President’s Ramblings – February 2010
It’s hard to
believe that another 12 months has passed; in fact, time in general seems to
fly by!
For example, a
work colleague recently asked if I remembered the hype surrounding the
millennium bug. I did and then he pointed out - THAT WAS 10 YEARS AGO!
Wow, time flies
when you’re having fun and that’s what I enjoy most about our Club, the element
of fun and adventure. Even ten or more years ago I was experiencing the same
riding enjoyment and camaraderie that our club still offers today.
For the “Melbourne
Sportsbike Riders”, the past year has been full
of interesting and enjoyable riding opportunities. Unfortunately, during all
this activity some of our members didn’t remain unscathed, with a few faring
worse than others!
So it’s, “Get
well!”, to Ern Reeders, Paul Southwell and Tony Stegmar, all nursing broken
bones courtesy of bike related crashes. We wish them a full and speedy
recovery.
Our annual Club
camp at Porepunkah was another resounding success
with 42 members and friends attending over the 6 days! Although very popular,
the Club will record a financial loss for this event due to under utilisation of our camp sites!
Traditionally we
have always reserved three sites for exclusive use by Club members and
advertised the fact extensively in our magazine. But some members are still
unaware of this arrangement and book their own site to the detriment of the
Club as our sites must be paid for whether occupied or not!
To reinforce this
arrangement prior to the next camp, in addition to the reminders, we will
include a map of the Mount Buffalo Caravan Park highlighting ‘our’ area to
ensure members know where to camp. As well as the financial benefits we also
have our group camped together.
The caravan park
is also enjoying a resurgence in popularity and
therefore our large contingent does not have the booking flexibility or
bargaining power we once had. Therefore, we must be mindful to abide by ALL the
rules and regulations of the park to maintain our good relationship with the
owner/operators.
Unfortunately,
recent criticism of a few of our group not abiding by the Park’s speed limit or
vacating sites on time has not helped!
Hopefully we will
not have any repeats of these issues or the Club may be forced to abstain from
booking sites in its own name and have members book their own!
The new February
to May itinerary has just been compiled, and as usual, it offers a variety of
exciting rides for members to enjoy. Special thanks to Ben Warden and the rest
of the Committee for their ongoing efforts in organising
this important element of our Club. So with 2010 shaping up to be another great
year of riding, I encourage all members to come out and enjoy our great club.
Ian Payne
MSR President