The penultimate day, the premiership quarter or the second best day.
Waking in Beechworth to find yet more rain and the Today show and that little bloke Stevie Jacobs, talking about how much more rain we would see was not particularly welcome. What was welcome was knowing that breakfast was to be had at Tom O’Toole’s famous Beechworth Bakery. I had been looking forward to Tom’s Granny Apples all week. That would be after a Steak and Black Pepper Pie. You cannot imagine my disappointment when there were none in cabinet. Settled for the Steak and Black Pepper pie and was not disappointed. And very good latte. We were under strict starters order’s that departure was 8:30 am.
Clearly the starter’s home life (rightfully so) takes precedence over the Male Bag Ride as 19 blokes were held in the blocks until after 9:30 am. Reason… The Beechworth Sweet Co. did not open until then and dare not come home without a stash of freshly made choccy. Mark “Dirty” Harris, Kerry you must be very special. Shauna you have been catered for also. Dare I say that there is no way I could have made this happen…
A committee decision to extend the ride today to take in some additional awesome Country Victorian riding, via Yackandandah and Myrtleford. Great riding. Lunch was at Whitfield at the Mountain View Hotel. After 6 days and some seriously good hospitality and some expanded waistlines, lunch orders were tiny, by comparison if breakfast at the American Hotel was the equivalent of a Grand Final Crowd, then lunch ordered by the Baggers was smaller than a crowd at a GWS Melbourne game at the MCG. A game by the way that could possibly be hosted at Camberwell footy ground where the grandstand holds 80 people are there are more seagulls than patrons.
Next step was to suit up and head over the Tolmie Range on the Whitfield Mansfield Road, which is Motorcyclists country. A great ride and the weather, although threatening and damp early opened into perfect high country weather.
The Targa High Country Rally is in town and we had to compete for attention at the bowser. The sheer weight of numbers and terror invoked by 19 Male Baggers won the day from a 71 XU1 Torana. Fuelled up, photo opportunity and settled into the evening’s accommodation, Baggers are now preparing for their evening celebration and Matt Stubb’s 40th birthday dinner.