February - The Month of the Motorcycle

We are trying to get out on the motorcycles a bit more this year and we seemed to achieve this in February.

Firstly, not a ride, but we went along and had a look at the Bathurst Motorcycle Show, which is run by a group from Sydney.

There were all sorts of bikes.

Lots of Harleys.

At the other end of the spectrum, these two ratty posty bikes.  The blue one created a lot of interest with it's spanner side stand and other bits and bobs.

Some of the paintwork was spectacular.

This old AJS is owned by one of our mates and won three awards.  It is a beautiful bike.

A band kept the crowd entertained.

We had wondered how the show would go, as the weather was showery and Sydney was getting lots of rain.  Considering those conditions, there was still a good roll out of bikes and lots of lookers, ranging from patch wearing bikies to Mum and Dad and the kids.  It was a rather social morning.

It was also a good excuse to go and indulge in coffee and cake afterwards.

Our next motorcycling event was the Orange Classic Motorcycle Rally.  It's been quite a few years since we have had the opportunity to enter this rally.

We took Olga the old girl (BMW sidecar).  We cheated and took her to the start on the trailer, as she hasn't been used for quite some time.  We only rode for the one day.

There were over 100 bikes entered and the weather was perfect for being out and about.  Let's go for a little wander.

This Matchless won best bike overall and is owned by the same mate who owns the AJS that won prizes at the Bathurst Bike Show.  He really does beautiful restorations.

The ride took us through lovely countryside around Orange.

A lot of that area has missed out on the recent rain and still looks very dry.  Other parts we rode through had received incredibly heavy rain, washing out fences and damaging the roads.  Crazy weather.

The three sidecars rode along together for a while, which was nice.

The things you see along the way.

Morning tea was held at the Cudal School and lunch at Gooloogong School.  Both groups did a fantastic job and there was no excuse to go home hungry.

Towards the end of the run, Olga's clutch started to slip going up a hill.  Fortunately, Mick was able to fix the problem, but it is something that will need looking at.  Other than that, she purred like a kitten.  It really is a lovely way to travel.

Finally, last weekend we joined the Panorama Club for a ride over to Rylstone for lunch at the Globe Hotel.  They always put on a good meal.  Roast lamb seemed to be the meal of choice on the day.

We took Sophia the Moto Guzzi for this run.

After lunch, we had a little wander along the street, but as it was looking rather like rain, we didn't dally for too long before heading back home. There were lots of shops open, some of which looked to be new.  We may have to pop over on another day to have a better look. Fortunately, we arrived home without the need to pull out the wet weather gear.

So, all in  all, we did quite well to get out and about.  You forget how good it is to go for a ride and the motorcycling community are always good company.

We have to do it more often.