 |
| Camping at Maryborough Showgronds. |
By lunch time on Monday 15th April we were riding
around the AGM village in Maryborough looking for a suitable place to pitch our
tent. We were looking for some high ground, but we needn’t have worried as
someone cleverly arranged for the onset of the dry season to coincide with the
start of the AGM. Eventually we settled on a position amongst some friendly
trikers from Innisfail.
On Monday night we introduced ourselves to the Piazza, a
licensed meeting place which holds 1200 people seated at tables of eight. Live
music played, every night, from 7:30pm till late and you could dine on anything
from Mexican fair to sweet pancakes depending on your fancy. We found the
Warnbro Sound Wanderers crew and it was wonderful to see a familiar face again.
The AGM is a great place for bikers to hang out for a week. On
Wednesday, while Devil (my F650GS) was still sleeping, I sneaked off to test
ride the new BMW F700GS. I must admit that the new machine was a little lighter
and more nimble under foot but I didn’t tell Devil. When I arrived back at camp
Devil was still sleeping and she knows nothing of my infidelities.
 |
| Collection of Douglas motorcycles. |
On Friday we joined a group ride out to Biggenden to see a
private collection of Douglas motorcycles. It would be an understatement to suggest that owner Alan Cunningham is a collector.
For a small fee, which all goes to charity, we were allowed to wander around
and enjoy the eclectic mix of motorcycles, old cars and farm equipment. Afterwards
we were treated to some good old Queensland hospitality at the local pub, which
served home-style meals at very affordable prices. On the way home we broke the
journey with an ice-cream at Childers. Unfortunately I missed the rider
briefing outside the ice creamery. Apparently Jack, our ride leader, arranged
with the other riders in the group to show them the way back to Hervey Bay. I
didn’t know this and, as second man, I marked the corner, waited for everyone
to ride on by, saw Tail End Charlie in my rear view mirror and then I took off,
like a woman possessed, after the others. I hadn’t realised that I was supposed
to go straight on. Steve was Tail End Charlie and he was riding on one wheel at
times trying to catch me.
 |
| Warnbro Sound Wanderers at dinner. |
Friday night’s dinner in the Hoecker was great, especially
for those who brought along their head torches as the portable toilets had no
lighting. This situation provided a bit of amusement and it was nearly a shame
that by 8pm a floodlight had been delivered and we could see what we were doing
again. For Saturday night’s dinner the toilets were moved to the other side of
the Hoecker where the lights were so bright you needed sunglasses.
 |
| Grand Parade Maryborough. |
Saturday’s grand parade was wonderful. The assembly point, for
the 1300 bikes, was orderly and organised. The ride into town brought tears to
my eyes as I acknowledged the locals who lined the streets and avenues along
the way. So humble was the hospitality offered to us in Maryborough that one
lady held up a sign which read “thank you for coming.” I could have wept inside my
helmet, but I managed to hold back the tears and concentre on the bikes in
front. On Saturday afternoon Steve and I attended the AGM meeting and then we went
back to camp to socialise in the Hoecker once more.
The week spent messing about with bikes had been so much fun
that while we were packing up our tent my thoughts turned to the AGM in Alice
Springs in 2014; tempted.
 |
| Red Devil and me enjoying the Grand Parade Maryborough. |
No comments:
Post a Comment