Inspection | Overnight | Oldies | Display | Shoot | Coalmine | Indian | Wings | Cosy | Calendar | Membership
With due deliberation we had decided to get the
show or bikes on the road earlier in the year for our ride, hoping to
avoid the wet and cold weather we have experienced occasionally in the
past.
We met at 9am at the info bay on Saturday 13th March, excited and
looking forward to our annual overnighter. There were 10 of us, loaded
up with gear, Chris R, Tammy, Jo, Meagan, Jeanette, Tanya, Sharon,
Margaret, Jaye, Chris C & myself, we were meeting Chris Sainty and
Pauline in Denmark.
Everyone had on their HOW shirts which looked
great. After a few photo opportunities, we headed off to Denmark
to meet the others. A quick stop in Denmark and we continued on the
Walpole for coffee, cake and gossip . . . Then it was off to
Pemberton, via Northcliffe, for lunch. The ride was great, the weather
was brilliant and there was not a lot of traffic.
We had lunch at Jarrah Jacks. It was an
interesting exercise getting there as there is 1-2 km of gravel to get
to the vineyard with 2 rather identical looking entry points, this was
none-the-less accomplished by all . . . more or less. The setting
is brilliant at the vineyard with lots of large tables and seats on the
lawn, where we all headed. The restaurant was having an unexpectedly
busy day so we had a long . . . lunch break, but our hosts were very
appreciative of our patience and bought out baskets of wedges and 3
complementary bottles of wine to take with us as we were leaving.
Unfortunately the weather was deteriorating
fast as we left Pemberton. We headed out past Karri Valley and to
Stewart Rd, this is a great road as it is so wide and visibility is
good. An opinion obviously shared by some riders we came across on jap
bikes doing wheelstands and photographing each other! Boys being boys!
By the time we were approx 20kms from
Augusta
the heavens opened and the remainder of the ride was very wet. So much
for our manoeuvre to avoid the rain. We booked into the motel, dried
off, made a quick trip to the bottle shop and then we all settled in
for pre dinner drinks and debrief.
In the course of conversation we all learned
that Meagan had had a past career as a model. Why not with those long
legs . . . anyway she informed us she had learnt to walk in very high
heels, an art none of us could confess too. So we were most impressed
when Meagan came out ready to go to dinner with the highest of high
stilettos, bright pink and very sassy!
Everyone wanted to try on the “sassy pink
stilettos”! Which we all did with great hilarity. Photos to prove.
Unfortunately on the way to the pub for dinner, Meagan and the “sassy
pink stilettos” parted company on Augusta’s less than adequate paving
and Meagan had a very sore ankle for the remainder of the weekend. Hope
it is better now.
It was a very quiet HOW night away and most had
headed back to bed by 11.00
Tammy was having an early start at 6am and riding to Perth so she could
fit in a race day on her Triumph Daytona 675cc at Wanneroo. She very
quietly slipped out without waking anyone.
We had decided to fuel up and head straight to Nannup for breakfast on
Sunday am. We left Augusta about 8.00 and it was a great ride at that
time of day to Nannup, with only 1 emu being sighted on the way.
Breakfast was huge and yummy and the coffee
brilliant. We then rode on to Manjimup via Graphite Road which is
always a great ride. There were bikes everywhere by now as the Ulysses
conference had finished in Albany and quite a few were heading off as
well as a lot of local riders were out and about. There were more bikes
on the road than cars.
Some of the girls needed fuel in Manjimup but
we didn’t stop long and continued on to Walpole. Sharon and Chris S
said goodbye here as they weren’t stopping in Walpole. Once again a
huge amount of riders on the road, with varying types of bikes and
trailers.
We arrived at Walpole around 12.30 as our
“welcoming committee” was also arriving from Albany. Thanks for making
the effort to come and meet us. We took over the café once more
for food and coffee.
I’m sure Tanya relaxed at this point, as she had decided there really
wasn’t going to be an initiation stage to the weekend and it was all
pretty tame. Same may not apply to next year. Hahaha.