Motorcycle ride out of Sydney

The ride today was destined for St Albans, which is a great destination because it offers some of our better bitumen roads, particularly the one between Webbs Creek ferry and St Albans, and providing a dirt road link between Wiseman's Ferry and St Albans for the dirt riders, for whom there is an added bonus that one can leave St Albans and go up to Buckety on another fun dirt road after lunch.

I was shanghaied into leading the ride, as the designated leader was not available. I understand that he was pursuing family activities to build up his store of brownie points. Hope that worked for you, Ross. The weather forecast was for an ideal day, with a bit of fog at the start, then becoming sunny during the balance of the day and potentially rain late in the afternoon/evening. That's exactly what happened and we had great riding day. Given that the Berowra ferry was out of service, I chose to go over the Wiseman's Ferry, across the Webbs Creek ferry, and out to St Albans. I thought that with the extensive rain that we have had in the previous few days the dirt road might be a bit unattractive, but a few hardy souls choice that alternative.

We had our briefing, at which Stephen Davies (who was sporting his sparkling new Brand Name riding suit) introduced a new virgin rider, David, a friend of his and from Stephen's introduction also an "intimate" associate of Wayne Rees. We had about 20 riders, all keen to follow someone somewhere. John McKeon agreed to be tail-end Charlie, a duty he so frequently takes on. I hope everybody acknowledges their appreciation to him from time to time. Thanks John.

Road conditions for the day were interesting. It had been wet the night before, and with the sun so low in the sky, in many sections the road had not had the opportunity to dry before we were there, so we were going from dry road to wet road, and frequently from sunlight into shade where the sun was below the hills. This created an added challenge for the day, particularly on the section between Webbs Creek and St Albans.

Morning tea was at Spencer, and there was immediately a mad rush for the toilets as the toilets at the 7 Eleven are still out of service and many bladders were stretched even to get to Spencer. Those who did buy coffee there commented that the proprietor was much more friendly than usual. We'll see how long that lasts. We then headed to Wiseman's Ferry, crossed there and got to the Webbs Creek ferry just as it was ready to load. Everybody got on (or so we thought) and off we went to St Albans. Four off-roaders went directly from Wiseman's Ferry to St Albans, and they were comfortably ensconced at the main table in the park there when we arrived. We knew that Ronnie and John McK were going directly from Wiseman's back to their respective homes, so we knew the numbers would be depleted, but all of a sudden we realise that David, our virgin, had not arrived either. Well that was a bit embarrassing for Stephen, having introduced his friend and then leaving him to his own devices out in the boondocks. Stephen and Wayne backtracked to Wisemans, where they found that David ‘s Harley had failed to start on trying to get off the ferry, and was still sitting there failed to start. I’m told that in the end the bike was transported away by the NRMA, so obviously not just a loose plug lead.

Lunch was under an immense liquid amber tree that was losing its autumn coloured foliage, providing a very attractive ambience.

When lunch was done, Ron, Peter and Scotty took the dirt road north to Buckety to test their slippery road skills, while the rest of us set off to Webbs Creek ferry with a view of going through to either Galston  Gorge and the Pie, or directly home via Dural. I had a dream run down the Old Northern Road, as whenever I caught up to a slower vehicle it was at the start of a legal passing zone, so no hold-ups, but those behind me weren’t so lucky and the group broke up a bit. I hadn’t been through Galston Gorge for a couple of years, so that was fun too. Because I was heading back to the Central Coast, I was heading up the old Road to the Pie, where I caught a glimpse of Wayne and Stephen riding South. They had stopped at the Pie for a coffee and when no-one else turned up they headed home. By the time I got to the Pie, Suitcase followed me in, and then Peter and Ron arrived from their dirt exploits, so we all had a drink together and then we headed home.

It really was a great riding day. Not hot, but sunny with interesting roads and the added challenge of being careful in the wet spots. I had a great day, and I hope everyone else enjoyed it too.

