Branch AGM Issue

Ulysses Club Inc Northern Gateway Branch

April 2016

Northern Gateway Branch Does it again with two great acts and some great Grand Parade characters at the Launceston AGM

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Meetings are held at the

Edinburgh Castle Hotel, Gympie Road, Kedron 7:30pm on the first Tuesday of each Month

Reasonably priced meals are available before the meeting

NOMINATED COMMITTEE POSITIONS President: Secretary: Louise Rose John Moorcroft Mobile 0488432049 Phone 0478813668 lulurose53@hotmail.com ngusecretary@hotmail.com

Treasurer: Vice President: Robert Hendriks (Blip) Paul Medbury Mobile 0417647576 Mobile 0487995666 bobhendriks@optusnet.com.au barefootskier@y7mail.com

Web Editor: Social Coordinator: Mark Barnes Carol Jeffrey Mobile 0413691683 Mobile 0412260083 markbarnes6@gmail.com steelbutterfly1962@gmail.com

Ride coordinator: Regalia: Position Vacant Alan Smith Mobile 0412161319 ajgsmith1@bigpond.com

Newsletter Editor: Welfare Officer: Rob Watson (Eighty Six) Lyn Grayden Mobile 0400112012 Mobile 0420323615 eightysix86@hotmail.com lgrayden@balsol.net

Gateway Gossip is the monthly newsletter of the Ulysses Club Inc Northern Gateway Branch. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Committee. All contributions from members are welcome. All articles for the newsletter are to be sent to the Editor, arriving at least one week prior to the Social meeting night.

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President’s message – April 2016 President’s Message April 2016

Farewell ….adieu…. We had a great trip to Tassie but have come back to earth with a thud – work is full on and ongoing open houses for our house sale. No rest for the wicked!! It is definitely time for me to step aside with changes ahead for us. I would like to sincerely thank the committee for all their work and commitment in

running the branch over the last 12 months. We have worked well as a team and I appreciate everyone’s cheerful and flexible approach to getting things done. It is great to see there are some new faces coming onto the committee. The branch will be in good hands for the future. I will still be around in an ex-officio role as the organiser of the Halloween Trivia night planned for Saturday 29 October. This will be a fund raiser event and will hopefully become Northern Gateway’s iconic event. I will be looking for some helpers along the way and on the night – more information in the coming months as plans develop. All the best to the new committee for the coming year. Thank you everyone for your support. Stay safe and keep smiling. Ros

Treasurer’s Report - April 2016 Blip reported the financial state of the Branch as at 29 February, 2016 Balance B/F $1,401.84

Income Raffles $125.00 Regalia Sales $ 15.00 Newsletter Sales $ 47.00 Total Income $187.00 Expenses Newsletters $130.00 Admin (GST Payment) $ 0.63 Raffle Prizes $149.15 Total Expenses $279.78 Bank Balance $1,309.06 Cash on Hand Petty Cash $50.00 Regalia Float $50.00 Total Cash On Hand $100.00

Blip

April Birthdays Helen Lindorf 2 nd Col Lindorf 4 th John Branch 13th Bob Hendriks "Blip" 14th Arthur Smith 19th Phil Trim 20th

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It wasn’t raining! Keith had trouble finding a club in ‘Coffee Club’ (no nulla nulla!)These are Keith’s ideas – he always has good ones (ideas, that is).First here as usual! Drove – as usual!! Only one wearing club shirt Total of 9 while the other are making their way to the AGM. Small and nice group.The rain stayed away (not that it mattered since there was a perfectly good roof over our heads). I came, I saw, I ordered the cheapest meal possible.Auup. Her all, See all, Say nowt.Enjoyed my usual omelette. Coffee Clubs are the best lots of fun and laughter on a sunny hot Saturday morning. Green tea with Jasmin what! The iPhone camera made an appearance once or twice. One comment . . . . . . . . . Not again As long as she doesn’t take photos in the bedroom….. was another. She’d need a zoom lens. Answer . . . . no – a wide angle!. . . . . . . . . .Laughter all round . . . . . . . Late arrivals – Rosi and Steve. Snake stories abound.Then straight off the plane from India Darlene. Na master. Oh shit, we’re home from India. Good day team. All the important people are here.What she said! By Whoever was at breakfast

