TASMANIA PART II
by Leigh
SUNDAY
On the way in to Mum & Dads on Saturday arvo we had spotted a couple of older bikes. I mean war years stuff. These things are rare enough as it is, so to see a few of them out was a sure sign that something was on. I asked Dad if he had heard about a show. We looked in the paper and found a small ad in the corner of a page halfway through.
Ross Classic Bike Show. All Makes Welcome. 10am - 3pm Ross Showground Admission $3
Sounds like a goer. We woke reasonably early on Sunday to clear skies and high winds. Seriously high winds. I should actually say wind, not winds. It was one continuous wind rather than a bunch of winds one after another. Tasmania was really giving us a taste of all her flavours. It was also about 8 degrees.
We ummed & aahed a bit then Dad offered us his ute if we wanted it. This seemed like a good idea at the time. A bit of warmth and comfort, the ability to chat while we droned the transport section of the Midlands Highway from Longford to Ross. The odd thing about borrowing a car whilst on a motorcycling holiday is the level of guilt you feel.
God, karma, Vishnu, Loki or whoever is in charge of this sort of prank soon sprang the punchline on us.
Dad had given me directions for another road to take, a backroad from Longford that came out at Campbell Town, just a few km's up the road from Ross. I worked in Campbell Town, back when I was a young bank Johnny with a massive career potential. I knew where the road came out, I had just never bothered to find out where it lead to. My mistake.
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| Doesn't look much on Google. Google lies. |
Once again, we found ourselves on a well surfaced, lonely road with
an open limit that gently rose and fell through rolling farmland. With the
occasional 90 degree corner thrown in for good measure. I'll let Google
street view show the error of our ways.
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Woolmers Lane |
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Picture these hedges full of racing fans... |
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Macquarie River |
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What braking markers? |
Still waiting for the punch line? Here it is. Whilst bolting along this road and plotting my submission to the Tas government for a proposed TT series, I casually mentioned to Sandy that we should have brought the bikes. She gave me a look that could only be described as agog. "I only said yes because I thought you wanted to take the car" I "saw" her agog and raised with "aghast and dismay", "I only said yes because I thought you wanted to take the car" Oh, there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth. The self-flagellation would go long into the night for penance was due.
Still, the views weren't bad.
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We got to Ross at about lunch time. Typical old country town. The main drag used to be the highway and has the pub and the shop/s. Any old building that isn't being used gets turned into a souvenir shop or an art boutique run by free radical lesbians called Willow or Bethany. Off either side of the main street will be one street running parallel and several that intersect all three making for a neat grid.
At the main intersection in town is a sign that points in four directions; Salvation, Damnation, Temptation & Recreation. The buildings on the corners are, in order, the Roman Catholic Church, Ross jail, Man-O-Ross Hotel & Ross Town Hall.
Enough trivia, off to the bike show. We parked and walked up to the main gate of the show/footy/parade ground (the Light Horse trained here in WW1). There wasn't anyone on the gates so we ambled on in. First up was a bit of food. Steakette, they call it. Odd. Sort of a mince brick grilled and whacked into a sandwich.
I shall stop writing here and let the images do the work.
