A group of 8 members enjoyed a great 6 day sojourn to the 2001 Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island in October. (To see the photo album for this trip go here.)
An early start saw the trip leave Bathurst on Thursday 11/10 and head out towards Cowra and Boorowa before a stop for breakfast at the service centre at Yass. Most of the trip so far was in light rain due to sporadic showers and that wasn't about to change. The planned route was to continue on through Canberra and Cooma where a lunch break had been organised by some of the Cooma group.
Thursday afternoon saw the group continue southerly through Bombala and Cann River before an overnight stop at Lakes Entrance.
Friday morning saw clear skies, (not necessarily clear heads) but only temporarily. By the time we had fed, loaded, and fuelled the weather was looking suspect again, so a route change was called for and the coast road was chosen from Sale through Yarram, Foster, Inverloch and finally Phillip Island. With the day still young a quick shopping trip was planned and our Cowes rental house for the next few days stocked with provisions.
Friday night saw chef Colzato (yes we take our own chef with us) prepare a magnificent meal. Of course this meant that the challenge had been set and he then had to better that effort the following night, which of course he did.
Saturday and Sunday were spent mostly at the track where the racing was fantastic and the displays worth battling the crowds to see. Sunday night being our last night on the Island we gave the chef the night off and strolled into Cowes for tea at one of their great restaurants followed by a few quite drinks at the legendary Isle of Wight hotel.
Monday morning and a leisurely start saw us head back north-east up the Strzelecki Highway and through Morwell and Sale before lunch at Lakes Entrance. A quick check with the locals on the mountain weather conditions called for a change of plan and backtrack to Bruthen and Omeo. The weather conditions although not treacherous were a surprise over Mt Hotham (see the photos) with quite an amount of snow still around. An overnight stop in Bright ended a great days ride.
Tuesday morning and our planned route saw us go over Mt Beauty, around Lake Hume via Tallangatta and join the highway at Holbrook for the short run to Coolac before turning off to Cootamundra and home through Young and Cowra.
All in all a great trip (not without incident, but you'll have to find out those details elsewhere) with great company and great riding. Although the trip down was mostly wet, the trip home remained dry so you can't expect too much more than that. Don't forget to check out the photos, kindly supplied by the chef, Frank Colzato. Is there anything that man can't do?
Report by Mark McCormick
Photos by Frank Colzato
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