VVMC invite to annual Poker Run on the 8 March

The VVMC have written to invite members to their annual Poker Run on the 8th March 2014

Details:

• From :7:30 a.m - 5.30 p.m.
• Registration from 7.30 a.m
• Raffles!, Prizes!Food! and Family Fun!
• All motorcycles and level of skill welcome!
• Kickstands up at 10:30 a.m.
• Benefitting Veteran Rehabilitation
• STARTING AT THE BREDBO COMMUNITY HALL
• Monaro Highway Bredbo

>> FLYER <<

YOUNG Sunday 23 Feb 2014

Well a great gathering assembled at Nichols with the weather promising to be a fabulous day. Looking at the line up of bikes it was great to see so many riders. After some social chatter and laughs it was time for Chas to address the assembled crowd and explain the route we would be taking and some pointers about safety etc.

It was a pleasant ride down the highway to a regroup at Binalong before heading out the Houghstonia road to Boorowa for the morning break. More jokes( St Pedro told us a fabulous one about Hop Sing and his wife in the kitchen)  and laughter over coffee and cake before heading out along the Murringo Gap road through Murringo onto the Olympic way( Here we had to dodge between the cow manure on the narrow roadway) and back into Young for lunch at Wilders Bakery.

This was a good opportunity to sit and chat with our new members. At the same time we had Ray and Mia Allen (residents of Young and old time Canberra Ulyssians) come down to the bakery at lunch to catch up with the crowd. It was great to see them both looking fit and well. Ray told me that although he no longer rides he still has that wonderful feeling of times past while riding his bike. Now they are looking forward to further travelling in there caravan.

From Young we took the Moppity road through to Galong then back onto Burley Griffin Way heading to Bowning for Afternoon tea at the Roll On In Café. We adjourned to the outside area and Garry said David Robinson would have loved the Draught Horse that we all went to say hello to and have the old pat, mind you he gave Margaret and bit of a nudge.

We suddenly saw Andrew with his boot under the tap washing away a rather dubious deposit of a cow pat that he collected in transit.. However while having our afternoon tea Margaret said to Andrew what is that on your head. You should have seen the reaction (Oh no not Cow again) Rest assured it was just a ray of light shimmering off his crown and a smile returned to Andrews face.

With the opportunity to sit and chat once again it was so pleasant to make new acquaintances. From here we all said our goodbyes and headed for home with some hours left in the day to catch up on any chores.

It was a very pleasant day, a great ride only made by having a tremendous group to ride with. Here are the ones that made the day.

Margaret and Derek Titheradge
Peter Arday

Lorne Thurgar
Garry mcCurley
Darryl Palin
David Robinson
Mick & Kipper
Ian Peterson
Ron Tito
Darryl Cullen
Andrew Campbell
Jeff Heiler
Richard Hay
Cameron Dunne
Gary & Nicole Dunne
Marilyn Starick
Les & Rose Brien
Kevin Lomax
Rosemary (Sorry Rosemary I forgot to get your details but on a 250 you did extremely well)
Chas & Jen Towie

Thanks guys I had a ball
Cheers
Chas

Ride report for Club Ride to Old Goulburn Brewery on 16 Feb 2014

Riders and Pillion:

• Mick & Kipper - Victory XC
• Garry McCurley - VFR1200
• Trevor McLeod - FJR1300
• Gary McDonald - R100 S
• Peter Reid - M109 R.

The weather forecast for the weekend of 15 Feb 2014 to 16 Feb 2014 indicated that Saturday would be wet & Sunday had a chance of showers.
Bearing the above in mind when I got up on Sunday 16 Feb 2014 & it was bright sunshine with blue sky at Belconnen I thought great, "Ma Nature" has looked after us yet again.
However, what I did not know was that it was pouring rain over at Queanbeyan & down south.

Shortly after I arrived at Caltex EPIC, Kipper & Mick arrived.By now the blue sky was starting to cloud over a bit at EPIC.
Then my mobile telephone rang & it was Gary McDonald calling to ask if the ride was still on as it's pouring rain at Queanbeyan. I replied to Gary yes the ride is on, I'm at Caltex EPIC & there is blue sky on the north side with a few clouds starting to gather.
Gary then arrived followed by Peter & Trevor.

