Beechworth Rally 12-15 March 2026
Ride Report
Preamble – by Jimmy Linton
In February when I was looking for a route from the rally start point at Yarck to the Benalla lunch stop, I rode through a lot of farming area that had been affected by the January 2026 bushfires. Seeing this and the loss of a lot of infrastructure I thought there was an opportunity for the Club to raise some funds and donate to BlazeAid, a volunteer-based organisation that works with families and individuals in rural Australia after natural disasters such as fires, cyclones, droughts and floods. To raise funds, I thought it would be fun to implement a ‘fines’ system that would apply across the four days of the rally. More about this at the end of the rally report.
Day 1 – Thursday 13th – by Jimmy Linton
Leading up to the start of the rally I had one eye on the weather forecast and the other on fuel prices. The closer to the rally it got, the weather forecast got better and better, not so the fuel situation. By the start of the rally prices had hit $2 a litre and were continuing to rise, with some talk of not being able to even buy fuel! Without much control over weather or fuel all rally participants decided the rally must go ahead, even if it ended up being a two-day walking rally around the streets of Beechworth.
A few of those living in the northern suburbs met up in Epping and made our way to Yarck via Yea, where we made sure we filled up our tanks to at least be able to get to Benalla. By 10:30ish all rally participants (except those from Geelong & Jerry) were at Yarck for the ride briefing with full tanks (except Jerry) for the ride to Benalla.
From Yarck the ride made its way to Merton where we took the Merton-Euroa Rd as far as Galls Gap Rd before making our way over to Strathbogie. From Strathbogie the ride headed north to Violet Town via Boundary Hill Rd then Harrys Creek Rd. At Violet Town we jumped on the Hume FWY for a quick blast to Benalla. Coming into Benalla I noticed that my right header pipe was flopping around a bit! Although I had packed the exhaust nut spanner, I stupidly had not packed spare exhaust washers and after tightening the nut the header pipe remained loose. After a few text messages with a Norton guru on what to do, I quickly secured the header pipe as best as I could with a piece of cord until I got to Beechworth, where I made more substantial repairs with a discarded inner tube and some fencing wire…
At Hide’s Bakery in Benalla, we had lunch and were joined by a few members from the Geelong area. Many took the opportunity to fill up on fuel as we were still unclear on what the fuel situation would be in Beechworth. From Benalla we headed out on Kilfeera Rd to make our way through Greta South, Hansonville, before turning onto the Wangaratta-Whitfield Rd at Moyhu. The ride headed north to the Snow Rd where we had a rest stop at Oxley. From Oxley the ride continued along the Snow Rd to the Great Alpine Rd where we turned left, then soon after right onto Bucklands Gap Rd for a nice scenic ride into Beechworth.
In Beechworth the first stop for everyone was the fuel station, which had fuel After filling up we all dispersed to our various accommodation locations. For those staying at the Armour Motor Inn the festivities kicked off early and fast, resulting in a few members turning up for dinner a tad late and a bit dishevelled.
With the day nearly over there was a late incident. On making his way back to the Armour Motor Inn after dinner, Snads unfortunately had a blowout going over some rough terrain and came down. Being the man he is, he dusted himself off, did some quick footpath repairs and set off again, only to have a second blow out before limping his tired, worn and battered ‘machine’ back to the motel.
Day 2 – Friday the 13th (what could go wrong) – by Graham Boulter
Friday morning was a cracker – clear blue skies, a little cool but with the promise of a great day ahead. After breakfasting at the Beechworth Bakery and last-minute preparations on the bike it was time to assemble for the ride briefing. Jimmy made sure we were all aware of the Fine system, with proceeds going to Blaze Aid, Jerry ‘volunteered’ for TEC and Killa as ride leader gave us a quick rundown of the days destinations ahead.
20 bikes and 1 pillion travelled along relatively well-maintained back roads to Yackandandah, Tangambalanga, (noting a new and huge housing development here), stopping for MT at Tallangatta. Many opted to fill up their bike as well as themselves, a quick chat and we headed off towards Mitta Mitta.
Killa has a great knowledge of roads up this way and rather than go via the Omeo Hwy we travelled via Yabba Rd on the east side of the Mitta Mitta River then on Mitta Nth Rd. Fantastic views of the river and flood plain along here and I noted some nice-looking campsites for future reference. Most, if not all, opted for lunch at the General Store, a great spot overlooking the river.
On returning to my bike, I noticed I had left the ignition and LED lights on. Battery was dead. Buggar. I borrowed a jump start battery from Shorty and was about to hook it up but decided to try again and it started. ‘You beauty.’ I guess in the 5 mins or so the battery was idle it reenergised itself. Next stop was at the Dartmouth Dam lookout. It’s quite spectacular here and according to info boards this dam is huge. Well worth a visit.
