* Represents Australia's right turn across traffic

So, there you go; Speed kills!  Right!  I have been run out of my lane four times this week by drivers not indicating or not looking.  If statistics show speed “is a factor” in 37% of fatal and 15% of injury accidents then it must not be a factor in 63% of fatal and 85% of injury accidents.  Remembering it “is a factor”, not necessarily the main cause, then what are the Road Safety pundits doing about the real causes.

I see in NSW that the constant barrage that speed cameras are only for revenue raising has had an effect.  To counter that perception, speeding in NSW now brings a decreased fine but increased demerit points for offences.  Under the new laws, fines for exceeding the speed limit by up to 15kmh have dropped from $130 to $75 but it now means three demerit points.

One Ulysses AGM Story

This year Charleen couldn’t make the Ulysses AGM.  School was coming to a finish and there were assignments and tests to do all in that week.  I made the decision to take the sports bike this time, after all, this was the reason we bought it, for when I ride alone.  The Goldwing is for when we ride together.  A long-time friend, Camo, had recently joined Ulysses and also wanted to take his sports bike down there, so plans were made without much thought for AWRA.  For a change.

Camo and I set off early Sunday morning.  Me on my trusty Honda CBR1000F and Camo on his Yamaha TRX 850.  We stopped at Aratula to meet up with Eric and Deb as well as Phil and Vicki.  Both Goldwings were fully loaded up with trailers etc and so were taking the straightforward route along the Newell Highway.  We were travelling light, thanks to Lionel and Mary, who were taking their 4WD camper as well as their 1800.  They therefore had plenty of room to take our tents and sleeping bags.  Wonderful.  So we left the two Goldwings to their boring, but comfortable highway and headed off for the wilds.  I had planned the route to miss all the major roads and even included my favourite piece of dirt road, that ‘couple of Ks’ near Glen Lyon Dam.  The CBR took it in its stride, but the Yammie didn’t like it at all.  Oh well.

Then it was south in between the Newell and New England Highways.  Great roads, wide open spaces and very few patrols.  Need I say more?

We overnighted at Gulgong and next morning travelled via Mudgee to Bathurst (did a lap) then took another short-cut via Wyangala Dam, by-passing Cowra.  Excellent road.

We arrived at Exhibition Park In Canberra (EPIC) after lunch and set about the business of registration and finding a campsite.  Finding Lionel was easy.  The big orange bike with the two silver helmets was parked nearby.  I phoned Lionel and he said, “Turn around.”  There he was.   Even though we were allotted sites, some people had just moved in and taken them without asking.  We finally found a nice bit of grass with power and a tap nearby.  Then it was off to look for a Bunnings store to get some chairs.  They were out.

Tuesday first thing was to find the bike shop at Fyshwick and get my speedo fixed and a new front tyre.  Then back to the site for some test rides.  I tried out the new Triumph Rocket - Awesome power from it's 3cyl 2300cc engine.  Then the Buell Firebolt.  This was just for fun but it ended up being not so much.  The bike, although fast, was truly horrible and vibrated so much it shook my camera out of my pocket at 100kph.  Didn't do the camera much good.

Wednesday and the place was filling up.  Tents just everywhere, as well as quite a few caravans and campers.  We ended up with 5009 attendees.  Our AWRA group was scattered throughout the huge site with some just in tents, like us.  The Merlos, Madgerics and Rusts, were together with their mini Taj Mahals, the Jacobsons were up on Snob Hill with all the other campers, caravans, buses etc, and others were in Tent City with their fancy semi-trailer showers.  We poor folk in tent land just had to make do.  But we did alright.

We booked in for some rides and then went with a group who were going to visit the National Museum at the same time as Princess Mary and Prince Fredrik.  Result was my mug (and a fair bit of the back of my bald pate) on the telly.  I think they used my sound byte as most of the comments by the others would not have been good for prime-time TV. 

Then it was back for more test-rides.  This time the new model Goldwing and a Yamaha 1300 sports tourer.  The Goldwing was lovely, of course, and the Yamaha very civilised, but a little on the staid side. 

Thursday was a couple of my favourite sporties, the Suzuki Hayabusa and the Honda Blackbird.  I still cannot decide which if these I would prefer so it is a good thing I can't afford either.

Along with all of the above, was a heap of socialising, drinking and walking.  Because the drinks were very expensive on-site, we ended up making an esky out of Camo's top box using drinks purchased earlier in the day and ice from the nearby servo.  World's only 850cc powered esky-on-wheels, probably not.  Trouble was you could drive it to a party but not home again. 

