A bright sunny day that all agreed was perfect for a ride. Sixteen motorcycles and Mark
Howson’s, RAF sidecar outfit, assembled at Hawthorn Park for our monthly Tuesday ride.
Tony Mitchell, our Captain and we hoped ride leader, told us that he had only turned up to
say “g’day.” He had chores to do and would be heading home as soon as we set off. There was
some reluctance among the present riders to leads, so Tony agreed to lead as far as our morning
stop, providing that that was at Christie’s Beach, where he lives. All agreed!
In typical good form Tony lead us up Greenhill Rd, turning right onto Bonython Rd and
right again to Piccadilly Rd, which gave us a panoramic look at the east side of Mt Lofty. We
crossed the Sterling Rd onto Avenue Rd, then right to Sturt Valley Rd, always a very pleasant ride
with lovely views of the Creek and greenery on our right. This lead to Ironbank Rd, Cherry Gardens
Rd and Main Rd. At Chandlers Hill Rd, we turned right and then left at the top of the hill and right
onto Piggott Range Rd, straight on through Morphett Vale till we hit the Gulf. Here we turned left
and followed the coast to Christie’s Beach. That is where things started to become complicated!
Because we were a largish group it was not possible for us all to park together, so some went
to the Bakehouse and some to the District B cafe, and several of our number turned for home.
The remainder decided on Yankalilla for lunch and I was elected leader. When I stopped for
lunch I noticed a puddle of oil under my trusty CB450, but thought she’ll be fine.
We agreed to turn right at the lights on Breach Rd and head for Aldinga. A group of four or
five bikes headed off first, no doubt expecting the rest to catch up, but when I stopped just before
the lights it was obvious that thing were serious, within moments of pulling over there was a large
puddle of oil under the bike. I had to pull out and go home.
I told the rider directly behind what was happening but failed to mention the four bikes that
had already set off for Aldinga, so when I turned left for the City, the other bikes followed me. After
some miles they realised the mistake and tried to turn back towards Aldinga, but got caught up in
roadworks and ended up on South Road. They decided that it was too late for Yankalilla and
decided that Meadows was a better option, they turned off at McLaren Vale, through McLaren Flat
and on to Meadows.
They pulled up at the Pik-a-Pie Bakery, in Meadows, to discover the other riders had arrived
there about 10 minutes earlier, after also deciding that Yankalilla was too far. With the group
reunited they had a pleasant, though rather late lunch. After lunch the group split up and riders
found their own way home.
I limped my sick Honda into Lonsdale, where I managed to borrow about 750 mil.
of suitable oil and arrived home with no further mishaps
As the saying goes “All is well that ends well!”
Next ride is Sunday 29th October, see ya then!
Allan Vaisham
Honda CB450