Hawkesdale Revisited
Well it was that time of the year again when the ‘hardy
motorcycle riders’ of Two-Bays took to the road and headed
towards Hawkesdale.
16 in total braved the elements along with Alan Hipworth as
escort to Little River [good name for a band] where on arrival
it was soon discovered that Gold wings aren’t very comfortable
for pillions in fact the rider was cold as well, should have
stuck to the ST Ron. Very uneventful run through to Apollo Bay
for grub and a refuel. Saw quite a few police on the road but as
always when we are on a run such as this the road rules are
obeyed or the offending person is taken aside and severely
spoken to which in this case wasn’t necessary to do. Because of
the inclement weather and the mixture of bikes arrival at
Hawkesdale was delayed till late in the afternoon BUT seeing
that we all arrived safely this wasn’t a problem. Saturday night
however wasn’t as safe for some people as they would have liked,
it is amazing what damage can be done to the human body when too
much ‘Fruit’ is consumed from a bottle [enough said on that
subject]. Sunday morning came around a bit to quickly for some
people in fact one of the group decided to stay in bed all day
actually it was very nice of Geraldine to relinquish her seat on
‘Battle Star Galactic’ so another member could experience such
‘luxury’. Back to the hotel saw a very subdued bunch sit down,
fall down or just collapse in a heap before trying to repeat the
night before which wasn’t go to happen, must be something to do
with age. If anyone would like to see a very funny sight it is
Alan Lindley riding a Gold wing I reckon I could have had a
bloody dance on it and still had room to sit down and have
dinner it’s a big bike but having said that I can understand
people buying them they are very easy to get used to. All
arriving safely back at Baxter for farewells and thanks to Peter
for yet another great weekend and I’m sure the eight ‘virgins
that came along for the weekend had a ball…..Alan Lindley
Hawkesdale, what can I say another
incredible weekend away!
Sixteen headed off down to the Great
Ocean Road, on a typical wet, cold but enjoyable winters day. We
stopped at Apollo Bay for well earned break/lunch. We then headed
towards the Otway’s with the typical Otway’s weather and onto Port
Campbell, Warrnambool and finally arriving at Hawkesdale half way
through “Happy Hour” with everyone arriving safely. The usual
camaraderie was on its way after a few well earned quiet ones.
The following day we headed off to
Nelson with our Hosts Bill and Rhonda on their Harleys. Morning tea
was at Nelson with lunch at Portland. A short hop to Port Fairy for
fuel then back to Hawkesdale in time for a quiet one or two.
Monday we headed home via Warrnambool to
Camperdown to see the incredible lakes. We stopped at Little River
for lunch and then back to Baxter for farewells after the 1200km
ride.
Over the three days of riding we saw
plenty of the law, as they said they will be out there to catch
those who were breaking the road rules this weekend, none of us
were.
Thanks to Peter B for organising this
annual pilgrimage.
Mick Ferran
Once again another great weekend ride, shame about the weather but
hail, rain or shine we were out of here and on our way to
Hawkesdale. Had a new gold wing for the weekend supplied by Jeffery
Honda, lots of bells & whistles very comfortable for riding, the
girls weren't complaining Geraldine didn't want to get off, Caron
even fell asleep
would you believe!!!!!!!!!!. The weekend got off to a great start
with beautiful meals cooked by Rhonda while Bill tended to the
liquid refreshments, then it was time for the pool comps, the music,
songs & laughter.
Sunday morning dawned with the promise of another good day's riding
(only a short one?) Our hosts Bill & Rhonda decided to join us so
off we set Nelson for morning tea, Portland was lunch Port Fairy
fuel stop and tucked into all this some interesting snippets of
information from Peter about the countryside and the history of the
area. It was a quiet one Sunday night with some getting a card
school going, others just talking and most had an early night.
Monday came all too
soon, the weather looked good so got packed up and ready to leave on
the "battle ship galactica". Our thanks to Peter Baulch for
organising and leading another successful ride, also to Alan Lindley
& Trevor Roberts for tailend duties.
A lot of our own time & effort goes into organising these rides,
either day or weekends away to make it easy for everyone to enjoy
themselves, no-one has been booked for speeding no-one has been lost,
we have radios to help keep in touch from ride leader to tail-end
and sometimes even one in the middle so if a problem arises it can
be dealt with, also if people take the time to read the guide for
rides there is no need for anyone to be put on unsafe corners or any
other situation. There are no problems from our side, we enjoy
arranging rides and get great satisfaction in seeing people have a
good time but a lot could enjoy it more if they had some confidence
in their abilities or undertook some cornering training for their
own and everyone's peace of mind and safety.
Ron & Geraldine