Enjoy a motorcycle ride

Today three of us went on a ride to explore some roads to maybe include in future rides. The target was to check out the gravel road between Webbs Creek Ferry and Lower Portland on the northern side of the river, through the Leets Vale region.  We met at Road Warriors for a morning coffee, and then set off up the Old Road, Peats Ridge Road (Gee there are a lot of sand trucks on Peats Ridge Road and the bottom end of Wollombi Road) and turned left onto Wiseman's Ferry Road. We stopped at Spencer and humoured the store owner there by buying coffees, and then headed on to Wiseman's Ferry. We crossed on that ferry, and then Peter and I went across on the Webbs Creek Ferry while Kim stayed on the south side, with a plan that we would meet on the western side of the Lower Portland Ferry to find somewhere to go for lunch.

The road to Lower Portland from Webbs Creek is a left turn just after you leave the Ferry, which in  couple of kilometres reaches a Y junction, with a sealed road to the left fork (which we took but it was the wrong one) and a gravel road as the right fork. The road takes us through the very large rural suburb of Leets Vale, on a well-made gravel road which winds up and down into valleys and through very attractive properties along the riverside. It was a little bit corrugated in places, so would be bone-jarring on a road bike, but for those on chook-chasers, it  is a good trip. It takes about the same time to go from Webbs Creek to Lower Portland on either road, as the southern side is longer but all sealed, whereas the northern side is unsealed with some quite technical hairpin bends in and out of a couple of the ravines.

Given that the Sackville Ferry was out of service for the afternoon, we went down to Sackville Road and turned right towards Wilberforce. We stopped at the Tractor 828 Cafe on the left to see what their lunch was like, and we are happy to report that at least be steak  wrap and the BLT's were excellent. Worth considering for those wanting to have a lunch out on the road once the restrictions lift fully. It looks like a very attractive cafe, and it was buzzing this morning.

We then set off down to Windsor, then turned left towards Wiseman's Ferry, then turned right onto Saunders Road, Left onto Old Stock Route Road then right onto Scheyville Road past  National Park and up to Cattai  Ridge Road. Very little traffic and a good fast spin along there. We then went through Arcadia to the Berowra Ferry, and stopped for (another) coffee at the cafe just on the eastern side of the Ferry ramp. Again, a very pleasant coffee to say goodbye, and then two went south and one went north.

The riding was great, because while it was a little fresh in the first half of the day, it warmed up a very comfortable temperature for us to ride, stop, chat. A great day out.

- Frosty

For the chocolate lover in all of us

BAR100 will be taking part in the inaugural smooth Festival of Chocolate this weekend at The Rocks.

A sweet lover, chocolate connoisseur and foodie's delight, this free festival will be running from 10am – 5pm daily.

Visit BAR100 throughout the festival to indulge in a one of three specialty chocolate cocktails, the Chocolate Sazerac, Chilli-Chocolate Martini or Chocolate Indulgence.

BAR100 will also be offering a one-off venison burger with beetroot,  rocket, chocolate & chilli aioli served with sweet potato wedges.

All special BAR100 smooth Festival of Chocolate cocktails and its venison burger will be available to patrons throughout the month of October.

Interested in how to incorporate chocolate into savoury meals? Chef Tim Fisher from BAR100 will be demonstrating his succulent venison burgers with chocolate and chilli aioli at 4pm on Sunday at the smooth Festival of Chocolate's Callebaut Test Kitchen*.

The smooth Festival of Chocolate is a celebration of sweet, indulgent desserts, where Sydney's best boutique chocolatiers, pastry chefs and ice cream makers will come together to tempt you with their creations.

With hundreds of marquees filled with sweet treats and the Callebaut Test Kitchen featuring cooking demonstrations from your favourite chefs, and goodie bags to purchase this festival of chocolate experience will leave you wanting for nothing.

There will be lots of live performance throughout the weekend including the McClymont Sisters who will play on the smooth Music Stage on Sunday at 1.30pm and Hot Chocolate who will play at 4pm.

Situated in the heritage listed Mariners Church (est.1856) BAR100 is a stylish three level venue that offers various event spaces, bar and dining options with catering for events up to 800 guests.

