OzBam 11 - (Ozzie - Bonnyville America.Com Meet)
Hi all,
Well “The Six Amigos” have discussed the various options about where and when we should hold our inaugural meet and greet and have decided the following destination and dates will give us a great weekend.
The dates chosen are: (drum roll please ha ha)
The weekend starting on Friday 5th August to Sunday 7th Aug 2011.Of course not everyone can make the Friday but if you can then great. Saturday night however is our main focus for putting faces to names, sharing a few beers and a meal, and of course talking about one of our favourite topics.
The destination is: (another drum roll ha ha)
BulahdelahOf course we understand there may be some who would have preferred different destinations and dates however as has been mentioned before, we did have a committee (formally known as “The Six Amigos”), to debate the various pros and cons and everyone without exception believed this was the best time and place.
For those interested I’ll explain those pros and cons at the end of this post but more importantly, if you are wanting to attend as The Amigos are, now is the time to book your leave and accommodation, particularly if you want to stay at the pub.
AccommodationBulahdelah is a small country town but with quality yet cheap accommodation for our needs.
So basically your best options are either to stay at the great pub there, or one of the several well priced Motels in the town.
The two options we recommend are:
The Plough Inn Hotel
or
The Mount View Motel
Here are the details of both accommodation establishments we recommend to help you determine what may suit your needs best. Of course there are plenty of other motels etc so whatever floats ya boat.
The Plough InnClick Here to Look at the Plough Inn's Homepage (IMHO, the pub is better priced for the single bloke, and the Mount View better priced for a couple, when you compare both places)
Tariffs are:
- $40 for a single person
- $60 dollars for a double for two people
If you want a big breakie instead of or as well as the included continental, it can be arranged provided you give them notice. Costs are a little pricey at between $15 to $20 but to anyone who may have partaken in that one extra beer, it may be worth every cent ha ha.
At last count There were 12 rooms left Due to myself, Benny (islandbum) and Richard (foglefar) having already booked. So if you want to stay here I wouldn’t wait too long. Yesterday when I was getting details, another riding group booked out the pub for the following weekend.
Bike SecurityBikes are safe as the backyard is locked overnight with a 2 meter tall chain wire Gate. It is opened at approx’ 6am by the caretakers of the pub living virtually near to where our bikes are parked.
A really good continental breakfast in the Bistro Room just off the accommodation area is provided as part of the tariff also.
All rooms downstairs are for blokes only, whilst rooms upstairs offer showers/ toilets for the girls and seperate showers/toilets for the blokes. The best rooms for the girls are rooms 6, 7 and 8 as they are closest to their showers. There are alslo a combination of various types of rooms ie double, single, single plus a bunk, double plus a single etc.
There is also an IGA supermarket across the road, but it will also only be 100m away from The Mount View Motel too.
The Mount View Motelhttp://www.mountviewmotel.bulahdelah.net.au/index.htmlFrank’s (FrandW) phone calls and internet research revealed the Mount View Motel was ideally located being only 150m from the pub. Tariff is $60 for a double and may even be reduced further depending on how many book in.
So, not wanting to influence where you stay cos that’s up to you but basically we are of the opinion between The Plough Inn and The Mount View Motel, and there very close proximity to each other, anyone who stays at one or the other will virtually have the game sewn up regarding a good quality digs.
Please Note:The Hotel is very popular with bike riders and road workers on the Bulahdelah bypass. For instance, three weeks ago I landed on their doorstep at 5pm after riding all day and for the first time was told all 16 rooms were booked out. I also found out when booking my room, that an hour previously the entire hotel accommodation was booked out by another bike group for the weekend following ours. So I think you know what I’m getting at, book early or risk the chance of missing out of staying at the Plough Inn.
IMHO though, it doesn't really make any real difference to anything cos to be honest, it took me a lot of consideration to finally determine the pub was my preferred option. So that's not a bad way to be I reckon.
That Mount View Motel whilst I haven’t been through it personally, it looks pretty bl#ody good too.
Finally, Reasons for destination and dates:
Destination]
Firstly, both Frank and myself in our travels agree the bigger towns and cities sadly lack that quality small country town atmosphere such as offered by towns and their people such as in Bulahdelah for instance.
Not only do the bigger cities want too much money and many times offer little in the way of courtesies afforded by the smaller towns, my experience is they make the buildings exterior and main areas look fantastic but the rooms themselves are almost the opposite. Typical all talk but no substance in other words. Not all places of course but very obvious when you’ve been stung.
In fact the last Hotel I stayed at several weeks ago just down the road at Raymond Terrace after I couldn’t get into the Plough Inn, was seriously one of the dearest yet worst in all respects I’ve stayed at. Serious, and it merely verified my experience elsewhere.
Dates for our first OzbamEarly August whilst it is still mid winter here in Aus, we are blessed we can still ride almost anywhere with the right clothing. Hey, I come from Canberra and I have no problem.
Bulahdelah in August has warm days averaging approximately 17 °c, with the nights only getting down to around 8 °c. So as far as I’m concerned my bones get warmed up quite nicely in these balmy climes.
The other reasons include, no public hols during that weekend which would make accommodation more difficult, not to mention more nutters on the road. Also, the dates do not clash with any school holiday period which again helps make the roads a bit more quieter and safer for our riding pleasure ha ha.
So in conclusion, Bulahdelah at this time of year should be brilliant provided the rain Gods have mercy. We the committee (The 6 Amigos) are all attending and we’re sincerely hoping as many of our BA.Com members can do the same.
Of course, the idea to organise Ozbam 2011 was only hatched three weeks ago believe it or not so as such the only structure of sorts is the 6 Amigos agreeing to have the meet and decide when and where to have it.
So in reality we are still evolving as a band of brothers however if this gathering is a success, who knows what the future may hold.
Clearly it’s all about having a good time with no expectation of anyone spoiling any one else’s fun time. Enough said of that
Finally, being so early in the piece we haven’t talked about the possibility of a ride together whilst at Bulahdelah but just up the road north is the National Bike Museum at Nabiac.
Click Here To View The National Bike Museum Home Page Of course being a democratic bunch of like minded souls, any other suggestions will always be welcomed as the majority determine what’s what in the melting pot ha ha.
One last thing. We need to know who in fact is definitely attending. With this in mind I’m asking all riders to email me at
stacka9@gmail.com, so I can record your username and name, your pillion's details also (if you have one), your email and mob phone number, which accommodation you're staying at and finally just in case, contact details of your next of kin. I will ensure any personal details remain private however we also need this info so we can reserve dining tables for instance.
So, there ya go.
OzBam 11 is underway
