BIG RIDE IN 2009...

 

OzM109Riders is proud to support Camp Quality and all funds raised will go to them.

 

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The Big 109 Ride in 2009

By ‘Doc’.

The sleepy little seaside town of Victor Harbor, SA was rudely awoken from its afternoon siesta on the 9^th of September 2009 when more than 45 motorcycles rolled into town. These weren’t small bikes either, these were Suzuki M109R’s and a couple of the C models as well, and the combined width of our back tyres was over 10.5metres. We had arrived at our destination a little sodden from our wet run along the Great Ocean Road (GOR), but otherwise in very good spirits and keen for some refreshments and to take the pressure off of our tender butts.

Riders from up and down the east coast had departed on various days from Friday to Sunday and met up with their inland compatriots at Torquay, Vic on Monday evening and after catching up with old friends and making quite a few new ones over a meal and some refreshing ale's, we discussed the plans for the remainder of the trip.We had a recovery vehicle following us with riders rotating through the driver’s position, however it turned out to be just a means of carrying everybody’s luggage and as it turned out later on, a place to hide from the rain for the trip along the GOR.

Tuesday morning we set out into the sunshine to enjoy the ride, however this enjoyment was to be short-lived as rain started falling between Torquay and Lorne, Vic, our chosen breakfast stop. Rolling into Lorne we were drenched in rain and confronted by road works on the main road through town, we ended up parking along the footpath or wherever we could and to his credit, the local constabulary had no problems with this. Originally I had hoped that we would be able to have breakfast at the 201mph Indian Restaurant/Café but sadly it was closed, so thank you to the Lorne Pizza Parlour & Café for being able to cope and providing breakfast for all us.

Despite the rain and puddles of water that seemed to pool only in the corners, the GOR was fantastic, mostly because there was very little tourist traffic. Giving some of the more adventurous and experienced riders a chance to play in the wet, whilst it helped to increase the confidence of the less experienced wet weather rider. According to all of the riders I spoke to after the GOR, even the rain was unable to dampen their spirits and they wanted to do it over again. There was one spot where a couple of us pulled up to remove some fallen rocks from the road, and a small section of well marked roadwork’s not far out of Lorne.

For those of you that relish corners of varying degrees along with panoramic vistas and photo opportunities from every parking bay, then this road is for you. Honestly, if you are a true motorcyclist then you should ride this road, gone are the days of gravel in every corner it is now a nice smooth ride that suits riders of all experience levels. One thing to remember though is that the speed limit has been reduced from the old limit of 100kph down to 80kph and in some small sections 60kph, but overall it is still a fantastic ride, wet or dry.

Riders had been informed of the next planned stop which was lunch at Phillip Russell Motorcycles, Warrnambool, Vic. Sales Manager Tony Cox had been informed by one of our members that the ride was coming through Warrnambool and he was keen to have us stop in for a sausage sizzle and chat which turned out to be great for several riders and the bike shop alike. A couple of the riders had hoped that their tyres would be able to make the distance, which they would have had it been dry. So several tyres, wet weather gear, sausages and a newspaper interview later, we were off again on our pilgrimage to Victor Harbor. I would like to say a big thank you for Tony and his team at Phillip Russell Motorcycles for their support on the day.

Our stopover for Tuesday night was the Silver Birch Motel in Mount Gambier, SA to recharge the batteries and catch up with some of the others that had joined in along the way. If ever you are travelling through Mount Gambier, I highly recommend the Silver Birch Motel, the accommodation was excellent as was the service, food, bar and they were able to provide our meals in a separate dining room. It is well worth the night’s stay, as is the vibrating lazyboy just inside the doors at the reception as several of our members discovered. Wednesday morning the group struck out for Kingston SE via Millicent, SA as they were informed that they would need to refuel before continuing on to Meningie, SA.

One of the ride participants who was NOT riding his M109R ran out of fuel in sight of the service station at Kingston SE, now that has to incur a penalty, was chatted to by the local constabulary and asked who and what we were. It was quickly pointed out that we were not an Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (OMCG) and that we were on a ride to raise funds for Camp Quality, the officer even gave us a small donation, a couple of quick photo’s to prove that it wasn’t a bribe and we were off again.