*The smooth Festival of Chocolate's Callebaut Test Kitchen is located at The Rocks Square, Playfair Street, The Rocks.  

www.bar100.com.au

Cultural Charm of Yunnan Province

The "Eastern In-Flight Food Culture Year Ethnic Yunnan Cuisine Culture Week", themed on "Trek Tarantino Paths of the World and Experience the Yunnan Cuisine Culture", has recently allowed the vast majority of passen gers to experience the ethnio cultural charm of Yunnan cuisine.

Photo by Chantal Lim on Unsplash

During this special event, China Eastern Airlines is offering Yunnan gourmet dishes such as the spicy meat and sour Dali papaya chicken, the cnspy Dai-flavored dried beans, and the unforgettable Yunnan ham, on the Kunming to Shanghai and Beijing, and Shanghai to Beijing, Shanghai to Hong Kong, and Shanghai to Shenzhen routes. Available to first-class passengers on the Kunming to Beijing and Shanghai, Shanghai to Beijing, Hong Kong and Shenzhen routes are full-course meals based on the seven regional themes of Kunming, Lijiang, Dali, Xishuangbanna, Shangri la, Pu'er and Wenshan. Gourmet dishes such as the Xuanwei coin" ham, mixed mushrooms. stuffed greenhead mushroom, rice with peas, and banana flower with threaded chicken, are all on the menu. In addition, the activity theme "In Search of Flavor in Spring City" brings passengers to the streets of Kunming and let them "search for gourmet dishes. The activity themed "Lotus Scene at Medicine Mountain" showcases the ethnic Wenshan customs and culture. The activity themed "Passion for the Fragrance of Tea" encourages passengers to taste the smoothness of Yunnan Pu'er tea. Finally, the activity themed "In Search of Dongba" shares with passengers the distinct, thousand-year-old flavor of Dongba culture.

Characterized by sour and spicy flavors. Yunnan dishes are tender and fresh, fragrant and flavorful. They aim to retain the original juices and flavors of the ingredients and are world-famous for their ecological, environmentally friendly and healthy mushrooms.

CEAH Staff Representative Conference

The First Staff  Representative Conference and the Second Labor Union Representative Conference of China Eastern Air Holding Company (CEAH) was held in Shanghai on September 2, 2008. Members from top management, including Li Fenghua, Li Jun, Luo Zhigang. Cao Jianxiong, Liu Jlangbo, Chen Haju, Xu Znao, and senior executives trom China Eastern Airlines, including Zhang Jianzhong. Yang Ming and Fan Ru, joined by 201 staff representatives of CEAH, were present U Xuedong, Head of Bureau of Mass Work, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC under the State Council, Xiao Kuntao, vice chairman and deputy CPC secretary of Shanghai General labor Union, Se Llama, vice chairman of the Labor Union of the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Du Nager deputy inspector and head of department of organization, Shanghai General Labor Union were invited as special guests to the conference.

In the work report of the first CEAH labor union committee delivered by Lo Changing, vice president of CEAH, he underscored the important role of the labor union in publicity, organizing, educating and serving the staff and protecting their legal rights and interests in various work ranging from safe production, operation and management to the building of a harmonious enterprise and the implementation of steady reform and development. The labor union should focus on the central tasks and serve the general situation from a strategic perspective pursue the dialectical mindset of a scientific outlook on development, accurately Identify the new situation at home and abroad and the environment China Eastern Airlines is facing, thrash out new work methods and refresh the outlook of the labor union.

Li Jun, OPG secretary of CEAH, concluded the conference with a closing speech, in which he raised six requirements to labor unions of all levels and labor union leaders: To organize and mobilize the staff to make contribution to the mission of revitalizing Eastern Airlines, to endeavor to perfect the staff representative system and actively push for democratic corporate governance, to buid up harmonious employment relations to achieve a solid foundation for harmonious development to vigorously improve the overall quality of the staff and let the employees share the growth with the enterprise: to make robust progress with reform and innovation to enhance construction of the labor union, and to persist in leadership of CPC and give extra priority and support to work of the labour union.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Albert Einstein scientist, philosopher, and humanitarian was famous for his theory of relativity, first advanced in 1905. This theory revolutionized scientific thought with new concepts of time, space, mass, motion, and gravity. Expressed as E-MC Einstein's Theory of Relativity translates as "energy equals mass times the velocity of light squared. This theory equating mass with energy helped science to explode the atom.