Before leaving for the day we had a safety talk & a run down on the day's ride, i.e from Caltex EPIC to Sutton Interchange, Gunning, Grabben Gullen, Range Road to Old Goulburn Brewery, after lunch Brisbane Grove Road to Braidwood Road, Currawang Road then onto Bungendore for afternoon tea, good-byes & home.

As we left Caltex EPIC the sky was getting cloudier & even a few spots of rain starting to fall.However, once we got out of Canberra the weather improved for the ride to Goulburn.

The ride to Goulburn past through a number of very picturesque areas & country side. After arriving in Goulburn & before going to the Brewery we fuelled the bikes.

On arrival at the Brewery we found a table outside in a very picturesque garden area & ordered or lunch which turned out to be very delicious.
The weather was starting to get threatening & we finish lunch just in time to beat the rain.After lunch some of us had a quick look around the Brewery, those that needed to put wet weather gear on & we headed towards Bungendore.

Just as we left the Brewery the rain started to fall very heavily for a short time, before it let up & started to fine up again.The ride onto Bungendore was enjoyable with only a bit of rain.

We stopped for afternoon tea at Bungendore including swapping stories about kangaroos before saying our good byes & heading home either via either Queanbeyan or Macs Reef Road.

Even with the rain, the ride was very enjoyable, worth while & I feel worth doing again in the near future.

Garry.

Black Dog Ride 2014 (March 23)

Join a host of other riders to hit the highways to raise awareness of depression and suicide prevention on the Black Dog Ride 1 for mental health services.

Join and raise money for this very good cause!

The Black Dog Ride 1 Dayer is on March 23rd!

Ride registrations open on 27th January 2014.

http://www.blackdogride.com.au/

Canberra Branch AGM on the 15th April 2014

Nominate for a branch committee position!!

The attached nomination must reach the Secretary by Monday 17th March 

which is 28 days before the AGM on the 15th April 14.

Nomination Form

Call to membership for Volunteers

Ride Report – Australia Day ride to Oberon/Jenolan Caves 25-27 Jan 14

The ride almost never happened – after making enquiries and getting the details to be posted into the RO2, a further enquiry identified that at the weekend of 25-27Jan14, it is likely that everything is booked out; there is a wedding planned for one of the very well-known townsfolk of Oberon, and apparently 80 people from a film crew will be looking for accommodation in Oberon (Mad Max 4 apparently), and it’s a long weekend, near Sydney, in the summer months! So Oberon should be a very busy place, right?. 

I rang the first hotel on the list of those I put in the flyer (Titania Motel) to find that the film crew won’t be checking in until the evening of the 27 Jan, so we’re safe (but the wedding is still on, so the advice is still ‘book early’). Into December’s Branch meeting, still no takers, I’m getting a little nervous that it’s too close to Christmas and people are out of cash, holidays and energy, and it will be just The Boss and I. Boss is also a bit put off, because the 27th January is the day of our sons’ 16th birthday. 

With the OK from him to have the weekend away, we’re in..... But it wasn’t until the week before (Ian’s ride to Jugiong) where I find out that Kim Moorey and Ron Tito, introduced at last months’ Social meeting, said they’ll be coming. I also had Shane & Kerry Anderson on the list, but at the last minute, Shane was crook and they pulled out.  

On the day, the four of us met at Caltex EPIC before the appointed time of 0900. The place was pandemonium – The markets are on at EPIC, and there’s long weekend traffic everywhere. Not to worry – a ride brief, the handout of the route printed off Google Maps, and my phone number & email address (not that this will be useful – I’m with Optus, forget coverage where we’re going). The weather is great – clear skies and 24C.

The route – Easy ride through Yass and the Lachlan Valley Way to Boorowa. In the usual bakery at Boorowa for coffee (and pies, of course!), I find that Kim has the same GPS as mine, so we share the planned route through transferring onto hers via the MicroUSB card. We hit the road again, travelling on the Rugby Road and turn north onto Frogmore Road (the road that is signposted to Wyangala Dam). After a few lefts and rights on some very back roads, we find ourselves approaching Woodstock. It was at this point we took a left turn where a couple of local boys with their Hilux’s were gasbagging about everything & nothing. A strange place to stop, but why? It turns out a rather large herd of cows (and startled bulls!) were on the road between paddocks. Kim’s a little nervy as we slowly thread our way through the herd, keeping eyes on some young stragglers in our blind spot that might do a dumb runner into our path. So, we did the job for the local boys and got them all back into the top paddock.

