EAST LYNNE BIKESTOP

The old bike is quietly idling outside my shed, slowly warming up,

as I check that I have everything on board and that it is well secured.

It all looks good, and I fasten my helmet and rock the bike off the centre stand.

Jenny, my old black dog, quickly positions herself near my feet, right beside the bike,

and waits for me to raise my hand off the left grip.

She quickly slips onto the tank and lets me adjust her Doggles, and we are off.

There is no rain forecast for this weekend, and I am looking forward to an easy ride,

a weekend away, a bit of relaxation and some good times.

The south coast of NSW is a really great place to ride, especially during the cooler months,

when the traffic is thin and the locals are busy relaxing.

It only takes us twenty minutes to reach the Princes Highway, and by then we have settled into a comfortable pace.

All is going well and I can’t wait to getting the first 100 kms behind us.

The Princes Highway, quite rightly has a shocking name for safety, being well known for a host of fatalities over the years.

This highway is a piece of National Infrastructure that has seemed to miss out on adequate funding for many decades,

even though it is a major road linking Sydney and Melbourne, and is the main supply route

for all the communities along the way.

There is no railroad along this coast and so the road carries all the traffic and this is exacerbated during

the school holidays.

Although the NSW RTA has been very busy in recent times upgrading the road to better suit the amount of traffic,

there are still portions that require the rider to keep an extra eye out for danger and to be wary of all the

impatient car drivers.

With this on my mind I tend to settle into a comfortable speed, and ride to the condition of the road.

Before long, the highway takes me through Milton and Ulladulla and now it is beginning to feel like I am getting

away from the sprawling rooftops.

For me, this is where the South Coast really begins.

This portion of the road is good, with regular overtaking lanes and a few sets of great corners, which can be taken

safely at a reasonable speed.

As I mentioned, my first stop heading south is only about a hundred kilometres into the trip,

but I always have to be careful that I do not miss it!

You see, there is this great long, sweeping, right hand corner that seems to go for ever,

followed immediately by a long left hand sweeper that straightens out and then turns into

a series of small, fast corners that always gets my blood going,

and entices "Jenny the Dog" to move forward on the tank a bit and lean eagerly into the bends.

After a couple of minutes of this, the road offers another long left hand sweeper that nearly takes me straight past

the great East Lynne Pie Shop.

For those of you that know this road, it is always very tempting at this point, to open the throttle and

power down the straight in search of the next corner, but this is a BikeStop that should not be missed.

The pie shop is on the western side of the highway, is surrounded by gum trees, and to the uninitiated,

it might look just like any of the sleepy country fuel stops that are along this part of the highway.

The East Lynne BikeStop has the best pies that I have ever tasted (sorry Mum!!)

and for the past two years they have been deservedly voted the 3rd best pies in the country.

The coffee is excellent, and there is a great place under the trees to stretch out on the grass to enjoy it all.

Colin and Michelle provide great service and friendly conversation, and will help in anyway they can.

The last time I was there filling up with fuel, Colin came out from the shop and told me that my taillight was out.

He promptly went back inside and got a handful of bulbs and a couple of screwdrivers AND a coffee for me,

and sat on the gravel and changed the bulb, chatting all the time, asking about my bike and the days ride.

He accepted money for the coffee but wouldn't take a couple of dollars for the bulb.

You have to love places like this - genuine interest and genuine service - what a great BikeStop.

Like all the good BikeStops, the East Lynne Pie Shop provides a large well surfaced area to park the bike,

where it is not only clearly visible to me while I relax on the grass for 10 or 15 minutes,

but the old bike is also pleasingly displayed to the passing traffic.

It is always great to see a group of bikes, all different ages, types and colours, lined up outside of a BikeStop,

ready for the obligatory touring photo, and this seems to regularly occur here.

I visit this place often, being only an hour or so from home, and I always sit back to share a pie with Jenny,

and decide if I will go back home again,

or if the whether is ok, consider if I should go up the Clyde or head further down the coast and up the Brown.

I love sitting near the bike, on the bank up near the bus stop, with a coffee and a smoke,

watching the traffic passing by, oblivious to what they are missing.

Naturally I wave to the riders as they pass, and often they brake and turn into the wide parking bay

surrounding the East Lynne BikeStop, and come over to join me.

Once they look, once they see this place, bike riders seem to notice what they are about to zoom past.

It is a great place to refuel, being about mid way between Ulladulla and Batemans Bay,

so it is well placed if you are riding down the coast from Sydney.

My mates and I regularly, use this spot as one of our regrouping stops when we are travelling together.

It has great visibility and a relaxing atmosphere.

Unlike most service stations along the highway, this is an extremely pleasant place to sit and wait,

until everyone has turned up and we are all ready to head off again.

But today, Jenny and I are riding alone, and I have just enjoyed a decent coffee and shared a pie with Jenny,

topped up with fuel, used the toilet,

answered my text messages and stretched my legs, and it is time to keep riding.

I have decided to continue further on down the coast, to the next BikeStop.

The sky is blue and the horizon is crystal clear, which will make the ocean roads past Narooma

a perfect scene to ride through.

I remember how it looks down there on days like this – with the blue ocean, yellow sand and the rolling hills

of the south coast - which always seem to be a lush green.

"Come on Jenny, wake up, we have things to see, places to get to........ "