Wall to Wall ride for remembrance 2016 - Western Riders

Wall to Wall ride is an annual event to remember fallen police officers in Australia. Each State and Territory's police force has a wall of remembrance to remember fallen colleagues, with the combined names of all officers in Australia who have fallen in the line of duty presented on the National Police Memorial in Canberra. The ride occurs before the National Police Remembrance Day, normally a couple of weeks prior which is held at the end of September each year.

[cid=159891,https://dn3bmh8yk8vvw.cloudfront.net/A_fXWmxVx0rkT6hVpdwL9LuodU0=/fit-in/600x600/WlQXW8jPRT23j1odoLgw_IMG_1344.JPG]

This year, as I live about 10km from the National Memorial, I decided to meet up with some friends at Dubbo Police station, making the ride a 3-day ride.

15th September - Queanbeyan to Dubbo - 436km

So today is the start of the ride for me. I am meeting up with a friend, who picked up his new BMW S1000R yesterday and has put just under 1000km on it ready for its run in service. As there isn't a BMW dealer near him, he is coming to meet me at BMW in Canberra to have the service done. He arrived a bit late so there is a delay in getting the service done, so now it is a case of waiting around. Finally, the bike is serviced and we are off. As it was starting to get late and the prospect of a 5-hour ride to Dubbo was looking like we would be riding in the dark, I was trying to push the speed limit as much as I could to have as little night riding as possible. As we left Canberra, the fine drizzle/rain welcomed us for the next 2 hours, on and off. We decided not to put our wet weather gear on, just to embrace it with open throttles.

[cid=159903,https://dn3bmh8yk8vvw.cloudfront.net/j8R-FWnAO_gP4Q8uiSZt9CrfYVM=/fit-in/600x600/PPeUY3rRrOevcNxOlwJy_IMG_1354.JPG]

We arrived in Cowra for fuel and a much needed break. My friends new bike looked great and I could tell his move up from the a GS500 to a S1000R was a positive move for him, never seen him smile so much. Recently in New South Wales, there has been quite a bit of rain, causing a number of roads to be closed due to flooding. This rain has also opened up a number of pot holes. Thankfully we didn't have any issues and avoided them.

[cid=159896,https://dn3bmh8yk8vvw.cloudfront.net/ejAPNEp_0K2vHZR-S8J2OURLO50=/fit-in/600x600/OBJyc5O1RpGafL9ENKRk_IMG_1355.JPG]

Leaving Cowra, we decided to stay on the main highways, this was due to road closures and the state of some of the roads, plus it was the most direct route. Another 2 and a half hours and we arrived in Dubbo for a much needed Pizza and Beer.

16th September 2016 - Dubbo to Kangaroo Valley - 574km

Wake up early in the hotel and set off to Victoria park for a couple of photos with a friend who lives in Dubbo who bought a Ducati xDiavel recently.

[cid=159902,https://dn3bmh8yk8vvw.cloudfront.net/femnu0Ch9yAo4Dm4nXf82SJdwvg=/fit-in/600x600/IExWfRqKiveVVqrCqtQv_IMG_1359.JPG]

Quick photos and we were off to Dubbo Police Station to join about 25 other riders. There was a good turn out with all kinds of bikes. Not only was it riders from Dubbo, but others like myself had ridden to Dubbo to join the group for the ride. Dubbo was also able to provide a solo Police escort.

[cid=159904,https://dn3bmh8yk8vvw.cloudfront.net/VdJRmQizaPplzBHcfip1XdguXYI=/fit-in/600x600/rgLx1VByQNGfseFodJWk_IMG_1361.JPG]

8.30am, with a small crowd cheering us on, we set off under escort. As there were others wanting to join up en route, we went via Mudgee to pick of them up and then heading to Perthville for lunch. A small amount of rain greeted us as we left Mudgee, but in all it was a good section of the ride. We arrived at the pub directly accross from the memorial to Paul Quinn, a police officer who was shot in the area in 1987. The previous year we held a small service at the location and this year it was time for lunch.

After lunch we headed south towards Marulan picking up more riders along the route. Passing Goulburn, the home of the NSW Police Academy, brought back memories of running along the local roads and doing lots of study. We arrived at Marulan for some fuel and some refreshments.

[cid=159905,https://dn3bmh8yk8vvw.cloudfront.net/AmBovHtlA8_Hr4l_kK3LeL0y0mc=/fit-in/600x600/leCbKLulRQu5THLqu2XM_IMG_1363.JPG]

Last hour of the journey saw us taking on the country roads heading to Kangaroo Valley. As I was being too slow getting ready to go, a group of 4 of us carried on along the highway missing the turn off the rest of the group took. We turned off the highway a bit later, and still caught some of the best roads in the area for bikes. Sadly, we got caught up with some traffic, so we were unable to fully enjoy the roads. We arrived at Kangaroo Valley before the rest of the group, checking into our accommodation. The rest arrived just as I headed over to the pub to quench my thirst. Good day of riding with the weather having a limited impact on the ride.

17th September - Kangaroo Valley to Kiama and then Canberra via Batemans Bay - 376km

Early wake up and get on the bike for breakfast in Kiama with another group of Wall to Wall riders. This road out of Kangaroo Valley is very tight and cannot be done with any speed, but offers some fantastic views.

[cid=159908,https://dn3bmh8yk8vvw.cloudfront.net/vj31BhkMclOxcjN5fLONwul4h9Q=/fit-in/600x600/BZ0mDijhT4q7BjuAFO9Z_IMG_1365.JPG]

Sadly, as we were riding in a group, I couldn't stop to get a photo of the view. We carried on through the village of Berry and on the main highways to Kiama, pulling up at the rear of the Police Station. A bacon sandwich and $10 in the raffle (Didn't win a thing) and back on the road, heading south to Batemans bay. The road is very good and despite going through a couple of towns the pace was very quick. We arrived at a petrol station to fill up before the ride up the Clyde mountain. This road is one of the best motorcycle roads I have ever been on, and is something I have been looking forward to all ride. We proceeded up the mountain, meeting the riders from Victoria in Braidwood who had stopped for a break. Passing them, there was minimal traffic was we approached Bungendore and headed onto the Federal Highway to get to the meeting point at EPIC.

At EPIC (Exhibition Park In Canberra) there were a number of stalls to look at as well as people offing massages and adventure trips. About 3.00pm we formed up on the road which was closed to other traffic. We lined up on the highway before we were given a green light corridor to the National Police Memorial.

[cid=159909,https://dn3bmh8yk8vvw.cloudfront.net/MKsTXTTqfjel7XDqptlPxiu-ECg=/fit-in/600x600/Hngr1Vi1TiiWgNMnFt5D_IMG_1379.JPG]

[cid=159910,https://dn3bmh8yk8vvw.cloudfront.net/Pl8ZxFdVQgS7h8jMKOvY2ySkR5g=/fit-in/600x600/d5Tg2gFSucFP3lb7rdlQ_IMG_1378.JPG]

[cid=159911,https://dn3bmh8yk8vvw.cloudfront.net/ky-Sp6Bqd1u-AOqBSZHyB91Ile4=/fit-in/600x600/DzCgWfTRI6gkSvX6uAU0_IMG_1371.JPG]

We arrived at the memorial all together, parked up and paid our respects. There were in total 2075 registered riders, but believe there were plenty more bikes there. Fantastic service, and very sombre but fitting for the day. After the service, I headed home for a feed and some much needed sleep. Great ride and would recommend it to anyone, no matter if you are Police or not.