.............................................................................................................................BREKKIE AT CC, NUNDAH

Saturday 26 February

It wasn’t raining! Keith had trouble finding a club in ‘Coffee Club’ (no nulla nulla!)

he always has good ones (ideas, that is). as usual!! Only one wearing club shirt –

the other are making their way to the AGM. Small and nice group.The rain stayed away (not that it mattered since there was a perfectly good roof over our

I came, I saw, I ordered the cheapest meal possible. Auup. Her all, See all, Say nowt.

d my usual omelette. Coffee Clubs are the best lots of fun and laughter on a sunny

The iPhone camera made an appearance once or twice. One comment . . . . . . . . . Not again – just can’t stop her.

long as she doesn’t take photos in the bedroom….. was another. She’d need a zoom

a wide angle! . . . . . . . . . .Laughter all round . . . . . . .

Rosi and Steve. Snake stories abound. e plane from India – Bill and

Na master. Oh shit, we’re home from India. Good

All the important people are here.

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.............................................................................................................................

It wasn’t raining! Keith had trouble finding a club in ‘Coffee Club’ (no nulla nulla!)

as usual!!! the other are making their way to the AGM. Small and nice group.

The rain stayed away (not that it mattered since there was a perfectly good roof over our

d my usual omelette. Coffee Clubs are the best lots of fun and laughter on a sunny

long as she doesn’t take photos in the bedroom….. was another. She’d need a zoom

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Ride Along with the Sheriff We all shudder when we see the Sheriff coming but the rules of engagement seem to be a bit unclear for many of you. So in an attempt to put things into perspective and in a manner we can all understand. I have put together this small article that will explain the Sheriffs Powers as she sees them. Those powers are simply these:-

Rule One: The Sheriff is exempt from all fines. (Until there is a revolt) Rule Two: If you are singled out, you are pay up. Rule Three: You have no right of appeal. Rule Four: Complain and your fine will increase. Rule Five: If the Sheriff does not turn up, you're off the hook. Rule Six: All offences are recorded as one fine. In conclusion, your fines go into the UCARF tin and one day you will no doubt benefit from your own indiscretions through UCARF. The Sheriff's Known Hit List For Tonight: Name: Offence: Fine: Ros Rees Multiple Felix Multiple Barry Crank Multiple Eighty Six Multiple Lyn Watson Multiple Deb & Eric Madgeric Multiple Gail Jones Multiple Blip and Di Hendricks Multiple

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Chief, lower the Cone of Silence!

The Eighty Six Reports

Lyn and I are back from the AGM in Launceston and found the first item on offer was the Breakfast Coffee and Chat at The Coffee Club in Redcliffe. It's a really pretty background for a breakfast situated right next to the water. With plenty of people still on the way back from the AGM we only had a small group of eight people come along. There was talk of many things and plenty about the AGM experience we had in Launceston.

The food was really great and the company was excellent. It's a pity more were not there to join us but that's the way things happen sometimes. The next one should be much larger I think.

Raise The Cone Of Silence Eighty Six, I Didn’t Hear A Word Of That!

Ride Safe, Stay Upright Eighty Six Northern Gateway Branch

Ever thought about having a spare in case of a flat?

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Conondale “Z”-Owners’ Rally 11-13 March, 2016.

