Sunday

Like a lot of other people I spent the week before this eagerly awaited event amassing a pile of motorcycle clothing, getting the bike ready and anxiously watching the weather forecasts. The printer delivered the rally guides that I had been asked to help produce, the car was packed, the bike tested, and soon we were heading up the Hume for Beechworth. Our anticipation increased as we began to see other club members on the road and the tedious Hume gave way to the attractive countryside and the gradual climb approaching the Beechworth district.

By Sunday evening most of us had arrived and met for the Welcoming Dinner at the Hibernian Hotel close to our accommodation. The registration was well managed and we signed in and collected our RACV supported rally packs. It was great to catch up with friends, meet new people and enjoy the two course dinner the kitchen efficiently cranked out. Bill and Burger’s brief introductory speeches welcomed us all and gave us an outline of the week ahead. Monday

This was the first of our early morning gatherings at the Carriage Motel among the crowd of chatting riders and roar of dozens of engines being warmed up - we had to be in time for Bill’s briefing delivered from the elevated verandah and spiced with his humour. The organised routine was then established – the marshals rode out first, about ten minutes later the main body of riders followed the lead rider out, then the rear rider, the back-up car and trailer and the bus.

We all settled into the first ride – being in the company of 60+ other bikes on the road requires concentration – and soon our first feature stop was the massive Eldorado floating dredge, built in the 1930’s and closing in 1954 it produced 80,000 ounces of gold and 1,450 tons of tin. A local history enthusiast gave us a descriptive talk then it was time to leave for our morning tea break at the Buffalo Brewery at Boorhaman, much appreciated as the weather was cool and overcast. After lunch at Glenrowan we rode to the Wangaratta Air Museum. Not usually open to the public, Bill had arranged for us to visit and watch several WW2 aircraft being painstakingly and accurately restored to flying condition. One of the highlights of the week.

Tuesday

We all awoke to a rainy morning and news of light snow and possibly black ice at Hotham, so at the briefing Bill told us that the planned Hotham-Omeo part of the ride might be changed. We set off for Myrtleford and paused to re-group at Ovens in the continuing rain, then turning east to pass Happy Valley and later turn right on to the Kiewa Valley road towards Mt Beauty. The surrounding hills were partly obscured by cloud and mist and the paddocks green with moisture, but soon the town of Mt Beauty was in sight, then the CFA buildings where morning tea awaited. And what a spread of top quality home-made cakes and bisciuts had been prepared for us. We may have been soaked and dripping but we were well fed.

The Hotham-Omeo section confirmed as cancelled for safety reasons, we left Mt Beauty and turned left out of the Kiewa Valley to climb the Tawonga Gap road through the bends and misty forest scenery. Here Andrew and Anne Goodall on their BSA suffered a front tyre puncture caused by a broken spoke and came to a halt on the wrong side of the road but thankfully upright. We stopped at Bright and went our different ways to look for lunch, meeting later and returning to Beechworth through increasingly heavy rain – we all draped our rooms with our soaked gear when got back. Fortunately the next day was a free day allowing extra time for our clothes to dry out.

Wednesday (rest day)

No organised rides this day though some people did saddle up again. The weather improved and brightened and while many people chose to explore Beechworth others visited the many nearby attractions or towns.

Thursday

Blue sky and higher temperatures greeted us on his day. We headed north-west from Beechworth and crossed the full Hume Weir on the Bethanga steel truss bridge pausing at Bellbridge for a re-group where Kay took photos. The scenery continued to improve as we were led along the Talgarno Road with part of Lake Hume close on our left. Mountains, forested and open landscapes, the sweeping bends and the blue sky overhead – this was motorcycling at its best. After this excitement the next stop was Granya for morning tea. Here an impressive array of excellent home-cooked cakes, scones and biscuits awaited us provided by the Granya Hall and Granya Heritage Committees (a service they are happy to provide for motorcycle clubs).

Murray River Road was next. With NSW and the river on our left the lovely scenery and winding road led us to Walwa for a fuel stop. Then we went on to Tintaldra for lunch at the pub where the owners were celebrating having been there 22 years exactly.

The back-up trailer had some customers this day, many with minor ailments that were fixed so that they could resume riding. Among them were a broken throttle cable, water in an ignition switch (possibly from the Tuesday ride), another ignition fault and a bike-falling-over mishap.

We were now homeward bound in slanting afternoon sunlight which detailed the surrounding hillsides beautifully, and we paused at Tallangatta on the Murray Valley Highway before following our leaders to the south-west through Tangambalanga and Yackandanda. A great day of 345 km finishing at Beechworth with the sun still shining for us.

Friday

Our last ride day seemed to have come around very quickly, but the sun was out again and the road to Rutherglen beckoned followed by morning tea at Gordon Steven’s property at Barnawartha. Here was an extensive collection of historic agricultural machinery and old but restored petrol bowsers and enameled metal signage. Among these densely packed treasures were some interesting motorcycles and cars.

Later we rode in the Wodonga direction and there we found some features we had become unaccustomed to during the week: urban traffic, roundabouts and traffic lights. Recovering from this we entered the Bandiana Military Area to have lunch in an attractive park area and visit the Army Museum which represents WW1 through to recent overseas army deployments. The museum is extensive with exhibits ranging from personal diaries kept by Australian soldiers in the trenches during WW1, to large pieces of hardware such tanks and guns. The collection includes several motorcycles, mostly Japanese but also a few British. Land Rover enthusiasts are well catered for. A collection well worth visiting.

Friday Farewell Dinner

Our theme for the closing dinner at the Hibernian Hotel was ruby/red and it was enthusiastically supported – the room was a sea of bright red, stunning as you first entered. The evening was a fitting conclusion to such an enjoyable week: good company and food, impressive red outfits, raffles and auctions, speeches of thanks and acknowledgement, and celebration of Lorna Evans 80^th birthday.

Many people contributed in different ways to the organisation and day-to-day running of this successful and enjoyable rally and the club thanks them all. Special thanks are due to Bill Garner who played a leading role – the rally was in his safe hands. I’m sure we are all looking forward to the next anniversary rally wherever it may be.

John Best (with assistance from Reg Hammond and Jack Youdan).