Graham Felton & John "Sassy" Sinclair

50th Anniversary Ride

News

There were about 100 people present at the Castle Hill R.S.L. car park for the send off on Saturday, May 17th.   Sassy Sinclair had organised a raffle of various items donated by local businesses and others.   The Castle Hill R.S.L. provided bacon & egg rolls for breakfast.  Also lots of Tee Shirts were sold. 

John Uidan from the Hills Ulysses Club was the M.C.  After all the items were ‘Raffled Off’, Mark Buggy representing our sponsor, Hertz, spoke.   He was followed by the R.S.L. President Warren Glenny and the Director of the Ageing and Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, Professor David Le Coutier.  Graham Felton said a few words in response, then mounted his trusty 1940 U model Harley outfit for the send off.

 Dozens of motorcycles followed and were still with us at the Wyong twin servos.  A late lunch at Gloucester, with an after dark arrival at Port Macquarie.  Dinner at the nearby Panthers Bowling Club with about a dozen trusty riders from the Hills Ulysses Club was most welcome.  

Sunday saw most of the riders returning to Sydney.  Wal De Hoop and Mike Uhr rode on with us to the Ulysses AGM in Townsville.  George and Chris Findlay had their bikes on a Hertz truck to Rockhampton.  Another long day to Coolangatta - once again arriving after dark!  “No more riding after dark” said Sassy. The Outfit’s   (Elvie) tail light couldn’t be seen and Graham was in danger of being run over by the numerous speeding trucks overtaking our small band of riders. 

Monday at the Ettamogah Pub, just north of Brisbane was our next stop for the others to join.  There was May and her son Jono on 4 wheels.  Gordy Green our oldest rider, at 85, and Colleen and Chris on one bike.    All who had been with Sassy & Graham in 2004 on the last ride around Oz.?     A very pleasant 24 degrees at 4.30 p.m. was most welcome in Maryborough.  Graham’s mate, Hugh Livingstone, who lived there, had tried to find the policeman who had apprehended   Graham and Sassy back in 1958.  One of them had said he would drop his pants in the main street of Maryborough if we made it around Oz.  Sadly he had passed away and couldn’t collect the bet!

Tuesday, An uneventful ride to Rockhampton.  The next morning we visited “Rocky Harley” the H.D.             Dealership for coffee and a chat.  Contact was made the night before with Tony Hill from a ‘Slice of Life’.  He took numerous photos and was sending them back to Craig Sinclair.  Hopefully they will appear on the web.

Wednesday, Sassy’s neck, which had been too stiff from the beginning of the ride, to enable him to ride, was finally able to take over the riding today.  Some unkind person said his viagra tablets had back fired on him!   Word had been sent ahead to Tony Baldwin of “Freedom Motorcycles”, the Harley Davidson dealership, in Mackay.  He had arranged for them to have an article in the local press, with photographs and he also gave them a great welcome to his dealership.

He and his father, Ron, rode out to escort us in from Sarina.  He was amazed at what two old farts had done and was doing again!!

Sassy recalled that it took him and Graham, 4 days to ride from Rocky to Sarina because of the road construction and side tracks in the wet season.   In fact there were no sealed roads until they reached Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory.

Arriving at Airlie Beach at 1p.m.  Thursday gave the group a well earned rest.  Even the first bit of rain, for the rest of the day didn’t worry them.  Chris and George were now riding their bikes.   A total of 6 motorcycles were now escorting Elvie.

Graham was playing silly buggers with Jono, Mary’s disabled son, and twisted his right foot.  May did a good job keeping the ice and bandages up to him.  Thank heavens for a lazy day on Friday in Airlie!

Lucky one “old fart” was O.K.  Sassy took over riding Elvie and Wendy drove the truck with Graham as her invalid passenger. 

The first mechanical mishap!  Riding into Townsville Sassy found the clutch wasn’t  working.  An examination found one of the long three studs holding the clutch plates had broken.  Once again we were lucky to be in one place for a length of time.  The Ulysses AGM ran from Monday 24th to Sunday 1st June.  The part was delivered from Sydney and Sassy had it repaired by Wednesday.  By then most of the Ulysses Hills group had arrived and had set up camp in the Townsville Showground. 