Travelling back along the Omeo Hwy near Eskdale, disaster struck. Now, we all know what goes on the rally, stays on the rally. So, in order to protect the unfortunate member from embarrassment, I will refer to him only as ‘Bolts’. Bolts had a rear tyre puncture, and 5 or 6 riders joined him on the roadside. On closer examination there was virtually no tread left on said tyre and in fact the wire belting was exposed with the hole approx. 2 mm in diameter. Some tyre slime was produced and together with an air inflator the bike was ‘good to go’. Unfortunately, the repair only lasted about 200 metres, and the tyre was flat again. Various options were canvassed but as Bolts had RACV Plus it was thought to be the best option. Snads stayed with Bolts whilst the others joined the main group further up the road, (who knew of the situation), to return to Beechworth.
Some 3.5 hours later a flatbed truck arrived and loaded the XJR for the 1-hour trip back to Beechworth.
It was indeed Friday the 13th.
Postscript: Bolts wants to thank those who stopped and helped with tools and advice. Thanks also to Snads for supplying water and snacks whilst waiting for the tow truck. Special thanks to Shorty for taking me to Albury to get a new tyre fitted and forgoing some of Saturday’s ride.
Day 3 – Saturday 14th – by Scott Oldfield
Another day of perfect riding weather, in perfect riding territory; NE Victoria.
The plan for today; follow the ride leader John (Killingsworth). First stop Myrtleford ‘Heiner’s Bakery’; John assures me the cream cakes are a highlight of the Ovens Valley. We head out of town passing through the historic Stanley township and through the curves of the Stanley Range Road descending to the Myrtleford-Yak Rd. Here we turn right and head north for several kilometres and then turn right into Tunnel Gap Road. This takes us across to the Dederang highway where we turn south and pass through Dederang, which consists of a pub and a primary school.
We continue travelling south along the Kiewa Valley highway taking in the lovely scenery, and after a while we turn right at Running Creek and travel along the Happy Valley Road. This takes us back to the Alpine Highway at Ovens and a short hop to our Cream Pie destination. John keeps everyone alert and on their toes by corner marking the last intersection and points us all to Heiner’s (a future fine will be if the Ride Leader corner marks).
Heiner’s bakery was very busy with a great selection of goodies, they also ran a very efficient operation that got us all watered and fed.
We then headed down to Lake Buffalo, to take a look at the weir. It was a fairly quiet road, and I was near the ride leader and glanced in my rear-view mirror to see a string of motorcycles travelling in line. I then noticed an indicator flicker in the distant rear. On closer examination, as best you can with a vibrating rear view mirror, it was a car. He’s going to pass us all in one go! He gets closer, oh it’s a ute, and he’s giving it heaps. The road curves ahead, he’s keen to get past; he flies past me and immediately breaks to take a left turn at considerable speed. Well he’s certainly in a hurry, his ute had a cage in the back carrying a single sheep, looking somewhat terrified. We all later conjectured the need for such haste; with one suggestion (Snads) that he had just picked up his new bride and was homeward bound, thus explaining the speed AND the terrified look of the sheep. It did provide us with some amusement.
After some photo shoots at the weir, we returned to Myrtleford and then travelled south along the Alpine Highway to Bright where we lunched. Bright was quite busy as expected on a Saturday. Later we returned to Myrtleford and into the Myrtleford-Yak Road and back to Beechworth via the Stanley Range Road.
P.S. In trying to do the right thing, Rob (van Lohuizen) marked a corner in Bright to lead a few riders back to the where John (Killingsworth) was rallying the group, unfortunately for Rob the ride went the other way and Rob was left behind in Bright and had to make his own way back to Beechworth ☹.
Day 4 – Sunday 15th – by John Best
Sunday was the last day of the rally and dawned sunny with a blue sky. Most of us at Jimmy and John’s briefing seemed to be in good shape, mainly because the festivities on Saturday night at Bridge Road Brewers had been relatively restrained and mostly followed by early nights. Jimmy read out and exposed our individual BlazeAid fines tally, then Club Captain John outlined the route home to Mansfield and Yea.
We followed John out of Beechworth downhill in pleasant cool conditions through a forested area, later the landscape flattened out as we rode through Milawa and Oxley. There was some enthusiastic overtaking but a lot more refusal to overtake thereby avoiding fines, well, that’s what it looked to me as I coaxed the Bonneville up to 95 kmh.
The ride along the King Valley was enjoyable and we were soon at Whitfield and climbing up the hill along the road of a thousand challenging bends. This is a road popular with motorcyclists for that reason. I guess I was tired, so I found the bumps and seemingly frequent huge potholes hard work at times. But good practice! Soon Tolmie came into view (with speed trap) and the road down to Mansfield was fast and straight with attractive views to left and right.
