December 2011

I think we’ve all been to a Xmas windup where you kind of wish you were doing something far more exciting, like painting or watching the lawn grow, well you could never say that about one of our party’s. Our three teams this year vying for bragging rights were the Amigo’s, the Gringo’s and the Cisco’s. Now what fun is it if you can’t cheat, our games provided plenty of opportunity and Paul certainly had his hands full. We have some very inventive people in our lineup and never was this more obvious. Some got away with it and some didn’t, but the one thing it did do was provide plenty of laughs. After a bit of back and forth the Gringo’s managed to come in first, there was a bit of bribery from one wee lass, but at the end of the day the best team won. Most people got into the theme of the evening which was Mexican and some really went at it with gusto, Fitzy in his Taco outfit and Davo in his tradition whites with all the trim looked great and were the two best costumes for the night, good on ya fella’s. After the games it was BBQ time and a few beers, whew that was hot work…….and a few more beers, can’t risk dehydration on these hot days. Guys it was a lot of fun and good to catch up with everyone, see you on the next ride.

November 2011

For this month’s ride Clyde had organised an overnight trip for us to Cuballing, he put a lot of thought into the route and using backroads wherever possible made the journey far more interesting. The weather was looking a bit shaky, but everyone who said they were going, showed up at the start point which was great. It wasn't long into the trip and we were pulling over to put the waterproofs on, the rain wasn't heavy but it was looking set in. The further South we travelled the heavier it got and by the time we reached Lake Clifton it was fairly bucketing down. After some coffee we were heading for Brunswick Junction where we were meeting up with Andy and Chris who would be joining us for the rest of the trip. We said goodbye to Colin who had ridden down with us for coffee and started South.  Lunch at the bakery hit the spot, we saddled up after fuelling and made our way across to the Wellington Dam. The dam was pretty full and with the pipe head flowing, looked quite spectacular. The roads and countryside around Collie are always pleasant to travel thru and even though the rain was quite heavy and visibility poor, it was still enjoyable…….. apart from that donkey in the Merc that is. After Fitzy doing his bit for the dam level and emptying his boots… better double chlorinate boys, we made our way across through Darkan, Arthur River  to Wagin. A fuel stop, a quick stretch and we continued on again passing through Narrogin and arriving in Cuballing at about 5.45pm. We’ve done a few rides in pretty ordinary weather and there is always a real sense of achievement when you arrive after a hard day on the road. It was time to be thinking about getting wet on the inside now. Aside from the usual festivities, we were celebrating the incorporation of the club and had decided to wear a silly tie to dinner that evening  as part of the celebration. I forgot mine so had organised to borrow one from Andy, however Chris had been very industrious and made me a special cardboard tie with a message on it. Everyone wrote a little ditty on it and of course I had to wear it, absolute classic, thanks Chris. Well after a tasty meal, on behalf of the club I thanked Clyde for his fine work and then with the jukebox cranked we proceeded to have a ball, playing pool, doing shooters and just generally yahooing. The girls had dubbed our trip, The WET n WILD Run, very appropriate I thought.  Who woke up with hammer marks on them in the morning…heheheh, not only were we all Inked by the VRA we were hammered as well. It’s always interesting looking at the photo’s the next day, we really did have a good night.

Ahhh, a strong coffee, some vegemite toast and the world was a good place to be again, then it was off to the roadhouse for fuel and some had a cooked breakfast. We said goodbye to Andy and Chris and then hit the road, heading back to Perth through Pingelly and Brookton. It was a great trip and a lot of fun, my thanks to all who attended.

October 2011

What a great turnout we had for this months ride, there were 21 people on 16 bikes leaving the Caltex servo in Joondalup, including John & Anne and Gary & Lorna, our guests for the day. We took a leisurely ride North to Seabird, the cafe is about the only place you can get something to eat or drink up there now that the pub is closed. We are always very well behaved and the folks in these little towns appreciate the business that we bring. Very hospitable people and next time we might try and make this our lunch stop as apparently the fish n chips are top notch. The trip across thru Gingin to Bindoon was done on mainly secondary roads with very little traffic and the countryside was looking great. It was pretty warm but the paddocks and grass were still green and provided a great backdrop, very peacefull. The Bakery at Bindoon is doing a roaring trade as usual, seating was a bit scarce but their pies are still very tasty. We took the scenic route on the way back to town with Adam leading us through the Chittering Valley area before coming back onto the highway at Bullsbrook, a very pleasant detour, thanks mate. My thanks to all that attended.

