Well, this year's run attracted almost as many bikes as last year with 28 compared to 31 bikes last year and 19 bikes the year before. This was especially good due to many of the "regulars' being away for the Macquarie Towns rally in Sydney. We also had two pre-1950 bikes this year, compared to six last year. We had no Veteran bikes this year due to some early patches of drizzle.

For the curious , the braking ability of a clutchless and gearless ( direct drive by belt from the engine to the rear wheel) Veteran or any non front braked bike is extremely limited. Suffice to say that down the main street of Tharwa, with the foot brake on, engine de-compressor on and your left boot jammed between the front guard and tyre, you are still gathering speed. AND YOU ARE APPROACHING AN ACUTE "T" INTERSECTION WITH A REQUIREMENT TO TURN LEFT OR RIGHT AT THE DISCRETION OF MODERN TRAFFIC. If you add moisture to the braking equation you are totally brakeless and it is not an option to ride one of these machines. To top it off you have to mix your own air and fuel with two levers, as well as adjust the ignition timing, as well as inject oil into the engine with a hand pump ( controlled by a stop cock) every 5-10 km or so.

The start this year was to be a meeting for breakfast at 10 am at Black Mountain. However as most of us APPEAR NOT TO READ THE DETAIL FOR EACH RUN, we had a good roll-up at both the Services Club and Black Mountain peninsula. We didn't get the breakfast but we got morning tea and this was adequate until the contingent from the Services Club rolled in.

At around 11.30 the troops were sent around the lake via a short run returning via Commonwealth Avenue, or a slightly longer run returning via the Fyshwick marshes. There was only about 10 minutes difference in the rides so by the time everyone arrived back, the BBQ had been pretty well prepared by Peter Davey and Kath Richards. There were plenty of sausages, onions, tea, coffee, biscuits, etc to satisfy everyone. Many thanks to Dick Holland for the event, Peter and Kath for their splendid efforts on the BBQ trailer and to Gary Rankin for bringing the back-up trailer.

Keep up the good work and see everyone on the 3 August VVC Club ride to Bob and Louise Courtney's Olde English Pub.

Peter Toet

Roll Call