Yesterday was Sydney’s second hottest day on record – 36.8 degrees celcius, and today was another scorcher with Newcastle predicted to hit 35.  It was warm and sunny already by the time we gathered at our bikes, and Megan read some of the emails we had received and messages our friends and family, and complete strangers had posted to the blog.

We took off down the road to fill the bikes with petrol, and then to stop at Frasers Harley-Davidson at Broadmeadow.  The staff at Frasers took great care of us, fixing a few minor problems on the bike, and providing cold water as we sheltered from the heat in their air-conditioned showroom.  We took advantage of the time to do some shopping and pick up all those essential Harley-Davidson accessories!

Finally we set off on the day’s ride – north on the Highway for 40kms or so, then detouring to Gloucester on Buckett’s Way – one of the best motorcycling roads in the country.   It is a fantastic country road – through the Barrington Tops and little villages named Stroud and Stratford, and across the river Avon.

The group rode beautifully – a long snake of perfectly positioned bikes taking the corners well at speed and staying together – poetry in motion.

It had been very hot on the highway with 4 lanes of bitumen glaring the head at us, but surprisingly as we headed on to Buckett’s Way it cooled off with the trees sheltering the road and a cool breeze.

After lunch at the cafes in Gloucester and plenty of water and Gatorade, we were back on the bikes, fueled up and on to Buckett’s Way again to head to Nabiac.  Last year this section of road had been in terrible condition – 40kms of road with more potholes than bitumen.  A huge amount of work had been done to it by this year with only one small 100m section of rough surface – the rest was new, smooth road surface and it was a beautiful ride.

From Nabiac it was up the highway again to Taree and our stop for the night at Marco Polo Motor Inn.  The Lions Club were having a convention in town so all the other rooms were booked out.  We made quite a stir as we rode in and by the time we were off the bikes and explained who we were, the Lions were organizing a whip around to raise money for us.

We all enjoyed cooling off in the pool, then it was off to Sailo’s at the Aquatic Club for dinner.  We’d ordered our meals in advance to help out the staff – delicious seafood!  We had live entertainment for the night as well – a solo guitarist who knew how to rock out and had all the girls out on the floor dancing.

Sue and Michelle showed the girls some amazing moves and rhythm while Gail started us all off on some basic line dancing moves!  Highlight of the evening was a group rendition of Gloria Gaynor’s “I will survive”, followed by Sharon showing some incredible hidden talent taking the mike and singing for the whole group with the guitarist as back up.  She brought the room to a standstill with her incredible voice and got a standing ovation from all who were there.

Then it was a short walk back down the road to the motel and some much needed sleep before the next day’s adventure!


Donna does road side repairs


New Friends at Frasers Harley-Davidson at Broadmeadow


Well packed van


Lunch stop in Gloucester


Edith and Ruth - extraordinary van drivers


Amazon Chicks on bikes


Leanne, Lizzie, Donie and Squirt show off their new matching jackets


The gang prepares for a big night at the Taree Auquatic Club


Sharon takes Gail for a walk on the wild side


Meredith does Gloria Gaynor - with a mike!


The evening gets a little exciting


Group hug for Sharon's incredible performance