Foggy's Noms Ride

Sunday 06 Jun 04 dawned bright and sunny as planned, albeit a bit chilly, the big day had arrived and I was hoping for a good turn out and the opportunity to meet more members.  Pucka Tank Museum seemed like a popular choice for all, Scorpion turned up at my place, about 0845 with his young son Adam on the back of the bike and his wife, Maria and Reaper, close behind in the wagon.  With Norma, my better half,  as pillion, we headed off to rendezvous with Chef, Sleepa and Toothpick.

Had a quick chat and I led the way to the FUP at the Mobil/Big Macs on the Western Ring Road. Joined up with Clubs, Whitey and Les who came up from Tarralgon ( Had heard of hand warmers Les, but foot warmers ???).  Bomber also turned up but could not come on the ride as he had to work – this was a great example of what the Patriots are about -“MATESHIP”!!!!.

Making sure we kept on track, we departed at 1000hr (or when the little hand is on the 10 and the big hand is on the 12 as some prefer).   Was a great feeling leading the troop of seven bikes and one big red wagon, out along the Ring road to the Hume, caught our share of Red lights but finally cleared the burbs and hit the open road.  Turned off the highway and made our way to our stop at Kilmore via Wallan for the for the mandatory  smoke, coffee and a snack break.

Out of interest, anyone going that way, the BP Servo at the northern end of Kilmore, makes great coffee and toasted sangers – the mustard cleared any sinus probs.      Little bit of excitement, Maria thought something had detached itself from Toothpick's machine just entering Kilmore, so half the troop stopped to check it out, thankfully nothing was amiss.   After a three quarter hour break we then headed up the Northern Highway to the Museum via Pyalong and Tooborac, a good bit of road and the scenery was a lot more pleasant than the Hume.  

Arrived at Pucka approximately 1230and had a squizz at the museum.  What started as a good turnout for my Noms ride ended up great, just as we entered the museum another five members arrived,  my thanks to Issy, Rocket, Roadkill, Koggins and Bluebell. We meandered our way through the exhibits, with everyone providing snippets of info, which demonstrated the wealth of knowledge contained within our club members.   After a couple of hours, lots of group photos were the order of the day and then the museum shop was the target of souvenir hunters, probably the best days takings they have had in a long while.

Being a Sunday and with some having a long way to travel we started to prepare ourselves for the cold trip home.   Prior to everyone leaving, Club's called everyone around and to my surprise, presented me with my Patriots Badge, my Victorian Chapter Rocker and Name tag, and welcomed me into the group.  

To say I was pleased would be an understatement, it was a privilege to be Badged up with 11 members, partners and their families present, from what I can gather it was the largest turnup for quite a while and augers well for our future.

A quick ride to show Whitey the old Armoured Centre Barracks, this caused a little bit of excitement for the Security guards, then it was off to the Mobil roadhouse a few Kms down the road for a quick brew, a snack and smoke before heading home via all directions.  Was getting bloody dark and cold by the time we hit Town.

All in all a terrific day, made even better by the wonderful turnout, my heartfelt thanks to everyone for making my Noms ride such a success.  This, to me, epitomizes our group, plenty of kms under the wheels, great company and generally having a damn good time.   


Everyone keep the rubber upright.