DAY 1

DIRT ROAD RIDE

Shane Kraft led the 9 riders off from the Bethany Reserve at 9am and headed off up Mengler's Hill to where the dirt started There were various levels of skill when it came to riding off the tar-mat but by the end of the ride, those riders had improved greatly.1 of the interstate riders had road bike tyres on and it was thought that he may have some trouble when we got to a very sandy area, but didn’t.

   Shane leading us off on our dirt ride.

Note the road bike tyres, that didn’t slow him down.

The first minor mishap was in a water crossing where Ian (a committee member) followed Shane over a washed out covert and didn’t lift his front wheel high or long enough to make it to the other side. Consequently, he got very wet, and the rest of us, including the sidecar took the shallower line.

About 1 km after this, my solo bike being ridden by my neighbour, had a mechanical failure. After pushing the bike into Springton to leave it a friends place, Jordan, was relegated to being the passenger in the sidecar, something he has done before on another bike.

We caught up with the rest of the group at the fuel stop at Cambrai where we all refuelled for the next leg of the ride.

 

We followed the Marne River towards the Murray River and turned off at a little place known as Black Hill. From here we went north on a 2 wheeled track that soon became a very sandy track. This is where we believed that Warren Simpson with his road bike tyres would have problems. We were gladly proven wrong but the sidecar did have some problems with traction as well as a lack of experience in these conditions. Everyone got through and just up around the next intersection, there was a track off the side of the road that we were allowed to ride. Some of the riders took the opportunity to ride this while the rest travelled down the road to the next turn off.

Ian Williamson was dry when he started.

From this point we made our way, through some back tracks, into Sedan for refuelling and a bite to eat. The run back to Bethany went up the pipelines road to Moculta then to Bethany where the war stories started. As time was getting on, it was decided to save them for when we got together for our evening meal, this was at the Weintal Restaurant.

SEALED ROAD RIDE

On Saturday morning, a small number of riders left Bethany reserve for a leisurely ride to Clare, (to the north of the Barossa), via Eudunda, Saddleworth and Auburn. An enjoyable lunch was had at the Clare roadhouse before setting off home. On the return trip, we went via Marrabel, Kapunda and Seppeltsfield back to the Bethany Reserve. The days ride was approximately 250kms in length on winding, deserted roads with cool weather which helped make it ideal riding conditions.

Just a couple of the bikes on the sealed road ride.

SATURDAY NIGHT DINNER

This was a last minute change to the Weintal Restaurant were the meals weren’t quite up to scratch due to them catering for a wedding and not having the staff to cope with the numbers. The company however, was great and the war stories started flowing. Especially once a few drinks were consumed. By about 11, people started to move on as Sunday was to be a big day with the hope of breaking the 60 bike barrier.

 

DAY 2

On the Sunday at the Show’n’display day we broke the 60 bike barrier with a total of 62 bikes on display. It was great to see so many come out and with the 10^th anniversary in 2011, we would like to see a lot more. The day was a little cooler than the year before but that helped make it a pleasant day for everyone.

There were bikes that cover all categories from all the years which made for many topics of discussion by lots of those attending. It was great to see so many made the trip from Victoria this year with the promise that they will bring more people and bikes over for the 2011 gathering. Quite a few trophies went east this year which shows that the winners aren’t just the SA boys. Great to see and look forward to seeing them back for 2011.

All the bikes lined up on on the show'ndisplay day at Bethany Reserve.

 

We had new stubby holders this year as they were missed the last couple of years as well as a new shirt that was introduced for the 1^st time. There was only the sample shirt but orders were taken for them and then posted out. The monster raffle was on again with most people going home with a prize. We also run a silent auction as some of the donated prizes were quite expensive. This was well received and may run again next year. The raffle and the silent auction winners were all announced prior the commencement of the bike awards.

Warren Simpson from Vic took out 1 of the major placing and that being for Best TT 500 on the day. Warren also took out the Best Original TT 500 trophy as well.

A big thankyou must go to Rob Francis for all the photos this year. He does a great job to catalogue all the bikes that turn up as well as some from the rides.

We are looking at adding more awards to the above one’s as our sponsorship is getting bigger every year, and with the event in 2011 being our 10^th running, we will be trying very hard to make this the biggest and best one by far. This can only be done with the support of you, the TT & XT 500 owners. Please let your friends and family know and come along to what will be another great Muster.

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