Category Archives: Event Reports

Nine brave souls ignored the cold and overcast conditions on Sunday morning to meet at Hazelwood Park for our June run to Palmer. And why not? The forecast was for no rain and a little optimism goes a long way. Riders and their machines were:-

Club registered: Darryl McWaters 1972 Kawasaki Z1, Ed Lowrey 1975 BMW R90S, Ray Chappel 1976 Kawasaki Z650 & Alan Kernich 1985 BMW R80.

Modern: John Hill 2008 Kawasaki KLR650, Campbell Blaney 2009 Harley Davidson XR1200, Kym Miller 2013 Triumph T100, Louis Peilschmidt 2016 Honda Africa Twin & Graham Riley 2016 Indian Scout.

Other: Wayne Williams – something or other 4WD (thanks Wayne, only joking) and joining us later from Murray Bridge for lunch,  were Bruce Dowell 1978 Honda CB400T & Victor Poulton 2015 Moto Guzzi V9.

The beginning of our ride up to Summertown and across to Ashton was blanketed in a pea-souper fog with visibility down to 5 to 10 metres in parts and with a wet track, slow and steady was the order of the day. Thankfully no rain however, and as we progressed towards Lenswood the fog cleared and the road was drying out. Through Cudlee Creek, Chain of Ponds and on to our morning break for coffee and muffins at Kersbrook Hill Wines cellar door at Kersbrook.

After a very welcome warming break it was on the bikes again along Hill Road, Martin’s Hill Road and Cromer Road through Birdwood and on to Mount Pleasant. A right turn on to Angus Valley Road and another along the now abandoned Monarto to Sedan railway through Milendella and past the Apamurra silos before yet another a right turn on the main Mannum road. Then just a few kilometres back the to our lunch stop at the old Palmer Hotel.

A warm fire and as usual, some delicious and very reasonably priced food. Thanks to Jade and Mike for a lovely lunch break, particularly so as the place was jumping.

With lunch over it was time to brave the cold again for the trip home. My route was back through Tungkillo, Mount Torrens and Woodside. I had intended to cut back along Tiers Road to Lenswood and then Deviation Road to Summertown but we (only 3 of us left in my group at this stage – where did every one else get to?) found this road blocked due to an altercation between a car and a stobie pole (apparently). A U-turn and then home via Balhannah and Uraidla.

A pretty cold day, but a very enjoyable 185km ride I think. Good company and good food. Who could ask for anything more. Congrats to those who made it!

Alan Kernich, Club Captain.

Riders:

David Saint            1973       BMW                  600cc           M/C

Rob Smyth            1970     Motobecane            50cc          Moped

Warren Duncan     2002      Honda                  250cc           M/C

Graham Riley        1960     Vespa                   125cc          Scooter

Peter Arriola          1957     James                   147cc            M/C

Ian Roddie             1947    Excelsior                98cc          Autobyk  

Tony Earnshaw      1972   Yamaha                  125cc           M/C

The day started badly with a message from Alan Wallis that he was unable to attend due to family sickness. The weather for the journey down to Strathalbyn was not too bad but there had been enough rain overnight to make some of the roads slippery and it was certainly a day that riders needed plenty of layers of riding apparel. At the start seven riders lined up with 2 mopeds, a scooter, and four bikes.

The planned morning run was to the Clayton lunch stop via morning tea at the Finniss “General Store”. Our aim was to arrive at Finniss about the same time as the steam train, the Southern Encounter Service from Mount Barker to Victor Harbor. Our morning tea venue used to be the Railway Station at Finniss years ago, and is located adjacent to an open level crossing (without bells). It is on a long straight stretch of railway, and past experience has been that the locomotive driver likes to turn on a bit of a show both for the enjoyment of the patrons at the store, and to ensure that any motorists in the vicinity of the level crossing are aware that a 200 tonne locomotive No.621 The Duke of Edinburgh is about to thunder across their path. We were intending to include this spectacle in our itinerary.

Back to the ride, the bikes left Strath and rode toward Milang. More light rain and a strong southerly wind caused extreme difficulties for the smallest bikes, such that 40kmh was about the best that they could achieve. It soon became clear, that at this rate of progress, our rendezvous with the steam train would probably not occur.
Approaching Milang an executive decision, soon to be regretted, was made to send three faster bikes on ahead to make the deadline with the train. The remainder of the group continued on to Finniss arriving well after train time, and finding no sign of the three faster bikes. They arrived later, having experienced some navigational difficulties along the way. We all dismounted and went inside the store for a late morning tea by the wood fire – and nobody saw the steam train. There are some important lessons learnt from this experience which should ensure that different strategies will be applied next year!

As it happened both Ian Roddie and the 98cc Excelsior got tired of the travelling conditions and arrived at Finniss aboard the car and backup trailer.

The run over to Clayton for our lunch stop at the Sails Restaurant was uneventful. The stop lasted for a little over an hour and then the riders departed for Strathalbyn via Milang and Langhorne Creek. After passing through the village of Langhorne Creek the strong wind really increased and the smaller bikes struggled once more. Tony Earnshaw’s 125cc Yamaha then experienced engine failure. Rather than suffer in the cold on the last leg of our journey, Tony’s bike was loaded on the trailer, without further investigation, next to the Excelsior autobyk, and taken on to Strathalbyn.

Well it was not the best Strathalbyn outing we have had, but still a lot of fun for most of it. We certainly missed the presence of Tail End Charlie (Alan Wallis) and hope he will be with us on the next run. Our thanks go to Tony Earnshaw who handled all the marshalling duties throughout the day (not a bad effort on a small bike). We also should acknowledge the big day carried out by Wayne Williams with his car and trailer rescuing two bikes for the day. Wayne (and his dog) were joined for the day by regular Mopeds Rider/Marshall Don Jennings who lent a hand as required.

Report by Warren Duncan.

NEXT RUN: The Williamstown Wander – Sunday August 4th 2019
MEET: Williamstown Oval (Just outside Oval gates off Springton Rd.)
START: 10.00am for 10.30am dep.
RUN: Williamstown/Springton/Eden Valley/Angaston (lunch)
Nuriootpa/Tanunda/ Lyndoch/Williamstown (80kms)

REMEMBER: These runs cater for the slower rider, backup trailer always provided. Enquiries: Warren 8388 1770 or Alan 8295 5097