On Sunday at the Awards and Closing Ceremony of the AGM, Gordo Green won the Oldest Rider Award and Graham the Oldest Bike/Rider Combination. 

Graham and Elvie “repaired” they headed off for the next venue, Cairns, on the Monday.  We had lost all their escort riders except Wal , who will continue on to Darwin, when he will leave to ride around the rest of Australia.  Also friends of Sassy and Wendy’s, Steve and Carolyn Francis joined the group with their 4WD and camper. Also Colin Hardwick, a friend of Grahams joined them in a hire car at Townsville.

 Graham, leading the way with Wal following, took a wrong turn on a detour through Cardwell and ended up with a 40km delightful bike ride into the hinterland.  Finally catching up with the others north of Tully. 

Another “mishap” with Elvie.  The bolts holding the generator had broken  again.  Three days in Cairns allowed Sassy to do the repairs and for everyone to do some sightseeing.  Sassy managed to remove the broken bolts with an ezy out and using high tensile bolts with lock tight firmly fixed the generator in position.

Cairns is a vast metropolis and the high light for most was The Kurunda Railway and Skyway through the Barron Falls.

Garry Herring and John Donovan, from the Hills Ulysses Group were to join us on their new Harley Davidsons at the AGM in Townsville.  After a couple of mishaps they finally caught up with the group in Cairns.  There will be an explanation on these mishaps in the Ulysses Hills Magazine.  “The Hub”

So with 3 motorcycles and 3 four wheel vehicles (one with a friend, Dianne Kolstad, who joined us in Cairns) the band of warriors continued onto Cooktown.  After a brief stop and Port Douglas and Port Mossman we arrived at about 5.00 p.m. at the Big 4 Caravan Park in Cooktown.  A shady relaxing caravan park with 3 swimming pools.  Some sad news, Colin’s wife died suddenly at Ettalong  and he flew home early Saturday morning.

This long weekend is the time of the Captain Cook re-enactment and Graham rode Elvie in the Grand Parade on the Saturday.  The actual re-enactment was on the Sunday morning and was very true to life to what is noted in history books.

On Tuesday 10th June we all packed to leave Cooktown in the rain.  Luckily it was  only intermittent showers.  It was only the second lot of rain since leaving Sydney.  Apparently there was lots of rain in Southern Queensland and the New South Wales Coast.  We were glad our group missed it.

It was an easy run to Atherton where Di and May and Jono rejoined the group.  They had left the day before for Cairns for Di to return Colin’s hired car and May to have the X-trail’s gear box checked.  The car was okay.  Phil Roberts from The Hills Ulysses Club also rejoined the group.

On Wednesday we had another wet start.  After all it is the Tablelands.  We had our wet weather gear on again for the ride through Ravenshoe, Queensland’s highest town.  From Mt. Garnet road trains were encountered with four trailers on narrow bitumen roads.  The road trains have the right of way.  Who can argue with them!

Our destination was Undura Volcanic National Park.  This is an oasis with safari tents, restored railway carriages, powered camp sites and best of all no rain.  The group settled in for two nights and a day.  It is an easy place to be and, on Thursday, the lava tubes were enjoyed by all.  Undara boasts the longest known lava tube in the world.  There were also lots of walks to do.

Friday 13th June saw us leaving Undara.  It turned out to be an ominous day.  The road to Hughenden was 350 klms. With 250 klms. unsealed.   Wal and Phil decided to ride “the long way round” on sealed roads via Charters Towers.  Gary, with Sassy riding the Virago, followed the outfit.  John Donovan had earlier arranged for his bike to be on Sassy’s trailer.  About 100 klms. from Hughenden after negotiating the badly corrugated road with much bull dust Graham felt the outfit pulling to the left.  On a closer inspection he found the front right fork on the front end springers had broken.  The road was so terrible the two solo riders had trouble in the bull dust.  Sassy had several spills and realised it was not healthy to keep riding.

The plan was to load Graham’s outfit on the trailer after the trailer was unloaded in Hughenden.  Graham was finally picked up at 7 p.m.!  It was decided to keep the outfit on the tailer until Mt. Isa where it could be welded.