September 2011

When you ride all year round sooner or later you just manage to jag that perfect day, this ride we just did happened to be that day, not too hot, not too cold, no wind, the sun on your face and a thumping V twin between your legs, what more could you want? Okay you would probably want some mates to go with, there were 12 of us, including John our guest for the day, some nice countryside you say.....that stretch between bannister and Pingelly was magic, virtually no traffic, paddocks of yellow canolla everywhere and lots of green in between, very nice. Good food...... okay, Thomas at the Memory lane diner cooked us a roast with vegies for lunch and showed us some country hospitality, thanks mate, a couple of the boys even had sweets, I won't mention any names but there could be a photo or two floating around. I have to mention Fitzy who even though he had a commitment that day and had to be home by 1pm he still rode with us, heading back on arrival in Pingelly, onya mate. It was good to see Bob feeling a bit better and on his shiny new bike with daughter Kate along for the day. Bob rarely misses a ride and he travels about 100km more than the rest of us to be there, top effort. How was that snake.... sunning itself on the side of the road when I passed it, by the time Mark came thru, it had decided to head back across the road in front of him, trying to hitch a lift on one 1500 classic and receiving a flat tail for it's trouble...... Mark is our tail end charlie...... is that fate? It was a great ride with great company and to be honest, I just wanted to point the bike North and keep going, maybe next time, my thanks to everyone that attended.

August 2011

If I can draw on Forrest Gump for a second "The weather is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get", I'm sure thats what he said......... anyway he was right. Although it wasn't cold, it did start out a bit wet and blustery but 9 of us pulled out of the start point, we were joined by Clyde and Colin at Pinjarra giving us 11 bikes, which was a pretty good effort. You have to be an all weather type of guy to line up on a day like that, we had 2 guest riders with us, Robbie and Scott and it was good to see you guys show up even though it wasn't the best day. Tom took care of the TEC duties for me and did a great job, helping to keep our group safe as we rumbled down the Highway. We came across a group of tourists on the side of the road taking photo's of the livestock just out of Waroona, they obviously thought we made a better picture, who could blame them.........we are all very photogenic.....well our bikes are. You can't beat looking at the ocean whilst hoeing into a plate of fish and chips with a few mates, it just works. I was very impressed with the hi- tech toilet on the waterfront in Bunbury, you just walk in and this hand comes out of the wall and takes care of everything for you, whilst playing music and working all the stuff automatically....I couldn't work out where the laughing was coming from ..... maybe it was the wind. Good to see the tax payers dollars being spent wisely for a change. The run home was pretty straight forward with Mr plod manning the traps at the usual spots, they got no donations from us I'm happy to say, my thanks to everyone who attended. 

July 2011

This month we took a run down to Dwellingup in fairly chilly conditions, if you didn't have your thermals on read that as flaming cold. It was a good turnout with 11 bikes making our way down yonder for a coffee, it's times like these that you appreciate having good gear. Bob and I did a quick search for the "Scarlet Pimpernell " on arrival and then it was time to kick back for a while.The cafe on the corner as you come into town is open again and it's quite a good setup.You can have a coffee, then walk next door and check out all bike gear, very convenient.The road to Quindanning is undergoing some upgrading at the moment and should be a lot better when they finish, the surface is alright, but it is pretty narrow once you turn off the Pinjarra/Williams road. The river... or should I say sandpit, next to the pub only had a small pool of water in it but the surrounding area is starting to get that lush green look, hopefully the farmers are happy chaps. One thing about these country pubs is they always seem to have a fire burning and on a cold day it sure is a welcome sight, its great to be able to relax nearby with a few mates, have something to eat and warm yourself up. It was hard leaving but around 2pm we headed back thru Boddington and up Albany Hwy to Bannister for fuel and a quick stop on our way home. By this time the sky was starting to get pretty dark....for once the weather bureau was spot on and we did get some light showers before Armadale and from then on. See, we're not just fair weather riders, my thanks to those that attended.  

