Australian FJ Anniversary Rally; March 8, 2014

[The General]

  Oh Roach, (Tony), Now I do feel bad about going crook on ya for not smiling when I took a pic of your painful profile! (Those blokes that pissed themselves laughing should be ashamed of themselves!  )

Soooooo many memorable times throughout the weekend. Did anyone notice how hard, yet friendly, the Banjo Staff were?

Teagan (The gorgeous twenty something receptionist that you may have noticed booking people in at 8am) was also the majic and fast barmaid throughout the day & evening in the public bar. Then, when I took Dena for an outside stroll around the Perimeter around 11pm, I saw the Banjo Courtesy bus pull up ready to take more Drunks home.....Guess who was driving it? Yep the same dynamic bombshell that was booking you out again on Sunday morning! Remember the bearded young bloke that jumped the bar on a flick of a finger to adjust microphone.  He also delivered Meals to the room (37 steps up) then returned again in LESS than 90 seconds, with a fine Irish smile & a  bottle of water that had been sheepishly requested. ....ohh, and that tall skinny bloke in the kitchen & the bar, but mostly bludging around picking up glasses.....(I saw him and the Irishman packing away tables at 1am !)....he was the owner!

I had two sober guys (I`m not counting the drunk ones!), independently state it was the most enjoyable motorcycle weekend ever experienced in their lives. ...that truly is a compliment to the Venue and the unique mix of people that ride an FJ. The traditional photoshoot excelled again thanks to Baldy`s unique and arbitrary attention to it`s detail, that had many of us wetting our pants from either fear or laughter, and always in the spirit of Aussie comraderie. (Thanks Mate for so much work behind the scenes!)

Probly the most difficult task was taken on by Pete. Again lots of concern and time behind the scenes, but he stepped up and made it happen with gusto and smiles and backslaps well deserved.

Sooooo many funny stories kept quiet, that make Rallies unique. (I`m still picturing Klav & Candy Holding hands & even cuddling on the NSW North Coast!  )

Many asking for more get togethers....Like maybe a South Coast Rally? (Given the success of East Coast & West Coast by our mates in the U.S.)....I for one would attend both! 

[Timbo-1]

Hi all, home safe yesterday afternoon....1100km's Sunday and 4100km's for the six days away....
Real big thanks to all who organised and those who attended, bloody great weekend..
Also thumbs up.. ..to the venue, real good and staff etc absolutely brilliant...as the General has said.
Great to put some faces to the names...
May I also say I was really impressed, and others will no doubt agree, with the condition and presentation of all bikes that attended...... ...they are a great bike..
Cheers all...looking forward to the next one..
Timbo...

[Bozo]

We're still on the way to Adelaide. I'm certain the trophy given to us is lined with lead as the bike feels heavier. We hit our first heavy rain in Ballarat today.
We (the better half + me) would like to thank you all for a terrific time, it was great to also meet Randy and Chandra (sorry if mis-spelt), I hope you are both enjoying the special event the Aussies put on for you in Cairns- cyclones.
Doug and Dena you are a National treasure, thank you. Pete held a great run.  Although I suspect the prize draws were rigged as the winners came from what looked like two tables.

[Harvy]

Greame, Mr Bean and myself are in Mudgee tonight.
We left Jindabyne Sunday morning and headed down in to Victoria, with the intention of riding the length of the Murray river...... but......it was F^$%ing hot and boring, so when we got to Echuca the plan was changed.
We stayed in Echuca Sunday night, then headed north east to get back into some more interesting and high altitudes to get out of the heat.
Rode through Jerildery, Deniliquin, and ended up in Cowra for the night last night.
This morning we headed for Bathurst, did a lap of Mt Panorama, then headed north thru Sofala, Kandos, Rhylstone and rode the Bylong Valley. At Bylong we decided it was so good we had better ride it again, so we turneed around and rode it in the other direction just for the fun of it. Then we headed across to Mudgee.
Tomorrow we have no idea where we will head to....just going to take a look at the map tonight and play it by ear.