Friday, I decided to go for a ride in the Snowy Mountains.  I had been there before in a car but not done some parts and not on a bike.  So I talked Camo into accompanying me and we set off early.  Rode down to Cooma with the intent of doing a circuit via Jindabyne, Thredbo, Khancoban, Adaminaby and back to Cooma.  We started off on some great motorcycling roads, but just 20km the other side of Thredbo, we were slowing to stop for a photo when Camo got hit from behind by a sports bike.  There were two of them, travelling at breakneck speed in the 60 zone very close together.  The first one saw us at the last moment and swerved and avoided us but the second one was very close and could only see the back of his mate.  When the mate suddenly swerved he was confronted with Camo's almost stopped bike.

The resulting crash sent Camo's bike down with him on top and parts spinning off every which way.  Somehow they all missed me.  Camo suffered a couple of bruises but was otherwise OK, although very shaken.  No serious injuries thanks to good riding clothing.  The other rider had very sore testicles.  We weren't sympathetic.  The little Yamaha was badly broken though, as there was spilled oil everywhere, with a broken engine cover, along with a great deal of cosmetic damage.

We exchanged details and then had to leave the Yamaha behind and double on my bike back to the Hospital at Cooma where we had Camo checked out for good measure.  His wrist was sprained lightly.  Then it was back to camp.  A total of 240km being doubled after a prang was not a good experience.

Unbeknown to us at the time, Lionel was struck down by illness at about the same time Camo was struck.  Those at the last meeting heard the whole story about that from Mary and as I write this, Lionel is back home and recovering.

Friday night was a big celebratory dinner and our Goldwing group gathered along with about 4,000 others in 2 very large rooms.  A good night was tempered a bit with all our woes.

Saturday was the big Grand Parade.  Lionel let Camo borrow his bike for the parade.  He loved it.  The parade was very spectacular, if a little short.  Around 3,500 bikes parked in Anzac Parade was a sight to see.  After that we went back to the bike shop to see the damaged Yamaha being brought back in.  It was eventually written off.  While there we met another couple who had been pushed off the road by a car and had slammed their Honda Valkyrie into a tree.  Much damage and more injuries than Camo.  Poor buggers.  They were from the Sunshine Coast and had RACQ Ultra so were getting a car home.

We attended the AGM and watched the furore about rockers with bemused detachment.  (A long story that was in all the papers.)  Such fuss over something so trivial.  The rest of the AGM was good to see and take part in.  Good to watch the processes of a 25,000 member club and compare them to our 70 member club.

Saturday night was another dinner and was OK but we were all a little weary and thoughts were turning towards home.

Sunday morning we were packed up and ready to leave around 7am.  We had to wait for Mary to come from the hospital in the camper so she could take some of our stuff.  Camo was bringing Lionel's Goldwing home for him.  We set off with Bevan and Larry and Annette and had a pleasant ride home, stopping overnight in Armidale.  We got home Monday arvo and Lionel's Goldwing was returned to him when he got home.

As if that wasn’t enough travelling, on the Wednesday I was off again on a driving job.  I managed to visit four capital cities in one day.  Left Brisbane on a 7.30 flight to Melbourne, drove from there to Canberra where I visited Mary, to pick up our camping gear, then on to and through Sydney, finally pulling up at Raymond Terrace at 12:45am.  Home Thursday after taking the required rest period.

BILL & MARY’S MURWILLUMBAH RIDE 20 APRIL 2005

Well here we go again.  I love this Ride Captain stuff, but it does have a sense of day jar voo.  You see this isn’t the first time I have taken a small but awe struck group on this ride.  As a matter of fact this was the third time I have used it.  Some of you may ask “don’t people get sick of it?” Hell no!! Hardly anyone came the first two times.  Anyway, I reckon if I do it another couple of times I mightn’t even get lost so much, (but that might take some of the adventure out of it).

ASIDE: Here’s some hints about getting lost when you are the ride leader:

1.       Never let on;

2.       Don’t slow down.  As a matter of fact speed up.  If you can put some distance between you and the bike behind, you can get some time to figure out where you are and plan your way back to civilisation.  The serendipity for you is that when the rest of the group catches up they will be so glad to see you that they will forget what a nincompoop you were for getting lost.

