for the members across the world

rosskko's resting remembrance plaque , and the view that it purveys  , at one of the famous homes of motorsport in aussie









a group shot of the attending vehicles before the remembrance ceremony proceedings



of corse some bricks in there as well




others have images of faces  and hopefully a group shot of the forum members in attendance


Sandra ,(ross's wife ) read out a letter addressed  to, his forum and otherwise mates at the ceremony ,  very moving indeed

we followed that with a toast of "honey bourbon " in brick shot glasses  and a tear in the eye ,

Hell it puts a lump in my throat and I don't even know you guys!
Must admit I'm a bit jellous of the friendship you guys share, keep it up, and thanks for sharing with the rest of us.

Nice spot and nice views and a very good choice. If only we are all so well thought of and appreciated.

Rossko Ride Ride Report, Part 1:


 
Saturday May 25^th dawned cool but clear and I met Charlie and Craig at the Caltex roadhouse in Guyra slightly ahead of schedule. Clearly I wasn’t the only one up and around early due to pre-ride excitement. After topping up with fuel and a quick chat, we headed south along the New England Highway, quickly passing through Armidale and Uralla, before continuing on south towards Bendemeer ( where they bend the bananas) and Tamworth. The Saturday morning riding was good, despite the almost ubiquitous presence of the gendarmerie trawling the road in their highway patrol cars; 5 cars in 150 kilometres. Visible deterrent indeed.
 
Watching Tamworth recede in our rearview mirrors, we continued south, passing through Goonoo Goonoo and heading towards Wallabadah and Willow Tree, the conditions cool but clear and promising a fine and fair day’s riding. The Scharnhorst, ( Yes the Rocket III and sidecar has that sort of turning circle) was running well, enjoying the open highway miles and gobbling impressive amounts of fuel. Charlie on Gerty is a familiar sight to me these days and I often spend time contemplating his rear taillight and topbox as he eats the miles. With Craig leading the way on his K1200GT, aka Battlestar Galactica, I saw little of his bike close-up, apart from the occasional waft of Johnny Cash as he passed with turbine-like precision.  At Willow Tree we parted company for a brief spell as I was keen to re-visit the road from there across the top of the spine of the Liverpool Range and into Merriwa. Smithy and Charlie decided to go the Golden Hwy route and see what that was like and so we arranged to meet in Merriwa for lunch.



 
The Merriwa road across through the hills and through Warrah was not a disappointment; undulating pasture country soon giving way to spectacular hill views and some excellent sweepers leading up into the higher country. The top of Merriwa rd remains unsealed in parts, but only for about 5km now as roadworks progresses with alacrity and I imagine there will soon be increased traffic of the two-wheeled variety to take advantage of the twisties and excellent vistas. That remaining 5 or so km of dirt is tricky in places though, with plenty of soft sand and gravel to get the Triumph’s rear wheel sliding about under power on the uphill sections. All too soon however, I found myself riding into Merriwa in time for an early lunch and soon found a café. Surprisingly, I had arrived before Charlie and Craig, so settled in for a coffee and a bacon and egg roll in the sunshine whilst watching the locals pass by or come in for their coffees.  Realising I didn’t have Craig’s number in my new phone, I sent Charlie a text to let them know where I was. As I was sipping the last of my coffee, Craig arrived and soon settled in to order some lunch for himself.
 
“ Where’s Charlie?” I asked, thinking he must have been stuck behind a truck or slow-travelling car.
 
“ I dunno mate. I was a bit ahead of him and stopped to take some photos. I called him and he answered, saying he was stopped 15 km out of town, then the signal faded and the call dropped out”.
 
“ Ah ok, he must have stopped to take some pics as well. “ I finished my coffee and chatted to Craig while he ate some lunch. After a minute or two my phone chirped and I took a message from Charlie, saying he was 15km out of town… and had run out of petrol! To cut a long story short… we went and got him back on the road with a can and some fuel in it.





