Moto Giro Oz
Moto Giro Australia 2017
Brainchild of event organisers Peter Morrow and Trevor Fryer, 2017 saw the ninth running of the Australian Moto Giro. This year saw a new leg of 3 days of return-to-base riding based at Mount Tamborine. This meant new twisty roads and exotic rest points which included parts of northern NSW. The second leg was the old favourite based at the Woodford Pub (aka ‘The Pits). The roads in all directions from Woodford are an absolute joy to ride and a mouth-watering ice cream at Kenilworth has become a mandatory ritual. There were a few new entrants this year and some all the way from WA, SA and NSW. Self funded but under the umbrella of DOCQ, we were encouraged to bring out our Ducatis this year to celebrate the 40th Year of the club. On Saturday afternoon, we lined up 22 Ducatis chronologically from Trevor Fryer’s Cucciolo powered bicycle through to Neill Green’s 1974 250 Scrambler. Eight of the gathering were orange yellow 1973/74 Desmo singles which were also lined up for a photo at the Samford Servo on the Friday.
In a touching gesture, Peter Morrow paid homage to some of the previous Giroists that were no longer with us. Since last year Brett Poole succumbed to illness while Bryan Baker was taken from us after a tragic motorcycle accident. Bryan Baker’s brother Murray came to the Friday ride. He was given Bryan’s Bib number (4) from last year and rode Bryan’s 1974, 450 Desmo as a tribute to a man who we all miss. Another touching moment included beanies. Rockhampton-ite Col Garland has been to many Giros and this year presented each of us with a hand knitted Moto Giro emblazoned beanie. His Mum (Julia) who was travelling around Australia found time to knit one for each of us. They were all a little different and each had a ribbon and numbered card attached with a photo of an historic building or natural feature to denote where she was when the beanie was complete. It was deemed mandatory to wear the beanie for each group photo in appreciation. Saturday night brought an hilarious series of stories from Bob Pashley, John Goddard and Ray Stewart remembering their early days of motorcycle racing. Each entrant was then presented with a certificate and medal. The marshals and recovery team were thanked and presented with a gift. Trophies were also presented for special categories. Apart from Trevor and Peter, thanks must also be extended to Jackie Bell (all things organisational), Ian Murray (who took a week off work to follow us around in his back-up vehicle) and the many marshals who risked life limb and a few demerit points to point us in the right direction. I recommend that anyone who wants to dust off their little old Italian motorcycle join us for the tenth event next year.