3.       At the next stop put on a big smile and a smug look and say something like, “how’d you like that little side track? It took a lot of research to find and plan that route and I’ll bet you can’t get back there without me.” HINT: don’t get lost up dead end gravel roads that make wives distrust hubby’s ability to do a sixteen point turns in gravel and so they publicly embarrass them and get off.

Anyway back to the story.  The first time I used this ride was when a large portion of the club was gallivanting around Australia to get p-----d with some other old and disgraceful geriatrics.  I can’t remember why no one came the next time but I do remember at least one club member had to stay home and sort their sock drawer, and another thought their budgie was due to have a happy moment.  It was later revealed that they only had one budgie so we were never able to determine exactly how happy the budgie got.  Actually most of the others went on the Cassie Doyle charity ride and a worthy cause it is.  (I thought that ride with other types of bike was excellent opportunity to show other riders how a precision piece of machinery like a Gold Wing performs and gets home every time.) I feel sorry for you who can attract more bikes on a ride than ships that were in the Spanish Armada as you have to plan a new ride each time.  Mary and I have changed our deodorant and started reading Dale Carnegie books so we will see how we go in the future.

It was a fine day that greeted us in the morning of the ride which was a relief from the bucketing rain the day before.  I opened the garage door and there in my garage was Big Goldie smiling and champing at the bit to go riding.  I still can’t get over the look of disappointment he had on his headlights when that new pretty white girl, (Evie), who he had been winking at all night was wheeled out and he was left behind.

See Evie is the new addition.  A 2000 model SE that we had just added to the stable.  Goldie just doesn’t understand.  He’s carried this fat Rs around for 100,000ks and hasn’t put a foot wrong.  It will be sad to see him go but we can’t afford two.  (Don’t tell him because I think he was planning to get with Evie and make a Revere).  We headed to the BP at Yatala eerr Stanmore eerr (just south of Beenleigh on the M1), and we were really excited because Evie has a CB, which was going to be an asset on the ride.  I am sure there must be someone up there with a sense of humour because after riding for 5 years without a CB, and 1 year with a CB that won’t work, we finally get a CB that works and my head set s—t itself between home and the BP.

If you think that is funny, listen to this.  The microphone in my head-set worked so I could speak, but the speaker was useless so I couldn’t hear.  Mary’s speaker was functioning so she could hear, but she couldn’t control the press-to-talk to speak.  Can you imagine what it was like with her doing the hearing, and yelling instructions into my deaf ear so I could make comments.  Great!

We were pleasantly surprised on our arrival to see other Wings in the car park.  Mary and I had a hearty and nutritious breakfast from Macca’s and greeted the merry group as they arrived.  Ten bikes assembled and I waited until everyone had their helmets on to give the pre-ride briefing.  Never mind, it didn’t take long to get them off again.  18 people gathered around and I rolled out the pre written briefing carefully designed to absolve me of any blame if someone decided to ride into a truck.  It was a spectacular site with me standing before the masses orating like Billy Graham at a revival meeting.  One passer by stopped to listen thinking he had stumbled on to an Amway convention. 

We set off under the M1 through Stanmore and on to the Beenleigh / Tamborine Rd.  We followed that back toward Beenleigh and a left turn at Coonan’s Corner led us on to Bahr’s Scrub Rd and then we followed some other roads to the Waterford Tamborine Rd.  We went through Tamborine Village and headed up the mountain.  We were caught behind some cars for a while but I seized the chance on a 25 metre straight and blasted past.  Larry, who had been following behind me momentarily lost the gear lever and Paul, on his new 1800, blasted past Larry and the car all at once.  I thought Paul’s throttle had stuck open and fearing he might run up our rear I accelerated away.  With me thinking Paul was out of control and he thinking he need to catch up to me, it wasn’t long before we couldn’t see the bikes behind us.  It didn’t matter because I knew that the pre ride briefing clearly said that if people got left behind, they were to stay on the same road and we would wait before turning off anywhere.

With everyone together again at the top of the mountain we headed past some of the most breath taking scenery anywhere and motored towards Henry Roberts Drive.  H R Dve is steep enough to launch a rocket from and if the passengers would just open their eyes and stop screaming they would see that the view is spectacular.  That brought us down, (sans brakes), to the Nerang Murwillumbah Rd, which we took to Nerang and morning tea.  Everyone was so excited to arrive at the break they couldn’t stop talking.  One member’s arms were aching from the ride down the hill, and he had to leave after smoko.  Before leaving I phoned the Murwillumbah Hotel and confirmed the numbers for lunch and gave them a time.  They said that they would pass this on to the Chef.