 
The ride from Merriwa across to Mudgee through Ulan was uneventful and we ate up some miles before I was stuck behind a car and lost the others as they put some distance between us. Coming into Mudgee I took the Lue road and found myself heading towards Rylstone, having missed all the service stations. My turn to fret a little as I watched my DTE and fuel gauge becoming less enthusiastic about my chances of making the next town. I began to ask myself if there would be fuel in Rylstone on a Saturday afternoon after the shops closed but make I did, and fuel was obtained for the next leg of the journey. Out through Kandos and turning off at Ilford, I made the last leg of the journey into Sofala at about 4pm; plenty of time to throw my tent up and organise a camp for the night. Greetings were made with Gaz, Tom, Bill and David, then I went back to set up camp. David the Tackler was camping too and we left some room for Al and his wife Marie, who had also said they would be camping the night. The others, perhaps appropriately, were staying the night at the old gaol and we arranged to meet them at the pub for a tonsorial varnish before dinner.

Part 2:

 
There is a solitary café in Sofala and Gaz arranged for the owner to open it for us, so the 7 of us went for a leisurely dinner of Steaks, Bratwurst ( The owner turned out to be from Cologne) and some wine to wash it all down. Later in the evening, David and I strolled back across the bridge, had a chat with some furry grasshoppers at the campsite and decided to get a fire going, which would be the perfect accompaniment to a dram or two of heart-warming neck oil.









 
Lying in my very cosy sleeping bag the next morning I thought, hmm, that sounds like fairly heavy dew, and decided it was time to pack up the tent and gear. Tea brewed, some bread with vegemite and we were soon at the crossroads to meet the others, the dew having decided to become a little more insistent. The best way to make it stop raining of course, is to put on all your wet weather gear and in numbers this has a pronounced effect, the rain clearing by the time we were half way to Bathurst and our meet up at the Mountain. At Mt Panorama, probably the spiritual home of motor racing in Australia, we met with Waz, BobT, Michael from Sydney on Rossko’s old alloy-finished K100 and then met quite a few of Sandra and Rossko’s family who had also gathered for the commemoration. A short ride up Mountain Straight and onto Skyline and we found Rosko’s plaque nestled on the side of the hill, overlooking the enormous ( panoramic) vista and valley below. What a place!

Part 3:

It was a moving ceremony held in an incredible place and Sandra read out an old post to the forum written by Rossko. It was at once melancholy, yet heart-warming and I am sure many had a tear in their eye. Then a toast was drunk with brick shot glasses and some delicious whiskies and bourbons, especially purchased and donated, followed by a run down the Mountain into town for lunch. From Skyline through the Dipper, Forrest’s Elbow and onto Conrod Straight is no place for the faint-hearted at speed and anyone silly enough to ride that section on a sidecar combination at genuine speed must have orchestras like rock melons, with each section falling away at an off-camber left hand dip. Fun! At the Irish pub in town we were greeted by yet more sumptuous food and a long lunch ensued with much conversation and the odd glass of Guinness.  All too soon it was time for most of us to head back in the general direction of our respective homes and after some farewells with Sandra and others, we headed on our ways.















Gaz, Smithy, Tom, Charlie and myself had all booked into the Globe hotel at Rylstone and so we made our way there in an increasingly cooler and windy late afternoon. At the pub….there was more food and drink. Such is life. I managed to watch my St George Dragons get flogged yet again on the pub TV and that put me in the mood for more strong drink. Next morning began cool, with frost on the bikes. The panniers on Gaz’ bike had frozen shut, requiring some warmth to free them up. By then, as a famous scribe once said, the drums had begun to beat, and the road home beckoned….

Well a RossKKo ride wouldn't be proper without some rain and frost.
Waz and I were caught in a snow storm outside of Crookwell, we both were frozen and called off the ride to get into a room with hot water. No photos cause there was nowhere to stop that didn't look icy. All the road signs were iced up.
Made it home safely today, and thanks to everyone who organised this trip. I'll remember it for sure.

Maxim: Don't go away after the 2nd week in May. Write it down.

RT

I think you're right RT - just the spirit of RossKKo testing us out to see if we really did want to raise a toast in those brick shot glasses.

Glad you and Waz took the sensible approach in seeking shelter when necessary.

Cheers

Good to hear that people made it home safe. RossKKo would have had the last laugh.

