Black Dog Ride – 23rd March 2014

About a dozen of us gathered at the magistrates’ car park in Civic before heading to the outdoor car park at the Canberra Centre to register for the Black Dog Ride with other riders from all over the region. 

It was great to see Kipper had organised his chauffeur to attend the only ride set aside to honor his standing in the community in the 2014 ride calendar.

 
 After a safety brief and a short speech from a representative from Lifeline we proceeded in an orderly fashion up Northbourne Ave safely passing through a police road block just before the NSW border on the Federal Highway without being stopped. 

We then headed to Braidwood via Bungendore to break for a cup of tea and a slice of Lions fruit cake in their club house. We spoke to members from the Eurobodalla branch and other members of the ride group.  After a short time the procession started moving to the coast heading down the hill with some people keen to be up the front while most took their time to make it to lunch and enjoy the ride.

 Our destination was changed to the Corrigans Beach Reserve at Batehaven and after we all found a parking spot and peeled off the layers we headed to the queue for a marvellous lunch of homemade tasty hamburgers again well organised by the local Lions Club. 


We had time to meet some members of the South Coast and Eurobodalla branches before we decided to head back to Braidwood early to beat the rush. We stopped at the Braidwood lolly shop and ended up choosing from an enormous selection of ice-creams topping off a great day. 

We said our goodbyes and headed into the west as the sun set on another excellent day spent with friends riding our bikes. 

Michael W

Chomp and Chat to Barney’s of Bookham 16th March 2014

Attendees:

• Andrew and Catherine Campbell – Honda GL 1800
• David Greig – Triumph T’Bird 1600
• Garry McCurley – Honda VFR1200
• Steve Alford – Moto Guzzi V7
• Mike Kelly – BMW R1200RT
• Chris Dietzel – Kawasaki GTR 1400
• Hartmut Kehm – BMW R1200GS
• Kris Jirasek – Suzuki GSXR1300
• Michael Winters – Triumph Trophy
• Trevor McLeod – Yamaha FJR1300
• Ian and Sally Paterson – VW Jetta.

Don’t you just love those autumn mornings?  A slight chill in the air, sun not so bright and the prospect of a ride before the supposed rain this afternoon. Perfect day for a chomp and chat to Barney’s at Bookham me thinks.

As our fearless president rode up to the bowser, all I could hear was the disco version of ‘I was made for loving you, baby” by Kiss screaming out his speakers, I knew it would be a fun if brief ride. After all, that’s what a chomp and chat is about right? – Mostly chomping ‘cause we don’t ride very far.

Despite the fact that a petrol tanker deliberately parked us in, (so maybe we were parked near his hose connections) the excellent skill of the riders ensured we got past him and onto the Hume for a jolly, up through the green countryside past Murrumbateman. We resisted an urge to pop into Yass for the Yass Show, and instead turned off the highway towards Bowning. The good folk of Bowning were obviously all at church because we did not see a soul as we rode though, so we then turned right on to Burley Griffin way until we met with the narrow Illalong Road which took us all the way to Bookham. I believe MW switched to Slim Dusty to show what eclectic tastes he has!!

Pie less but happy punters at Bookham

For those of you that have never been to Bookham it doesn’t have a lot to offer other than a few hundred rusty old bits of farm equipment and of course Barney’s. Mr C as the ride leader had rung the previous day to let them know that a group of motorcyclists would be descending upon them after 11am. What he didn’t factor in is that the Wollondilly Wanderers Ulysses branch had just passed through and cleared out the pie warmer.
 
Never-the-less they managed to deal with our numbers, although there did seem to be some confusion with the number of lamb burgers and BLT’s, flat whites and mocha somethings. Luckily Ian and Sally P arrived via car and managed to sort out all the spares. The usual tall tales were told and then people started to head for home as the clouds were looking a bit more ominous.

 Just as the last group of us were readying to leave, a car pulls up and who steps out but Denis Paulin – National Pres. Was this coincidence??? Or had he heard from the Wollondilly Wanderers via Ulysses telepathy that the pies were good – just in time for the new lot to heat up. It’s not like Bookham is a tourist mecca. I’ll leave that conclusion to you dear reader!

 Managed to get home with just a few spots on the visor – bike washed and put away all before 2pm!

Catherine Campbell

Welfare Report - March 2014

Warwick at Chas and Jen’s home for a good home cooked meal.

