Sidecar Rally

Two weeks ago we attended the Sidecar Rally held out at O'Connell.  This is the rally that used to be held at a camp site beside the Macquarie River on the Bridle Track, but a few years ago moved to its current venue.  We last attended two years ago.  There are a few pictures here. We weren't able to go last year as we were on our way to Melbourne to collect our new caravan.

Funnily enough the site of the rally is about 100 metres down the road from where we had lunch the previous week.  As we had to travel a whole 20 kms to the rally we didn't go out until mid afternoon.  We put much preparation went into this event........not........we made the bed in the camper,strapped the camp chairs on, put a few cool drinks and some nibblies in the esky and packed a change of clothes.

Once we arrived we had to go and have a walk around checking out the other sidecars.  There is such a wide variety.  This one was on its maiden voyage from Victoria.  The owner had beautifully made the sidecar box.  His tent even matched.  Very nice.

Others have been modified to suit the owner's specific requirements and look like they have had lots of use and enjoyment.  The owner of this bike spends a lot of time travelling around.

This one looks like it would go anywhere.  The workmanship is so clever.

After a while Mick decided it was just nice to have a sit in the sun.

Whereas, the weather for the rally is often cool with a big fire being very welcome, this year it was the hottest September day on record with a howling wind and a total fire ban!

It is all rather civilised though, with the camp site being located at the rear of the local pub.  No cooking tea, rather we went and partook of a delicious counter meal and watched the footy semi-finals.  The whole pub got in the swing of things backing one team or the other.  Mick was happy that the Cowboys got up, while I was a little disappointed that the Roosters were out for the season.

In the morning we decided to go for a walk.

O'Connell is a very historic village.  The old Catholic Church and convent are now a private residence.  They are rather lovely.

There is a row of old trees either side of the road through the village.   They are desert ash.  About fifteen years ago the powers that be wanted to widen the road, as it is quite a busy spot with lots of trucks going through.  A group of determined locals advised that the trees were in fact a War Memorial Avenue planted in the early 1920s, one of only a couple in Australia.  After much lobbying and determination the trees were saved.  A tree surgeon saved some that weren't real healthy and new trees have been planted in the gaps.  The signage at either end has only been in place for a few years. A great win by people power.

The view across the paddock is to the Anglican Church (behind the trees) and the church hall, which is the venue of most village events. (This crop was about the only bit of green we saw.)

Our destination was, surprise, surprise, the cafe, where we had a delicious breakfast - yes, very civilised.

The weather was starting to look a bit ominous, but once again, the weather gods have forgotten how to rain down on us.

After breakfast we packed up, said our farewells and were home by 10 o'clock. so just a very short trip to a rally this time.