The sun was shining when Stig, Ross, Marcus and Berni all met in Tooradin and after a quick coffee we made our way to the highway via Bunyip.Lunch was at the local bakery in Stratford. The skies looked dark over Bairnsdale and one would have thought
that would have been a big hint to stop and and put on the waterproofs but not for this optomistic bunch of riders.."the rain is moving away and it's probably only a light shower anyway".. yeah right!! As we rode through Bairnsdale the roads were very wet,
yet another big hint and by the time we were on the road to Bruthen it was pissing down. Waterproofs went on in Bruthen and a hot coffee to thaw out was greatly appreciated. We met up with Steve Bell who had come down the Alpine Road from Albury and was going
to wait for Rowan to join the ride after leaving work. It was heavy rain all the way to Nowa Nowa but by the time we reached Orbost the roads were dry and dusty with no sign of wet weather at all. We checked into the motel, went into town to get some beverages
and settled in. It wasn't long before Steve and Rowan arrived and not long after that Steve Diez and Bennie rolled up also. After a few beers at the motel we wandered up to the Orbost Club for dinner which was only about 400 metres away. After a lovely meal
we strolled back to the motel for a couple of nightcaps and some comical conversation in the BBQ area and then off to bed for a well earned rest.
The weather was bright and clear on Saturday as we made our way to Cann River for breakfast. After eagerly
woofing down the eggs, sausages, bacon, toast and other breakfast delights we headed north along the Monaro Hwy towards Bombala. There was a little more rain along the way but once we had climbed through the twisties and were on the the rooftop of Australia
the roads were dry, smooth and fast. We reached Bombala about 11am and checked into the motel. The check-in process seemed to take forever as the lady who ran the business seemed to be very confused about why she was there, who we were, life and practically
everything else in between. After unloading the bikes we headed off to the bike show and it wasn't long before we found the Kingies' gazebo - they were there to promote their boat raffle. Many thanks to Kiwi and Patrick who made us feel welcome and allowed
us to use their gazebo as a base to sell our raffle tickets. The bike show was great with some fantastic machines on display and we were entertained by the trials riders and a burnout comp. # Tip 1 for the future - always set up upwind of the burnout area
as once the action started it was evacuation time for the CRABs. # Tip 2 - get the $5 steak sandwich at the bike show, absolutely delicious. After selling a few hundred dollars worth of tickets we went back to the motel and then it was just a short walk to
the Bombala RSL for drinks and dinner. Thank God there was a mixed grill on the menu as a couple of Hermits were having withdrawals. After dinner we stayed on at the RSL for a few drinks with the Kingies and as it turned out we were the last to leave. Not
bad for a bunch of old codgers hey!
We woke on Sunday morning to find it was 2 degrees and foggy. The fog cleared about half way to Cann River and by the time we had stopped for breakfast it was sunny and hot. From there we rode on to the Bruthen Bakery
where we purchased some of their famous pasties and then went to Bennies' mothers place in Swan Reach for lunch. Kay made us all feel welcome and she commented that having a bunch of bikes in her driveway gave her "heaps of street cred". From there it was
straight through to Yarragon for a fuel and coffee stop. We said our goodbyes in Longwarry and then went our separate ways. It was a great ride; we made a few hundred bucks for the club, saw some sights and met some interesting people. It was a great weekend.