From there we headed back the way we came until we turned off and went thought Tallai to Panorama.  Panorama is a very exclusive address that overlooks the whole Gold Coast, and has an exciting but vertical climb up, and a breath taking descent that used whatever brake pads we had left.  We followed Old Coach Rd and some other roads to the Currumbin Valley where we turned off to Murwillumbah via Tomewin.  I love that road and Evie needed a stretch so we decided to explore the possibilities of Evie’s Race Tech suspension.  Larry had found his gears and his throttle and with the Whoa Boy turned down he was right behind us.  We got to the bottom of the mountain a little ahead of the group and waited until we were all together again.

We headed into Murwillumbah and parked behind the pub, and while the ladies touched up the lippy and brushed out the helmet hair we hungrily headed towards the restaurant.  We had been there a couple of weeks earlier to make sure they had the right menu, and we rang and confirmed number at smoko and guess what??  THEY WERE SHUT!!!!  We are nothing if not resourceful and around the corner is the RSL.  We had decided not to eat there during the first stage of the ride plan process as the meal we had at the time, (three of this rides ago), was not very good.  We were very pleasantly surprised to find that the RSL restaurant had changed and the meals were excellent.

After lunch some more had to leave and others rearranged their schedule to stay and the intrepid group left for home.  We turned off the Pacific Highway to Cabarita, which is another great ride, but unfortunately there were slower motorists in front and we weren’t able to enjoy the corners as much as we would like.  Never mind, they have a right to enjoy a drive too.  At Cabarita we turned left and I just sensed that everyone was dying to see what the new Salt development was like so we detoured through the car park past the restaurants and shops, and through the resort Portico.  The Resort staff were so excited to see us they were speechless.  They stood there with their mouths open as we filed through on our Wings.

From there we went through Kingscliff and linked up with the M1 for the trip back to the BP Coomera for coffee and good byes.  Some comments during & after the ride were: “Great ride.  Great speed.  It’s good to ride with people that can ride”.  “Great ride.  We should make this an annual event”.  Great ride, loved every bit”.  “The best bit must be ahead because the last part wasn’t”.  Oh well, can’t please everyone.  Anyway we had a great time and the good news is with 30 odd members in the club it will be 2½ years before it is my turn again and everyone will have forgotten this ride and I will be able to trot it out again.

Stay safe,

Bill & Mary

Cassie Doyle Memorial Ride for Life

The Cassie Doyle Memorial Ride for Life is on the 19th June.  I received a call the other day advising the date and requesting the Australian Wing Riders attend.  Our attendance was greatly appreciated last year and the Goldwings are really appreciated as rides for the dignitaries.   Unfortunately, although the date has changed from last year, it again falls on the 3^rd Sunday of the month.  I did explain how this can cause a problem for our group as it’s our ride weekend and few want to pay $110.00 for the privilege of a pillion ride for someone who would usually be on the back seat anyway.

However, this is a good cause and I hope as many members as possible can make themselves available to attend this great fundraiser

For those who came in late, (as they say in all the Phantom comics), the Cassie Doyle Memorial Ride for Life is held in memory of Cassie Doyle.  She was diagnosed with leukaemia in 1994 but sadly lost her courageous battle in 1999, aged just 21. This will be the 9^th year of this event.  Riders are invited to participate and donate their pillion seat for an allocated passenger.  Riders can bring their own Pillions for the same price of $110.00.  Past rides have had over 250 bikes and everyone has a great time.

It’s a free day for Riders who also receive a patch for their jacket in appreciation of taking part in this event.  Can’t knock a free lunch.  Pillion passengers pay $110.00 for the day, which includes all of the above and a T Shirt.  If available, lunch tickets can be arranged for $25 each if your partner wants to come for lunch but not the ride, but bookings should be made early.

We will discuss this at the next meeting but a registration form is attached for anyone wanting to register immediately.

Click here for the Registration form

Let’s support a good cause and show off the Goldwings

Bevan

Neighbourhood Hazard (or Why the Cops Won’t Patrol Brice St)

I never dreamed slowly cruising through a residential neighbourhood could be so incredibly dangerous!

Studies have shown that motorcycling requires more decisions per second, and more sheer data processing than nearly any other common activity or sport. The reactions and accurate decision making abilities needed have been likened to the reactions of fighter pilots! The consequences of bad decisions or poor situational awareness are pretty much the same for both groups too.

