Ulysses 2007 AGM

The 24th Ulysses Club Inc Annual General Meeting was held on May 21 to 27 at Coffs Harbour, this was my first AGM experience so bear with me if I seem a little overwhelmed by it all, it was huge. With over 6,000 registrations, the streets and the hinterlands at Coffs were buzzing with bikes all week long.

As I approached Coffs Harbour on Monday evening my first surprise was the Police welcome. RBT’s, radar traps and what I took to be a road block, I have never seen so many Police motorbikes in one place at one time before.

Click the paw to read a local’s comments.

After a quick visit to the registration area and getting ID’s on myself and the bike I ventured into the showground, and got lost! Bloody hell you should have seen all the tents, so I rang in to report my position and got the girls to send out a scout to lead me in. Five minutes later I was sat outside our camp with good friends and a glass of chilly white in my hand, and all was right in my universe!

So what was there to do? Well, without leaving the showground there were more than 100 trader’s stalls, test ride alley to try out just about any bike you wanted, an international food court, the bar, a free internet café, on site entertainment started at 1 pm Monday to Friday afternoons. We listened to swing, didgeridoos, blues, a Bush Poet and a bush band, one afternoon of 50’s & 60”s surf classics, and this guy was hilarious, a party on his own. Venture out of the showground and there were the local attractions, the Porpoise Pool, The Big Banana, whale watching tours, these were very popular, and that’s just some of what was available. Most of the clubs and pubs had some form of entertainment on; a lot of the shops had bike related displays in their windows or on the shop floors. “Ulyssians welcome here” signs were in every shop window, even the sex shop, err someone told me that, really!

The showground became a small village for the duration of the AGM, a medical centre with St Johns Ambulance volunteers and doctors (mornings only) a post office for parcel collection and dispatch, laundry pick up and delivery, on-site laundry and an information office to sort out any problems. The amenities blocks were plentiful, I didn’t see any long queues for showers, and super clean, with teams of cleaners going in and out every couple of hours, rubbish collection was regular, the whole showground stayed tidy all the way through. Security was tight with two checks to get a bike out. The place ran like a well oiled machine. Very Impressive!

The two big party nights on Friday and Saturday were held at the showground in a 96 metre long Hoekker (bloody huge tent). Friday night was awesome, nibbles sponsored by Shannon’s started at 5 pm with plates and plates of goodies placed on tables in the outside entertainment area, well over 4,000 people sat down to Beef Wellington, five minutes after leaving my seat to collect my meal I was sat back down ready to tuck in, and it was delicious, with 3 bars operating there was no wait to get a drink and the band, Funky Mustard was just terrific. Saturday night nibbles were sponsored by the Palms Shopping Centre and saw maybe half as many people again sitting down to dinner, Italian chicken breast pocketed with sun-dried tomatoes, and the time between leaving my seat and getting back was only 2 or 3 minutes longer, 4 bars operating so there were no lines for drinks. The Chevrolets played 60’s style music. Both nights the meals were finished in less than 2 hours, amazing!

Fridays Show & Shine attracted some interesting entries. I particularly liked the all chrome bike, but I wouldn’t want to have to polish it, and I bet the chap with the no-chrome Honda fitted out for camping had some stories to tell, and the Harley & sidecar outfit with the chromed chain detailing around the lights and jewelled hand brake (?), well…again, polishing, not for me.

I have no idea how many bikes took part in the Grand Parade Saturday morning, but it was huge! Groups were sent off in lots of 300, and they just kept coming. The parade finished up at the BCU International Stadium, and after the usual speeches was followed by the Vintage Motorcross National Championships.

So, did I have a good time at my first AGM? You bet I did! The organisation of the event was first rate in my opinion and this goes a long way to the success of any gathering, but at the end of the day it’s the people who give the event a personality of its own, and this AGM had personality plus. To the old friends I met and the new friends I made…can’t wait til next time…