 

 

We then rode along the Princes Highway between Millicent and Kingston SE which consists of a few open corners and long straights as you pass through what is obviously dairy country. This section of road gets a little rough in spots, but for the most part the road is good but it does get narrow. After heading north from Kingston SE you start to ride through the sand dunes that shelter the road from the ocean and towards the northern end this road has some nice sweepers that link up and you can get a nice comfortable rhythm going. As you ride around the Coorong you can see numerous small fishing shacks of all colours dotted along the shoreline and instantly scenes from Storm Boy flash through your mind, that is if you are old enough to remember it. Shortly afterwards you emerge back onto the flat land that surrounds Lake Alexandrina and the Murray River.

A quick refuel at Meningie, SA and we set off for the ferry at Wellington. As the bikes and riders alike were floated across the river we looked up at the far side of the river at the Wellington Pub and could see all of our South Australian participants sitting there enjoying a glass or two of lemonade. Rolling into the car park of the hotel, suddenly our numbers had grown by another 15 or so.

Introductions abounded as we took off our riding gear and then it started, like dogs we walked around each others’ bikes checking them out, it's a sight to behold I can assure you, 50 odd adults of all ages walking around in circles yabbering to each other about this bit or that and pointing to shiny bits of bling and saying, “ooh nice, where did you get that from?”...etc.

Half an hour or so later we set out in formation for Victor Harbor, SA. As I led this grand procession of Suzuki’s flagship model my mind wandered back to a time some 18 Months earlier when I was sitting in a pub at Gilgandra, NSW with other members of The Aussie M109Riders Group. We had just taken part in our second group ride with riders from Qld and NSW at what we call a State of Origin ride. I am not sure if it was the beer or the contentment that I felt with being a M109R rider, but I raised the idea of having a National ride, they said, “Doc that’s a great idea, you organise it and we’ll come”.

Fast forward through the next 18 months with hundreds of emails, phone calls and conversations with sponsors, accommodation venues and so on and here we were arriving in Victor Harbor, SA for the first Big 109 Ride. Riders had ridden from as far away as Mackay, Qld and as close as Adelaide, SA and all points in between and for most this was to be their annual holidays, for others it was just a couple of days off.

We managed to book all of the cabins that the Beachfront Holiday Park, Victor Harbor, SA, had available, and when we rolled in our big noisy motorcycles initially it seemed to upset some of the grey nomads that had taken up temporary residence in the park, but when they became aware we were raising money for Camp Quality they were very friendly. Once everyone had booked in, unloaded their bikes and refreshed a little it was time to give the bikes a quick tub to make them more presentable for the sausage sizzle and bike show at Victor Motorcycles on Adelaide Road, Victor Harbor. A couple of us lazier riders asked one of the riders’ partners to wash our bikes and in return we would donate $25.00 per bike to the Camp Quality, thanks Ally you are a champion.

Allan Ashmore, the proprietor of Victor Motorcycles, was first to come on board as a sponsor for this ride had organised a sausage sizzle, bike show for the public and auction of quite a few Suzuki items as well as local wines and Camp Quality merchandise. Allan had made sure that the ride and the sausage sizzle were covered by the local media in the weeks prior to our arrival. So when we rolled in on our now clean bikes there were quite a few members of the public looking on.

Camp Quality representative Aimee Ellis had brought along the Camp Quality mascot “Giggles” as well as some puppeteers with puppets to entertain the children present and perhaps some of the moms and dads as well. After a quick snag and several words to the gathered throng it was time to start the auction. There were several items that some of the rider’s were after in particular a genuine Suzuki Boulevard leather vest and Boulevard belt buckle, congratulations to the young fellow that outbid everyone for the belt buckle.

I would like to say on behalf of all of my fellow ride participants, a big heartfelt thank you to Allan and his staff at Victor Motorcycles for of their efforts and support over the last couple of months leading up to the ride and for coming on board as a sponsor. If you are looking for a new bike, tyres or need some servicing give Allan a call on 08 8552 3601 and tell him Doc sent you.