Had a great time at Jindabyne and looking forward to next year. Thanks to everyone.

Cheers
Harvy

[Johno]

Hi All
Enjoyed my first FJ1200 Rally, look forward to many many more.
I had only a few hours home wished it was a little more
As a newbie must admit didn't know what to expect
Have allways liked to tinker with my bikes, without the
forum and many hours work my FJ wouldn't have been
the sweet thing it was on the weekend .
(be it a restricted Japanese imported one that will change soon)
Regards and thanks to all involved in the weekend and a special thanks
to all for posting so much information to keep these great machines running
Johno

[stua1959]

What a brilliant few days. Thanks Doug, Baldy and everyone else involved in the organizing. I think I got to chat with everyone there which is unusual for little old shy me.
Here is a link to some pics cause I am too lazy to down load them. Photos of Ray and Glen trying to assemble flat pack furniture whilst half cut will go to the highest bidder

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1110012757&sk=photos&collection_token=1110012757%3A2305272732%3A69&set=a.10202927790331655.1073741832.1110012757&type=3

[Chucky]

Hi All,
Kirstin and I were home by 5:00 on Sunday.  Stuffed up my fuel stops so ended up on Hume for 40km too long.  Sadly missed the Whitfield-Mansfield road.  The road on the other side of Thredbo was suffering a bit from the storms the night before and we saw a few wallaby and a Kangaroo.  Nothing too frightening though.  
Sorry to here the Candy-man came to grief.
Thanks everyone for a great weekend.  Kirstin was delighted to have female company.  Our normal club the wives don't come anymore

Charlie

[pevers]

Greetings!

Many thanks to everyone who made Caroline and I very welcome at the weekend. We had a great time (understatement!). A massive thank you to Doug for organising such a fantastic event.

We took two easy days to get back to Melbourne, stopping over in Albury for sunday night. We took the Saturday rideout route round Tooma and then the Murray River Road to Albury. On Monday we went through Beechworth, Whitfield, Mansfield etc back to Melbourne.

The pics from the weekend are in a photobucket album here:http://s906.photobucket.com/user/pevers_photo/library/Australia%202014/FJ%2030th%20anniversary%20rally
You can download any copies you may like from there.

On the way to the rally we went to the top of Mount Buffalo - this is my favourite pic of the FJ of the trip so far:


Doug mentioned our video from our motorbiking in Mexico last year in his speech. For those who are interested it's on Youtube at:
Bike Mexico
Change the settings to HD for the best pic.

Ride safe and far
David and Caroline

[The General]

  Sensational pics David. I agree the Mt Buffalo shot is a real winner. Looking forward to catching you In Brissie first week after Easter.

[Chromaxe]

Hi all. Back in Melbourne today after staying the extra day at Jindabyne. After riding on Sunday I put the bike on the opposite side of the garage to The Generals outfit. Just in case Doug ended up with a another FJ, should the recovery crew turn up out of the blue...

Seriously, thanks for another great event. Doug especially, but Pete (The Ridemaster) and Baldy too.... Enjoyed seeing the now "familiar" faces and enjoyed every minute. The quality of the roads sure got worse once back over my side of the border...

A few more photos here: https://www.facebook.com/glen.morgan.37/media_set?set=a.4114177829128.1073741827.1723675193&type=3 - You've set a precedent Stu.

(p.s. I'm still trying to push the memories of the Friday night assault on the Alpine Way to some dark recess in my mind....I'm sure the nightmares will stop eventually...)

[rlucas]

Massive, massive congratulations on what appears to have been an outstanding Rally/Rallye/Debauch. Charlie fookin' Boorman at an FJ Rally/Rallye, what? How cool is that?

One question: How in the livin' hell do you Ozzies settle on placenames? Jindabyne? Canberra? Kookaburra? Billabongaburgalongadong? Do you just make'em up, or do you get a double-handful of Boggle cubes, shake 'em out on a table, and shuffle 'em around until something that's almost pronounceable appears?