Great pictures all and a superb write up by Saxon7. I enjoyed reading about the emotional gathering. Pity that the weather wasn't the best, but others have said, that is all part of the Rosskko effect and it was great that so many could pitch up and support the family in remembrance of him.

Thanks Gaz for passing on my respects, I'm so pleased that Sandra and family remember my visit as a time that was special to Rosskko. He certainly went to a considerable effort into getting his nakkid K100 ready for me and it was a real privilege to ride with him and the krew over that first weekend of my (first) visit down under. After meeting him and seeing how the ride to the PITS along with his treatment really knocked the stuffing out of him, I felt quite guilty about having burdened him at all, so it is something of a relief that the family remember it as a good time! I suspect that the focus on the bike was just what he needed to take his mind off the more serious matters that he had no control over.

As promised, I set my alarm for just before 01:30 UK time, crawled out of my sleeping bag and, in the cold darkness of my tent, raised a toast to Rosskko with a rather fine dram of 10 year old cask strength Laphroaig which I had got from the distillery the previous day (when it comes to the tasting part of the distillery tour, if you're driving/riding they sensibly offer you your chosen drams in sample bottles so that you can taste them once you are safely back at your home/hotel/tent etc.). The brick shot glass certainly doesn't make for the finest drinkingware, but does make the toast more special to the occasion. Rosskko naturally rewarded me with the only whole day of rain in my tour - but as it was a planned non-riding day (Lagavulin distillery open day), it bothered me not. Slàinte mhath (Cheers)

2020
and with the Corona Virus restrictions just about to loosen ....just a touch

just loading up with the big touring panniers  , for me and Smithy south again.



I recon this will be one of those memorable adventures ..(well,  the fine sunny day rides without incident are fine but pale into the distance once one experiences unusual events ) with quite wintery weather forecast for the coming days  


hoping to catch up with the southern friends near and far, around the Bathurst area again  pretty soon to commemorate our friends life.

When are you in Bathurst Charlie?

Al

at a pub close by Bathurst Al (ill guess a suburb in Bathurst )
Tom - Gaz - Bill and others will know the name
but I only just found out about it yesterday (Wednesday) , Craig has all the details
as you know my memory for such details is wanting

im a point me in the right direction and I know the way kinda guy .

will update tonight (Thursday )

but planning on meeting others at Denman and leaving at 11.00 am Friday

update :-

staying at o'connell pub Friday night

Stay safe mate, and say hello to the others guys from us Queenslanderes that are not allowed to go south at the moment

It was with mixed emotions that I read Saxon's mellifluous words from last year again, had a second squiz at the piccies, and sobbed in my mug about when the hell I'll be back home for a ride of some length on that ageing in storage K. One thing I'll keep in perspective: at least I am safely sitting somewhere to read and to see and to ponder my options during these helter-skelter times.

Cheers to a fine man's memory and good riding to all. May the ice man not cometh.

Good one, hope to be able to finally meet up with some of you. It’s been a long time since we first interacted on this forum and a great show of quality it’s still going! Cheers, René

Fellow forum members - it's that time of year again when we pause to remember our lost great friend Rosskko as the anniversary of his passing occurs tomorrow.

I just wanted to let members know that I did not publicise widely my intention of going up to Mt Panorama where we placed a memorial plaque because one of our number had noted earlier in the year that the area had construction fencing around it preventing public access and machinery/portable buildings inside which led us to fear that the area was being redeveloped and the plaque may be lost. I had intended to do a recce run in April to investigate in time to let Rosskko's family know before his anniversary date if the site was intact or not - however coronavirus got in the way with the travel restrictions imposed. As time came closer I decided to do the recce run anyway and deal with the consequences if I was caught too far away from home (police discretion etc.).

As luck would have it the restrictions eased slightly last week and we were clear to go but with state borders closed only New South Wales people could go and we also had the challenge of finding accommodation that was open and the number gathering needed to be lower than 10. Word of mouth did the job and the O'Connell Pub was willing to have us overnight Friday last, but we could only have take away food and drinks which we could consume in/near our rooms. Eight of us assembled at the pub (which booked it out) and Nigel stayed at a nearby town and met us at Mt Panorama on Saturday morning. As expected at this time of year a pleasantly freezing night was had on the pub verandah which required a certain amount of alcohol to cope with the conditions and drink the appropriate toasts to the said Rosskko (to be fair the pub provided a couple of outdoor gas heaters as well).