June 2011

Well we were hoping the weather would stay fine for us but at this time of the year its a real lottery and as it turned out, it was light but steady rain when we pulled out for York. The ride was well supported with 11 bikes for 17 people at the start point which was a really good number. We took it pretty easy on the way up to York there was no great hurry, we had plenty of time and it can be a tricky road at the best of times. On arrival Simon and Heather at the Saints Diner looked after us with great food and 1st rate service, these guys really run a slick operation here and I'm a big fan. Bob and Charlotte had apparently filled the ashtray on their 2010 Voyager and so decided to trade it in on a new Goldwing, hang on I've just got to go and wash my mouth out I nearly said the H word on our site. After a pleasant lunch and a catch up with everyone Bob & Charlotte and Colin road back to Perth as they had other committments. I have to say a few of us were standing behind Colin when he fired up the old girl, nearly blew us off the sidewalk mate, what a note, these Vulcans sure sound good with the right pipes. We pushed on for Jennacubbine via the backroads and although quite narrow this was a much more interesting way to go, the countryside is really starting to green up now. After picking up the keys to the hall from the Jenna pub we set up our sleeping gear for the night and then got the  mini footy out and had a kick around outside in the carpark, even the ladies had a kick. The pub opened at about 4 so we had a beer, grabbed a few takeaways and went back to the hall for the usual shenanigans, the setup at the hall was great and we will visit again and take advantage of the Barby and other facilities. Around 6.30pm we all put on our funny hats and glasses and went over to the pub for Dinner, I don't think the locals new what was going on when we walked in. By this time Paul & Rachel and Robyn & Fitzy had arrived as well, Brett and Michelle had set asside an area for us where we could kick up our heels a bit without disturbing their other customers in the pub too much and it worked out really well. We had a slow combustion wood heater, a portable gas heater and later on a juke box in an undercover, enclosed area on the side of the pub, what more could you want. We arranged the tables so we could all sit together and we still had enough room for a bit of dancing. It was actually Tony's birthday the day before, so of course we had to sing happy Birthday to him and I did warn him that it might happen again. It did in fact, with Clyde our Secretary/Editor and now newly named, "The Port Authority" for reasons that were apparent to those that attended the Rock n Reef run, leading us into song......about 20 times in fact. Very funny, everyone in the pub I am sure new who's Birthday it was, the Publican, Michelle was a really good sport about it and even brought him out a birthday cake with a candle on it. When the jukebox fired up our Ladies were on the floor shaking their tail feathers, Rae even gave us a few pointers on pole dancing, it was infectious and pretty much everyone got up for a dance, that pub was fairly rocking I can tell you. Mark was on fire and the one liners were flowing all night, the hats were great, Tom had a full face skull helmet, the glasses looked crazy and I reckon your wig smelt fine Rae. We staggered back to the hall and Fitzy got us started into the shots of Schnapps and then.... thank god there were no small children around, dropped his daks and showed us his scar, it was scarey and your bikini line needs a whipper snipper mate...heheheh. Paul had bought his MP3 speakers so the music and merriment continued into the wee small hours. Fitzy was doing his best IRA impersonation by trying to blow the hall up with stink bombs when most people were trying to sleep, what a laugh and the stench factor was right up there. The next morning came around pretty fast, Chris our official photograher got out her gear to take our photo outside the pub, all I can say is wow, and she had a nice camera too. Now folks, this is serious, we have a serial planker in our midst, Clive, he was planking well before it came fashionable and before we knew it ,he had planked all over us outside the pub, Chris recorded the evidence on film, mop and bucket to aisle 3 please. Then it was back to Toodyay for brekky and home. Another great weekend guys, I'm so glad I don't drink, my thanks to everone that attended.

