AL-58 wrote:So you're talking Saturday night at Rylstone, Sunday night at Goologong, correct?

Yup

That sounds good Rick. Count me in for Sat night at Rylstone and Sunday night at Gooloogong.  Cheers Tom

If there's any interest, I'm sure Marie and I can organise a BBQ (or other lunch) at our new abode after the trek to the mountain. Plenty parking and other room for bikes.

Al

Was keen but just check the diary and already have it booked - missed another year - bugger!

Sounds good Al,

Although would the family be interested?  At least we know we wouldn't be paying the Irish Pub's prices and we have the safety net of one beer too many, if that occurred.  It would be also good to know where your digs are for future reference.  

Happy to throw in a few dollars.  

Cheers, Dave.

29th sounds good

Hi gang, anyone specifically booking the Gooloogong Hotel or are we doing it individually?
RT

I was intending to book a group but was holding off till a few more replies came in and to find out what Rosskko's family were doing that day.

I bow to your super intellect and admire your general happy demeanour.
RT out

Sorry I've been a bit slack boys but count me in for Rylstone and Gooloogong.

I recently had a message from RossKKo's sister to let us know that they are running a cancer fundraising event again this year in memory of Ross at Asquith Golf Club on Friday 29th July 2022 if anyone can make it. Some of us from close to Sydney were planning to go last time they ran this two years ago but were thwarted by Covid. More details on that closer to the time.

I have sent a message to let them know Rick has the ball rolling for 29th May this year and will post back here as soon as I hear anything back.

Cheers

Just received a message from RossKKo's family this evening that the 29th May suits them and that they are very appreciative of the way we continue to remember Ross in the way we do.

Thanks Rick G for getting things rolling.

Cheers

micK73 wrote:I'll be voting online or postal so I'm not bothered about which weekend the masses have chosen

Won't be online as the Feds don't do that. Wise choice after NSW stuffed it up last time they tried. (NSW have said that it won't be on for next year's general election either.)
Postal or pre-poll are your alternatives to voting on 21 May, and postal vote applications close on 18 May. Better get in sooner, as they have to be sent out, filled in by/on election day and received back by 3 June. You can apply online at https://www.aec.gov.au/election/pva.htm Happy voting. 
(I work for the Electoral Commission around election times.)


Rick, please count me in for Rylstone and Gooloogong if I'm not too late. 
Possibility I'll still be doing election work, but likely not. If I have to pull out I'll cover any cancellation costs.

Bill

I'll be in Sydney leading up to that date so I'll try to make it up to Bathurst on the morning of the 29th.
Any plans for return trip?
Cheers

I have booked for 9 at Rylstone for 28th and 7 at Gooloolgong on 29th. There is room for expansion at both venues. If you want more just ring the hotels direct or PM me.
All looking good. Gaz have you contacted Sandy?

Thanks Rick
look forward to seeing everybody
RT

Hi All, I had suggested to Sandra that 11.00am on the Sunday morning seemed to work well for us last year and would that be OK for them again. I received a message back this evening that it will work for them and they are looking forward to the catch up.

She also mentioned that Bathurst is getting very chilly and she definitely will be bringing her Ugg boots.

I had also mentioned to her and Alison in my previous message that Al & Marie had posted the idea of maybe having a get together at their place after leaving The Mount but she did not make comment. I believe they are happy to go along with any plans we might make.

So.......Al, when you read this, over to you. I am more than happy to contribute to any costs if you and Marie choose to host a gathering.

Cheers

Gaz wrote:Hi All, I had suggested to Sandra that 11.00am on the Sunday morning seemed to work well for us last year and would that be OK for them again. I received a message back this evening that it will work for them and they are looking forward to the catch up.

She also mentioned that Bathurst is getting very chilly and she definitely will be bringing her Ugg boots.

I had also mentioned to her and Alison in my previous message that Al & Marie had posted the idea of maybe having a get together at their place after leaving The Mount but she did not make comment. I believe they are happy to go along with any plans we might make.