Saturday morning was cool and cloudy and I must admit I was a bit the worse for wear, choosing not to partake of the bacon and eggs etc. available at the little cafe up the road. We assembled at Mt Panorama and proceeded to the location of the Rosskko plaque not knowing if it would be intact or not but he is obviously up there keeping everyone at bay as all is well.



The bikes


The toast of honey bourbon in the brick shot glasses.


Thanks to all who attended - hopefully next year our community will be functioning more "normally" and we can plan properly and members can travel from near and far to raise their brick shot glasses.

Cheers

Thank you for the report Gaz. In these difficult days it is hard to join together at one of RossKKo's favourite spots.

Cheers guys and thank's for sharing this moment! Respect!!

cheers. 

Thanks for the report Gaz.
Cheers, to RossKKo!

After 2 years away OS and the last 2 months in Covid lockdown, this was a great way to catch up with everyone again and share in the memories we have of RossKKo.
Had a great weekend and a top ride from Southern NSW to Bathurst and on to Newcastle.
Thanks Gaz for the write-up.
Cheers

Over this weekend I have been in touch with our mate RossKKo's sister who had planned to run another fund raising event similar to that which she organised in 2018 for the charity who provided support to him and his family during the period of his illness that led to his passing. The event is a golf day and luncheon (I'll be lunching but not golfing).

The venue where the last one was held was not able to accommodate the request this year due to the Covid-19 situation however another venue has been found that will host the function on 31st July but with limited numbers to comply with the current health restrictions. The family wanted our group to have the opportunity to attend but the window for confirming attendance is very short and they apologise for this. This evening I have received some details which are included below and confirmation from anyone who can attend will need to be received by Monday evening. The easiest way for the family to receive the numbers is for people to confirm by PM (private message) to me through the forum and I will pass that on first thing Tuesday morning.

Please only confirm attendance if you will definitely go as a non-attendance will have prevented someone else from having the opportunity of remembering RossKKo in this way.

Details are :

Asquith Golf Club - just off the M1 ( Mt Colah exit )
Friday 31st July
Golf tee off from 7am
Cost of golf and lunch $80 
Lunch only - ( canapés and one course ) $40 
Golf only - $50 Carts are available at an extra cost
Prizes and raffles on the day as previously


To RossKKo!    

The fund raising event that I detailed in the previous post on this thread was held as planned however with the Covid-19 situation in the Sydney area deteriorating in the week leading up to the function, Tom, Bill and myself made the decision to not travel there.

Since I had been asked to say a few words about our experiences with Rosskko on behalf of the forum members, I then put pen to paper and wrote a small piece which the family read out at the function.

Rosskko's family have been in contact with me to let all know that the function was a great success and over $5,000 was raised for the Life Raft organisation. The intention is to try to run a similar event in 2022 hoping that our society is in better shape for some of us to attend and enjoy our memories of Rosskko with his family and wider circle of friends.

Cheers

That's a great effort. I hope to get to the next one.

We are now well into 2021 and thankfully for us here in The Land Down Under virtually all Covid restrictions have been lifted so it is time to start thinking about 26th May, Honey Bourbon and RossKKo.

The anniversary falls on a Wednesday this year so it is probably best to choose the weekend before or after for a gathering at Mt Panorama, being 22/23 or 29/30.

I will be in touch with RossKKo's family shortly as my last contact with them some months ago indicated that some members will likely make the trip and we as a group will want to work in with their wishes, however if any forum members feel that they would like to go this year feel free to make your preference of weekend known as early as you can and we'll throw that into the mix.

I hope all of you out there are well and here's cheers to our mate. 

G'day All,
Gaz, thanks for raising this with us and either weekend would be fine with me. 
Cheers
Tom

Yep anytime.

You guys seem like good "mates" wish I could find out if I had the stuff to fit in. My thought and prays go out to you all.

