ALBANY VINTAGE & CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE CLUB

December 2017 Club News

Rudall River or Bust

or: What silly old men and women do for fun - by Loose Bruce

Seven GSX1400 sidecars and two solos meet up to head north to Rudall River National Park.
We take the back roads to Cue then up tar to Kumarina. Norm and Roy head home with electrical faults and the rest of us head up the Jigalong Mission Road which turns very rough half way.

JC’s shocky breaks so chuck in a spare. Get bogged in sandy stretch and Lampo falls off BMW and breaks his leg. Sat phone the ambo and wait 4 hrs till they arrive. RFDS to Perth for him.

Arrive in Jigalong just on dark and not a good place to be after dark, so local copper lets up camp at his house. Great but no drinking allowed [bugger].

We carry on to Cotton Creek near Canning Stock Route for fuel and head into Rudall River Nat Park to get to Desert Queen Baths. 90km of corrugated boggy sand then 18km of rugged track and we arrive to find my extended foot peg looking for shade inside my engine case. What a close call, nothing damaged so araldite bits back in hole.

Enjoy swimming at waterhole for two days then time to move on. Told track north to Telfer very sandy in places, so head back to Newman about 400km away. Some rest up while me and Ray head to Nullagine for a beer and AFL finals.

Camp at Skull Springs that night before checking out Running Waters and Carawine Gorge the next day.
Came across the Vietnam Veterans retreat on the Ripon Hills Road east of Marble Bar. Call in to be greeted by caretaker and made welcome to stay. Great spot on the old Metheena Station. Dongas to rent or camp in paperbarks on river. Camp kitchen, shower and mob phone $15 a nite.

Into Marble Bar in the morning and 30 deg at 8am already [got to 40 later]. Head down to Wittenoom Gorge and meet up with the rest. Ronnie flew up from Perth to ride Lampos bike home with Barb. Chucka got homesick and left us to it.

Rear brake pads nearly gone with all the sand so no stopping at rear wheel now. Last four of us headed to Tom Price. Hot and windy so headed south to Mt Augustus on Dooley Downs Road and cooler weather.

Sidecar wheelbearing not looking good, but head off anyway. Fuel pump filter blocks, so empty tank strip and clean then off to Murchison, 450 km away.

Camp on river, pull out wheel and no bearing left. Lucky Ray has two new ones for his wheel so in they go and off we go.

JC’s top mount breaks, but ratchet strap will hold it together to make home. Big day back to Perth down Midlands Road after a stop at Mingenew Bakery.

Fourteen days and 4,800km later pull in driveway. While Perth froze we had great weather except two hot days. The old outfit will now need a major check over.