Being the rally junkie that I am and that there was a rally on at the weekend, I went to it. It is an annual event for Kawasaki Z owners (mainly Z-900 and Z-1000 models, as the club logo documented, but I would guess it included Z-1 models, the most famous of all Kwakka “zeds”). Since any bike was welcome, I took the T140 – I’m never too proud to turn up to a Kawasaki (or Honda, or Norton or anything) rally on the Triumph. I loaded the bike on Friday morning, had lunch and set off at 2pm via Samford, Dayboro, Mount Mee, Woodford and Maleny and then the final 19 km to Conondale. The rally was held next to the motocross track on the north side of the Kenilworth-Maleny Road. It took two hours - with one stop to put on wet weather gear as various rain fall events hit me (interspersed with dry road surface and sunshine – the weather was to follow that pattern all weekend). I paid my entry fee and found a campsite. I was most impressed by the numbers of bikes (and people) already there – there must have been 100. The other impressive feature was that they enforced a “no-cars” rule. All such vehicles were parked outside the compound. As is usual with rallies, I find a rally buddy and we stick together, except this time there were three buddies, all previously acquainted, who camped beside me, all about my age and all had arrived on their bikes (one was a 1972 Z-1) with luggage strapped to the carriers. These guys were serial Conondale Rally attendees and reckoned that the numbers were down this year (due to the weather). I put the question; do we as 60-year-olds still happily ride in the rain? The answer was a resounding “yes we do”, as if we would stop doing stuff like that just because of age. Sorry I asked. Anyway we had a few ales and listened to the computer-displayed music (with video footage) and hit sack at midnight. A bit of a dampener was that there was no water for showers (apparently the tank had run dry and no-one knew how to start the pump to fill it). Next morning the crows and kookaburras woke us early enough. After breakfast we were invited to parade our bikes in a show and shine, and since there was a “Best British“ section, I entered the T-140 (alongside a Triumph Americas, with some nice paintwork on its side panels). When the judging was over, I went off to attend the Maleny Swap meet in order to enquire about parts for my Honda XL 500 (that has done some damage to the idler gears and oil pump). All day it rained and stopped, rained and stopped. I bought some groceries in Maleny and headed back to Conondale. I got there just in time for the prize winning ceremony and you’ll never guess it but I won “Best British”. Quite chuffed I was (and a bit of a hero amongst my three rally buddies). The night’s activities were similar to the previous one. My mates reckoned that it wasn’t as good since there was no live music (as there have been in previous rallies), but I thought the music selection and sound quality good enough. This time bedtime was preceded by a warm shower. It rained on and off all night and into the morning as we packed up our wet gear and headed off. I wore wet weather clothes for the ride home and needed/didn’t need it as the

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rain came and went. The ridge between Maleny and Woodford was a pea-souper fog, down to 100m visibility (but with cars driving in it without headlights!) I got home not very wet and felt good about a great weekend. Thanks go to the Z-Owners’ Club for organising it (and awarding me the prize).

Ken Robilliard

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Chief, lower the Cone of Silence!

The Eighty Six Reports

Got a call from Paul regarding his ride to Mulgowie Pub for the Sunday ride on the 13th March as Kel was not well and he couldn't lead the ride. Not a

problem, I offered to take it. Sunday came around and the forecast was for an 80% chance of rain. Didn't sound too good but I turned up at the start location and we had six riders in total turn up with the clouds building up. A few of the riders advised that they could only go as far as the smoko stop so it was looking very thin for the full destination.

We headed off and it wasn't long before the drizzle started and the thick black cloud that we were heading into dampened the outlook for the day. Lyn had stopped beside me and stated that her bike was beginning to splutter, she was heading home. I pulled up just down the road and did a quick poll from the riders and all expressed a desire to call it quits. So the decision was made to cancel the ride and we all headed off for home. I contacted the Mulgowie Hotel to advise them that our ride had been cancelled. Not to worry though, there was an open spot in the ride calendar for the 22nd of May and I contacted Paul to see if he could do the ride on that day. Paul has advised that he can so the ride will be visited again on the 22nd of May. With any luck we won't have any further interruptions to Paul's ride. Raise The Cone Of Silence Eighty Six, I Didn’t Hear A Word Of That! Ride Safe, Stay Upright Eighty Six Northern Gateway Branch

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Ride and Events Calender for April, 2016 RIDE NOTES:

Sunday Rides - leave from the Woolworth's car park – Cnr Beams Rd and Gympie Rd, Carseldine. (Beams Rd Entrance) Assembly time is 8:00am for an 8:30am departure. Please arrive with a full tank of fuel. Unless the Ride Calendar says otherwise, refreshments can be bought at the smoko and lunch stops. Wednesday Rides – meet at Woolworth's car park. Cnr Old Northern Rd and Albany Forest Dv at Albany Creek 8:00am for 8:30am departure, destination decided by those there. ‘Breakfast in the Park’ – gather at the venue (see calendar below) from 8:00am. BYO everything.