Thank Jah you're not all Welsh.

Here in America, Home of the Free and where God lives, we name things sensibly. Like "Poughkeepsie", or "Waxahatchee"; and we pronounce it as it's effin' spelled, dammit.  Marseilles is "mar-SAYLZ", not "mar-SAY". Get with the program.

Fargin' furriners.


rossi

[CanDman]

Feeling pretty good I do....thx for all the well wishes......still here for another 2 weeks .....PM me if you have the time and fortitude for some more adventure.....


and let me know if you.......Feel like I do !!!!     


Peter Frampton Do You Feel Like We Do Midnight Special 1975 FULL



Kev



 

[The General]

Massive, massive congratulations on what appears to have been an outstanding Rally/Rallye/Debauch. Charlie fookin' Boorman at an FJ Rally/Rallye, what? How cool is that?

One question: How in the livin' hell do you Ozzies settle on placenames? Jindabyne? Canberra? Kookaburra? Billabongaburgalongadong? Do you just make'em up, or do you get a double-handful of Boggle cubes, shake 'em out on a table, and shuffle 'em around until something that's almost pronounceable appears?

Thank Jah you're not all Welsh.

Here in America, Home of the Free and where God lives, we name things sensibly. Like "Poughkeepsie", or "Waxahatchee"; and we pronounce it as it's effin' spelled, dammit.  Marseilles is "mar-SAYLZ", not "mar-SAY". Get with the program.

Fargin' furriners.

rossi

Yeah, it really was cool. He was in the Snowy`s with `Compass tours` who were very cooperative and changed their itinerary for us. They also provided medical staff to advise Tony on his fractured leg.....Tony then got on his bike and rode it back to the secured undercover parking - along with another 460klms home the next day! (ummmm...don`t think that was their advice!).

Charlie is truly a gentleman, spent some time with Dena and was demonstrably concerned for Tony. He was blown away by the history of FJ`s before his eyes along with all our crew.

Mate, funny you should mention weird Town names, cause we discussed that same subject on our return Journey from Jindabyne. (We were lucky to hitch a ride with Noel & Audrey all the way to their place in Sydney - they then drove another 100klms out of their way to drop us off at my brother`s house in Gosford - where the six of us enjoyed a raucous dinner.... then Audrey was off to work with only about 4 hours sleep I estimated....sorry, I digress again!).

Like your "Poughkeepsie" (Safe harbour or home), weird names are mainly derived from the Indigenous local community, as ya probly know.. Jindabyne (Valley). Our Towns ending in bah (Unlike New Zealand) indicate a river of water is present. (Mooloolaba, Murwillumbah etc). However the influence of British settlement and our escapee nature can be seen in later text, which is why Ozzies tend ta call a spade a shovel, while tha "Seppos" are a little more refined so ta speak. For example, you blokes now call a toilet a "John". Many would be confused as ta how you can morph a French word meaning "barbershop towel" into "John", but it`s all a matter of logic and History....Ya see, where God lives, tha Biblical meaning of John is "Mercy of the Lord" so I can see that as you developed the takeaway food industry, such a name morphed into being logical....(also, I can tell ya I`m not getting a haircut when I visit!). Now we Ozzies call it a "Shithouse" which is actually derived from our seafaring heritage (Cause we got a big Island) which came from "shit" ("Store high in transit") cause we use ta cop it all the way over here, from the pommies .....and gravity comes in handy. So ya can see tha sensible Ozzie logic of the name for where such a substance is "dumped" and why your term "under Engineered" we call "In the Shit!"

....jeeze it`s a long drive from Jindy ta Sydney in a car!.....Dena never noticed that in the sidecar!  (Nice of mates ta drop me off a long way from their home ay.  ) 

[roverfj1200]

Pix of getting to and of the Rally

http://s576.photobucket.com/user/roverfj1200/library/Jindabyne?sort=3&page=1

[ken65]

thanks for sharing the photo's everybody, some great shots