We had an impressive turnout for the Dalton Pub ride, with thirty three club members signing the run book, plus visitor Graham Bennedick on a 1953 AJS (the oldest bike on the run by the way).

Lisa and I had ridden the trusty RD Yamahas, mainly because I wanted to give mine a good run after many months gathering dust on its cover deep in the shed. The cheeky thing fired up second kick, obviously eager to earn a better location in the garage queue.

On the ride out I was wishing I'd taken the Commando instead as the headwind and hills were just a little challenging for my tired two-stroke twin, but by the time we got home I was praising the comfort of the Japanese suspension and comfortable seat. Last time I took the Commando to Gunning I could barely walk for the remainder of the day (I must be getting soft).

Lisa's RD ran impeccably as always, charging up the hills with ease, and soaking up the occasional bumps and ruts along the way. It's actually a pretty good set of roads out through Gunning to Dalton, with plenty of interesting scenery, and fairly little traffic to contend with.

For quite a while I was followed closely by Derek Holeyoak's 250 Vespa. He would catch me on the hills and I'd scoot away down the other side, hoping desperately not to be overtaken by a scooter, even one as lovely as Derek's. I soon solved this potentially embarrassing dilemma by riding straight through Gunning instead of turning left to Dalton.

I realised my mistake several kms out of town and arrived by in Gunning just in time to catch up with Dick Stubbs who had stopped for fuel on his neat CB360 Honda.

Simon Whittaker undertook the backup trailer duties and picked up Jim Alexander's K75 BMW along the way with a broken clutch cable. Lisa offered Jim an emergency cable end at Dalton, but there just wasn't enough cable remaining to grip it properly for a return ride.

Jim Greethead towed the BBQ trailer and he had a lovely warm lunch ready for us on arrival. The weather was perfect for an outside lunch and chat, and I don't think anyone was in a hurry to leave.
It was nice to see Phil Donges had brought along his 500cc Suzuki Titan, recently purchased from Mac West's estate. It certainly is a nice example of a very rare and desirable two-stroke.

I notice from the roll call that there were eight BMWs on the run. That's exactly one quarter of the all the bikes that attended. Is there something these BMW owners know that we don't?

It certainly was a great day out, and one to look forward to next year for those who missed out. Thanks very much to Simon for the backup and Jim for BBQ duties.

Cheers, Craig.

Some more PHOTOS can be seen HERE