A few SA Police Motorcycle Club road-riders ventured over to Phillip
Island for the annual World Superbikes event in late March. Those
who rode over took the usual variety of magical roads, including,
of course, the Great Ocean Road. The weather was “kind” – to the club
members – and the racing even better, according to Ken Naismith.
Crowds were somewhat down on those of previous years, but the world
supers are still for the true enthusiast. As always, the racing was
worth the trip over.
Road rides
Club road-ride boss, Matt Nairn, led the charge in the first road
ride of the year last April. A keen group of members ventured through
the hills and down south to Strathalbyn and surrounding areas. During
the usual café stop, members relaxed with an inspection of the new
Aprillas, before they continued on through Bull Creek and back to
Adelaide.
Some new members participated in the ride; and the club president
christened his new Beamer.
Members have also taken a couple of mid-week rides, which begin by
meeting at the Gully Hotel car park before cruising through the hills
to Barossa and Sedan and returning via Lobethal. The Adelaide Hills
still offer one of the best rides around.
Dirt rides
The first weekend-away dirt ride was at Coonalpyn in May. About
10 members gathered at this spectacular property, which offers something
for every class of rider. With a few kids – who showed some of the
dads how to ride – along for the event, all took in the sandy and
somewhat challenging tracks in and around the property.
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Club members at the Coonalpyn
camp-away in May |
The weather was at times wet, but that helped the riding overall.
Club comsec Brenton Inglis had his new KTM, while Peter “Chook” Foulis
kept an eye on Ben with his new XR80.
Future events
The club hopes to see members’ usual good attendance at the annual
Coorong dirt ride, which is scheduled for June. This is one of the
best sand-riding areas anywhere; and the club is extremely lucky to
have the use of it – areas like this are hard to find these days.
Contact club comsec, Brenton Inglis, for all the details.
There are also some mid-week dirt rides, more road rides, and camp-aways
planned for the coming months.
A possible event for September or October is another dirt-bike weekend
away in the Victorian high country, led by the general manager of
club sponsor Peter Stevens Motorcycles.
Also in the planning is a road-ride trip for the MotoGP on October
16-17.
By Jim Andrew