May 2011

Toodyay is such a sleepy little place but Sunday's always see it come alive with people just out and about and is especially popular with the motorcycle community. It is just the right distance from the city to clear the cobwebs out of the bike and then relax with a coffee and catch up with your mates for a while. As usual there were quite a few bikes around and even moreso when we arrived, we were 10 bikes for 13 people with 3 of our lovely ladies along for the day. Leaving Toodyay we headed for Bolgart and then Calingiri, somewhere along here we got a bit of light rain which persisted until Yerecoin, then the sun came out and dried us off just in time for lunch at the old New Norcia pub. We put a few tables together and sat on the end of the pub, the food was quick for most of us, but personally I'll give the burger a miss next time, the fish and chips looked great. The run back to town was good, no slow vehicles and we struck an oncoming wide load with perfect timing, at an overtaking double lane section, what wide load? This was our first run since the Rock n Reef ride so It was good to catch up with everyone, my thanks to those that attended.

April 2011

I’ve always said we don’t need any drama in our club cause we will make our own, poor Bob who had been wrestling with a sick bike all week and taking it back to the dealers for warranty work, had it let him down again at the very last minute, when everything was supposedly fine. We had to leave without him as he couldn’t risk going with his bike in that state and so we pulled out and headed for North Bannister. After a short break there, Colin, headed back to Perth and we pushed on for Williams. A pigeon tried to take out my front wheel somewhere just out of Williams but the old bike just rolled on and no damage was done. After lunch at Williams Clive and Michelle headed back to Perth, I checked my phone and I had a message from Bob saying he thought his bike was ok now, after an ECU swap and he was about an hour behind us. He was determined to join us and with great effort he managed to pull it off and met up with us at the caravan park in Albany, well done mate. After Bob, Clyde , Mark and myself got our campsites sorted and Tom and Paul moved into their soft-core accommodation, heheh, it was maxi taxi time into town to sample the food and beer at the Tanglewood Brewery. The food was great and the beer top notch, I have to say we got really well looked after with the staff being very attentive as well. We left there quite merry and in search of the ill fated Lamb Kebab, which was nowhere to be found, so it was back to camp for a couple of ports before bed. I have to say even though we where mashed, I mean smashed, we were still up for learning a thing or two and Mark pointed out the difference between Paris Hilton and some sort of chocolate bar. We found this quite interesting and he also went on to point out how they figured out Lord Mount batten had dandruff, to tell the truth we were p…sing ourselves and even though it was well after lights out, I reckon the people around us in their caravans might have got a laugh too, very funny, great company and a good way to end the evening. The next morning Clyde was looking a little green, I think the chicken parmi he had for dinner might have been a bit off and one VN2000 didn’t want to start. We tried pushing the mutha up and down the roads in the park, we did get the motor to turn over a bit but there was no way it was going to fire. After moving the pistons up and down and the battery still having a bit of kick left in it, Mark hit the starter and she fired up, you beauty. After brekky at the Dome we said goodbye to the boys, they headed for Perth and Bob and myself went and checked out the coastline around Albany, in a word, spectacular. We only had about 180km to do to get to Bremer Bay so we had some lunch, fueled up and hit the road. At Bremer Bay we were warmly greeted by the park administrator, who I might add, had some serious stuff shoved in her top. Bob agreed to go for a walk after we were sorted, on the condition that the walk culminated at the pub, great suggestion mate, not sure what the time was but it had to be around 9pm, we strolled....alright staggered back to the camp. We gave the beer our official stamp of approval. In the morning Hopetoun beckoned, rain was threatening but went away once we were on the road. The last 50kms from Ravensthorpe to Hopetoun was particularly enjoyable, with the wind dropping to virtually nothing and the bikes just humming along at 120, eating the road, awesome. The caravan park at Hopetoun is just behind the dunes, back from the beach......sand, bush and tracks going everywhere but the neighbours were friendly. We felt it was our duty to make sure the quality of food and beer was safe for the locals, so after setting up our tents in a “Christ how are we going to find this” location, off we went for our walk and yes, you guessed it, finishing at the pub. We are happy to report the locals are in no danger by consuming the food and beer, somehow that night, we found our way back to the camp and after a cuppa, turned in. It was about 240km to Esperance the next day and the Bathers Paradise caravan park, cheap and one of the best.  It started raining about 2am in Esperance and didn’t stop, so it was pack up in the rain and ride in the rain for about the first 150km, then it cleared thank Christ and was very pleasant all the way back to Perth, where it was markedly warmer. I want to say thank you to everyone who participated and especially to our Treasurer, Bob who proved himself to be a great companion for the trip.

