Ulysses 25th Anniversary AGM.

Monday morning Gail drove me into town where we first went to the Ulysses registration point, then on to the showgrounds, the venue for the coming week's AGM events. Fortunately we were permitted to take the Landcruiser into the grounds (under the guidance of an escort). This greatly simplified the task of conveying my tent, chair and misc. camping gear to a camp site.
I was able to get a very good green grass spot, close to power, water, toilets and showers. After erecting the tent I went for a walk around the confines of the showgrounds to check things out. There are already hundreds of other Ulyssian's set up here with tents, motor cycle trailer/campers and every imaginable type of minimilist camping gear. It seems that every second person has a motor cycle trailer, some extremely flash (and costly) and others home made from such things as a decorated forty-four gallon drum mounted on a small trailer. All of these people are able to carry far more of the essentials which a solo rider is limited to carrying. However on this occassion I have everything that I need to make my camping experience comfortable. Limited food outlets are on-site, however a major shopping centre is only a 5 minute walk away.
I did a test ride on a radical new style of motor bike, called a Spyder. This "bike" has independant front suspension with two wheels and a single very wide rear wheel. Powered by a 1,000cc V Twin motor it is effectively a "3 wheel trike" in reverse. An entirely different concept and riding experience, but one which is very exciting. Possibly more suited to older riders with limited mobility. Gail came and picked me up on Wednesday afternoon and we went for a drive to "The Strand", where we had a coffee overlooking the ocean, with Magnetic Island on the horizon. We then went to Jupiter's Casino for dinner. When Gail dropped me back at the showgrounds (she is not registered, so cannot enter due to security requirements) I felt a little like a geriatric "out-patient" who had been allowed out for the afternoon.
As luck would have it, I discovered that another Hornsby branch member Alex is camped with several of his Internet Forum friends, just across the road from me. Alex plays guitar and had entered the daily talent quest, qualifying for the finals on Friday afternoon. We all sat and talked and sang to his music until well past the 10pm nightly noise curfew. Met quite a lot of very nice friendly people from all over Australia.
My second test ride was on another new brand of motor cycle from America, called a Victory. This bike is in direct competition with Harley Davidson, with a range of loud V twin cruiser style bikes. My interest in the Victory was purely to gauge if they vibrate as much as the Harley. Not quite as bad but still detectable. Test riding is a way of getting out to see the surrounding country-side when your own bike is two thousand kilometres away. I may do one or two more test rides on differnt makes if possible.
At the moment I am trying to setup a ride as a pillion in the grand parade on Saturday morning. In excess of 3,000 motor cycles will take part in this spectacular organised ride through the CBD area prior to the actual AGM to be held at the Casino.

Kevin
"Growing Old Disgracefully" at the AGM.