presented himself all very jolly and up for jokes at other people's expense, mostly mine in fact. Myself, Voges, Brian W and Ted extended via Lakes Way to Buladelah where Ted pulled the pin. His arse was telling him enough already. But great effort for his first ride in close to 2 years. So 3 carried on to Myall Lakes ferry, Mungo Brush then to Tea Gardens for a bite eat. My bum was not looking forward to the ride home but the magic of Wooton Way made it all worth it. Arrived home at 5pm , long, good and fun day for us.

Another hot ride, but it's better than rain. Which we've had for days now and I'm sure everyone was as pleased as I was to get out again. I counted 17 early but a couple more joined after that. Meeting at The Donut, plenty of chat before a briefing on the route and leader for today's ride we were lead out by Voges. Good job today Mick, you chose an interesting road network to our watering hole . Which was Stuart's PT via Pembroke Rd , passing Tele Pt to freeway, then Kunderbung, Kempsey, Crescent Head, Be more River Rd, Gladstone then onto Stuart's PT. Great cafe, plenty of room for everyone where all the piggies mowed down coffee and cakes. After this Voges, myself, Brian Alan, Fish and Woody extended to Macksville via Bowraville for lunch. Terrific ride through all those back roads to Bowraville. A quiet town that looks like time forget it was there. Really quaint town and a place I never been to. From there freeway home and total Klm for the day 307k . A huge welcome home and back to Brian, great to see you with us again mate. Arrived home around 2.45pm hot and glad to get all that gear off.

Hot one today! Day started off badly when I left home and made it to the donut only to find I left my wallet at home. So back I go loosing my fill up time so made a be line for John's River meeting place. Good roll up with at least 20 is my guess. Briefing and away to Rock pool cafe Tuncurry where tables were a premium this morning. Word must have gotten out so all the locals rushed to grab the seats. Spreading ourselves out the coffee and cake kept the piggies happy. Fish, myself and Haken extended to Pacific Palms, Lakes Way to Buladeala, the fantastic Wooten Way to Nabiac Hotel for a cold drink. One juice, one lemon lime and one beer. Sat in the air conditioning before hitting the furnace outside to ride home. Straight in the pool once home........ Bliss

A nice change today, very pleasant temp for a ride
Meeting at Oliver's for a run to Kempsey Golf Club Cafe 13 riders , with one missing, Dij ! What's happening Dij? Ted had another no go with his XT660 , that was bad luck mate. Hopefully next week buddy. Great to see Richo back in the saddle today . Back roads through Pembroke, Kunderbung then freeway to the cafe. Only I took a wrong turn, completely missing the cafe. No problem though I received a pretty good stir up from the guys. Of course mandatory Coffee and cake kept the piggies happy. An extended ride 6 riders to Crescent Head then onward to Sth West Rocks. Excellent fish and chips for some and potato scallops for others. Uneventful ride home via Jerseyville and freeway. Nice, comfortable ride today.