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 At last; Friday of the long weekend arrived, G12 on the trailer, change of clothing packed and Gillian in the car ready to go. Travelling up through Yarra Glenn passing out through Kinglake and Flowerdale the enormity of the Black Saturday catastrophe hits you really hard, it makes you realise just how fragile we are against the whims of Mother Nature. I have attached a photo of the remains of what was a fully restored 1954 Matchless G80 that a Melbourne enthusiast had stored at Kinglake.
To see more photos go to the Gallery
Arriving at our Harrietville cabin accommodation, quickly unloading we made contact with the other members of our group exchanging hearty salutations then getting down to the detail of Saturday and Sunday’s ride
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Saturday morning came with plenty of sunshine and an eagerness to get started. Arriving at the Harrietville Pioneer Park the group formed up with ten classic bikes and two moderns. 9:30 AM sharp and off up the glorious mountain road to Mt Hotham Resort, pulling in at the Resort for a regroup we witnessed the booking and breath testing of several motorcyclists. It would appear the road into Hotham and out to Dinner Plain is the happy hunting grounds for the local police. The Resort coffee proved expensive at $5. Continuing on with our ride, across Dinner Plain and down on a fantastic mountain road to Omeo for lunch. A tour of the historic town gave us an interesting display of the areas heritage. Then back on our bikes to ride over the mountain back to Harrietville. Twenty Four happy campers sat down in the Harrietville Hotel Bistro for a most excellent dinner which gave the day a perfect ending.
Sunday morning arrived and we were off to Mt Beauty via the Tawonga Gap, regrouping at the lookout we were surprised to meet up with approx 100 other motorcyclists who were part of the Myrtleford Festival. Continuing on to Mt Beauty for morning coffee another surprise greeted us. The members of the Annual Indian Ride had taken up the seats in nearly all of the coffee shops, cordial greetings being given to us by Jim Parker and Phil Pilgrim. On the road again down the Kiewa Valley Hwy turning off for the Happy Valley through the hills and down to Ovens, onto Myrtleford and out to Nug Nug for final regroup at the secluded Nug Nug camping grounds which are located on the bank of the Buffalo River. At $4:50 a night for a powered site, the camp site is worth remembering. Our tummies told it was time for lunch, so once again back on the bikes and onwards to Myrtleford.
After lunch we made our return journey to Harrietville passing through Bright.
The Harrietville Hotel Bistro provided another very pleasant evening meal and excellent company, provided a pleasant ending to the second perfect day of a perfect weekend. The ride was a huge success with one and all stating we shall return. Five families having booked their accommodation for next year’s Labour Day Long Weekend Harrietville Alpine Ride.
Finally I must give a big thank you to the two young ladies Alison and Jess who drove the back up trailer.
Dave Baker.
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