‘Breakfast, Coffee & Chat’ – gather at the listed venue from around 8:00am but later if you want.

‘Off Week Rides’ - 2 scenarios – (1) If there is nothing listed for Sundays below, meet at the Carseldine site mentioned above for a departure at 8.30am (generally a small number – always wise to ask around as to who may be turning up. Organise with others as to destination.

(2) This is for those who turn up at a designated brekky in the park/cafe listed below. After brekky organise with others as to a ride – destination sorted out on the day.

Date/Time Event Type Destination/Event Contact

Sunday 3rd April, 2016

Breakfast in the Park

Crockatt Park opposite roundabout at Lilla St & Oxley Ave, Woody Point. "Oh No, a Roundabout"!

Louise Rose 0488432049

Tuesday 5th April, 2016

Branch - Social Meeting Branch AGM

Edinburgh Castle Hotel 421 Gympie Rd, Kedron QLD 4031. Meet from 6pm for a meal. Support the Hotel that supports us. Meeting starts at 7.30pm.

Ros Rees 0432 900 917

Saturday 9th April, 2016

Breakfast Coffee and Chat

The Crepe Cafè, 815 Zillmere Road, (Homemaker Centre) Aspley

Louise Rose 0488432049

Sunday 10th April, 2016

Sunday Ride A special ride down to the Gold Coast for a visit to a cemetery along with other strange and wonderful locations.

Twiggy 0412368481

Saturday 23rd to Monday 25th April, 2016

ANZAC Weekend Away 7AM for 7.30AM Departure

Long Weekend Ride to Moree in NSW. Make your own Reservation at The Baths Motel 02-67525155 or Maria Motel 02-67521427 See information on page 16 & 22 of this Magazine

Louise Rose 0488432049

Saturday 23rd April, 2016

Breakfast Coffee and Chat

Coffee Club, Shop 4, 137 Racecourse Road, Ascot.

Louise Rose 0488432049

Sunday 24th April, 2016

Sunday Ride Decide on Day Ride due to the ANZAC Weekend Away.

Twiggy 0412368481

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Ride and Events Calender for May, 2016 Date/Time Event Type Destination/Event Contact

Sunday 1st May, 2016

Breakfast in the Park

Teralba Park, 120 Pullen Road, Everton Park. Electric BBQ's, Lots of shade, several shelters with tables, off street parking

Louise 0488432049

Tuesday 3rd May, 2016

Branch Social Meeting

Edinburgh Castle Hotel 421 Gympie Rd, Kedron QLD 4031. Meet from 6pm for a meal. Support the Hotel that supports us. Meeting starts at 7.30pm.

Ros Rees 0432 900 917

Saturday 7th May, 2016

Breakfast, Coffee and Chat

Pochamocha Cafe, McGinn Road, Ferny Grove. Louise 0488432049

Sunday 8th May, 2016

Sunday Ride Mothers Day Ride with smoko at Beaudesert and lunch stop at Urbanville Hotel. BYO or purchase at both destinations

Louise 0488432049

Saturday 21st May, 2016

Breakfast, Coffee and Chat

Cloffee Club, Shop 30, 1000 Waterworks Road, The Gap.

Louise 0488432049

Sunday 22nd May, 2016

Sunday Ride Sunday Ride stopping at Fernvale for smoko and Mulgowie Pub for Lunch. The last run was washed out by rain so here we go again.

Paul Medbury 0487995666

Sunday 29th May, 2016

5th Sunday Ride Off Week Ride. Decide on day for a ride leader and a destination with those present.

Jack Smith 0412161319

Upcoming Events to Keep an eye on.