March 2011

The road to York has been well travelled by some of us lately but it is always an interesting ride and its great to have a bike friendly destination like Saints Diner to relax at with a coffee on arrival. Leaving York, we took the backroads to Cunderdin and although reasonably narrow, the small amount of traffic we encountered allowed us to use most of the road when needed. The farmers out that way must have thought there was a weather change coming, with our thundering bikes ripping thru the countryside, music to my ears. The Ettamogah is a unique building and something I relate too, most of us would remember reading the cartoons in the post magazine as a kid. Once inside, Dave sat on a three legged chair and did his best impersonation of the ninja turtle dance, our camera man was too busy yakking and missed it, but most of the other guests thought it was pretty good, very entertaining mate. The food was of the generous size and very tasty. We stopped for fuel at Meckering on the way back, funnily enough, across the road from the Earthquake Centre. Lo and  behold right on cue there was a tremor, right under a certain 1500 classic, it measured about 7 on the Andy,  oops I mean Richter scale. Someone thought the tank looked overfull and so tipped a few litres out, well he had a point, it was the fastest way to get the job done. lucky its March or there might have to be an April Fuels award, heheheh, sorry mate I couldn't resist it. Another great day on the bikes, my thanks to our guest riders Dave and Glen, both on 900 Vulcans and everyone else who attended.

 February 2011

This months ride was once again well supported with 11 bikes showing up at the starting point, this is actually a pretty good size group, it makes negotiating traffic a little easier. We did get split up a bit at the start with a few cars getting between us, but it all worked out once we got off the main roads. We have had 3 new members sign up this month and our little club continues to grow in both diversity and numbers, welcome aboard guys. We had morning tea at the cafe alonside the waterwheel park in Gingin and for a change it was actually pretty quiet there, you beauty, the last few times I've been there it was packed. A few of the boys were asking where our escort was, because we passed a group from one of the outlaw clubs that was getting a very close police escort, well all I can say is, the fire brigade were going to do it for us, did you see them as we left Gingin, we had the fire truck in front and the support Landcruiser behind us but they got called away when we hit Brand Hwy, Heheheh. It was a little stuffy at The pub in Lancelin, pity we couldn't have sat outside, but the food was fairly quick and as Denise said," wow look how big it is ", I thought she was talking to me at first, but no she was referring to her hamburger. We had 2 guest riders with us today, Bob on a new 1800 C109RT Suzuki, which he was running in and Mark on his V2K Vulcan, my thanks to everyone who participated in spite of the gloomy outlook, you can't keep good people down.

January 2011

What a start to the year, the Caltex in Murdoch was fairly jammed with bikes, there were 17 of us all together which is a pretty decent turn out given the size of our small club. We had 5 guest riders along for the ride including Grant on his meanstreak, Tony and Denise on their yami 1000, Rick and Dave on their 900 vulcans and my mate Scotty on his 650 yami sidecar outfit, complete with kids. Hope you all had a good time and feel free to join us again if you feel like it. Andy had ridden up in the rain from Roelands to join us and the rest of the group was made up of our regular riders, Brian, Colin, George, Jerzy,Tom and Robyn, Bob and Charlotte, Rob, Shane and myself.   It was a pretty straight run down to the flash new Dome in Pinjarra and it was very pleasant sitting outside having a coffee and a chat. Scotty and the girls had to leave us here and we went across to Dwellingup and then through the picturesque countryside across to Waroona. Lunch was at the Drakesbrook Hotel, $10 for a roast beef dinner with vegies and the salad bar, beat that. Of course Michelle had to try with a double decker seafood tower that took up half the table, god knows were she put it, considering she is about the size of Mini Mouse, but it all went. Chris had driven up from Roelands to have lunch with us and this gave me the opportunity to present their Clubman of the Year award, very deserving winners, well done guys. After lunch it was back to the city via the Southwest Hwy, well thats the first ride for the year under our belt, my thanks to those that attended.

