TRAVERSE Issue 51 - December 2025 | Page 164

TRAVERSE 164
town for their Sunday morning coffee and breakfast. There were already groups of motorcycles and bicycles parked along Argyle Street and the cafes were in full swing. Motorcyclists getting a coffee fix after their ride out of Sydney and bicyclists getting their sugar fix for the next part of the ride.
Meeting a mate, Phil, at one of the service stations, we filled the tanks and headed to Picton via Razorback.
Old Razorback Road had reopened after suffering a landslide caused by torrential rain in 2022 and made for an alternative route out of Camden instead of using the Old Hume highway.
Joining the Old Hume Highway at the top of Razorback Mountain, a lookout gave a vista of the valley surrounding Camden and the horizon was dotted with skyscrapers of Sydney, Chatswood, and Parramatta. You realise you are not too far out of the Sydney CBD.
Rolling into Picton, the morning started to heat up, but the traffic was still low. Groups of motorcyclists’ wound along the road, having the same idea of spending a day riding to the Southern Highlands along the Old Hume Highway. Everything from adventure bikes to sports bikes to cruisers enjoying a Sunday in the saddle.
The single lane highway lined by gumtrees meandered through villages, past farmlets, and allows you to ride however you like, within reason.
Joining the expressway at Alpine, a short run veers into Mittagong where coffee and an egg and bacon roll await in any of the cafes. I can ' t recommend any particular cafe, as they are all popular. You just need to find one with an empty table and seats.
Riding through Mittagong, Bowral and into Moss Vale, the air had the aroma of freshly mown lawns and if I were a hardened vegetarian, I’ d have a craving for a salad. Luckily, Waldorf’ s are not in season.
The southern highlands are
TRAVERSE 164