Due to an unfortunate clash of dates within our club there were two events on the same day. Normally this would not unduly affect the Mopeds Plus, but on this occasion our normal back-up trailer driver Wayne Williams wished to participate in the larger machine run to the Murray Mouth. Wayne offered his trailer to anyone prepared to tow it but by the time the problem was known it was too late to make other arrangements, so the decision was made deal with any emergencies as they arose. Fortunately, no such emergency occurred.
To add to the problem of forecast inclement weather, our normal leader Warren Duncan was under another D.W.N (Domestic Withdrawal Notice) but had arranged for Roger O’Loughlin to take his place and, with the aid of previously prepared direction instructions on file, the run to Glenelg and return was completed, unprecedentedly, without anyone getting lost.
Just as riders were forming up to commence the run Victor Poulton arrived in his car and offered to tow the trailer used to carry the tail-end Charlie’s Tilbrook but it was too late to unhitch it and fit a tow ball on the other vehicle. Victor followed all the way and was prepared to carry any luckless rider back to the Birkenhead car park while someone stood guard over the stationary machine.
Apart from a strong wind on the way to Glenelg and a slight drizzle for a short time the riding conditions were reasonably pleasant. The usual cycling event coincided with the run to Outer Harbour and it was amusing to see Ian Roddie attempting to “draught” a cyclist as he was passed on his 50cc NSU. Trevor and Susan Jones did an excellent job of shielding Ian on their 500cc solo Matchless when the wind was doing its best to stop him.
Surprisingly Ian Voysey on his 98cc Malvern Star Auto Cycle had a trouble-free ride regardless of the strong wind on the way to Glenelg. His previous troubles at mount Barker were due to the needle jet gumming up due to ancient petrol oil mix being regularly left in the tank.
Ten participants remained at the Birkenhead Tavern for lunch at a table set aside for the club. This was arranged by Warren previously due to the venue being very popular with Sunday diners.
The following riders participated:
- Roger O’Loughlin 1988 650Suzuki
- Alan Wallis 1950 197 cc Tilbrook
- Graham Riley 1960 125cc Vespa
- Ian Roddie 1951 50cc NSU
- Paul David 1940 350cc Matchless
- Ian Voysey 1947 98cc Malvern Star Auto Cycle
- Kym Miller 1977 500cc Yamaha
- Bob and Evangeline Finnie 2001 1750cc Harley Davidson
- Peter Arriola 1979 150cc James
- Rob Smythe 1971 50cc Motobecane
- Trevor and Susan Jones 1952 500cc Matchless
- Victor Poulton 2015 2400cc GV Suzuki car
Our first Mopeds Plus event for 2020 will be on 9th February, meeting at Goolwa to travel across Hindmarsh Island to the Murray Mouth in the morning and to the Goolwa Airport then the barrage in the afternoon.
Alan Wallis.