So.......Al, when you read this, over to you. I am more than happy to contribute to any costs if you and Marie choose to host a gathering.

Cheers

It is indeed getting chilly, Its been between -1 and 2C each morning for the last week.  But by 11am its warmed up to whatever its going to be for the day (approx 14-17 mostly).

We'll organise somethin here at Kelso for the Krew(just a Koincedence really), will post details later.

Al

Sounds good to me

Hi Rick and all,

Family has intervened and I can't make the RossKo ride, to my great disappointment.

As I said before, let me know if the is any expense that I need to make up, and I'll do it forthwith. I don't want anyone out of pocket from my withdrawal.

Bill

G'day All,

Bob and I have decided to wend our way to Gooloogong directly after activities on the Mount on Sunday. This is to let Al and Marie know for catering purposes.

Will see some of you at Rylestone for drinks on Saturday night.

Rickmeister.

(I'd like to supply the Honey Bourbon for toasts on the Sunday on the Mount. Can somebody please advise what brand to get?)

Jack Daniels or Jim Beam both are quite good.

Thanks, Rick...I will make another pilgrimage to Dr Dan's and get some.

Don't forget the lego shot thingy. I found mine a few weeks ago after it went missing for a couple of years, must be an omen or something.

Thanks, RG! Found mine after thinking the grand kids snaffled it to join their Lego collections. It's even the correct colour (after the Yellow Peril...)

Rummaged through the Forum last night, came across Klompy's very first notification of RossKKo's parting, 26th May, 2016. Spent hours reading all the tributes and messages from fellow Forummers, from all points of the globe. Literally bought tears to the eyes, reliving past memories of times and travels with the man.

The very first time...supposed to meet him and Klompy at Denman at a certain time. Waited and waited, no RossKKo or Klompy. Said to the service station attendant, "If a couple of weird looking older blokes on weird looking K-Bikes turn up, tell them we've gone, via Dunedoo."

Sure enough, a couple of hours later, a mighty roar of a K-Bike could be heard, while we were stopped at a park, and RossKKo flew past, screeched to a stop and then a U turn..."G'day, lads, my name's RossKKo, sorry I'm late"

That was the start of it for me.

Now, 6 years have gone without him, another year bites the dust. Will have a couple of sips of his favourite tipple on the Mount on Sunday week, tell a few stories and lies, and continue the memory.

Remember that day very well Rickmeister. We headed off and had "lunch" on the front steps of a country pub where Rosskko was trying not to look at the barmaid with tatts all over herself.
I will not be able to join the krew on this occasion as she who must be obeyed has just came out of hospital with a new bionic knee. If I leave her she will be hopping mad with a walking stick.
Last year I couldn't go because of a rebuilt shoulder.....joys of getting older.
Enjoy and celebrate the occasion.

Hi all,

I'll be at Rylstone for Sat night, then riding down to Bathurst with you guys.  I've just realised that Marie has something else organised  for the Sunday so she wont be attending the Mountain.  It also means I have bugger all time to do much for the Sunday (my catering skills arent much).

So I'll leave it up to the majority here. A pub for lunch(there are many to choose from) or I can provide Sausages, rolls, drinks, coffee, tea etc (gratis) and a view of the mountain as that's about it for my skills with the time available. Space is not a problem.

What are you guys happy with?

Al

We are meeting Sandy and family at 11am and that usually takes an hour or so. I would think that makes time very tight for you Al, I suggest we should retire to a pub lunch where we can warm up and be ready to freeze again on the Gooloolgong run.
What say all?

I agree that we should retire to the pub for lunch. Thanks to Al and Marie for their thoughts on having something at their place but it is certainly less trouble to go to a commercial venue and the Irish Pub is very central and has that car park out the back. 

RossKKo's sister, Alison, had mentioned going to the Irish Pub in town again in an earlier message and I had told her that it was a possibility that Al and Marie were considering having something at their place but would let them know how things panned out. I will message them again once we have some replies in.

