FRIDAY 26TH. That time of the year again - the H4H - " Turkey " Run - and the weather wasn't kind to a number of the Friday riders heading out to Uralla. I managed to get to Long Flat from the Coast in overcast conditions and the sky over the mountain beyond there - was just plain EVIL !! - Black as the proverbial with swirling hail filled dark clouds, forked lightning and a smell in the air that told me to go for the cover of that convenient watering hole - Long Flat Pub. Without hesitation the bike was stashed under cover and I perched inside for an hour or so. The rain !! - it came in major bucketfuls - the gutters spilling over into the public bar - [ 'ol mate having a beer there says - " bloody good drop ay ?, we sure need it !! " ] - a happy cocky ! - the pre storm wind had lashed it's fury and lightning bounced all around the pub. Parko and Ruthie out of Coffs arrived in the midst of it all - fire hose drenched ! - Then sunshine !! - so we 3 head up the mountain and expected the norm, for the road - those of you who have ridden the mountain up through Ginger's Creek will know the drill after a wild storm - trees and branches down , greasy wet leaves all over , wet mossy corners where the sun don't shine with the previous weeks oil starting to cover the whole surface. Got our way through that minefield OK - then heading into Walcha the rain God struck again for the next 20 or so K's. Then it was over.

Missed joining the H4H riders who had gone on ahead from the Walcha muster point. Fueled and headed for Uralla - keeping a look out for the H4H ute 'n chase trailer to get back to Walcha and pick up Mick's Roadie sitting there with a flat rear. He was rescued later in the day. Into Uralla and it was bone dry and stayed that way for the week end's event. Out of the wet gear - hit the showers and up front. Time to get wet on the inside.

Looked as though it was to be a poor Friday roll up compared to previous years so the weather was blamed and we waited for the Saturday riders. 'Top Pub' Uralla owners - Matt and Lee - H4H sponsors yet again - they had their Pub happening and as they so admirably do , made all feel welcome and had the regular overnight security bike parking on site. Good cheer had by all for the remainder of the day - excellent pub meals and 'av a chat , catching up with familiar faces. Later in the night when 'the time was right' - the trucks heading through were entertained again this year in bared familiar fashion by; ( ' she who will remain nameless ' - good on ya Rose !! ) Even the Blue 'n Whites were well , somewhat amused by the impromtu showing , adding a small utterance of officialdom - " if someone complains or is offended then it's an offence " - Yeah , right !! - NBL !!

They earned their money this weekend and managed to grace us all with their almost constant presence for the duration, a sign of the times ?

SATURDAY 27TH H4H had their Saturday registration for the Poker Run at the Uralla Showground - also had some of the Newcastle Knights players fly in by Chopper to entertain the local kids , hand out T shirts and autographed caps and wave the NRL flag for one and all. Noticed 3 of the older kids - David G , Parko and Hurricance Hutt out there punting and passing as well - Anything for a free hat eh ? Th TurkeyPoker run ran through town at 12.30 and did the Pub circuit - with some mean hands collected as well - winner cracked a $1000 cash prize for his 4 Aces with a King kicker to roll 2 lots of 4 Queens, the 2nd and third winners.

By now , more serious stuff was getting underway for Saturday Arvo - Bike show and the planned Burn Out comp. Wouldn't you know it !! - the arvo's entertainment of sniffing burning rubber and watching those throbbing, pounding V Twins was brought to a screaming halt by the local 3 Hooker - the edict was - " No permit - then no burn out comp - proceed and you'll have a fine as well as having your bike cofiscated !! " - OH&S regulations etc. etc. etc. - needless to say it didn't happen and the only decent burn out ( apart from the odd kerbside resistance to officialdom ) was witnessed by a few at 5.45am Saturday morning - [good one boys] - on the in house Pad installed by the " TOP PUB " - Now just maybe, given the local Mayor lived only a few houses away this could have been the reason Sgt. Spoil arrived to shut down the planned event ??? - so be it.

The entrants for the bike show were rolling in and assembling and the Judges got to work - some very impressive machinery with 3 Night Rods entered in all their glory along with a mixture of other HD's + 1 Vintage ( HD outfit ) - 1 Euro - 1 British and 1 Jap. Overall 'Best Bike in Show' was taken out by " Wassy with his pristine Betty . A Mid Nth Coast HOG and he also cracked it for 'Best Softail' and 'Best Paint' as well. A difficult decision for the Judges given the high standard of bikes present. - Well done Wassy - Presentations were held at the " TOP PUB " and saw deserved winners collect their trophies and a dozen or more helmets were won from a rider / number draw for those in the poker run. Scotty's Choppers again showed their wares with an impressive display of customs and stall to support the event. Saturday night kicks in - Let the party begin. Both Pubs were touting for the business - Bottom Pub being a sponsor of the event as well - and both 'TOP PUB' and 'BOTTOM PUB' having lined up their own group of comedians for the night's entertainment.

I missed the Tattoo comp at the bottom pub so apologies to all entrants for no photos. - 'Whacko Jacko' got my attention at the 'TOP PUB' - If anyone does have Tattoo pix. please send them off to the site address for posting. Sunday produced a cold morning with plenty of fog for the early leavers , as it does in Uralla. Many thanks to Dave Golledge and the entire hard working team at H4H for yet another very well organized and excellent weekend for a good cause. - I'm sure we'll all be back again in 2008. - Permits permitting !!