Even though it was the first week into winter and a bit foggy the sun was already taking the initial chill out of the air by the time I arrived at the muster point at Dubbo’s Information Centre, the cloud cover that had earlier looked like rain had gone and you could just feel it in your bones that it was going to be a one of those slightly cool, but none the less, great days for riding.

Having rolled a quite reasonable total for a change on my first go with the dice, mind you, as usual for me the rolls all went downhill from there, I then lobbed over to the Market Day that was going full swing in the park behind the centre, the tea and coffee vendor was no doubt glad to see the extra boost to his income as his small queue of casually attired locals suddenly changed to a very long one of rugged up bikers, I also noticed quite a few riders buying items from the other stalls dotted around the park, it was good to see, that, even before the run had started there was a bit of favourable public relations going on and this was no doubt further boosted in no small part by the eloquence of Rolly, as he proceeded during his interview to charm the reporter from the local newspaper.

With the interview finished, Brian took centre stage and outlined the planned route, marshals and back up vehicle details, then, after a couple more photos taken by the reporter of the Five for Kids T-Shirts that had been donated by the local radio station for auction at the end of the run we saddled up and headed off to the first stop at the Crossroads Hotel in Tomingley.

From there it was off to the Grand Hotel in Parkes and then onto Molong’s Telegraph Hotel for a top class lunch, a quick stop at Wellington’s Grand Hotel then saw the run heading back to the Garden Hotel at Dubbo. In light of all the adverse hype currently being drummed up by the media, I must at this point congratulate the local constabulary at Parkes for their attitude on the day towards the bikers involved in this run, their representatives that stopped by briefly at the pub were a fine example of good old sensible policing and even though the young lady officer was a bit camera shy her companion was happy to pose for a photo after a bit of an informal chat to some of the riders before they went about their normal police duties.

The arrival back at Dubbo saw the prizes for the run and raffle being handed out; then, the two aforementioned T-Shirts were auctioned off, raising about $150.00 for the pair, This T-shirt money and the proceeds from the Dice Run will no doubt be put to very good use for the continued support and care of children at the Dubbo Hospital. Personally I don’t reckon you could have a better win win situation than this, the bikers have a damn good time doing what they enjoy, and the kids that have to go to the hospital in the future end up the ultimate beneficiaries.

So, give yourselves a well deserved pat on the back Bikers Australia Gilgandra, and thanks for a great day’s companionship and riding.