I was speaking to Ian Handforth about how he rides with both the Touring Club and the Ulysses Club. Given that a fair percentage of our riders qualify for both Clubs (Ulyssses junior member, 40 years old), and that most of us will probably end up riding with the Ulyssses Club at some time or other, this could be a very timely article.
In another way this article reminds us that we know very little about each other other, other than what we hear and see on a Sunday ride. Here is an insight in Ian Handforth and how he got into motorcycling, twice. …Ed.
Hi Ben,
You made the suggestion about giving a talk re the two Clubs, Ulysses and Touring. So I have put pen to paper regarding the Clubs and why I joined each. I will include some past history as well.
The reason I returned to riding after many years off bikes was due to my impending departure from my first wife. One of the guys at work had a second hand 1986 XR600 which I bought from him to test the waters. I used it for commuting to work and trips into the nearby hills on the weekends. I kept the bike for the shortest time, 5 months and 1700 km.
I decided to buy a new bike as a long term project, the next bike being my second ever new bike, an XT600. It turned into a major hassle as it never felt safe at speed, on gravel or in the dirt. (I wished I hadn’t traded in the old XR.)
I saw the next new love of my life at Stafford Yamaha, an XTZ660. After 6,000 km on the XT600, it was traded in on a new XTZ660 which has turned out to be a great bike, and still is, after nearly six years of happy service and 23,000 km.
After remarrying some three and a half years ago, we bought a second hand Diversion to use on MSTCV rides. Back to the beginning.
I started riding again on the XR, then the XT and then the XTZ. At this time I was single, and having lost my riding buddy (we rode TL250s in the bush for many years until he broke his ankle in three places riding his push bike of all things, putting an end to our trips into the bush.) that I looked at joining a club or clubs to get some experience and company on rides.
I contacted various clubs by letter and crossed a few off immediately. The short list ended up being the MRA – but they didn’t offer rides at the time, the Touring Club – sounded interesting, and the Ulysses Club, which at the time, I had mixed feelings about. From memory, the Ulysses Club didn’t provide as much written material (information) as the Touring Club did which I thought said it all regarding the Touring Club activities.
Having taken the plunge I turned up for the Grand Ridge Ride in Gippsland lead by Jack Youdan. This proved to be a very steep learning curve! Thanks to Andi and Tom, I managed to survive the day in one piece after they offered some advice on tyre pressures during the lunch break. The afternoon was more enjoyable, only stuffing up once and going straight on at a left hand corner into a farmer’s driveway, much to the amusement of Mick Barnes who was corner marking. (I had the sun in my eyes, that’s my story.)
Over the next few months I tried to pick the rides that I thought would be interesting and I could handle, staying away from the “May not suit inexperienced riders” type ride, but finding one ride marked “Leisurely” turned out faster than the unmarked ride the previous week. The leader obviously didn’t read the calendar.
I think I was up to my sixth ride before Ben asked me for my joining fee in the main street of Warburton at lunch or morning tea. At that stage I think I had joined the Ulysses Club as well, but had not been on a ride with them.
The first ride with the Ulysses Club was on the 25th of July 1999, to Molesworth, for lunch. I am not sure where the ride started but it was an interesting experience with so many bikes. It was like Bourke Street in peak hour, with just as many hassles. I have seen numerous minor accidents with the Ulysses Club, the most being five on one ride. On that fateful ride, the leader came off going up the hill near Rowsley (Touring Club Hill Climb area), two others followed when they pulled over to help, and another rider came off twice during the same ride.
Most Ulysses Club rides finish at lunchtime and everyone goes their own way afterwards. The skill levels of riders varies dramatically. There are good numbers of male and female riders and pillions. The Ulysses Club tends to be more on the social side of biking rather than the “full-bore” riding of the Touring Club. I have enjoyed riding with both Clubs and both have things to offer. The Touring Club is a faster ride with better organization on rides and the ride goes the whole day. My only suggestion or thing I would prefer in both Clubs would be rides on dirt roads for members who own road/trail type bikes. But then I am biased.
Some past history:
I started riding motorbikes when I was 18 years old. (I had ridden push-bikes from childhood and could not see the sense of pushing when you could have a motor do the work.) My first bike was a second hand Suzy 80cc road bike. My next bike was a Honda Dream, an ex-council bike which started the love affair with Honda bikes. The Dream had about 30,000 miles on the clock when I bought it, and it never missed a beat, with a minimum amount of servicing.
During the Honda Dream reign, I got interested in doing some bush bashing with the my mate, so a second hand Suzy 80cc was purchased from a friend of the family, one Colin Crompton, Neil Crompton’s dad. We had met them through friends from Ballarat we used to ski with at Lake Eppalock, many years back. This bike turned out to be very temperamental and it was traded some years later around 1974, I think, on my first new bike, a Honda XL250. This bike gave many years of service, commuting to work, Sunday rides in the bush around Melbourne, and on holidays at Eppalock. It would barely hold 100 km/h on the open road.
The XL was sold in 1979 after I decided to buy a sailer trailer. So I was bike-less from 1979 until a second hand Honda TL250 trials bike was purchased for bush bashing in the Kinglake area. This bike still resides at home, getting very little use these days, but is still part of the family. When I feel the need, it gets a short burst around the back yard.
I nearly forgot: we had an XR75 for a number of years which both my daughters learnt to ride on. When they had finished with it, it was passed onto my sister for her kids.