It started out wet, soon got dry and we didn’t go to Lyndoch. There were only 5 starters for the ride, probably put off by the early morning showers, but it turned out to be quite a good day. Martin Blindell put his hand up to lead and off we went up Norton Summit Rd crossing over to Greenhill Rd onto Balhannah and Birdwood before stopping at the Mt Pleasant bakery.
We then turned right on Angas Valley Rd and headed to Sedan and Keyneton before turning back onto Eden Valley Rd and Springton Rd to Williamstown where we took another break.
GPS map of our route
After a quick refill at Kersbrook for the two Triumphs, we headed back home, some turning off at Cudlee Creek and others headed through the Gorge. Well done to the 5 riders who turned up, we had a great day.
The day started off with a check of the weather, showers to 10 am then clearing, good oh, I thought , got out the nice clean bike ,and down it came. Arrived at Hazelwood Pk, it was getting heavier, a few more riders turned up , there were 5 of us now, ”it will be gone by 10am I stated”.
It was now bucketing down, 10am arrived, and we decided the weather report was” Fake News”. For my sins I was picked to lead the 4 other drowning riders, on the straightest roads to Lobethal Bakery(?), which there are few. We headed for the hills via Greenhill Rd, but we could see very little , then it got worse.
“The BOM forecast says it’s raining”
As we entered cloud cover, the road became a torrent, with mud streaming across the road. Still we weren’t wimps, like some, { see note below }. We battled on to Balhanna, where one of the riders said he was losing road traction, and wanted to see his 64th birthday, he headed off in the direction of home. We were now 4 riders.
The trip to Lobethal went quickly and the rain got even harder. On arriving at the bakery we proceeded to flood the insides of the facility with the amount of water draining from our clothing , the prize for the most amount of water deposited on the floor, was won clearly by Rob, as people had to wade past him to get to the counter.
At 12.30 the sun came out, and we decided we would head home , no challenge riding in the sun, all the rest missed out , look at the memories we will have of the BIG WET OF 2018 .
Note: I’m not sure who Martin is referring to, but maybe that person had more sense than to venture out on such a foul day. Ed.
There was some confusion at the start with a number of entrants believing the start time was 10.00am when the majority were ready to go at 9.30 am. The group finally departed about 9.45 am. Peter Arriola arrived soon after and left quickly on seeing no bikes left, and managed to catch up with the main group at Semaphore.
Every man and his dog at the startWarren leading from the front
The weather was fine for the ride but a strong and quite cold South Westerly persisted throughout the ride. The attendance of 23 starters exactly equalled a previous (2014) Beach Run. Numbers like these make control of the group over a fairly complex route a challenge, but the ride to and from Glenelg proceeded without any real problem thanks to those who helped with marshalling.
Parked up in Glenelg
Two first time entrants on 50 cc Solex Mopeds found the speed of the run a bit of a challenge and the wind did not help their efforts. They retired at Glenelg. We all hope they will come back for another try on a better day.
To celebrate the end of the moped year 18 persons stayed on for lunch at the BIG table in the Birkenhead Tavern. Considering the numbers the service from the Tavern was very good, and the staff quickly organised extension of the table to ensure the extra number of diners were accommodated. The efforts of the tavern staff have been acknowledged.
Many fluoro vests and bikes in Glenelg
It was good to see Club secretary Charles Oliver attending to have his first exposure to Moped operations and his assistance as a marshall in this event was also appreciated. Thanks go also to marshalls Nick Hayes and Paul David, and probably a few others who jumped in to avoid the development of chaos in the mob during our journey. Thanks also of course go to Wayne Williams who was on station as usual at the end of the line -up with backup vehicle and trailer.
Finally we must acknowledge that this event was run without the participation of our usual Tail-end Charlie operator Alan Wallis. Alan has in recent times had various problems which have kept him off the bike for a while, but it is hoped he will resume in 2019. For this run we were lucky to have the services of Roger O’Loughlin, who normally acts as a marshall, to replace Alan as Tail End Charlie.
Merry Christmas to you all – Look forward to riding with you in 2019
Warren Duncan.
Next Run : Targa Hindmarsh 3rd Feb 2019
Meet: 10.00 am for a 10.30 start
Where: At the old Goolwa Caravan Park by the river on Liverpool Rd. Goolwa
Here’s a map and the route of our midweek ride today. Morning tea at McLaren Vale, where we had a huge detour until we could finally get to the bakery, and then lunch at Milang bakery. Weather conditions were largely sunshine, overcast, showers and hail! Total distance 269 kms.
There were 14 starters gathered at Hazelwood Park ready to display their bikes at the Lions Bike Show, Macclesfield. Among our starters were : a Norton Dominator, BMW R100 outfit, Triumph T120, Triumph T140, Yamaha Virago, Indian Scout, Honda CB750, Harley-Davidson Electra Glide, Triumph T110, Honda CX500 & XBR500, another BMW and the oldest bike was a 1940 Matchless. A new member was even signed up before the start – welcome George. We took the road up to Mt Lofty and travelled via Sterling, Aldgate, Mylor to Echunga and on to Macclesfield.
All the above photos show the COMCC display
The first thing we noticed was there were a lot more bikes on the oval this time. We took a spot more or less where we were last year and were joined there by an influx of other members with their bikes : 450 Honda twin, 350 Honda twin and a couple of other Hondas, a Ducati Desmosomething, Norton Commando and an old Puch 250 two-stroke. These bikes bolstered our numbers to 20 plus. Wayne Williams brought the chairs and the club flags along, so we erected them at each end of the two rows of bikes.
The VJMC had an even bigger display this year, thanks to a few stray punters who turned up and parked their Jap bikes as part of their display, and the BMW Owners had a good turn out too. One of the best improvements over last year was that ALL bikes were on the oval and not parked on the surrounding gravel path, like last year. This led to a greater variety of machines on display. We didn’t get a goodie bag this time, probably due to costs, so we had to buy our own sausage from the BBQ. I still think that the $5 entrance fee is pretty good value. There were more food outlets and more swap meet stalls than last year too.
Behind our bikes on the oval perimeter there was a stage setup and a couple of bands were playing music from my era. Some of our members remarked that we could do with a gazebo, plans are underway to invest in something suitable. Numbers started to thin out a bit after midday, as we were packing up I heard a few awards given out – a BMW K100 chopper(?), a REAL Royal Enfield Made in UK and the BMW Owners won the best club display.
There were all sorts of everything on display – the now customary Black Shadow, a Scott, immaculately restored Japanese superbikes, you name it, it was probably there. This show is turning into a great social affair for SA’s motorcylists and I look forward to attending again next year. Well done to all our members who brought their bikes out for the show and it was nice to see Alan Wallis out and about on his Norton again.
The ride was led by Lou Peilschmidt, because our club captain is undergoing some medical procedures which will put him out of action for a couple of more months. I’d like to thank Lou for stepping in at the 11th … Read More »
There were about a dozen or so bikes saddled up and waiting at the Caltex servo, Bolivar Gardens. Harley-Davidson was the most popular marque including a Buell, which is partly H-D anyway, and there were pretty much one of each … Read More »
You couldn’t have picked a better day for our club’s Mods & Rockers Show. We occupied the parking spaces between Marcellina’s Pizza bar and the Miss Summer cafe on Semaphore Rd, Semaphore. The weather – 27 degrees and sunshine. There … Read More »
