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We were all looking forward to a great weekend away again this
year. Having headed east for a change in November, we decided
that would be a good plan again, hopefully missing the rain
although the chill factor was going to be unavoidable by the
look of the forecast.
Twelve keen riders met on Saturday morning, layered with
thermals and warm riding gear. We had 3 new HOW riders joining
us for the weekend, Nic, Suzan & Bron together with our
regular keen riders, Megan, Tammie, Lidia, Chris S, Chris R,
Jeanette, Joyce, Kathy and myself.
We left the info bay and headed out Chester Pass Rd towards the
Stirling Ranges, turning left into Formby South Rd. We all
stopped at the corner and regrouped and Nic took some great
photos of the bikes with the ranges in the background. This is
the beauty of living on the south coast, within a half an hour
you are riding some amazing roads with almost no other traffic
around. The weather was crisp and clear with no wind or rain in
sight.
From here we continued on to Gnowangerup, where we had been
told we could get a good coffee at the pub. This wasn’t to be,
as when we arrived we were greeted at the door by (the manager)
maybe and told the coffee machine had broken down last night,
alas it was off to the servo for a coffee. We were made very
welcome and coffee and food was fine.
We admired the
interesting décor as it was obvious someone there was a
huge Elvis Presley fan. We then headed towards Dumbleyung for
the next fuel stop. The road took a lot of deviations but once
again great riding all through this area and we had all day to
get to Kulin.
We had planned to have lunch at Harrismith hotel as they serve
bar meals and it’s a bit different, being tucked away in the
bush. Unfortunately we arrived just after 2pm and were told the
cook had left but they obligingly heated up something for us and
the chips were good. I think the cook was sleeping off the big
night they were telling us they had the night before. A send off
for one of the locals.
Next stop, Kulin. Even though we have all day, we are very
aware that due to the amount of talking we do at every stop, it
can take us a long time to get to our destination on these
weekends. Hahaha.
After checking in we turned on heaters and electric blankets in
the rooms as it looked like we were in for a very cold inland
night. We all sat around, had a wine and recapped on the day.
Then it was time to shower, change and into the pub for dinner.
How does Megan fit those boots into her pannier I want to know!
This year they really outdid previous years! Just gorgeous,
platforms and coming above her knees! They looked fantastic and
we were all envious.
The meals were great and we had a nice warm dining room with a
fire going. The local football team had played in Kulin and had
a win so the pub was very busy with them all celebrating and
making speeches.
After dinner we decided to play pool in the lounge. With the
“disco” happening and the boys celebrating it made for a very
noisy night. Most of them were totally amazed that we were all
riding bikes! One “lad” in particular, approx 79yrs, was very
taken with us all but I won’t mention any names as we have a few
club members from the area.
It was a great night of laughs and fun and after quite a few
games of pool and quite a lot of dancing we had a coffee and
nightcap and headed to bed, some having a more eventful night
than others!
On Sunday morning some of girls went for a ride along the “Tin
Horse highway” as they had not seen it before. When they
returned we headed to Narrogin for a late breakfast, where Megan
thoroughly enjoyed a piece of dry toast and a mug of hot water.
We then rode down through Wagin, Katanning and Broomehill where
we stopped to have coffee and cake at Henry Jones café
before continuing on to Mt Barker where we said our goodbyes to
Nic, Chris and Bron, who were going to Denmark.
Once again a great weekend and we are already looking forward
to the next one.