Solo Adventure Day 4 - Nowendoc Road - a slice of dirt road heaven!

Finally the rain stopped!
The timing was perfect, I was about to ride from the top of the range to the sea on possibly the most scenic and fun dirt road I've ever had the pleasure of riding.
I cannot recommend this road to any adventure rider highly enough.
Bike: 2013 Honda CB500Xa now over 127000Km of Adventures!
Stock wheels and suspension - a few, off-road suitable & protective mods:
Evotech Performance Radiator Guard
Honda Centre Stand
Honda Hand Guards
Palmer Products Adjustable Screen Mount
Hepco & Becker Engine Guard
MOTEA Bash-plate (modified to keep Honda Centre Stand and to Mount off Crash Bars instead of sump lugs)
RHK 20mm Bar Risers
SW Motech On Road/Off Road Footpegs
Rally Raid ABS Kill Switch
Staintune Pipe
Helmet Hook
Omni-Cruise Cruise Control
Dri Rider ZXS2 Soft Panniers
Shinko 705 tyres 170 60 R17* 120 70 R17
****October 2019 changed rear to 150 70 R17****
Gear:
Airoh Commander Helmet
EVS Epic Knee Guards
DriRider Adventure Series Jacket
Shark Kevlar Jeans
Shark Xplorer Adventure Boots (Mid)
5 Sport City Gloves
Dri Rider Superfabric Wet/Cold Weather Gloves
Cameras:
Sony FDR-X3000
Drift HDGhost
Drift Ghost S
Drift 4K (2 of)
CanonSX740HS
Drone: DJI Mavic Pro
Recording set up explained here:
kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZu2fnmXoc54gas
Music by Captain Cranky ©urgentmusic productions - all rights reserved

[@anthonylimpus7189]

Enjoyed your vid Dave. Looks like a fabulous part of the world. Glad you were blessed with a blue sky day...

[@CaptainCrankyMotovlogger]

Thanks Tony, absolutely stunning couple of hours ride through that valley. I originally intended to do it after Brackendale Road (the dirt road we did together up there) as it would have started from close to Tia Falls - but since I abandoned the idea of Tia Falls due to very wet weather I just enjoyed a bit of Thunderbolts Way instead :)

[@anthonylimpus7189]

@@CaptainCrankyMotovlogger I am heading down this week for an organized ride back to Qld, with most of it on dirt. Sadly, weather forecast is not looking promising - at least there won’t be any dust 🤣 Not certain of the route, it may go on a similar route to yours…

[@CaptainCrankyMotovlogger]

@@anthonylimpus7189 Hope it goes well... weather forecasts only seem accurate up to an hour ahead these days...

[@MidCoastAdventures]

For me it's one of the best ways to get up the top of the Divide. Love those wide open farmland and massive views just before the climb. Cheers for reminder of how Good Nowendoc Road is 😎👍

[@CaptainCrankyMotovlogger]

Cheers mate, yes my first time along there, won't be my last :)

[@AfricaTwin-Stuff]

Agree the Nowendoc road is a favourite - particularly those open spaces with big views. Glad you had a good day for it.

[@CaptainCrankyMotovlogger]

Just a beautiful day in every way mate, loved it :)

[@matthewburnett2202]

Not in a position to do this, but after a day of work, it centres me watching.Thankyou for posting.👍

[@CaptainCrankyMotovlogger]

That's awesome! Good to hear I brought someone a little light :)

[@LenScapoff]

Beautiful terrain to ride through, David, and thankfully you (and we) were able to appreciate it in the sunshine. If you were experiencing any "range anxiety" from Nowendoc on, then you concealed it well - I'd have been sweating on it myself.

[@CaptainCrankyMotovlogger]

Cheers Tony - yes an awesome, scenic ride and perfect weather for it :) The CB has a very risk-averse fuel gauge - I've been 3L into "reserve" before and still had a couple of Litres left - but, by the time I got to Mount George and found the General Store closed I was really starting to worry!!

[@BigBikeAdventures]

Thanks for sharing, not a track I’ve been on but it’s been added to the list. It’s a shame Drift didn’t keep up with the POV market. They made the perfect MOTOvlog camera, is just a pity they couldn’t get the image stabilised or the wide enough field of view. Everything else was exactly right for helmet cameras.