Either is OK but 29/30 is better for me.

Would you chaps be thinking of staying in the Irish pub in Bathurst again?  If so I hope to be a starter.

G'day Tackler, the Irish pub sounds great except for the outrageous expensive beer prices. But let beer prices not be the only criteria for staying at the Irish pub. 
Cheers
Tom

I'm hoping to tag along if all the planets line up. I'm not a big fan of them thar big towns, ( you know, more than 7 or 8 people), so I might stop over at Sofala again and ride in, depending on times organised etc. Are there rooms at the Royal in Sofala these days?
Schoorn.

 Hi all!
From 'the other side of the planet' I say: thank's Gaz for putting up the reminder!
Sadly I won't make it to your gathering, but I'll make a short trip on my own to honour and remember RossKKo.
Will put up a pic to keep you posted...

Jos

Saxon7 wrote:I'm hoping to tag along if all the planets line up. I'm not a big fan of them thar big towns, ( you know, more than 7 or 8 people), so I might stop over at Sofala again and ride in, depending on times organised etc. Are there rooms at the Royal in Sofala these days?
Schoorn.

Might be an idea to pack a roll of toilet paper just to be on the safe side 

will add it to the must do rides this year , hopefully 

cheers guys

caveman wrote:You guys seem like good "mates" wish I could find out if I had the stuff to fit in. My thought and prays go out to you all.

Hey Caveman...I can assure you, from meeting up with you and John in Pittsburgh PA and having met and ridden with these guys a couple of times (including with the immortal Rosskko)...you are a perfect fit. You just need to find the excuse to get down under and it is an experience that you will never forget.

I hope I can get back out there someday, once this covid hysteria is over. Gaz says they are pretty much back to normal down there, but I don’t think they are letting dirty contagious northerners in yet...or at least not without a quarantine stay. Also hope to get back out your way too - I still owe you a return slap up dinner!

Gaz and Krew - sadly, I won’t even attempt to darken your doors this year. It’s been a miserable riding year with 3 national UK lockdowns spoiling everything. Still, Ive now had the 1st (of 2 vaccine jabs) and it is claimed normality may return to the UK by mid June 2021...we’ll see.

Spooky thing is I did a 3.5 hours ride today to some forsaken part of the UK to do a 2 week training course. The spooky bit is that as the grey overcast day turned to persistant rain, I was thinking about Rosskko. Then, when I log on to the forum (an infrequent activity this last year) there is a Ride with Rosskko post!

Just thought I'd pick up on Saxon7's comment about Sofala. We had a very pleasant evening there the night before going to the Mount in 2019 so I will make some inquiries at the pub and various accommodation venues (I don't think there is too many).

Will keep all posted. I exchanged email with RossKKo's sister this week re our starting to plan.

Cheers

The weekend of the 29th works for me.
Not sure what route you guys have planned , I was thinking via By long and a stay @ the Globe in Rylstone ? Thoughts

Sofala or Rylestone are good with me although I'll be taking the Willow Tree to Merriwa road as I expect it is fully bitumened by now.

I'll probably ride down through Merriwa from Willow Tree, then come home via Bylong Valley Way. Merriwa Rd was all tar bar about 6km of dirt last time, which was 2 years ago. By now it will be well and truly tarred...(probably full of potholes already ) ..possibly feathered.

S.

latest report that i have heard is that the meriwa  willow tree road has been washed out over the new sections on the hills

might be worth investigating further huh ?

that pub at rylstone was great eh ? 

im guessing it will be very cool again this year

Yeah the Globe is a good pub.
There are a few weeks to think of some kind of creative shortcut to get there. Looking at live traffic.com, it looks like Merriwa rd will be out of action for awhile.

Hi All, I have been off the forum for a couple of weeks while taking the opportunity to finally climb aboard a bike (R80G/S in this case) and dare to travel north over the Queensland/New South Wales border to visit my son & family in Emerald.

Naturally I chose the day of the big wet event to leave home and spent the entire first day riding around in pouring rain from roadblock to roadblock as almost every road north flooded. Anyway, made it there & back safely and was pleased to put 3,300 km under the wheels.