It was then back to the cabins to park up the bikes and wander off to the local for some hard earned ale's and some serious networking with likeminded riders. Many questions were asked about the Big Ride route but they were all informed that it was a surprise and all would be revealed at the riders briefing in the morning.

Thursday morning and The Big 109 Ride participants began rolling into the car park of the Roundabout Café at staggered intervals so that the staff could handle our breakfast orders which for the most part worked well, there were one or two meals that arrived almost too late. The weather for The Big 109 Ride was absolutely fantastic, blue skies, warm temperature and dry clear roads, perfect, unlike the days preceding and afterwards.

After the blessing of the bikes by Pastor Detlef Vosgerau, there was a quick prayer and minutes silence to remember a fallen friend and fellow rider, Peter Gundry.  Now we're not a religious group, far from it, yet some of the members are from all denominations and it was suggested that perhaps it might be a good idea, so several emails and Pastor Vosgerau agreed to provide this quick service. If anything it shows that we are not, as seen by the members of the general public, all devil worshiping heathens that happen to ride bikes and we are in fact for the most part, normal people who share a common interest in riding motorcycles and raising money for worthwhile charities.

Shortly afterwards we had a quick riders briefing about the do’s and don’ts and we were off on the first ever National 109 ride through the main street of Victor Harbor, SA, there was no turning back now. Local rider Steve Penhall had been chosen as the Ride Captain for the day and had been told of the route early on in planning stage of the ride, after a few hiccups we were thundering through the Adelaide Hills before stopping at Macclesfield and then onto a half hour break and photo opportunity at Mount Lofty lookout. A few quick prizes were handed out to riders for having worn a particular coloured item of clothing or helmets and then it was time to saddle up and continue onto Lobethal, SA for lunch.

The roads through the Adelaide Hills or more correctly the Mount Lofty Ranges are for the better part in great condition, although there are some sections of Bull Creek road that could do with a little attention, but overall good. With the sun shining and bright blue skies the road had had plenty of time to dry out which allowed everyone to have a great time, unfortunately so did the bugs. No more clean bikes, well the local bikes were somewhat more shinier, but not for long, than those of their interstate companions, as we had not brought along our various polishes and waxes that we so frequently use when the bikes are home, so the bugs had a field day. I am beginning to believe that it is the chrome and anything else that shines that attracts them and that they all have a genetic suicide gene that makes them throw themselves with great gusto at motorcycles and their riders.

After getting ahead of the pack for some photo’s as the group rode down the hill into Lobethal, SA, I rolled into town several minutes later to discover that there were no 109’s at the bakery or in the main street for that matter, oops, this isn’t right. After finding the bikes parked around the corner behind the local pub I discovered that half of the pack had continued onto Mount Pleasant, SA as there had been no markers present at the corner when they went by.

Several frantic phone calls later the MIA riders decided, (mutiny was a word used at one stage), to have lunch at the pub in Mount Pleasant, SA while we ate like kings at the Lobethal Bakery, well worth stopping here and having nice hot mystery bag and chocolate éclair. Thanks to Steve they knew that we were coming by for lunch, albeit short a few riders and had arranged to have extra stock ready for us.

A decision was made to let the riders ride the Gorge Road at their own pace, fast or slow it was entirely up to them. The plan was for the riders to regroup at the Crafers BP service station, Crafers, SA however the best laid plans go awry sooner or later. One of the riders has a pretty sweet looking 109, however it sit’s a little low and upon entering one of the corners at the end of the Gorge Road, he hit a rise in the bitumen, no doubt caused by heavy vehicles cornering on warm days. This caused his slight framed wife/pillion to be bounced off of the back at 20kph and land in the long grass next to the road. Other than a bruised arm there was no other damage apart from egos, however a recommendation was made to attend hospital to be checked out properly.

Other than this small misfortune the Gorge Road is fantastic and like the GOR is well worth riding as are all of the roads that traverse the Adelaide Hills. The Gorge Road provides plenty of corners that link up to several tight switchbacks as you follow the River Torrens from its roots high in the hills, although be aware that even during the weekdays there will be a lot of traffic travelling both ways and you are well advised to prepare your corners properly as it is a little disconcerting when you come around a blind corner to be confronted by a truck and dog trailer combination. Ride sensibly and you will enjoy it each and every time that you venture into the hills and there are numerous spots to pull over and capture your mates enjoying themselves on film.

