At the start of this ride we all would have expected that the Great Ocean Road would have been the scenic highlight, and as the photos showed it certainly was a spectacular ride.

Today though was really biker heaven – the most beautiful day of brilliant roads, scenery – we would quite happily have kept riding into the sunset so it would never end.

We started our day with a quick ride into the city to Harley Heaven where Lizzie was met by her family, and the girls added a few more Harley pins and t-shirts to their personal collections.

Then it was a straight run out of the city and back up into the Adelaide Hills on an amazing little twisty road with switchbacks, crests and slopes that made it like riding a roller coaster for an hour.  Beautiful stretches of bush, alternating with pine stands and dark green forest, with little farms and vineyards hidden in dells and valleys.

After an hour or so we pulled up at a little town called Lenswood at the General Store for a stretch and a snack.  We met the store’s new owners – one of whom, Donna, turned out to be a breast cancer survivor as well!  We shared stories over a coffee and Vili’s pie and then it was back on the road again, heading down from the hills into the famous Barossa Valley.

As we neared Nuriootpa we began to see other groups of Harley riders, heading in to the big rally this weekend.  We rolled straight into the rally headquarters to register, and also for Tanya to pick up a brand new Sportster that Harley-Davidson had waiting for her to ride the rest of the weekend now she was fully licenced!

While we were waiting, a Harley rider came over and asked us, “Are you those cancer girls?”  When we said yes, he peeled off $300 out of his wallet and gave it to us as a donation.  Unbelievable generosity and we were so touched by his support.

Now our group was all back on wheels, and all on Harleys as it should be, we headed back out of town and towards our destination for the night – Clare.

We passed several hundred bikers on our way out of town, all riding in perfect formation.  Our group showed its stuff, seamlessly moving from single to patrol formation, changing lanes and turning corners with precision.

The ride out to Clare was stunning.  Glorious sunshine, and perfect riding temperatures – no need for thermals, but not hot in the leathers either.  The wine country up here opens out to rolling golden hills, where hay had been harvested and was rolled up in bales in long rows.  Every now and then we’d encounter a field blazing with the purple flowers of Patterson’s Curse (Salvation Jane) and the road was high speed with big sweeping curves, and new vistas around every corner.

The group rode so beautifully, and it was wonderful to see how our newer riders, Tanya and Dimi flew along the road like they’d been riding for years.  We passed the 1,500 km mark today and as the sadness started to creep in that our journey was coming to an end, part of us was wondering what the next road and next town would be like, and could we just keep on riding????????

We finally rolled into Clare and to our motel, the Clare Central Motel, who gave us a wonderful welcome and had booked a group dinner for us at the Bentley pub in town.

Although tomorrow night is the last official night of the ride, tonight was our last dinner alone and together, as we will be camping in the middle of the HOG rally tomorrow.  We had a fantastic dinner, and from the moment we sat down the jukebox was playing classic songs and we were all singing along from around the table.

After dinner we had some private time in a separate room where we had the opportunity to share what the journey had meant to us and the changes that had taken place.

Then it was back to the bar where the bartender had opened up the jukebox to play for free for us, and we sang and danced and played pool until very late.  Tomorrow we return to Nuriootpa and the amazing atmosphere of the HOG Rally.