Further on, we had a pub lunch in Mandurama, where a country Bucks’ Do was in full swing. The boys were rowdy and it was only 1:30! After skirting to the south of Bathurst from Blayney and heading into Oberon along Trunkey Road, arriving just after 4PM. Kim & Ron were staying at a different place (the Highway Inn) so we agreed to meet at the pub at 6. Maream and I had a 2km walk into town, so by the time we joined up I’d already had a couple of ales. A bit of chat about the Caves the next day, and before we knew it, it was 8PM and the town was closing (we just managed to squeeze in getting some woodfired pizza and take it back to Kim & Ron’s to eat with a few beers). 

We agreed to meet at 0830 on the Sunday morning. Too early! The town was still asleep, and we were forced to have coffee & pies from the bakery on a pavement bench (no chairs at the bakery & nowhere else open). Ron and Kim came armed with some Australia flags for this the 26 Jan 2014. So, with flags taped to the bikes we headed down into Jenolan Caves via Edith. It was cold today, with low clouds and the temperature was down to 7C on the ride into the Caves. The road is narrow, winding and steep, and proved to be a bit of a challenge for Kim, who took it all into her stride and came up trumps.

Note for future rides (and lovers of classical music!) – They hold a ‘Concert in the Caves’ every month (except this month), so it may be worthwhile looking into this for a future ride. Book at TicketMaster. Anyway, for today, we decided to do a caves tour at $32 per person – I have to say, with only a few of us, it was easy to decide to do the Lucas Cave, which is 860m in length and has (only) 910 steps. It has the highest and largest chambers of all the Caves, and is where the Concert is run.

Our tour guide (Craig) was great – informative and engaging, we found out he rides bikes too; when finding out that we are Ulysses members, he said he was once looking at becoming a member, but found he was not ‘tough enough’. So he said he was thinking of starting his own Branch – the YouSissies Club. Funny bugger! Anyway, he explained about how not to touch any of the rock through the Caves, and why not (it turns black under the oil on fingers and just general pollution from years of oil candles), and how in the early days people used to pinch pieces of it only to drop them on the long arduous walk out of the valley ‘my girlfriend doesn’t need it, and I don’t like her that much anyway!’). 

Apparently the Caves had electric lights before the people of Sydney did! – as it was recognised way back then (late 1800’s) the importance of not using oil lamps anymore so as to preserve the site. Craig gave us a sample of what pitch black is really like inside the Caves when he turned off the lights, and then turned on the Stereo system giving a small taste of what classical music during the concert would be like. It’s on the agenda for the future...

We rode out of the Caves through the tunnel/cutting on Jenolan Caves Road, via some more (but easier and spectacular scenery) twists and turns, turning onto the Great Western Hwy towards Sydney via Blackheath, lunching in an Italian cafe in Katoomba. After lunch we had a look at the Three Sisters near Echo Point, and then rode back to Oberon the same way (after making an error using the Cox’s River Road near Mt Victoria, to go through Little Hartley, where the road became dirt). Not knowing how far the dirt went, we turned back to get onto the Great Western again, to head back to Oberon via Jenolan Caves Road and Duckmaloi Road.

Maream and I stayed in town while Ron & Kim dropped their bikes at their hotel. We had a quick feed at the ‘other’ pub in town (the Royal) where we found they also have accommodations (note to self!), and agreed to meet at 0900 on Monday at one of the Cafes for breakfast before the ride home. The ride home took us on the Abercrombie Road to Goulburn. A nice and leisurely ride, we stopped at Taralga for refreshments. From there we routed through Goulburn and Lake Bathurst, having our final stop for refreshments and goodbyes at the Loaded Dog, Tarago.

An awesome weekend, with great company.
Chris

Riders/Cavers:

• Chris Dietzel – GTR1400 – with Maream Dietzel (The Boss) as pillion.
• Ron Tito – Honda NT700 Deauville.
• Kim Moorey – BMW F700GS.

Club Ride to Bowral - 2 February 2014

Muster at Marulan

The temperature in Canberra was set to soar to 38 - so the promise of 28 degrees in Bowral made riders come out of the woodwork for this one (though they may also have come out to hear Peter’s jokes - that man is hilarious). 10 set off from EPIC, picking up another in Bungendore. We rode to Tarago where we undertook a ‘rolling muster’ - and on to Windellama to our first stop at Marulan for morning tea at the BP Servo .

