It was a typical chilly but sunny July day in Canberra when we met up at the Nicholls Servo. Surprise - no fog ! A distinct lack of lady pillions was evident, except for one lazy slacker with numerous motorcycles that chose not to choose from any of hers and chose the back of her partners bike as a pillion instead. Andrea arrived on her new bling machine complete with pink pinstripes and her name on the tank. The pink number plate “NRS-33” had lots of cries of “nurse” ringing out among the blokes.
We cruised along the highway to the Bowning turnoff, rode past many fine examples of Ma and Pa Kettles house (if you don’t know who they are, google it). The road narrowed off and the sheep looked a tad feral, but we all made it safely across the highway to the warm and welcoming Barneys of Bookham.
Lots of old man (and lady) stories ensued, with Ian regaling us with a tale of the proctologists office that somehow involved a small three legged seat from Ikea. Those on the other table discussed the virtues of old fashioned mobile phones with big keys that were just phones and didn’t have all the confusing new fangled stuff like GPS and Apps. Andrew told us about he and Catherine’s recent European adventure, and enlightened us with the fact that there was enough sausage on the menu to keep him going for a lifetime.
As we were leaving, Derek and Margaret tried to run us all over with a display of monster truck madness - but it soon became apparent that that is how Derek usually parks.
Mick and another rider headed off for a longer adventure, and the rest of us made our way home along the highway. A spectacular day, a short and uneventful ride, a sunny spot to sit at our destination with the hot drink of your choice in your hand - all shared with a great bunch of riders.
An excellent way to spend a Sunday.
Kim Moorey
Riders:
- Ian Paterson Honda GL1800
- Rick Costan Ducati ST4S
- Garry McCurley Honda VFR1200
- Darryl Cullen Suzuki 1250 Bandit
- Mick Beltrame Victory XC
- Rob Jones Suzuki Bandit 1150
- Andrea Lanagan Suzuki Boulevard
- Ron Tito and Kim Moorey Honda CTX1300
- Mark Mitchell Honda VFR800
- Andrew Campbell Honda GL1800