Warwick Emerson is a Ulysses member from Eurobodalla Branch.  Warwick came to Canberra Hospital for health matters in October last year.

He had a leg amputation below the knee which didn’t heal so had a second amputation above the knee which has thankfully healed well.  

Warwick is currently in the independent living rehabilitation unit which is near the Canberra Hospital.  Daily he goes to the gym to build up his strength after the long stay in hospital and is preparing for his prosthesis which is currently being made.  

Warwick has had a long and sometimes difficult journey to recovery and it is great to hear he will be heading home in the very near future.  

We wish Warwick well with his continuing recovery and the joy of returning to his home and everyday life soon.  

Chas and Jen

Club Ride to Junee Rhythm n Rail Festival 8-10 March 2014

The riders were:

• Michael & Tracey Winters        Triumph Trophy
• Peter Arday                ST 1300
• David Robinson                FJR 1300
• Trevor McLeod                FJR 1300
• Jen Woods                XVS 1100
• Jan Wills                Honda DNO1 (aka Dino)
• Butch Wills                BMW K1000 LTXB
• Leo Farrelly                R1200 GS
• Steve Mills                SV650             

Saturday morning dawned and it looked like the ride leader had got it right – the weather was perfect. We all met at Nicholls, with the exception of Jen and Leo who were to follow us later. 

We rode to Harden stopping at the familiar Terracotta Café who had opened half an hour earlier than usual for a Saturday morning just for us. To make it worth their while we all ordered something to eat with our coffees (well that was my excuse anyway for the apple pie with cream) and lingered for nearly an hour sitting in the sun.

Then off to travel through Cootamundra, Bethungra and Illabo arriving at Junee around noon.  We had lunch at a local bakery watching the draft horse and buggy along with a double decker bus with Circular Quay as its destination go past. As we were accommodated all over Junee we decided we would regroup at 7 at the restaurant leaving each free to see what they wanted to at the festival.

Mick and I had booked the Junee Rail Carriage B&B – a beautifully restored and converted old Sydney red rattler. Whilst it had accommodation for 6, it was only Mick and me as we had declined Peter’s kind offer to share. Our hosts were lovely and all evidence of the six Harley riders who had been there the previous weekend was gone. We walked back into town and wandered around looking at the stalls before meeting up with Jen and Leo. We looked at the historic railway station and saw a steam train that was traveling to and from Wagga for the festival. 

Sometimes folk just won't look at the camera :-)

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the beer garden of the Commercial Hotel with a storm forcing us inside. This storm also took out all the power in the region with the hotel bistro feeding us cheese and bickies on the house as they could do nothing else. We walked to the restaurant at the Crossings Motel for a beautiful meal.

Potential triumph owners - already their will crumbles!

Sunday saw us parking the bike in Peel Street for a bike show but owing to the late notice Ulysses Clubs in the area received there was a disappointing number of bikes. Steve Mills travelled from Canberra that morning for a day ride with Derek and Margaret (and their extended family including a brand new grandson) arriving by car.  At least we had somewhere safe to park the bike (well relatively safe as here is a photo of three suspects playing with the switches) as we caught the double decker for a tour of Junee’s highlights including Monte Christo, the Licorice Factory and the Railway Roundhouse. Bad luck if you get caught at the railway lights if the slow moving (seemingly) five kilometre long train comes through as you sit on the top level of the bus with no air con! 

Chuff Choff Whooo woooo?

We visited the stalls in the park listening to music provided by local entertainers, had lunch in the railway café and farewelled Jen and Leo. Jan, Butch, Mick and me visited the local Museum and were impressed that so much local history could be preserved. That night we were back to the motel for a special dinner put on for us and a few other groups. 

The owners of the Crossings Motel are knowledgeable friendly locals (who can also cook!) and they helped to make the weekend a marvellous experience. Michael and Natalie went above and beyond to look after us (and not all of us were even staying with them) and we hope to experience their hospitality at next year’s festival to be held on the Canberra Day Long Weekend.

Sunday dawned and sadly the weekend was coming to an end.  Meeting at the Motel we left via the Licorice factory to stock up on the essential chocolates. Here we came across three riders from South Australia who were on a round trip with Canberra their destination for Sunday night and the Great Ocean Road still to look forward to. We left for home with a police car kindly leading Peter into Cootamundra – here we passed the Crow Eaters taking a break in a park but they then passed us as we stopped to refuel. After brunch at the bakery in Harden we followed the Hume and Barton homewards.