Graham had to now ride the Virago on the Saturday.  We had a stop at Richmond to visit Kronosaurus Korner a marine fossil museum which was enjoyed by some of the group.  It is highly recommended.

We arrived safely at Cloncurry that evening with only 118 klms. to Mt. Isa.  Graham took the opportunity to sleep in.  He claims that he really needed it!

Graham and Sassy had visited the mining town of Mary Kathleen back in 1958.  It was built and owned by the mining company and had about 1,000 residents at that time.  It was located halfway to Mt. Isa and is now well sign posted.  The town was dismantled and sold off in 1982 as the result of the new Labor Government’s mining policy.

Arriving at Mt. Isa early allowed everyone to relax, do washing, go touring etc.  After all it was Sunday – a day of rest.  It was here that Hart Kennedy from Toowoomba who had been on some of the 2004 re-enactment joined us.

Sassy had sussed out a welder to repair the front fork of the outfit.  This was done by Steve Wright of Wright’s Welding first thing Monday morning.  It was an excellent job and he refused payment donating his services to the cause.

Di, as planned, flew out at midday back to Sydney.  It was decided to stay the extra night in Mt. Isa in case there were problems with the bike being welded.  This meant that we missed staying a night in Camooweal.

Phil also had left us on the Monday morning returning home to Sydney via Western Queensland.  Sassy heard later that he had written off his bike at Charleville after hitting a kangaroo.  The latest information is that he is okay.  No doubt a full report in “The Hub”.

Graham had organised an interview with the ABC radio at 8.30 a.m on the Tuesday morning, followed by a photo shoot and interview with the local paper, The North West Star which were next door to the ABC.   All of the group were photographed in their “Uniforms” beside the outfit.

Graham rode the outfit heading for the Barkly Roadhouse in the Northern Territory.  No. 19 bore was on the agenda where Frank and Jack repaired their J Model Harley outfit in 1929.  Only Hart was interested, but Sassy missed the turn off.  Too bad, next time.   We all had a well earned rest at Barkly Roadhouse after a long day.

Graham had organised morning tea at Brunette Downs where the 2004 ride Around Oz had been given lunch.  This is where the ABC Amateur Race Club Races are held in June every year.  Luckily, the group missed the event by three days or they wouldn’t have been able to see their beautiful garden around the homestead.  It would have been off limits to the public during the race meeting.

The narrow sealed Tablelands Highway continues to Cape Crawford which is actually 200 klms. from the sea despite its name.   Luckily no road trains were encountered as there was virtually no room to pass.  However, the group did encounter a mob of cattle being driven south.  Ahead of them was a maverick steer which charged Graham riding the outfit.  John Donovan was also charged by the same animal twice. It missed him—a sight to behold.

The outfit proved difficult to start the next morning at Cape Crawford despite much coaxing by Sassy.  It was decided to trailer “Elvie” again with Graham riding Sassy’s Virago.  Arriving early at Daly Waters gave Sassy and others time to ponder the problem.  On removing the base of the carby it was full of sand and water.  How the outfit went at all is amazing.  Sassy “moulded” the outfit into shape with more adjustment until she was running sweetly.   All was looking good again. 

 The next morning, Friday 20th June, was a very pleasant ride along the Stuart Highway to Katherine.   Graham rode the first part of the day while Sassy finished the ride into Katherine.  That evening Sassy organised dinner for all the group at the local Country Club.  It was a time to unwind and relax.

The weather at this time of the year in Darwin is always pleasant.  Most of us agreed that it is a great place to spend “winter”.  Arriving at 2.30 pm on Saturday 21st June the ABC TV wanted to interview and video Graham and Sassy riding around the Caravan Park.  They obliged (of course).  That evening there was a minute segment on the news just before the weather report.

Darwin gave the group time to regroup visit National Parks, sightsee, etc or just “veg out”.   We had dinner with Digby Hart and his new friend, the lovely Margy.  This was an enjoyable reunion as Digby had organised the great welcome for the Bowen, Smith re-enactment in 2004 in Darwin.

