Northern Run, Sunday 19th April 2009

So you reckon being retired is a bit of a doddle do you? How about this. 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning leave for Mallala to do a bit of pistol shooting, home around 2 p.m. in order to get ready for the Speedway at Murray Bridge, where we help out a young girl who is driving a Junior Sedan. Home around 1:30 a.m. and off to bed so I can rise at 7:45 a.m. in order to be near Parafield Aerodrome by 9:00 a.m. to go on a ride with the Motorbike Club. This ride takes all day arriving home around 4:00 p.m. in time to put the bike away in readiness to go out to dinner at 6:00 p.m.. No wonder I am too tired to go to work on Monday morning! I need to spend much of Monday preparing my bike for the Classic Owner’s ride on Tuesday. So if you are thinking of retiring you had best think again.

However I digress, I am supposed to be reporting on the Northern Run organized by Ray Mann. Sunday morning dawned bright and shiny with as good a riding day as you could ever expect. I arrived at Bremmen Drive near Parafield Airport just after 9:00 a.m. to find a few motorcycles already there. This included our President who had come to say he wasn’t coming. By the time Ian Baldock had said his few words and Paul Knapp had called the roll, I counted 19 motorcycles. We were soon on our way towards Roseworthy and the Agricultural Museum which was to be our first stop.

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We did a few twists & turns through Penfield, Angle Vale, bypassing Gawler and on to Mudla Wirra Rd to Roseworthy College. Here we had a re-group before entering the College grounds and making our way to the Agricultural Museum. Upon arrival we were greeted with scones with jam and cream, plain scones if preferred and of course tea and coffee, which was included in the entry price of $5. They ran several stationary engines and tractors for us as well as a number of electrically driven models of all sorts of engineering equipment. We spent around one and a half very interesting hours there before it was time to say thanks to the museum people. On our way again, this time towards Owen for lunch. We traveled through Wasleys, Templars and Hamley Bridge before arriving at Owen. It had been arranged with Kylie and Rowan Sheridan, the new owners of the Owen General Store, to stay open and supply us with all kinds of take away food and goodies. As well as this, they set up tables & chairs on the footpath outside the shop for our comfort. We were made most welcome and after lunch, many followed Ian Baldocks example, as usual, of partaking of an ice cream before we set off on our journey home. The homeward run took us west of Owen to the Balaklava Rd. and through Mallala to Two Wells where we had a comfort stop. Whilst some took the short walk to see the actual 2 Wells, others had a coffee at the local “Empire Café”. After that we took the homeward run through Virginia to dodge some of the Pt. Wakefield Rd traffic. We entered the main road at Adelaide International Raceway and departed again at Bolivar Rd and onto King’s Rd back to our starting point on Bremen Drive. The only down side to the day was Bob Gill’s Machine throwing the Magneto chain just out of Roseworthy and he spent the day traveling with Denis Saunders in the back-up vehicle with his bike on the trailer. Suffice to say a good day was had by all and thanks to Ray Mann for the idea and planning, to Ian Baldock for being ride captain, to Denis Saunders for the backup vehicle and to the marshals for patiently showing us the way.

Malcolm Gray

Members attending:

Peter Arriola    1954    AJS twin
Ian Baldock    1950    Ariel
John Booker    1957    Triumph
Dean Govan    1937    Triumph Outfit
Bob Gill    1927    BSA
Brian Forth    1957    Triumph
Neil Hamilton    1951    Norton
Paul Knapp    1951    AJS twin
Bill Lorimer    1979    Honda
Malcolm Mackay    1948    BSA twin
John Mills    1949    Norton
Daryl Rosser    1956    Triumph
David Radloff    1939    Panther
Rob Smyth    1929    Cammy AJS
Russell Sadoroshny    1964    AJS
Bob Frankham    1939    Ariel
David Holbrook    1958    Ariel
John Deacon    1949    Norton twin

Don Cellier    1980    Honda
Malcolm Gray    1975    BMW
Chris Warner    1976    Kawasaki
Glen Poyner (guest)    2002    BMW

Denis Saunders    Backup trailer