[@CaptainCrankyMotovlogger]

It's a joy of a road Steve, and in amongst great areas to explore, as you'd know! Totally agree, they had it right at the start of the Action Camera times - about 12 years ago - and went totally the wrong way - removing the mic socket and making the battery built in an irreplaceable - reducing their FoV from 170 to 160 then actually to 140 in their latest, . Makes the footage look slo-mo and their attempts at stabilisation did that even more. Sony is working again now it's dried out, but is temperamental...

[@JustTex]

Wow need to add this road to the list for sure, couldn't have pick a better day for it, cheers 4 sharing sir.

[@CaptainCrankyMotovlogger]

It's a beaut mate! Can't believe I hadn't ridden it before, been close to there so many times. Cheers Tex!

[@williamzoom]

That's a great ride right there, love riding dirt roads if I am alone!

[@CaptainCrankyMotovlogger]

YES! And this was such a treat - a couple of hours, awesome road, spectacular views and only cattle to have to share it with 😆

[@BigBert]

Spectacular valley 🤩

[@CaptainCrankyMotovlogger]

Totally is Bert - just awesome to ride through!

[@seanb1081]

Wow! What a beautiful valley to ride through along a gravel road ideally suited to the CB500X. Nothing wrong with the video quality looked fine to me.! Then again, I grew up in the days of 720p video. and video tape cameras :-)

[@CaptainCrankyMotovlogger]

Yes it's just a stunning ride and overall area. Ha ha - yes I even remember Super 8...

[@CalmBiker]

I definitely feel more confident going uphill than down. Not sure why. Really beautiful countryside. I definitely start to worry when it starts flashing, even though I know there's another 50 miles in it!

[@CaptainCrankyMotovlogger]

I think s it's to do with the "lack of control" feeling because the bike wants to keep going, whereas uphill the bike wants to stop - it's especially scary on downhill, loose gravel. Don't know about the later models, but on the early CB500X the fuel gauge is set for the 13L tank of the CB500R, so has an extra 4L of forgiveness even after the imagined reserve has run out. So with a 17L tank I've often gone way over the reserve and then only been able to get 14L in when I've refilled!!

[@lesking4219]

awesome video Captain an like the ending an I think I need to do that road on my new bike

[@CaptainCrankyMotovlogger]

New bike??? Tell me, tell me...

[@MrAusadventure]

With a voice like yours, you'd make a great political advertising speaker. 🤣 That was nice of those guys to offer you a cuppa! It's a shame about the camera because the Drift definitely does not do the same job! But you get that. What awesome views though! Even though most of us are more comfortable riding uphill than down, the views are usually a lot better going downhill! What an awesome road! I've heard of it for years but never seen what it looks like in there until now! Love it! (although I am having a deja vu moment with that comment) 🤔 What a cliffhanger to end on! Great video mate, another road I definitely have to take!

[@CaptainCrankyMotovlogger]

Ha ha - you liked my disclaimer dome like those dumb political hype ads? 😆 Yeah I was very much able to enjoy the moments of this whole trip ran the camera, didn't know if it was any good and didn't care, so it was a bonus to find I did have some stuff that I could put videos together with, as simply making the videos is a big part of my happiness. We've shown each-other a few awesome roads over the years mate, hopefully more to come 👍

[@MrAusadventure]

@@CaptainCrankyMotovlogger That was my feeling with my Tassie videos and even the Victoria trip before that. I knew I was having camera issues but thought "I'm just going to ride and enjoy it and whatever I capture is what I get, I'm not worrying about it." Definitely more exploring and sharing to come mate! 👍

[@berniebne8243]

One for the bucket list. I went from Denman via Barrington Tops then up Thunderbolts way to Walcha. I probably could have fitted Nowendoc rd in if I'd known. But it would have been a big day.

[@CaptainCrankyMotovlogger]

That sure would have been a big day. You would have needed to go from Gloucester down to nearly Wingham in order to go back up!

[@HippoDrones]

I am very much enjoying following you along on this trip mate... Although the range anxiety is hitting hard, especially with the close out! 😀 (I'm assuming you are alive? 😀hahaha)

[@CaptainCrankyMotovlogger]

Glad to hear it Pete, thanks mate! Yeah I knew I'd make it to Mount George, but forgot I'd added 60Km to the trip with my detour to Walcha the previous day, then when Mt George was closed I really started to worry!! You'll have to wait until next week to see if I made it out alive 😆🤣

[@HippoDrones]

@@CaptainCrankyMotovlogger I shall sit by my computer screen waiting to see if you are still alive! 😀

[@CaptainCrankyMotovlogger]

@@HippoDrones 😁🤣