A superb long weekend – great weather, great riding, great food and great company – a weekend of food, chocolate and laughs!

Tracey Winters

Decide and Ride 9 March 2014 – A Ride Report of Sorts.

This ride coincided with the Long Weekend run to Junee, so I wasn’t expecting many to turn up at the Nicholls Caltex.  In addition, the weather was decidedly suspect with a high potential for rain and storms, easing to hurricanes and cyclones.  I pulled up at 0830 for a look at the numbers, and then again at 0845, and again at 0900, which was the planned departure time.  There were no other takers.  I was on my lonesome, so I figured I’d better get on with it.  The overwhelming vote from the assembled masses was to head for somewhere south-west and clear weather.  We would play ‘follow the Ride Leader’ and end up at a surprise location for lunch.

I gave myself a good briefing on how to ride safely.  Apparent you forget this sort of stuff from ride-to-ride, so you need a reminder every time you go riding.  I listened intently and nodded wisely at my words, but the customers at the servo gave me some quizzical looks when they saw me talking loudly to myself.  I had Kipper (the wonder dog) with me, and he was anxious to get going, so I quickly went through the remaining formalities.  I decided that I would be Ride Leader.  It seemed to be an obvious choice given that I was the only one there.  I didn’t discuss corner marking, an oversight that would generate mass confusion later on.  Kipper was unanimously elected as Tail-end-Charlie (Tail-end-Kipper?) because (a) He sits behind me, and (b) He actually has a tail.

Ride leader and tail end charlie!

Briefing over, Ride Leader and Tail-end-Kipper prepared ourselves for riding and departed the scene on the cherry-red Victory Cross Country.  The departure was a sight to behold as the bike streamed out of the service station and headed towards Yass.  It was easy to maintain a good formation, but I sometimes felt that Tail-end-Kipper was sitting a little too close to me and wasn’t maintaining the correct three-second gap.  Never mind, he would be sternly spoken to at the first stop.  The weather appeared to be clearing, so perhaps the cyclonic change wouldn’t arrive as forecast.

I chose to take a detour along Nanima road, thinking that I might keep the ride fairly local but still cover some interesting country.  It would also give the group of one the opportunity to scamper home if the forecast cyclone happened to strike.  Unfortunately, my failure as Ride Leader to discuss corner marking identified a small chink in the ride plan.  I realised that there was no corner marker behind me as I took the Nanima road turn-off, so I pulled over to mark the corner myself.  It was when I turned around and spotted Tail-end-Kipper right behind me that I realised this system just wasn’t going to work!  A brief discussion ensued and I, as Ride Leader, in consultation with Tail-end-Kipper, decided to dispense with corner marking altogether.  For the rest of the ride I simply maintained close formation with Tail-end-Kipper.  Or he maintained close formation with me.  Or I lead, and he tailed.

We wound our way along some pleasant back roads and strangely ended up at Gundagai for fuel and a rest stop.  So much for keeping it local.  The entire group held a tight formation to get there, and all agreed that the obscure roads chosen had been good fun, but perhaps a bit long between coffees.  Tail-end-Kipper was particularly pleased with the Ride Leader’s choice of route, smooth riding style, and supply of free dog treats that he always seemed to carry.  It was at that stage that I, as Ride Leader, assembled the group and advised them that I would take the group to Wagga via Wantabadgery so that I could visit my daughter for lunch.  Expecting cries of ‘boo’ and ‘hiss’ and ‘ripped-off’ from the participants, I was pleasantly surprised that there was not a single word of dissention from the now hijacked party of one Tail-end-Kipper.

So we went to Wagga for lunch, found a venue suitably large enough to cater for such a diverse group, and had a very pleasant lunch.  Following lunch, I suggested that the ride should formally be ended and that all riders should make their own way home via whatever route they felt was most appropriate.  Tail-end-Kipper opted to stay with me and follow me home.  That was a really good choice on his part.  The trip home was uneventful and the ride was deemed a success, except for the problematic issue of corner marking.  This is a matter that needs some serious thought and well-documented planning for future rides of this sort. 

And thus ends another Ride Report.  A most enjoyable outing was had by all participants and a special thanks to Tail-end-Kipper for the company.  Cheers all.  M & K.

Kipper - tail end charlie