At Mansfield most of us fuelled up again and made for the bakery or cafes for a morning coffee. The day was warming, and we rested and chatted in the shady central reservation area common in these country towns. Later we followed John to Yea for lunch and from there we made our individual ways homeward. Thank you to the rally organisers for a most enjoyable four-day rally, in great company in a lovely motorcycling landscape.
The Fines System
Prior to the rally all entrants were advised of 15 different infractions that if committed would incur a fine.
- Stand left down $5
- Failure to turn indicator off after turning $5
- Not joining the rally start at Yarck $5
- Not filling in the ride sheet by Benalla $5
- Not having a full fuel tank at the day’s start $5
- Absent at the start of the ride briefing $5
- Unnecessarily interrupting the ride briefing $5
- Delaying the ride departure from any stop $5
- Overtaking an older bike $5
- Not wearing a Club regalia item on the rally $5
- Spilling a drink at any lunch or dinner $5
- Not offering to buy a past President a drink $5
- Riding a non-CPS eligible bike on the rally $5
- Failing to corner mark $20
- Overtaking the ride leader $20
The rules were simple:
- Commit an infraction, own up.
- See someone commit an infraction, dob them in.
- Interpretation & adjudication of fines to be done by the President.
The rally participant that incurred the highest monetary tally of fines for the rally would be awarded a consolation prize, whereas as the one with the lowest monetary tally would win the ‘Fish’s A@#!hole’ award.
At the ride briefing at Yarck, the rally participants agreed there’d be no limit on the number of fines that any one member could incur, it was to be a free for all.
Even before leaving Yarck, the rally participants had embraced the dobbing ‘spirit’ with members being dobbed in for a variety of offences. These included; not joining the rally start at Yarck (Nick, Stan & Mark); absent at the start of the ride briefing (Nick, Stan & Mark again, as well as Jerry (late as usual) and Macca (bladder stop); and not having a full fuel tank at the day’s start (Jerry).
By the time the rally got to Beechworth on day one, participants had racked up over $150 in fines. With dobbing firmly entrenched, participants started to settle scores over the next few days of the rally, and by the time we said our goodbyes at Yea on Sunday, a total of $590 in fines had been handed out.
For the record, Bolts incurred the highest monetary tally of fines for the rally with a total of $75, $25 more than anyone else. Which is impressive (or concerning), considering Bolts missed a quarter of Friday’s ride and a third of Saturday’s ride with a tyre issue. For the ‘Fish’s A@#!hole’ award, I won’t publicly name that person, they know who they are.
To reflect how all rally participants embraced the fund raising activity, or to avoid the ‘Fish’s A@#!hole’ award, a total of $725 had been paid into the Club’s bank account at the writing of this report. Additionally, two members that had entered/paid to go on the rally but were unable to, requested there $25 entry fee be donated to BlazeAid. A member at March’s general meeting also donated $20.
In total, so far $790 has been raised by members so far. On behalf of the Club, the Committee at the April meeting will also confirm an additional amount to donate to BlazeAid.
If any member wishes to contribute to the overall Club donation to BlazeAid, this can be done directly into the Club’s Bendigo Bank account: BSB 633-000 Account number 223 311 895.
Rally Participants
Ian Bryant 1960 Matchless G12
Gabi Harangozo 1969 Norton Commando Fastback 750
John Best 1969 Triumph Bonneville T120R
Jimmy Linton 1973 Norton Commando Roadster 850 (Ride Leader)
Ian Snadden 1974 BMW R90S
Scott Oldfield 1975 BMW R90S
Rob van Lohuizen 1975 BMW R90S (oil tight)
Jerry Coffey 1975 Triumph Trident T150 (TEC)
Peter Trathen 1979 Ducati 900 GTS
Mark Mensch 1983 BMW R100
Stan Rogers 1985 BMW R80 RT
Allan & Michelle Prentice 1986 Yamaha XJ900
Nick Oakley 1988 BMW K100RS
Wally Walsh 1993 Moto Guzzi 1000 S
Graham ‘Bolts’ Boulter 1999 Yamaha XJR 1300 (flatty)
Gary & Yolanda Moore 2001 BMW R1150 R
Marcus Leufgens 2004 BMW R1200 GS
John Killingsworth 2011 BMW R1200 GS (Ride Leader, TEC and corner marker – WTF)
Steve Inman 2013 Triumph Bonneville
Gary McKechnie 2019 Royal Enfield Interceptor
Thanks
To Killer for leading the rally on some absolutely fantastic rides, and who somehow managed to fulfill the duties of Ride Leader, TEC and even corner marker on a couple of occasions! Thanks to Jerry for being TEC for three days on his trusty Trident, which underwent a major rebuild at Beechworth on Saturday afternoon. Thanks to Bolts, Scott and John for volunteering to do the ride reports. And a big thanks to all 21 members that joined the rally and made it a fantastic four days. Commiserations to that sheep.
Cheers,
Jimmy