16 April: Redcliffe 15 yrs celebration – $25 / hd – black and white theme 14 May: Lockyer Valley 20 years 15 May: Ipswich, Domestic Violence ride, Sunshine Coast to Ipswich May: Glasshouse – Valley Ralley 20-21 May: Coffs Capers 19 June: Cartwheel Ride June: Gold Coast event – TBA 10 July: Memorial Gardens – opening of new plaque board August: Memorial Gardens working bee 21 August: Mt Lindsay charity run 11 Sept: Memorial Day at Memorial Gardens 24/25 Sept: Redcliffe Odyssey 7/8/9 Oct: Warwick – Back to Basics 29 October: Northern Gateway Halloween Trivia 13 November: Warwick Endeavour Day 11-15 Nov: Glen Innes (Beardies) 3 Dec: Mt Lindsay Angel Flight Ride 4 Dec: Sunshine Coast Toy Run 11 Dec: Lockyer Valley Toy Run

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Chief, lower the Cone of Silence! The Eighty Six Reports

Where did the year go? Seems only yesterday we packed up the site at Wodonga and looked forward to Launceston. Well the Ulysses Club Annual General Meeting at Launceston has now come and gone. So I find myself looking forward to next year's AGM at Port McQuarie. Lyn and I had a fairly straight forward ride to the AGM. First day we met up with Twiggy, Dale, Ros, Felix and Jon at Yatala. We all rode together until we reached Kempsey where Lyn and I pulled off for our first stop while the others continued on to Tea Gardens. Our second day out was a run down to Tahmoor going through Sydney for an overnight stay at my sisters place. Wow, you could have fried eggs on the roads through Sydney with a 40 degree day blistering us as we rode, it was great to finally get off the bike and cool off. The third days ride was to Albury for another overnight stay. A few drinks and a meal at the local Hotel went down well. We had a group of young fellows staying a few rooms away who said we should tell them to be quiet if they got out of hand. They only went off around midnight for a short while but settled down quickly. No problem there. The forth days ride took us to Melbourne where we got a fairly cheap room in Footscray. We found out why it was cheap. Looked like the third best Marigold Hotel run by the same fellow. Only one towel supplied for the two of us, we fixed that up pretty quickly. Then went to turn on the tele to find there was no remote. Went down to get one and was given one that was for a different tele. Got that fixed as well. Walking around the local shops was very colourful indeed. Eyes peering through Berkas absolutely everywhere. It's actually rather spooky when confronted with a virtual army of unidentifiable people. The next morning it was up early to head over to the Port of Melbourne for the boarding of the Spirit of Tasmania. We drove into the street where several had already parked up and started to look for parking to wait for boarding. However they opened the gates pretty much as we

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got there and managed to ride in just about in poll position. Lady luck smiles on you sometimes. You have to hand it to the people that load the vehicles onto the Spirit of Tasmania. They are well practiced and loaded the bikes with speed. Everything tied down and we headed up a few levels to meet up with everyone else sailing on this trip over. Ros, Felix, Twiggy, Dale, Barry and Jon were sailing over with us. I booked a cabin so Lyn could have a nap if she needed it and later Barry talked to me a little concerned that he has a 100km ride once he disembarked in Devonport. He was worried about being sleepy so I offered one of the bunks to which he

took up the offer. Apparently his 100km ride went without a hitch and he was very refreshed while riding. An overnight stay with family got us to Monday morning of the AGM. Lyn and I rode into Launceston and found the check in point then headed over to the camp site to set up our camp for the week. We also set up a tent that we transported for Gail who was arriving by plane later in the day. Always up for a laugh, I left a bill for transport costs on Gail's pillow. I think she enjoyed the gag, she still has the bill and showed it to Richard and Lyn since getting back to Brisbane. A week before the AGM Ros contacted me saying that Rita was worried as there was only one Red Faces Act booked in and they might have to cancel Red Faces. So I said we have to do one and I quickly put together a skit with the appropriate music. I sent out the emails, invited people to be in it and got the props & costumes organised. We had no rehearsal prior to getting to Launceston so I had to gather the gang around on the Tuesday afternoon for a quick run through. What a disaster that turned out to be. We had a dog that was staying two tents over who came over to us and barked it's head off at us while we tried to practice. One of us got falling down drunk, (one for the Sheriff) while one onlooker came over and said to stop