Occasionally, as a rider I have caught myself starting to make bad or late decisions while riding. In flight training, my instructors called this being face behind the power curve. It is a mark of experience that when this begins to happen, the rider recognizes the situation, and more importantly, does something about it. A short break, a meal, or even a gas stop can set things right again as it gives the brain a chance to catch up.

Good, accurate, and timely decisions are essential when riding a motorcycle, at least if you want to remain among the living. In short, the brain needs to keep up with the machine.

I had been banging around the roads of east Texas and as I headed back into Dallas, found myself in very heavy, high-speed traffic on the freeways. Normally, this is not a problem, I commute in these conditions daily, but suddenly I was nearly run down by a car that decided it needed my lane more than I did. This is not normally a big deal either, as it happens around here often, but usually I can accurately predict which drivers are not paying attention and avoid them before we are even close. This one I missed seeing until it was nearly too late, and as I took evasive action I nearly broadsided another car that I was not even aware was there!

Two bad decisions and insufficient situational awareness all within seconds. I was behind the power curve. Time to get off the freeway.

I hit the next exit, and as I was in an area I knew pretty well, headed through a few big residential neighbourhoods as a new route home. As I turned onto the nearly empty streets I opened the visor on my full-face helmet to help get some air. I figured some slow riding through the quiet surface streets would give me time to relax, think, and regain that edge so frequently required when riding.

Little did I suspect. As I passed an oncoming car, a brown furry missile shot out from under it and tumbled to a stop immediately in front of me. It was a squirrel, and must have been trying to run across the road when it encountered the car. I really was not going very fast, but there was no time to brake or avoid it, it was that close. I hate to run over animals and I really hate it on a motorcycle, but a squirrel should pose no danger to me. I barely had time to brace for the impact.

Animal lovers, never fear. Squirrels can take care of themselves! Inches before impact, the squirrel flipped to his feet. He was standing on his hind legs and facing the oncoming Valkyrie with steadfast resolve in his little beady eyes. His mouth opened, and at the last possible second, he screamed and leapt! I am pretty sure the scream was squirrel for, "Banzai!" or maybe, "Die you gravy-sucking, heathen scum!" as the leap was spectacular and he flew over the windshield and impacted me squarely in the chest.

Instantly he set upon me. If I did not know better I would have sworn he brought twenty of his little buddies along for the attack. Snarling, hissing, and tearing at my clothes, he was a frenzy of activity. As I was dressed only in a light T-shirt, summer riding gloves and jeans this was a bit of a cause for concern. This furry little tornado was doing some damage!

Picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and leather gloves puttering maybe 25mph down a quiet residential street and in the fight of his life with a squirrel. And losing.

I grabbed for him with my left hand and managed to snag his tail. With all my strength I flung the evil rodent off the left of the bike, almost running into the right curb as I recoiled from the throw.

That should have done it. The matter should have ended right there. It really should have. The squirrel could have sailed into one of the pristinely kept yards and gone on about his business and I could have headed home. No one would have been the wiser. But this was no ordinary squirrel. This was not even an ordinary pissed-off squirrel. This was an evil attack squirrel of death! Somehow he caught my gloved finger with one of his little hands, and with the force of the throw swung around and with a resounding thump and an amazing impact he landed square on my back and resumed his rather antisocial and extremely distracting activities. He also managed to take my left glove with him! The situation was not improved. Not improved at all. His attacks were continuing, and now I could not reach him.

I was startled to say the least. The combination of the force of the throw, only having one hand (the throttle hand) on the handlebars, and my jerking back unfortunately put a healthy twist through my right hand and into the throttle. A healthy twist on the throttle of a Valkyrie can only have one result. Torque. This is what the Valkyrie is made for, and she is very, very good at it.

The engine roared as the front wheel left the pavement. The squirrel screamed in anger. The Valkyrie screamed in ecstasy. I screamed in well, I just plain screamed.

Now picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a slightly squirrel torn T-shirt, and only one leather glove roaring at maybe 70mph and rapidly accelerating down a quiet residential street on one wheel and with a demonic squirrel on his back. The man and the squirrel are both screaming bloody murder.

With the sudden acceleration I was forced to put my other hand back on the handlebars and try to get control of the bike. This was leaving the mutant squirrel to his own devices, but I really did not want to crash into somebody, a tree, house, or parked car. Also, I had not yet figured out how to release the throttle ~ my brain was just simply overloaded. I did manage to mash the back brake, but it had little effect against the massive power of the big cruiser. About this time the squirrel decided that I was not paying sufficient attention to this very serious battle (maybe he is a Scottish attack squirrel of death) and he came around my neck and got IN my full-face helmet with me.

