Allyn River Road

After more than 60,000kms on my Super Tenere I've decided it's time to get it dirty but didn't really know where to start. I subscribed to Adventure Rider Magazine earlier this year because I was interested in their Adventure Challenge – essentially a whole lot of GPS co-ordinates that you ride to and take a pic. It struck me that if they were sending their readers to these locations that they would probably be reasonably accessible. Perfect.

So today, with the panniers off I headed out to the closest one, with some wicked clouds looming.  Straight up the New England to East Maitland, Morpeth, Patterson and past the Dungog turnoff that would usually be as far up this road that I'd usually go.  Then through Vacy to East Gresford.

I haven't been past East Gresford before and I now regret it. The road tightens, narrows and the scenery is great. There was cattle on the road, a dog ran out from a farmhouse and chased me, a kangaroo jumped out at me and then I got to the end of the tar onto an easy gravel road. Heaven on earth.

I made it to the Allyn River Road – Salisbury Gap Rd to take the pic, considering continuing on towards Dungog for a lap. However the sky looked very foreboding in that direction and the rain started to fall. Simple plan change, I rode home the way I came. The dog and the cows had another go, the kangaroo was nowhere to be seen.

A nice short ride squeezed in between some storms.