So several more frantic telephone calls to various riders and the groups, yes there were now several, were instructed to return at their own speed to the accommodation back at Victor Harbor and get ready for the presentation dinner later that evening. After getting the ejected pillion into a support car and instructions to go to hospital for a check-up, the remaining riders headed off for Victor Harbor. Unfortunately for us, it was now peak hour traffic and things were very slow, particularly along Main South Road, one of the main arterial roads out of Adelaide.  But once we were clear of the traffic we picked up the pace a little and headed south for the Fleurieu Peninsula and Victor Harbor.

Once back at the holiday park we hurriedly organised ourselves and loaded up the car with all of the items supplied by our sponsors so we could set up for the presentation dinner at the Hotel Victor. There were boxes and boxes of gear as well as 19 bags full of genuine Suzuki goodies from Suzuki Australia and Canberra Motorcycle Centre (CMC), Mitchell, ACT, tea and coffee items from businesses like Vittoria Coffee, and Freshfood Services of Adelaide as well as numerous other items that the members had managed to get hold of. In total there was two and a half tables full of giveaways, raffle and auction items, simply outstanding.

Once everything was in place the doors were opened and the riders, partners and the Byrne family along with Aimee Ellis from Camp Quality took their seats and the dinner was under way. It should be noted here that the Byrne family were joining us as an example of the families that Camp Quality provide their services for. After the head of the family, Tom, told us of his family’s story and their 7 year old son Alex’s battle with brain tumours, I don't think there was a dry eye in the room. We tend to take for granted how lucky we have it when we are fortunate enough to have healthy children.  Having said this, I have not met a happier and lively little fellow than Alex and it was heart warming to see him and his siblings enjoying themselves.

We enlisted the help of the Byrne children, Alex, Chloe, Luke and Sam to sell raffle tickets to all of the ride participants and they managed to sell more than 900 tickets in an hour with Chloe winning a special prize for selling the most.  Meals were served, beer and wine was flowing freely as was the conversation between new and old friends alike.  After the remnants of the meal were removed from the tables it was time to get on with drawing the raffles and raising some serious coin via the auctions.  Once again the members of the Byrne family were called upon to draw tickets to determine the raffle winners. 

Congratulations go out to Kevin Summers for winning the 1^st prize pack which included the genuine Suzuki Boulevard Billet Mirror set and other CMC gear. In the end there were 43 raffle prizes handed out with several of the winners winning more than once, these guys asked us to auction these items off again, thanks guys.

There were 16 bundles of items sold off at auction including a one of a kind handmade Big 109 Ride in 2009 clock which went for $300.00, thank you Wayne for the donation and congratulations to Chris for purchasing what turned out to be a much sort after item.  One member, Jerone, won at auction a Lincoln Pool Equipment; pool cleaner valued at $460.00 plus postage to anywhere in Australia, thanks Dave, now if only Jerone had a swimming pool to clean.  

Throughout the evening’s proceedings we presented ride participants several awards such as most kilometres travelled which went to Tim who had ridden from Mackay, Far North Queensland via the east coast, well done mate you should get that Iron Butt award, especially since his total kilometres travelled by the time he arrived back home were well over 8000kms.  The Rat Bike Award was given to Gazza, whose bike after several days of rain wasn’t that bad after all and if you have ever been in the bad books with the Minister for Finances chances are you have used a bunch of Gazza’s flowers to get yourself back into her good graces. The People’s Choice award for Best Bike was awarded, by a unanimous decision, to Paul from 2Wheelz.com, well done Paul it is a nice looking piece of machinery mate and thank you for being a sponsor also. 

