Page 11 - NLH Newsletter December 2022

Twilight Ride to Stockton 27 Nov 2022

We had a reasonable group of hopefuls waiting at Hexham when I arrived there. As is often the case
lately the weather forecast contained no guarantees when it came to rain, but it did look reasonably
promising.

8 motorcycles and a Spyder left McDonalds with Mark in the lead and Paul as tail end charlie. The
group followed the highway up to Heatherbrae and then turned off into Raymond Terrace and
directly up to Clarence Town where we had our first break near the Williams River Holiday Park.
There was no coffee, but there were toilets available which is always a good thing at our age.

After the break, we left Clarence Town and made our way towards Buckets Way. The road was
bumpy and full of pot holes but we are now so attuned to dodging them, that no real problems were
reported. At Buckets Way we turned back toward the Pacific Highway which we followed into
Karuah where we had our second break near the river.

Karuah seems like a great place now it is no longer on the highway. I’m sure some business owners
would disagree, but it seems very peaceful now. There does seem to be a fair amount of housing
development though, so that may change in due course.

After the second break we headed back toward Newcastle, with a detour through Medowie and
Williamtown. On this part of the trip, we went past the second of the speed cameras we saw that
day. Clearly, they are very active at the moment… Merry Christmas. There were also some storm
clouds becoming apparent on the horizon as we came back toward Stockton.
We arrived at the General Washington Hotel in Stockton, to be greeted by some other members who
had joined us for dinner. After a fine meal and the usual banter people started to leave and find their
own way home.

A storm went through not too long after we got home but I am not aware of anyone having to ride in
the rain.

It was a pleasant afternoon and dinner. Thanks again to Mark who led the ride and to Paul for his
work as tail end Charlie. Neither stayed for dinner.

 “HAPPINESS IS A MOTORCYCLE, A FULL TANK OF GAS AND TWISTY
ROADS.”

 “WHEN LIFE THROWS YOU A CURVE… LEAN INTO IT, PICK YOUR LINE AND KEEP
YOUR WEIGHT ON THE OUTSIDE PEGE.”

 “A GOOD LONG RIDE CAN CLEAR YOUR MIND, RESTORE YOUR FAITH
AND USE UP A LOT OF FUEL.”
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