As the faceplate closed partway and he began hissing in my face I am quite sure my screaming changed tone and intensity. It seemed to have little affect on the squirrel however. The rpms on The Dragon maxed out (I was not concerned about shifting at the moment) and her front end started to drop.

Now picture the large man on the huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a very ragged torn T-shirt, and wearing one leather glove, roaring at probably 80mph, still on one wheel, with a large puffy squirrels tail sticking out his mostly closed full-face helmet. By now the screams are probably getting a little hoarse.

Finally I got the upper hand. I managed to grab his tail again, pulled him out of my helmet, and slung him to the left as hard as I could. This time it worked, sort of. Spectacularly sort of, so to speak.

Picture the scene. You are a cop. You and your partner have pulled off on a quiet residential street and parked with your windows down to do some paperwork. Suddenly a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a torn T-shirt flapping in the breeze, and wearing one leather glove, moving at probably 80mph on one wheel, and screaming bloody murder roars by and with all his strength throws a live squirrel grenade directly into your police car.

I heard screams. They weren't mine... I managed to get the big motorcycle under directional control and dropped the front wheel to the ground. I then used maximum braking and skidded to a stop in a cloud of tire smoke at the stop sign at a busy cross street. I would have returned to fess up (and to get my glove back). I really would have. Really. But for two things. First, the cops did not seem interested or the slightest bit concerned about me at the moment. One of them was on his back in the front yard of the house they had been parked in front of and was rapidly crabbing backwards away from the patrol car. The other was standing in the street and was training a riot shotgun on the police cruiser. So the cops were not interested in me. They often insist to let the professionals handle it anyway. That was one thing. The other? Well, I swear I could see the squirrel, standing in the back window of the patrol car among shredded and flying pieces of foam and upholstery, and shaking his little fist at me. I think he was shooting me the finger. That is one dangerous squirrel. And now he has a patrol car!

I took a deep breath, turned on my turn-signal, made an easy right turn, and sedately left the neighbourhood. As for my easy and slow drive home? Screw it. Faced with a choice of 80mph cars and inattentive drivers or the evil, demonic, attack squirrel of death...I'll take my chances with the freeway. Every time. And I'll buy myself a new pair of gloves.

From “Life Is A Road” by Daniel Meyer

AGM Patch

Shame File

Dobbing myself in this time.  Really an oversight on my part.  We arrived at BP Stapylton, went in for coffee and returned to find, to my horror, the bike was practically NAKED.

Those with delicate dispositions might want to cover their eyes right now.  Lucille was wearing only a small part of her full dress, with a gaping hole in the side for all to see.

I was SO ASHAMED.  Everyone could see HER BATTERY!

Seems I had removed pieces of her dress to add a recently acquired battery/alternator monitor and had forgotten to replace the side panel.  It was sitting at home on the bench.

We had to ride the rest of the day with our legs covering the right side to avoid further embarrassment to the poor thing.

Clint

Social Coordinator – Wendy Beddows  Ph: 07 – 3812 4166

e-mail: nnikki69@optusnet.com.au Turbo's Mobile 0421 304 144

RIDE DATES: Unless otherwise arranged, rides will be on the 3rd weekend of the month, and Social rides, the following weekend, with other social events as announced through the year.

** Ride Leaders:  Please check the details of your ride and let me know of any changes.  Ride leaders are also asked to organise 2 raffle prizes for their ride.  Suggested value approximately $10.00 each.  Raffle tickets will be made available from Eric.

IMPORTANT:  Even if you have not finalised the details of your ride, just supply the start time & location, the general direction of the ride, and the meal arrangements.

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY ON RIDES:

It is the personal responsibility of each motorcyclist to be responsible for at least the following;

­                       The roadworthiness of your vehicle (including trailer)

­                       That you are in a fit condition to control the vehicle, (including trailer)

­                       Make sure you have a full tank of fuel before departing on a ride.

­                       That you obey all the traffic rules and ride in a safe manner.

­                       That you ride in a considerate manner that does not endanger, or unnecessarily inconvenience other road users.

­                       To be correctly attired for safe motorcycling.

­                       To have fun and enjoy the day, and the company.

Minutes of April meeting. (Sorry, Members Only)