VJMC Rally
In mid-May, the annual Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club Rally returned to Queensland for the first time sinåce 2008, with the date shifted later into the year to take advantage of the milder northern weather. That almost came undone after rain fell on Friday afternoon and overnight, but Saturday stayed mercifully dry for those amongst the 175 entrants who took in the morning ride. This left the base at the Australian Outback Spectacular at Oxenford on the Gold Coast at 9am for a 105 km ride up into the hills via Advancetown, Beechmont and Canungra before returning to the AOS car park for judging. The morning tea stop was at Beechmont School, where members of the P&C put on a sumptuous repast. From midday, the car park at AOS filled with display bikes and merchandise stands, with a steady stream of visitors checking out the machinery while the judges carried out their duties. Entries came from far and wide, but none quite like the contingent of George Cole and his son Tony (the latter sporting a painful broken rib sustained while loading the bikes) who drove from Dubbo with eight bikes crammed into their ute and on the trailer.
The highlight of the social side of the weekend was the Awards Dinner which was staged inside Warner Bros Movie World, a truly stunning setting where an excellent meal was served. Some of the standout awards included the Spirit of the Club, which went to Tony Hepburn who was originally from Broken Hill, from where he rode his 1972 Honda CB750 to and from the rally on many occasions. Now resident at Avoca in Victoria, Tony and his partner again rode two-up to Queensland on their faithful CB750. The President’s Selection went to Peter Douglas for the 350cc Yamaha YR1 that he bought new in 1967. While working in Charters Towers, Peter used to ride the YR1 home to Mackay (a distance of 465km) almost every weekend, and for their honeymoon, Peter and his new wife rode the Yamaha from Mackay to Melbourne – a 4,700k round trip. Sunday was another bright and clear day, and a second ride took in the annual Ray Owen Classic Bike Show and Swap Meet which was being held at Canungra Showgrounds. The organising committee are to be congratulated for their months of hard work in organising the rally in all its aspects, with Round two already mapped out for 2020 before the VJMC moves south for two years in Victoria.