It was goodbye to Darwin on Friday 27th June and also to Wal De Hoop who will continue riding all the way around Oz.  He had been with the group all the way so far and in Darwin we all helped him celebrate clocking his 100,000 klms, (with champagne).  We trust you enjoy the rest of your trip.   Goodbye also to the wives of Hart, John D and Gary as they had joined the group in Darwin for the week.  Sassy’s son, Craig, and his wife, Fleur, were also visiting for the week flying out on the same day as all the wives.

Hart, John D. And Gary caught up with the group in Katherine after seeing their wives off.  After Katherine the outfit was not running sweetly.  It was sluggish and had lost power.  An executive decision was made to put it on the trailer and deal with the problem in Alice Springs.

Gary and John D. Left the group early the next morning from Dunmarra to ride home via Three Ways.  Of course our parting words were “Watch out for those kangaroos”!  (They arrived home safely on Thursday 3rd July).

With an uneventful stop in Tennant Creek the group made Alice Springs on Monday 30th June.  Sassy and Hart did some serious checking of fuel, spark, compression, etc. the afternoon at Tennant Creek.  The carby was dismantled and once again found to have muck and water in the fuel.  Hard to imagine how the outfit kept going when it did.

On Tuesday we saw Elvie taken off the trailer for a test run.  After many kicks she burst into life.  Sassy adjusted the fuel intake and once again Elvie was running sweetly.

Steve and Carolyn rejoined the group here at the Big 4 MacDonnell Range Holiday Park.  Di Tate, a friend of Graham’s who had been on the 2004 re-enactment joined the group for the first time.  Along with her was Dallas in their Subaru Forester. Sassy and Graham enjoy the camaraderie of all who joined them on us on their big Five O trip.  Feel free to join them especially for the ride into Sydney on Sunday 20th July.

Alice Springs gave us cold nights of 3°C but made up for it with pleasant sunny days of 20°C.

Everyone did their own thing, either tripping to Ayers Rock, Hermannsburg Mission or nearby Standley Chasm. Sassy and Wendy went off to check out Chambers Pillar and Graham chased up the media, as he does. He also caught up with some of those who had attended his late sister’s, (Glenda’s), workshops she gave on creative writing in 2005.

The Alice Springs Show opened on Friday 4th July (Jono’s 22nd birthday). This could have been a wonderful opportunity to display the outfit and sell T-shirts. The powers that be wouldn’t allow it!

Leaving Alice on Saturday for Marla in South Australia was another long day. It was just north of here that Brian Jones (from the 2004 trip) rolled his transit van and caravan enroute to the 2005 HOG rally at Ayres Rock.

The ride to Coober Pedy “The Opal Capital of the World” was uneventful. The underground dwellings, churches, hotel etc maintain a constant temperature all year, despite the cold winters and hot summers. It is quite a large town now. Graham hitchhiked through here in 1956 and can remember only two buildings above ground.

It is now really winter as the group ride into Port Augusta, 537 kms south of Coober Pedy. It was decided not to ride to Mt Ive and back as there was 130 kms of unsealed road each way and no one in the group was all that interested. Graham and Sassy didn’t want to push their luck with Elvie. Di and Dallas decided to stay on for another day.

An early arrival in Adelaide (as we weren’t going to Mt Ive), on Wednesday 9th July, gave more time to regroup and be involved with our major sponsor at Hertz’s head office. They organised Channel 10 to film the bike and do an interview. Another minute of fame after the weather on the 5.00 pm news. Graham, Hart, May and Jono spent half a day in Hahndorf, a delightful town set up by persecuted Lutheran Germans in 1838. The next day Hart decided to head for home to Toowoomba (maybe it was too cold and/or he missed Liz) and Graham checked out the famous National Motor Museum at Birdwood. Highly recommended. 

Once again a decision to leave before our scheduled date. It is Sunday and we head for Bordertown. This would allow more time in Geelong where Greg Curry of Geelong Harley Davidson offered space and oil to service the outfit.

