14/11/2004
Lyndon, Wayne and myself have the same M/bike, so we swap info all the time.
�There�s a M/bike ride on next Sunday with the Southern Cross Cruisers Club (S.C.C.C.), Do you fancy going?� he enthused.
I hastily checked my social calendar for any other bookings (had a deep think!!), and my diary to see if I was working.
There wasn�t anything that came to mind, and I was day off that day. Overtime has been rife at work lately, and what with planning the kitchen, the floor, the skylight, and everything else around here I hadn�t been out on the boat, bike, or anything else for weeks and weeks. I figured I needed a day off, so said �yes�.
I immediately rang Steve2 and told him about it. He was day off also and said he would be in it as well. I remembered that I had bumped into a few of the S.C.C.C riders when I was out on the bike some time before, and had looked them up on the net. They are a different group, in that membership is dependant on owning �Japanese or European� cruisers only. No Harley�s are allowed.
The bike run they were having was a �poker run� and cost $20.00. They supply a sausage sizzle for lunch, included in the price.
A �poker run� is where, when you sign up you cut a deck of cards, and the card you turn over is written down. Everyone then rides off to the next stop (normally a pub) and you cut the deck again. This goes on until you have 5 cards written down. That�s your poker hand. The one with the best hand wins a prize. Its all good fun and seeing as the only poker I know is used for turning coals in a fire, I didn�t have to think too much.
The next day I was at work, and �The Riddler� was in reception room. His real name is Grant Riddle, which quickly got shortened to �Riddler�
I told him about the ride, and he said he�s off, and would be in it too.
I met Steve2 at his place and we set off for the meeting point. We stopped for some fuel at a garage, and bumped into a couple of S.C.C.C. members on their way to the McDonald�s meeting point. With a big smile on their faces, they made a bee line for us and introduced themselves (one had the nick-name �Runway�). Apparently they all have nick names (Handles) and asked ours.
�Errrrr.... I'm Regan and this is Steve!!!�
�Got to have a handle� we were informed.
We said we�d have to think about that one.
He shook our hands and did this funny secret handshake thing. Afterwards I counted my fingers to make sure they were all there, and then unravelled them.
It reminded me of something a guy at work said when I told him I�m on a diet. He said that if I turned sideways, and poked my tongue out I�d look like a Zip!!!
Maybe my handle should therefore be �The Zip�??
Nahhhhhhhhh..........
I was expecting it to be the biggest ride I�ve been on, and maybe seeing 20~25 bikes or so.
On arrival at McDonald�s though it was evident that it was going to be a big turn out.
Luke (Steve2's son) came along on his Harley V-rod. Steve and I had said already that If they didn�t let him come along, we would just go for our own ride. They were quite happy to have him though, and just quickly pointed out, that he couldn�t actually join the club.
There were a couple of other road bikes there as well, all were welcome on the day.
We finally got the order to leave McDonald�s, and were told to queue up at the exit. Once everyone started their bike (or trike) the noise was pretty awesome. We all took off and headed south out of Sydney.
There were a lot of stares as we cruised along passing people. Most drivers seemed pretty good and stopped to let us through and keep together. Others you could see were on a mission and determined that they weren�t going to get held up. These would often cut in between the pack. The club Marshall�s sorted out a lot of them by sitting in front of them, and then slowing down. This allowed us to keep together, or change lanes.
This may have been seen as bloody mindedness� but actually was only done for safety
(Honest!!!..... trust me!).
We hit the motorway south, and settled down to a steady speed (slow), and enjoyed the ride. Rules are that you ride a staggered pattern. That is; if the bike in front of you rides the left hand side of the lane, you sit behind him on the right hand side of the lane. The bike behind you (you now know) will always be on your left hand side. This allows a better margin for stopping as you aren�t actually so close behind the rider in front. You also know what mirror to look in to see the person behind. 57 bikes and 5 trike�s (trike�s just sat in the middle of the lane) makes a very long procession, and was great fun seeing and participating in. Yep. you read it right, thats what I was told, 57 bikes + 5 trike's. Yeeeeeeeee Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa....... Vrooom Vroooom!
After the motorway if was country roads. Most times the Marshall�s at the front would go into a junction first, and block it off with their bikes in the middle of the road. We would all then cruise through and not get stopped or segmented. All great fun and there were no complaints from motorist that I saw, they were happy to just watch us pass obviously wondering where the end of the line would be.
Unfortunately I don�t have any photographs of the group actually riding along, all mine are stationary ones. Im hoping though, that the other people that had pillion passengers that took photos will put them on the S.C.C.C. website.
The only slight hiccough for the day was a slight spill between two bikes. Would you believe that the organiser of the day was going straight ahead, when his mate realised they should turn left and cut across. No one was seriously injured though, and metal bits were temporarily straightened out and would be replaced later.
Trivia for you.
In the movie Hot shots (1991) Topper Harley's name (Charlie Sheen) comes from Harley-Davidson's 1960's motor scooter, the Harley Topper!!
Have fun ,
The Zip
P.S. Don't worry about the date on the pictures. Australaia is experimenting with monthlight saving, and we are now one month ahead of the rest of the world.
True.... would I lie to you???
