I
have a mate, Jamie, who
hates riding in groups. He
enjoys his own company and
is distrustful of other riders’
abilities. Another mate, Havachat,
is the opposite. The only time his
bike sees sunlight is when there’s
a run on. Me? I like it both ways.
Steve Doherty from Orange
Classic & Cafe Racer in NSW’s
central west had invited me to
his club’s inaugural Ride Blue
Li le Day Out, a morning event
celebrating small-capacity
motorcycles and raising money
for the mental health charity
beyondblue. Orange is a li le over
300km from Chateau Seddo, so
not a huge trip, but any excuse
is a good one. I gave the Ducati a
scrub, packed my toothbrush and
we were off!
One of the joys of fl ying solo is
you choose your own fl ight path.
We took off down the Old Pacifi c
Highway then took a long cut via
Berowra Waters Ferry out through
Ca ai and Freemans Reach to
Kurrajong, thereby avoiding
Sydney in its entirety. The traffi c
on Bells Line of Road over the
Blue Mountains was mercifully
light and cops were scarce.
A er all these years, my Ducati
is so familiar it all but rides
itself. I never have to think about
changing gears or braking or
steering — it’s all on auto pilot.
We touched down at Yetholme,
midway between Lithgow and
Bathurst, for fuel. We had 200km
under our belts but it felt like half
that. I could see Jamie’s point.
Without other riders, I set my
own pace, stopped when I wanted
and never looked like having a
moment. It was a wonderfully
relaxing and enjoyable way to
spend an a ernoon.
But life got even be er the next
morning, when some 54 bikes
fronted Cook Park in the centreof Orange for Li le Day Out,
surpassing OCCR’s expectations
and pu ing on a colourful show
for the non-motorcycling town
folk. The crew included a sizeable
posse of sub-125cc tiddlers and
maybe a dozen 250s, with the
balance larger bikes like mine.
The ride took the form of a
“domino run” — like a poker run
but without the bros — with
an impromptu bike show at our
morning tea stop, for which I
was the judge. The mismatch of
bikes and rider experience on
dodgy rural back roads sounded
like Jamie’s worst nightmare but,
apart from one li le two-stroke
nipping up a piston, the ride went
off without a hitch.
“The idea was to get the smaller
bikes out and have a bit of fun,”
Steve says. “Everyone’s got one
in the shed but they rarely get
ridden.” Some of the early step-
throughs were fl at out at 70km/h
but their riders were laughing
out loud and grinning like hippies
when I passed them. It was ahoot on the Duke but I, too, have
a postie in my shed which I never
ride and I’ll be dusting it off next
year for sure.
Steve knows a lot about
spending too much time on your
own and the recuperative value
of camaraderie in numbers. He
has spent much of his adult life
alone in his shed, mostly building
modifi ed Toranas and more
recently custom motorcycles. He
enjoys the solitude and the focus
that comes with it but is the fi rst
to admit it’s not always healthy.
“I started Orange Classic &
Cafe Racer to get people out of
their sheds,” he says, “and to raise
money for men’s health issues like
depression.” He’d got back into
bikes some years earlier through
his son Richard, who kept showing
him photos on social media of
the new generation of custom
motorcycles. “I could do that,”
Steve thought. He put his car
cra ing skills to good use, building
a bunch of custom bikes and
eventually taking out fi rst prize inthe prestigious Deus Ex Machina
Bike Build-Off with a radical
GT250 Suzuki.
Steve got OCCR started
about four years ago and made
it offi cial by incorporating last
year and signing up for the
NSW concessional club-plate
rego scheme. The club has 27
active members, welcomes more,
holds fortnightly rides and
also supports events like the
Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride.
If you live up that way, you can
fi nd them on Facebook.
I dip my lid to guys like Steve
Doherty. You probably know
others like him, running your
local footy or netball club, rural
fi re service or other community
organisation. They do stuff
without any agenda, not for
themselves and certainly not
for money but simply to benefi t
those around them. It’s a quaint,
old-fashioned concept but
Australia would be a poorer place
without them.
The ride home was also beaut,
thanks very much, despite the
rain. Back on my lonesome, it was
just me and my bike, enjoying each
other’s company as only old mates
can. Can’t wait to do it all again. ARRSAFETY IN NUMBERS
SEDDO HEADS WEST FOR SOME
GROUP THERAPY“The idea was to get the smaller
bikes out and have a bit of fun”
GEOFF SEDDON26 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDERSEDDO
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