ALBANY VINTAGE & CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE CLUB

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August 2012 Club News

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Heels on Wheels Overnight Ride June 2012

By Raelene Blake

Group of girls
          ready to go.
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.

Train spotting
          in Dumbleyung.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.

Harrismith
          Hotel.
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!

Coffee break in
          Broomehill.
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.

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