Born in Ulm, Germany in 1879. Einstein came to the United States in 1932 and in 1940 became an American citizen. Einstein was a faculty member at the Institute for Advanced Study, one of the world's leading centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry, from 1933 until his death in 1955. His life and works are represented at the Smithsonian Institution in the collections of the National Museum of American History, the National Air and Space Museum, and the National Portrait Gallery. These museums hold one of his pipes, some of his manuscripts, many portraits of him, and much scientific apparatus that confirmed his theories altering our concept of the universe.

Text by Smithsonian Institution

Sno’n’Ski team Jalan mega famil

Sno’n’Ski Holidays’ first 2020 Mega Famil to Japan has ended on Saturday 29th February in Hakuba.

After experiencing the best of the Tohoku Region and Nagano Prefecture with four nights in each, the group of 30 agents from across Australia make a stop to the snow monkeys on their return to Tokyo to head home.

Beginning in Shizukuishi, the agents were amazed with the choices of runs and the lack of lift lines at this beautiful resort. Flight Centre Consultant Alannah Silva said, “While staying at the Shizukuishi Prince Hotel make sure to take advantage of the incredible onsen during your stay. Especially good to soothe muscles after a day on the slopes.”

“There are just so many runs to enjoy while here, make sure to try the night skiing, cat skiing and spend a day at Amihari Onsen Ski Resort or Iwate Kogen Snow Park to make the most of the whole region,” said Ms Silva.

After a traditional lunch of the regions iconic dish wanko-soba the agents headed for Appi Kogen Ski Resort, their second stop of the adventure.

“Appi was excellent, there were plenty of English-speaking instructors for anyone who had lessons, an excellent kids park and great runs for the more advanced people in the group”, said Nicole Bentley from Helloworld Travel.

“In terms of the terrain, Appi is a ski-in ski-out paradise and offers a really great split for all levels of skier. If you are travelling with children, they cater really well for families and have plenty of dining options to suit everyone. ”

Next, the group travelled by bullet train from Morioka to Nagano, which is a fun experience for anyone who hasn’t been on a bullet train before. Even with a large group the process was easy.

Pocket Travel Owner Claire Robertson-Holliday said, “Shiga Kogen was a winter wonderland, skiing through pine trees covered with snow was a magical experience. Japan’s reputation of powder snow lived up to it’s name in Shiga Kogen.“

The final stop of this 8-night itinerary was well known Hakuba in the Nagano Prefecture. Being the most well-known resort of the trip, agents were still pleasantly surprised by how much they learnt from visiting Hakuba.  Flight Centre Team Leader Paula Albers said, “Hakuba was so different to what I expected, it reminded me of Banff in Canada with lots of quaint buildings and a real village feeling.“

Overall, Sno’n’Ski’s 2020 Mega Famil was a mega success with 30 of Australia’s top-selling ski and snow travel agents experiencing four of Honshu’s ski destinations, lesser known resorts Shizukuishi, Appi and Shiga Kogen as well as Hakuba.

Sno’n’Ski General Manager, Daniel Walker, said their annual Mega Famil will return in 2021.  The official details of where agents will be heading is yet to be released.

“Each year we see more interest from agents, and we want to make sure we are maximising the first-hand experience of our top sellers to help them continue to develop their passion for selling snow holidays” said Mr Walker.

“The famil’s format allows attendees to completely immerse themselves in the intricate layers of each destination,” he concluded.

To check out this year’s Mega Famil highlight reel, search the Instagram hashtag #snonskimega2020.

Sno’n’Ski is currently promoting several unbeatable Japan ski packages, including a seven-night stay and ski deal from just $686 per person, based on twin share. Call 1300 766 754 or email info@snonski.com.au to find out more.