Two riders overshot the mark, but made their way back to the KFC car park and

Peter uses the light to baffle his audience

walked back to the servo for some coffee, chomp and chat. Ron relayed the fact that a bird had flown into Kims DN-01 and feathers flew into his face, which then led to Mick’s true story about hitting a chicken hawk on his way to Sydney in his old Valiant Charger that punched a big hole in his grill and left a wing hanging out. Peter then tried some one up-manship with a probably not so true story about being attacked on the ride by a feral rabbit, it was savage he said - and he didn’t like the look in its eye.

Two bikes had little lie downs on the day, Super Ian rescued one and Gary and Steve almost rescued the other. Both were at low speed and nobody was hurt. Scenic roads overhung with leafy green trees created a stunning shady route that led us into Bowral.

Ian is shocked at something disgraceful!

Great service and a wonderful meal at the Bowral Hotel - and then Peter told a balloon joke that left everyone a bit deflated. Many interesting conversations were had, most of the snippets I recorded for the ride report are taken out of context and cannot be

Dave is bemused?

used (its always funnier that way). Afternoon tea was back at the BP in Marulan where I learned to my abject horror from Gary that Streets Calippo Ice Blocks are made in China. When prompted for an update on Sally’s post surgery condition - Ian advised that Sally is now able to perform some of her wifely duties - whatever that means.

A great day out with a great bunch of people.

You can see the route we took here: https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=8b1f52edf4294dce4

Kim Moorey

Riders

Peter Arday - ST1300
Garry McCurley - VFR1200
Kim Moorey - Honda DN-01
Ron Tito - Honda Deauville
Andrew Campbell - ZX14R
Ian Paterson - GL1800
Mick Beltrame - R1150 GSA
Steve Light - Vulcan 1600
David Robinson - FJR
Steve Mills - SV650
Jeff Heifer - Triumph Rocket III

Qube Rhythm 'n' Rail Festival Junee - 7 - 9 March 2014

Hello Everyone,

We have been invited to attend the Qube Rhythm N Rail Festival at Junee to enter our bikes in the bike display along with other Ulysses Branches in the region. You can see what else is at the festival by clicking on the link below.

Tracey and I have already booked our accommodation and we will be heading to Junee on the Saturday. There is a link to accommodation at Junee below.

If you would like to come along just for the day, or spend a night or two and return on Monday, please email me so I can get an idea of numbers.

http://www.visitjunee.com.au/play/qube-rhythm-n-rail-festival-junee.aspx

http://www.visitjunee.com.au/visit/accommodation.aspx

  

Regards

Mick

Postal votes for 2014 National Committee

We would like to remind you that Postal Votes for the 2014 National Committee are available to be requested NOW. Requests for Postal Ballot Papers should be sent by email to the National Secretary at secretary@ulysses.org.au or by post to Ulysses Club, PO Box 3242 Narellan NSW 2567. Please allow sufficient time for the completed forms to be delivered to the Returning Officer by Friday 2 May 2014.

Also, NATCOMM extend an invitation to 2 committee members of each Branch to be present at the Extended NatCom Meeting to be held at the AGM, to represent the Branch. If there isn’t two committee members attending the AGM, we can elect members attending to proxy for the committee.

 Kind Regards,

 Chris Dietzel
#59093

Secretary, Canberra Branch

Convoy for Cancer Families 2014

The Convoy will line up on Copper Crescent, Beard (or Harman, if you’re asking Google Maps!). 

At 10am the trucks & bikes will set off onto Hindmarsh Drive, then the Monaro Highway. From there it will exit onto Morshead Drive and continue onto Parkes Way. From Parkes Way, the Convoy will head onto the Barton Highway then head towards Gungahlin Drive. 

Just a couple more turns and then the Convoy will arrive at the Festival location at Kate Crace St, Gungahlin.

Online registrations have closed - but you canregister in person at:

• Robbo's Harley Davidson, 281 Canberra Avenue,Fyshwick

• The Cancer Support Group,21 Cooma Street,Queanbeyan 

• Fyshwick Tyre Service,3 Yallourn Street,Fyshwick

Details here: http://thecancersupportgroup.org.au/events/convoy-for-cancer-families-2014.php