December 2010

Well we usually have a great time at our Xmas windup and this year was no exception. Some crazy fool thought it might be fun to stick your face in jelly and get shaved by a blindfolded lady with a spoon while wearing girly sunglasses, turns out he was right, what a laugh. The winning team, the Meanstreaks was made up by Tracey, George, Rache and Bob. Cheating was rife as you would expect, but Paul, our chief Ref. was in fine form and proved the pen is mightier than the sword, with heavy penalties being handed out to those that cheated. At the presentations Paul provided us with a scoresheet that was full of character and he cracked us up with his recital of events. After the games Santa paid us a visit to compliment the Kris Kringle and not only was he a big hit with us, the neighbours kids thought he was pretty cool as well, good stuff George. Bob and Charlotte showed true club spirit, taking part in the games and having a good laugh, Bob bit thru that jelly like a knife thru butter and Charlotte gave me a very close shave. Fitzy was also a Ref. and whilst manning the hose thought Tom looked a bit hot in the radiator game and gave him a good spray to cool down, very thoughtful Fitzy. Actually the Classics, Brian Robyn Tom and Alvan were going really well but copped a lot of heavy penalties for, shall we say lateral thinking, no bugger it, lets just say cheating. My team, the Nomads, Charlotte, Erik, Clive and myself, what can I say, we were robbed, maybe next time.Our vice, Brian and his lovely lady Barbara did a great job with the food and we all thank them for hosting the event.

Clive & Michelle and Andy & Chris were joint winners of the Clubman Of The Year award, both couples have proven what valuable members of our club they are and are to be congratulated on the win.

Well thats it for this year, lets see what 2011 holds for us, bring it on.

 November 2010

This month we did our ride to Ardath with Clyde and Raelene leading the way. After leaving Kelmscott we made our way to Beverley, then York where we all got a splash of fuel and then stopping at Kauring for lunch. Bob and Charlotte had ridden with us as guest riders to this point and over lunch decided to join the club as full members, welcome guys. With some food in our bellies and in Georges case, flies as well, our new members headed back to Perth and we headed for Kokerbin Rock. Traffic was virtually non existant and the roads although narrow were in good shape. Kokerbin Rock was massive, the access road was gravel and only a few of us were game to go in for a look. After a few photo's and some ribbing about a certain passenger, namely the Bikie Chic, heh heh, it was on to Bruce Rock. Fitzy's throat must have been irritated by the dust so while we fuelled up, so did he. The Ardath pub was fairly rocking with about 50+ bikes lined up along the street when we arrived, so in we went and did that first beer taste good or what. Around 5pm the other group of bikers left the pub providing some entertaining take offs and leaving us with the pub to ourselves. I must mention this group was also being followed by a car and trailer with the obligatory Harley in the back.

What a night it was, with setting up a table in the middle of the road, home made kareoke, star gazing, beer and wine, dancing, more beer and wine and lots of laughter, the hours rolled by very quickly. There was even a bit of girl on girl action on the pool table, our girls know how to shake their thing(and their other bits) God bless them. Everyone had an absolute ball, the ladies toilet became unisex as it was close to the bar and Clyde did his bit for the local community by watering the lemon tree out the front, which magically turned into a 30mtr gum tree the next day. Jerzy had brought some binoculars along and was able to show us some of the stars in the bar, oops I mean sky. It was very interesting but the sky was moving a lot so it was hard to focus. The brain was a little cloudy the next morning, must have been something I ate, but we were all fine and ready to ride by about 8.45am. We took the scenic route through Corrogin, Yealering & Wickepin before stopping at Pingelly for lunch and then back to Armadale. I want to thank  Andy and Chris, Clive and Michelle, Brian, George, Jerzy, Rob,Tom and Robyn who always make every effort to participate in our club events. I also want to say a special  thanks to Clyde and Raelene for organising the ride, you were all great company and made the weekend one to remember, well done guys.