It's 11 degrees C at The Mount at the moment with a "feels like 8" on the weather app. Might need the warm gear next weekend.

Look forward to catching up - travel well everyone.

Cheers

Unfortunately I'll be having some dental surgery on Thursday afternoon so I don't think I'm going to be fit to ride next weekend. Enjoy the ride. I'll raise a glass to Rosskko on Saturday evening.
Cheers Nige

Gaz wrote:I agree that we should retire to the pub for lunch. Thanks to Al and Marie for their thoughts on having something at their place but it is certainly less trouble to go to a commercial venue and the Irish Pub is very central and has that car park out the back. 

RossKKo's sister, Alison, had mentioned going to the Irish Pub in town again in an earlier message and I had told her that it was a possibility that Al and Marie were considering having something at their place but would let them know how things panned out. I will message them again once we have some replies in.

It's 11 degrees C at The Mount at the moment with a "feels like 8" on the weather app. Might need the warm gear next weekend.

Look forward to catching up - travel well everyone.

Cheers

There you go Gaz, using that logic of yours again.  I need to get one of the Pub's Staff t-shirts as I have been there a few times now.  

Gooloogong is about an hour and a half away I believe?

Hello all it’s been a while and much water has flowed under and over the bridge everywhere and certainly the only constant in my life is my “ Grace” which has a split front tyre at the moment so I will still be on the mount at 11am to pay my respects make a toast and break bread with friends at the Irish Pub afterwards. If there is anything I have missed please flick an update in. Looking forward to catching up and sharing stories. 

Klompy

Be good to catch up John

Be good to catch up again.

Great to hear from you again Klompy. I'm sure everyone on the Mount on Sunday will be very pleased to see you.

Looking forward to it.

Cheers

It is 6 years ago today that we received the news of the passing of one of the most loved and respected members of this forum - our friend RossKKo.

I'm sure many of us will pause for a quiet moment today to reflect on the times shared with this great man and on this coming Sunday some of us who are able to take the time to travel to Mt Panoroma will be able to share a toast to his life and tell some stories about him in company with his family.

We are hoping of course that he does not send the rain down on us as usually happens and used to happen whenever we gathered to ride with him or remember him ............ enough RossKKo!

Cheers my friend   

Some memories to ponder.

Gaz wrote:It is 6 years ago today that we received the news of the passing of one of the most loved and respected members of this forum - our friend RossKKo.

I'm sure many of us will pause for a quiet moment today to reflect on the times shared with this great man and on this coming Sunday some of us who are able to take the time to travel to Mt Panoroma will be able to share a toast to his life and tell some stories about him in company with his family.

We are hoping of course that he does not send the rain down on us as usually happens and used to happen whenever we gathered to ride with him or remember him ............ enough RossKKo!

Cheers my friend   

Thanks for the reminder Gaz. I spent a while today re-reading all the posts from my first visit down under as well as the “Saddest of News” post and the memories of Rosskko came flooding back. I managed to find my brick “glass” and have just raised a toast to him with some rather nice cask strength Laphroaig. I had to watch my private copy of my video compilation of my ride with Rosskko to the PITS…had to remove the copy I had uploaded to the forum as I was getting YouTube messages about copyright on the music!!!

Enjoy the ride this Sunday, come rain or shine, the spirit of camaraderie will shine though.

ill be there 
 hope there is room at rylestone , unfortunately smithy cant make it this year due to some issues 
and will likely catch up with the group leaving guyra , along the path 

a reminder of the site  and the memories we share out here 

Looks like 10 of us at the Globe in rylestone tonight rright to be off to bathurst tomorrow

Gaz and Klompy on the job
It was good to catch up, enjoy the ride.