I have sent a message to RossKKo's sister to let her know the feeling on the forum is for the weekend of 29/30 May for a visit to Mt Panorama.

I also contacted the pub in Sofala re accommodation but they are not offering accommodation at the moment so the discussion re gathering in Rylstone sounds great to me as well.

Keep the plans coming guys. Looking forward to this as always.

Cheers

I was hoping to go to Bathurst however have been booked in for another event on the 27th. A severed muscle in the shoulder means my riding will be curtailed for a while. Surgery on the 27th of May and total recovery time is 26 weeks...ouch.

I have had a message from RossKKo's family to say that they are going up to Bathurst on Saturday 29 May and staying the night so for them a meet up at Mount Panorama would be best on Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning.

Given that info, what do you all think of a gathering of forum members for an overnight at Rylstone on Saturday then riding down to Bathurst and up to Mount Panorama on Sunday morning. If we were to make the meeting at the Mountain for 11.00am we could then adjourn down into town for lunch before going our separate ways. Hopefully that timing would also suit Sydney area people who may just come up for the day.

I have recently be advised by Rickmeister that Rylstone Hotel is making a special effort to be a motorcycle friendly hotel under it's current owner so maybe some or all of us who stay overnight can give it a go. The nearby Globe Hotel has been used a number of times by myself and riding friends and is also a good pub. Rickmeister may add extra info here if he knows more.

Please give some indications here as soon as you can and I will pass that onto RossKKo's family.

Commiserations to Stan regarding the shoulder but hopefully you'll be back better than ever and I'm sure you and others who cannot make it will be with us in spirit.

Cheers

Hi Gaz,
I have another event that weekend but I can meet everyone on the Sunday for a toast and lunch.

Count me in.  Not having stayed at Rylstone before I'll go with whatever you Mexicans Southerners decide is best.  

There would appear to be a plan coming from the north that involves staying in Glen on Friday night and kollecting the Guyra crowd on the Saturday as we pass through.  

Are there any other starters from SEQ?  For the more recent members around Brisbane, RossKo had a huge influence on the forum and purchased his red K100 in Ormeau.  It was a day that absolutely belted down with rain as it does in Qld.  I believe Rick G had the pleasure of his company in a motel room for a number of days as the road south was flooded.

Gaz, We leave on Saturday, long cut to Rylestone, drinks on Sat. night, Bathurst by 11:00 on Sunday and thence back to Newey, Maitland etc. That's the plan?

Organise to meet up with the Cane Toads somewhere, some time?

Might get hold of RT and maybe he would be keen to join us.

Booking arrangements? I'm happy to book from our side, ie, you, Tom and me. If I post the the numbers of the Globe and the Rylestone, others will be able to organise themselves?

Rylestone Hotel: (02) 6379 1118
Globe Hotel: (02) 6379 1048

Rickmeister.

TacKler wrote:Count me in.  Not having stayed at Rylstone before I'll go with whatever you Mexicans Southerners decide is best.  

There would appear to be a plan coming from the north that involves staying in Glen on Friday night and kollecting the Guyra crowd on the Saturday as we pass through.  

Are there any other starters from SEQ?  For the more recent members around Brisbane, RossKo had a huge influence on the forum and purchased his red K100 in Ormeau.  It was a day that absolutely belted down with rain as it does in Qld.  I believe Rick G had the pleasure of his company in a motel room for a number of days as the road south was flooded.

Yes and a pleasure it was, he showed me the pleasure of Honey Bourbon and I showed him how to cook gloves in a microwave.

TacKler wrote:Count me in.  Not having stayed at Rylstone before I'll go with whatever you Mexicans Southerners decide is best.  

There would appear to be a plan coming from the north that involves staying in Glen on Friday night and kollecting the Guyra crowd on the Saturday as we pass through.  

Are there any other starters from SEQ?  For the more recent members around Brisbane, RossKo had a huge influence on the forum and purchased his red K100 in Ormeau.  It was a day that absolutely belted down with rain as it does in Qld.  I believe Rick G had the pleasure of his company in a motel room for a number of days as the road south was flooded.

Sorry TacKler cant make it this year as heading North to the GS Safari on the 18th