October 2010

The chance of a few showers seemed to keep some riders away today but we really only saw some very light rain a couple of times, through the ride that is, upon our return to Midvale it really did come down heavily.  The Bindoon bakery is obviously doing alright as they are now in a new building right alongside the old place, very nice. George is carving himself a little niche in our club with his inovative approach to customizing his ride, he has come up with a great way to dress up the guards and those fuel tanks with an exposed seam, have a look next time you see him. The canolla crops were disappointing, those hard working farmers have been busy harvesting and there was not one yellow field to be seen, bit out with the timing. A stop at Lake Ninan showed it was surprisingly full and one of the locals at the pub was telling me they ocassionally ski in there, so it must be reasonably deep at times. Wongan pub was quiet and we pretty well had the place to ourselves. After something to eat we rode over to Goomalling for fuel, its always interesting reading the chalk board at the BP servo there , the girls have got a great sense of humour and they are always good for a laugh. From here it was back through Toodyay and home, did I mention that shower? My thanks to those that attended

September 2010

This ride started out a little differently today with Tom's bike refusing to start after running faultlessly until reaching our meeting place. Looks like the battery just decided to call it quits, bad luck mate but at least it didn't leave you stranded out in the bush. Riding thru the Chittering Valley area was very pleasant although there was still quite a chill in the air and a rest stop in the sun at Toodyay was very welcome. We had a couple of guest riders with us today, Mark on his new 1500 classic and Brett on a 1100 honda, Mark used to ride with us previously and it was good to catch up with him again. A pair of Voyagers also stopped with us at Toodyay and we were able to give them a good looking over, whilst there are a few niggles with them, they are an impressive machine. Some of the canolla crops between Northam and York were in flower and the fields. looked great By the time we got to York everyone was starving, Simon and Heather at Saints Diner looked after us with some great food and little Johnny gave us a few giggles. Erik and Jody happened to be in town and popped over and said g'day and then it was back to Perth. We had a couple of drops of rain at The Lakes fuel station but nothing really, what a great run we've had with the weather this year, my thank's to everyone who attended. 

August 2010

Well today was Clive and Michelle's ride and what a perfect day it turned out to be, our first stop was at the Serpentine dam coffee shop where we were all able to sit out the back overlooking the dam, what a back drop. The parrots were very friendly and George was able to hand feed a couple of 28's, one actually stole a large chunk of his biscuit and then sat on the fence holding it and chewing bits off. We then made our way back through Jarrahdale and across to Albany Hwy and down to Williams. We had lunch in the Woolstores centre there, funny how these Kiwi's always choose sheep orientated places to hang out. Even though they were busy the staff were very efficient and we all had our food in quick time. Andy decided to throw his hat in the ring for the best shirt dribble award, I was just a bit slow with the camera, damn it. From here we fuelled up and made our way to our various destinations. Once again we had a good turn out with 10 bikes participating, including Adam on his new 1600 Classic, my thanks to Clive and Michelle for organizing the day and to everyone who participated.

July 2010

We had a great turnout today with eleven bikes showing up for the ride. The trip down to Dwellingup was very pleasant, we noticed a few signs warning of traffic hazards ahead but came across nothing. It became apparrent as we got closer to the town these signs were associated with a cycle race that was in progress, luckily the bikes were travelling in the opposite direction so didn't effect us at all. After a coffee in Dwellingup we started to make our way across to the Ravenswood hotel via Pinjarra, unfortunately the cyclists had now turned around and were heading to Pinjarra as well. There were 2 cars in front of us that didn't really make the best use of the passing oportunities, but it wasn't really a drama as mostly when the cyclist's heard us coming, they moved into single file and we could blast past, giving them a taste of what a real bike sounds like. It was a little embarrassing on a couple of occassions when due to the cars getting caught up, they actually managed to pass us again. The setting at the Ravenswood pub was great, we sat outside and on a day like today it is just great being near the river. I have to say, Dave, I hope you don't mind me telling everone how old you are mate, but at 71 to be riding as you do, I reckon that is awesome and you are an inspiration to us all, well done mate.  Our newest member joined us today and I welcome George and Vicky to our group and ask that everyone makes them feel welcome. George rides a green 1500 Nomad ( great choice of bike by the way), so next time you see him, say g'day. My thanks to all those that attended