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practicing as it looked hilarious already. Darn critics are everywhere but you get that. So Wednesday came, the big day, virtually no practice and the Red Faces only hours away. We tried another practice run and this time everyone was clear headed enough to concentrate of the task at hand. All appeared to be ready for the big performance. It wasn't really but we all just went on dumb Ulyssian Luck and hoped for the best. We jumped on one of the buses run with the help of the Volunteers. Turned out the drivers shift was over but he took us anyway. It turned out there were no more buses running for the night so people stayed away in droves because of the distance involved in getting from the camp ground to the AGM site. Nobody wanted to find their way back in the dark, couldn't blame them really. Five acts ended up being resistered with one more coming up from the floor for a total of six acts for Red Faces. The Northern Gateway Branch was called up first. So away we went with our version of Star Trekin. There we were, Deb with a condom on her head dressed up to be a Klingon, Eric with big Spok ears and a tricorder, Phil with a medical tricorder, me with a phaser and all dressed in our finest Starfleet Uniforms. You can see our performance on You Tube. Type in

Launceston AGM Red Faces 2nd Place to find our performance. Thursday was already upon us so Lyn and I headed off for a day trip of our own out to Mole Creek to see one of the caves. It is around 60km west of Launceston and about an hour's ride to get there. This is a stunningly beautiful place to visit. The caves are large and are concrete paved with hand rails. If you are ever down there, you definitely have to visit the Mole Creek Caves.

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Friday we all decided it was worth a visit to the Cataract Gorge in Launceston and we jumped on the bikes and headed up there. You can choose to walk around the area using the bridge and the causeway or you can use the chair lift like some of us did. You can choose to do

both as well if you like but there are plenty of photo opportunities as you walk around this beautiful place. You do have to be careful of the wildlife at the cafeteria. These cheeky birds there will steal the food off your plate if you are not careful.

Deb and Eric in the chair lift. Next thing we knew it was Saturday morning and the Grand Parade was all anybody could think of.

Deb and Gail were dressed up as Minions riding Deb's Silver Minion while Lyn and I put on Muppet like covers for our helmets. It was a relatively short Grand Parade but a very well run one. I had

trouble getting the Grand Parade on You Tube because their software was picking up the bikes music that was playing. I had to overlay a guitar music soundtrack to

get it onto You Tube. You can find it on You Tube by typing in 2016 Ulysses Club Launceston Grand Parade. That pretty much just left the Saturday Night Devil Themed Meal for the last event for this years AGM. I got together as many as I could find and did the old Group Photo thing. Just about everyone ended up with Tasmanian Devil ears on. They were on sale all week raising money to help save the Tasmanian Devils.

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That was pretty much the week in a nutshell for Lyn and I. Before we packed up Sunday Morning we managed to get Gail motivated to go "SEE THE MONKEYS" in the park. Gail was not disappointed, she absolutely loved them even though it was early and they had not warmed up enough to start playing games. The baby ones were playful though and very entertaining. Definitely go see the Monkeys if you manage to get down to Launceston. They are in City Park on Tamar Street, Launceston. Absolutely free and very entertaining. Lyn and I packed up our camp, showered and headed out to Lyn's Brother's house for the night before riding over to Devonport and a trip back across the big wet to the mainland. There was a wonderful message for all us Ulyssians leaving the campground and we stopped for a photo with the message on the way out. We boarded the Spirit of Tasmania on the Monday night with so many bikes that there ended up more bikes than cars boarding that night. The ride home was fairly straight forward and we ended up at home around 1pm on the Thursday. A fantastic adventure to the Apple Isle with good friends and great memories. Raise The Cone Of Silence Eighty Six, I Didn’t Hear A Word Of That!

Ride Safe, Stay Upright Eighty Six Northern Gateway Branch

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2016 AGM Event Prize winners The following prizes were awarded at the 2016 AGM Event in Launceston: Best Sports Bike Maryanne Hart from Tasmania Best Touring Bike Eric Madjeric from Qld Best Trike/Side Car Outfit Deb Madjeric from Qld Best Cruiser Paul Gooch from NSW Best Naked Bike Chris Glover from WA Oldest rider Ivan Collins Longest distance by motorcycle Dave Woodyard from Kununurra, WA Longest Distance Rider (Up to 250cc) Stan Berry from Dubbo, NSW Longest distance pillion Beve Thorp from Geraldton, WA Oldest rider and motorcycle combined Graham Felton 2nd Place Red Faces Northern Gateway Branch

So you thought Facebook was a recent invention?