Waz wrote:Gaz and Klompy on the job
It was good to catch up, enjoy the ride.

some explanation may be required Waz 

whilst us lot were camped , so to speak at rylestone over night , of corse great comeraderie was experienced , Gaz had expressed that he needed to get away early to deliver something down at bathurst somewheres ,  so took off before the main group .
meanwhile the heavy frost had quite a few of us waiting for the sun to do its work and unfeeeze panieer locks and such in the -2.5 degree frosting  .
so we took off at 9:00 ish as decided .



what the cunning folks had done was to reproduce the Rosskko monument and plant it in the public accessable area of the picnic spot attop the famous hill ,as access to the memorial had become compromised by a change in locks and security to the private property where our memorial existed .
as Gaz said , our last visit was breached by someone in the national security area who helped us access the area , and now retired we had lost that excuse .....lol .. perhaps , 
good on the planning by that lot to replicate the memorial to what we now see .  thanks guys !!!!  good work .

the new plaque  this year , 



and the attendees


just some random shots atop the hill  in a chilly wind 







i think ileft Bathust around 1:00 pm and arrived home with the last 130 + klms along the highlands in pretty cool weather  at about 8:30 pm   the majority of the group off to lunch and then Goolagong for an additional night .



thankfully home  the next day had most extraordinary weather  cool  for sure with enormous winds and blasting rains , thank heavens i missed that , but hoping the main bunch faired well on the return

cant wait for next year ......

I made it home from the 2022 ride to remember RossKKo about 6:00pm on Monday evening.

After a good fun gathering at the Globe Hotel in Rylstone on Saturday evening I headed out into the frost on Sunday morning on a secret mission (as Charlie has mentioned above) to meet Waz & Klompy on Mt Panorama to set a new memorial plaque for RossKKo in the publicly accessible area before the family and the rest of our group arrived.
A few of us had hatched this plan over the last few weeks after consultation with Ross' family. They had no idea that it was actually completed until they arrived which was a nice surprise for them. So we can all access the memorial plaque at any time to pay respect to our friend.

The line up at the back of the Globe Hotel


and yes, it was a bit cold on Sunday morning.


A couple of pics of the lineup up at Mt Panorama.




After our raising of the Honey Bourbon toast to RossKKo some of the Krew bid their farewells and headed off while the remainder of the gathering moved down to the Irish Pub in town for lunch together.

Once fed we all said our goodbyes and a bunch of us headed over to the pub at Gooloogong, just over an hour and a half south west, for  a few (??) quiet ales and some friendly banter (or BS) and a warm nights sleep.

Monday morning saw us head off in various directions into some threatening weather. RT sped off south with a massive weather blob on the radar chasing him, Rick G and Tackler were going via Orange then onwards north, while Sean was planning to wend his way to Tambar Springs to break the journey home to Guyra. Tom, Rickmeister and I planned a northwesterly loop home to the Hunter via Parkes, Dubbo and Dunedoo. We only encountered mild showers as far as Dubbo then clear run to Dunedoo where we stopped for fuel again and by then the weather was turning very unpleasant with extremely strong buffeting cold winds. After a bit of a delay there Tom and Rickmeister decided to stay the night and I headed for home.

The run in was unpleasant to say the least with heavy showers, massive wind gusts spreading debris on the road and then a half hour lost in a traffic jam near Singleton as darkness fell and a serious thunder storm hit. The lightning strikes would have been spectacular to watch if you were safely tucked up in a warm house at home but not what I wanted for the last half hour home.

Cheers

Me thinks we got outa Bathurst just in time. Snow and blizzard type conditions, well for Oz, swept through on Tuesday.
Now for those who were getting a bit tired of me boasting about my foot warmers here is a link to the closest thing to what I have
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/373385161103?hash=item56ef7d698f:g:YgwAAOSwhrRf0Y0t
They are great except the warmer part was a bit shy of my toes because they are meant to be cut down to fit your boot and with my "bigfoot" feet the toe area was  not quite good enough but one heap better than nothing.
I called them my "Happy Feet".

Thou shall henceforth be known as "Happy Feet".