Allan from Victor Motorcycles was also presented an award for his support to our ride, once again thank you Allan, mind you he wasn’t thinking about that the next morning as rumour has it he couldn’t get out of bed until 1pm the day later, it must have been something he ate.  Barry from www.ozm109riders.com also received an award for appreciation and support for providing a place for all of us likeminded M109Riders and enthusiasts to meet in cyberspace, bring us together as a group to share our passion and to organise such events as this, on behalf of every member of the forum thank you once again Barry and thank you for being the MC on the night. 

The last award for the night was given to the Byrne family as a memento to remember the evening that they spent with The Aussie M109Riders Group and that there are people out there that care about raising money for charities like Camp Quality.  To the Byrne family, a big heartfelt thank you from each rider present, you have showed us that no matter what, the strength and love of the family like yours can overcome and cope with such a terrible affliction as cancer is.  Keep your chins held high and have happy thoughts for many years to come.

From here the party rocked on till stumps and somewhere near dawn we crawled into our respective cabins for some well deserved sleep.  However, Mother Nature had a different idea and at around 7am people were starting to emerge from their beds as the wind was howling like banshees from hell.  Tree branches were being blown down and there was concern that our bikes might get hit by the debris in the gale force winds so they were moved out of harm’s way.  Sitting out front of the cabin nursing a hangover and looking out to sea I saw a yacht that was anchored in the bay, it was copping a hiding from the wind and the sea, this just reconfirmed my love for bikes and the road.

Later on in the day some of the riders had said their goodbyes and struck out for home, a brave move indeed as the wind was still at gale force.  Two riders returned back to the Holiday Park as it was all too much, they said that was debris blowing around and you had to lean too far over to stay upright, it was just too dangerous.  They soon found somewhere to bunk in a cabin with someone who had a spare bed so all was well.  Meanwhile, some of the more sober riders did the touristy thing around town, while others had the “hair-o-the-dog”, but all in all it was a very relaxing but windy day.

Saturday morning and the remaining riders left Victor Harbor and headed to their respective homes, for most it was to be a 2 day return trip to Sydney whilst other braved it out for a straight through run.  A day or two later Tim headed straight through to Mackay from Sydney in a butt busting 26hour run, thankfully he made it home in one piece.  Victor Harbor was once again allowed to quietly return to its slumber, waiting for the next noisy invasion which will more than likely be schoolies or at the very least school holidays.

It also needs to be said at this point that there was one pillion that has an iron butt as well, Anna rode on the back of her husband’s Triumph, and yes he used to own a 109, from Brisbane, Qld.  With the exception of the Mount Gambier to Victor Harbor stretch she had stayed on the back of a bike which in my opinion has very little consideration for a pillion, well done Anna.  Well done also to Jo-Anne from Parkes, NSW and Marg from Melbourne, Vic it takes a special woman to sit on the back of these bikes, I’ve seen how your partners ride.

From all reports each rider and their pillions, had a fantastic time on the ride with only one minor incident occurring.  At this point I would like to say a big thank you to each ride participant for their support for our first national ride, as well as those guys that were for unseen circumstances unable to make it.  I would also like to thank the people that helped me behind the scenes to organise the first national 109 ride, without their help it would not have been as great as it was, thank you guys.  From everyone’s efforts during the ride and ticket sales, etc, overall we raised well in excess of $9000.00 for Camp Quality, thank you everyone.

I would like to thank the following sponsors for their support for The Big 109 Ride in 2009;

·         Victor Motorcycles

·         Wiley X Eyewear

·         2Wheelz.com

·         Suzuki Australia

·         Canberra Motorcycle Centre

·         National Air-conditioning

·         OzM109Riders.com

·         Wayne Lethbridge

·         Boss Components

·         RSM Bird Cameron

·         Lincoln Pool Equipment

·         Pirtek

·         National Coffeetek Pty Ltd

·         Tryfoss Consulting Pty Ltd

·         Toll Resources

·         Castle Hill Suzuki

·         Hotel Victor

·         Nabiac Hotel

·         Australian Road Rider

·         Wynns

·         Chris Clark from Perfect Coffee At Work for allowing us to use his truck as the recovery/luggage vehicle,

·         forum members Haydos and Rockethead for donating additional items to the auction and Chris C for the

·         surplus funds from the shed nights and to everyone else who contributed along the way.