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THE SOCIAL COORDINATOR

Socializing is the essence of being a Ulyssian and, depending on how well the social events are supported, is an indication of the success of both the venue and type of event – be it Breakfast Coffee & Chat, pot luck dinners, restaurant/pub dinners, weekends away or Christmas parties. I have been the Social Coordinator before but this past year has been the most enjoyable. The role is an easy one – but does require planning, especially in remembering to make reservations at the venues, plus a bit of organization and a touch of imagination. Buying the raffle prizes has been the most fun – I love spending money . . . . especially when it’s not mine! Members have been wonderful in offering to host the pot luck dinners and opening their homes to sometimes as many as 26 of us. There is always in incredible amount and variety of delicious food, including desserts. I believe that the success of all the social events is dictated by all the members – so thank you for making this one of the most successful years we have had! Louise

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Regalia 2015 -2016 Well so what do I say about the regalia position, its fun, it’s frustrating, it’s a position that not many people think about. At some point the majority of northern gateway members will call by and say HI…..have you got this or that?.... can you get it????Or how much is that?.... It’s a real friendly position to have within the committee, actually the whole committee is a friendly group of people who enjoy what they do for the Ulyssians their friends at Northern Gateway. Actually the regalia has had a lot of stock being removed or deleted the past couple of months, so maybe some of the good old stuff like the teddy bear is not available anymore. But as everybody knows Natcom will source new stock, so if you see something you would like included in the branch stock, just let us know and we will see what can be arranged. That’s it for me..hope I’ve been of help this year..and Thank you. Deb Madjeric

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Welfare and Newsletter Editor 2015 - 2016

I started off the year with full intent to leave Ride Coordinator alone with the hope some fresh blood would step up. Sadly it didn't happen but this next year we look forward to Allan "Jack" Smith doing a great job at it. So I stepped into the Welfare Officer role and found out that we are pretty much a fairly healthy lot. A few hospital visits for elective surgery with the get well cards came along. The biggest item was the difficult job of sending off sympathy cards to members for the loss of loved ones. Sort of reminded me of the many times in the Police Force knocking on strangers doors to tell them their close family members, husband or wifes had passed away. That was a very tough job to do. During the year we lost our Newsletter Editor and Twiggy took up the challenge but due to a busy life style he couldn't carry on and I inherited the position. I have put together four previous magazines from November, 2015 with my fifth issue you are now reading from. I have always wondered how the magazine was done and like pretty much all of you sort of feared taking it on due to ignorance. It was a little nerve wracking putting my first one together but found when it was done, it was a really easy task to tackle. My second issue was sort of fun and I found doing the newsletter is a pretty rewarding thing to tackle. I have been getting fantastic feedback for my efforts so I guess everyone likes my efforts so far. Hopefully my Newsletter skills will improve with the coming year as I have already made a few improvements in adding Committee Member Photos so new members can identify their Committee Representatives. I have also started to include member photos with their submitted articles for your 15 minutes of fame. This is not my Newsletter, it is not your Newsletter, what it is, is OUR Newsletter and as such I need your input. Don't be afraid to send in an article, there is no right or wrong way to do it. I recently talked our Trevor Towers into doing some reports and the results are very enjoyable, great work Trevor, keep em coming. Send me your thoughts and suggestions and definitely send me your reports and photos for our Magazine. Rob "86" Watson

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Brekkie at Coffee Club on Easter Saturday Easter Saturday at Coffee Club on Flockton Street - and we still had 15 members turn up! Deb and Wendell brought their little dog in a baby stroller as, due to her recent illness, couldn't be left at home. It was a most enjoyable morning, catching up with everyone's stories from Tassie, family and just general world happenings. A great start to the weekend. Louise