RicK G wrote:Me thinks we got outa Bathurst just in time. Snow and blizzard type conditions, well for Oz, swept through on Tuesday.

You're not wrong Rick, I had to wear long pants instead of shorts on my daily AM walk(along with 2 layers up top and a beanie), Marie cancelled the evening walk completely.  The wind chill was ridiculous, I think it was 4C but feels like -3.5C in the afternoon.

Was great to see everybody again.

News for next year. Jack Duggans (the Irish pub) has just sold, who knows what it will be next year? The new owners may well rename etc.

Al

found this , 

Always, always amazed at some of the pictures posted by you folk of Australia.
Forever I have only pictured in my own mind, hot sunny days on sandy beaches all over Australia, every day of the year.
Not sure I will get to Australia but now will check the weather first!

Good find Charlie!

That would be barely 100 metres from RossKKo's spot. Glad it wasn't like that last weekend.

Cheers

Ride With Rossko 2022


The ride began for me in Guyra NSW as usual. Rick G and The Tackler had stayed overnight to break their journeys south from QLD and we made a start a round 8am. This year I am riding a 1988 Harley Davidson Heritage Softail with a DJP sidecar attached. This is a fair way from a BMW K100, and RossKo would have enjoyed the irony, I think. The ride will be a double occasion for me, as this bike was given to me by my brother Tim, not long before he also died of cancer last year. I ride it with pleasure and honour. Getting it to Bathurst and beyond, then all the way home might be another story of course; a round trip of more than 1200 kilometres.
 
Between Goonoo Goonoo and Wallabadah, (Yes, these are real place names) a familiar silver fairing came up quickly from behind, with Charlie making his way south as well. We rode along for a short stretch before I moved over to wave him by, his Staintune exhaust purring happily. A few more kilometres down the road there was a stop-go roadworks light and I pulled up alongside him to say hello.



 
‘If you can get that thing as far as Murrurundi, I’ll buy you a pie at the shop there!’ he bellowed over the rattle of the HD’s engine and I nodded in reply. Cheeky sod. It’s only about 40km.
 
‘You’re on!’ I screamed, and blasted off down the road in what can only be described as a raucous, yet stately speed.
 
At Wallabadah we stopped for fuel for the HD and a smoke for Charlie and soon after Rick and Dave showed up. A brief chat and then the next leg down to the pie shop at the foot of the Liverpool ranges, clouds beginning to gather on the southern horizon.
 
Pies consumed, we headed further south along the New England Hwy for a short distance before coming to our senses and stopping again to put wet weather gear on. Just in the nick of time too, as within a few hundred metres, the rain began in an afternoon kind of squall and stayed with us for some time after we turned off near Muswellbrook and headed south west towards Sandy Hollow and Bylong Valley Way.

Part 2.

Bylong Valley Way is a wonderful road with magnificent scenery, which wends its way through Baerami and Bylong itself via twists and turns, rocky outcrops and creek crossings. It’s no place to ride an old Harley Davidson with a side car at any great speed and I soon lost the others, reconciling myself to a modest pace and several stops to take some photos along the way, one of my happy pastimes.


.
 
 
 
Eventually the road comes to Rylstone, where bookings had been made by Rick G for a group of us at the Globe Hotel, a place we’ve stayed at a few times before. It’s a friendly enough place and the weather forecast for the evening was for a mild 5 or 6 degrees overnight, which is why the bikes were covered in ice and pannier locks frozen when we surfaced in the morning after a good dinner, some tonsorial varnishes and good company. It’s always good to catch up with the ‘Beemer Boys’ as my wife likes to call them, and this year is no exception.




 

On the Saturday morning, everyone was up and about in plenty of time for a 9 or 9.30 departure for Bathurst and Gaz, who may as well have been wearing a trench coat with the collar turned up, enigmatically informed us he had some errands to do in Bathurst and was leaving straight away. No further correspondence was entered into and he soon disappeared mysteriously down the road, his large single cylinder F series thumping happily away into the morning air.