Vice President’s Message – April 2019

Congratulations to Paul Clayton and Richard Mason on organising a very successful Pub and Grub Ride in February. There were some 24 participants on 22 bikes, with quite a few of the bikes being classics. The Tungamah Hotel was a very interesting destination Over the years it has been built over a huge water well and some of the foundations looked a little precarious. Also, many of the rooms were supposedly frequented by ghosts so a few of us went ghost hunting upstairs. I didn’t seem to have the right ’touch’ though as I couldn’t conjure up any spirits from the past. We also heard about the history of Tungamah and surrounds. In its day, Tungamah was a thriving community. The locals were also very welcoming and a very pleasant evening followed.  I look forward to the next ‘Pub and Grub’ ride.

The weather, however, was hot on both days and a couple of bikes, both BMW’s, were found wanting. One bike refused to start at Benalla and was left at the motel to be picked up at later date, whilst my R90S seemed to suffer from an overheating problem. When the temp. climbed to around 34C, it would just ‘die’ and refused to fire up for 5 minutes or so. This process was repeated every 20kms or so and eventually I left it overnight at Goorambat, a small town between Benalla and Tungamah. The next day I managed to get back to Healesville before the problem reappeared. Investigations as to the cause of the problem are still ongoing.

Elsewhere in this issue are the details and entry form for the ‘Bellarine Bash’ to be held in July. This has come about due to the efforts of our Geelong members and in particular Andy Symons. It promises to be a great rally so please support our Geelong colleague’s and put in your entry form. Some of you might ask why have a rally in July, it’s cold and wet, to which I answer, why not. The weekend could be fine and sunny and besides the club has traditionally held a rally in Winter, so why change now?

President Ian and myself attended the Northern Region Midweek Ride in March. Living in the Dandenongs, it’s not something we had done for quite a while. We arrived at the start point in Greensborough a little frazzled after battling the peak hour(s) traffic on the Eastlink. However, it was all plain sailing after that and we, and everyone else, enjoyed a very leisurely ride combined with a fair bit of chin wagging. Well done to Wally and Keith, who have really embraced their Ride Co-ordinator role.

Graham Boulter
Vice president

Ride em, (but not when it’s stinking hot), don’t hide em.