Mid Week Rides Become Seven Years Old Another Branch Milestone is about to hit the Northern Gateway Branch. On the 6th May, 2009 I started off the Mid Week Rides with a small group turning up for the ride. This year's closest date will be Wednesday the 4th May, 2016. The very first Mid Week Ride was to the Silky Oak Tea Gardens at Kia Ora just outside of Gympie and that was the start of something our then President didn't think would last the distance. I guess Geoff didn't know me well enough at that time as I'm not the type of person to go into anything half hearted. So here we are seven years down the track. On the first ride, Blip "Robert Hendriks" was there and he is still there with me today turning up on a regular basis. In the early days it was slow going as very often I would turn up for the ride just to find nobody else was there. I didn't let that deter me and just kept on coming. Slowly I started to build up a small group of regulars and today the rides continue to go on stronger than ever. We have even had a couple of overnighters which is something we will have to do again very soon. Congratulations to the Northern Gateway Branch for continuing to support the rides of this past seven years. Rob "86" Watson

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Advance information for Ride Sunday 10th April The Sunday ride for the 10/4 is going to be a bit different weather permitting. A quick first stop will still be in Brizzy visiting a long dead man who should have been recognised for his efforts in WW1. Somewhat appropriate considering Anzac Day is just around the corner. After that we head off out of town to Lytton where nobody got shot but only because the enemy failed to arrive. Although we would get there before opening time the staff have agreed to give us a guided tour assuming there will be enough people in attendance. Even though it is free they do ask for a donation to assist in maintaining this historical site. To that aim I would ask all of our personnel to donate $2.00 each (more if you wish). I will also be asking the Committee to add a similar amount per person. Whilst there the management have suggested for the bikes to be presented for viewing by tourists who may arrive. For security I will be asking for all bikes to be parked in front of their office. Note: Smoko. Due to the time factors, smoko will also be at this site. It means you will be required to bring your own thermos and sandwich / bikkies / cakes etc. Country Market. After smoko it will be a ride up to the Country Market at Mt Tamborine. This will be a chance for those keen on twisty roads to have a bit of a go. The Country Market may be a chance to stock up on veggies and maybe a chance to buy something that you will never use. You may also wish to get some lunch to either scoff on site or take to Canungra. From there we continue up to Canungra for lunch. Lastly, we go home. Weather. Drizzle, rain and cyclones are all factors that may kill this ride. If any of these occur, a notification will be placed on the NG website if possible or you may contact me on 0412 368 481. If there is a cancellation we may still want to grab a short ride. This would be sorted at our departure point. Twiggy

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An Environmental Mystery The Roads and Maintenance Service clean-up crew in NSW found over 200 dead crows on the M4 near Lidcombe recently. There was concern that they may have died from Avian Flu. A Pathologist examined the remains of all the crows and to everyone's relief, confirmed the problem was NOT Avian Flu. The cause of death appeared to be from vehicular impacts. However, during analysis it was noted that varying colours of paints appeared on the bird's beaks and claws. By analysing these paint residues it was found that 98% of the crows had been killed by impact with motorbikes, while only 2% were killed by cars. The RMS then hired an Ornithological Behaviourist to determine if there was a cause for the disproportionate percentages of motorbike kills versus car kills. The Ornithological Behaviourist quickly concluded that when crows eat road kill, they always have a look-out crow to warn of danger. They discovered that while all the lookout crows could shout "Cah", not a single one could shout "bike"

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A Great President is Moving On We have come to the end of another monthly magazine and sadly we have

come to the end of a truly great President's service to the Ulysses Club, Northern

Gateway Branch.

Ros Rees has been with this Branch since 2006 and during her time with The

Northern Gateway Branch she has held the positions of Secretary, Vice President

and President. Ros spent a total of two and a half years as our President during a

time when we needed a strong President and she certainly did not disappoint.

Ros and Felix will still remain part of The Northern Gateway Branch before

their planned move north later in the year and she will be involved in getting the

next Halloween Event ready for October this Year.

Congratulations on an outstanding job as our President, you leave big shoes

to fill.

Eighty Six