Breaking the journey en route to Geelong in Ararat was fortuitous. This allowed for Ron and Mary Macmaster to break their journey from Mt Gambier to Wollongong for an overnight stop with the group. A great reunion as Ron and Mary, due to circumstances beyond their control, couldn’t be with us as originally planned. Some may remember they had met on the 2004 Anniversary Ride at Mt Isa and later married.

Steve Gartside from Castlemaine in Victoria joined us here the next morning. Steve had been part of the 2004 Ride also. Steve was good value leading the group through Ballarat when Graham missed the turn off to Geelong. Arriving early that afternoon to Greg’s Harley dealership allowed Greg time to arrange visiting Keith Neivandt at AES Auto Electrics. The generator wasn’t charging (again) and it turned out Keith had cut his teeth on these old Harley gennys. His expertise had the genny charging again. The next morning Graham and Steve took Elvie to Greg’s workshop to do a service. Once again the help received was greatly appreciated and no money changed hands. The support received is truly appreciated and acknowledged with gratitude.

It had been arranged to visit the Grace Mackellar Aged Care Centre in Geelong that morning. This modern facility does a great job in looking after their senior citizens. They enjoyed the old outfit and were delighted when Greg and two of his employees turned up in their shiny new machines.

The run into Melbourne was to end at David Reidie’s Harley City in Brunswick at about 1.00 pm on the same day, Wednesday 16th July. Once again Steve led the way with his local knowledge, with Sassy riding the outfit and Graham driving the truck. The tank was three quarters full but not enough to even make the West Gate Bridge. Running out of petrol on this busy toll way is no joke. Sassy pulled over on limited space marked with painted stripes at an exit and Graham squeezed the truck and trailer off the main drag onto the shoulder. Luckily the can of petrol was easily accessible and refuelling was carried out with great haste.

Neale Brumby from Heavy Duty Magazine was waiting to photograph the outfit going over the West Gate Bridge. He then followed the group to Harley City. Channel 10 took photos and our sponsor Hertz was there with their trucks. Graham had trouble finding somewhere to park the F250 with its long trailer. Channel 10 had Sassy riding and Graham in the box riding around the back streets for photos and filming opportunities. An experience in itself. They were told the segment would be on Channel 10 that evening on the 5.00 pm news before the sport.  Two more minutes of fame! The best exposure to date with flashbacks of photos from the 1958 and 2004 trips.

Jim Burrows, Graham’s mate from Sydney, flew in to join the group for the ride to Sydney. He thought he would ride in the box, seeing he built it for the original trip in 2004.

Highway 31, opposite David’s shop, is a great cafe. That evening at this venue, Channel 31 (a motorcycle TV channel), interviewed Graham and Sassy at length after a great meal which was followed by the Brunswick Chapter’s HOG meeting. This was presided over by David who presented a cheque to Graham, as the AARF patron. Peter Arundel who with David organises the annual Indian V Harley Great Race attended to catch up with Sassy and Graham.

Thursday was a lay day and an invitation to lunch at the Hertz offices near the Docklands. This gave the group a chance to explore that part of Melbourne. Graham had ridden the outfit there for another photo shoot.

Friday saw us waving goodbye to May and Jono as she had met up with her sister and brother-in-law and were driving the coast road. With Jim in the side-box and Graham riding, the group left Melbourne Caravan Park at Coburg at 9.00 am. It was a cold, wet, windy and miserable day. On the way to the next petrol stop in Seymour (where Graham had “briefly” burnt the bike back in 2003), Graham and Jim looked up to see a lit-up sign displaying 10-15 am, 6°C! That said it all. Jim was out of the box like a flash as soon as they stopped for petrol. The space Sassy had left in the back of the truck for Jim just in case, was utilised immediately! Jim did well to last the 80 kms!

The weather didn’t improve and when Sassy took over in Benalla, the rain fell even harder en route to Albury. Craig and Dave of the Hills Ulysses Branch were there to greet them. They had driven down in Craig’s car. Later that evening two more riders arrived from Shepparton on their old Harleys to ride with the group. Greg and Gary had been participants in the Indian V Harley Great Race over the years. A relaxing evening meal at the Panthers Club led to Sassy really unwinding. After all he had had a hard day.

An early start the next morning with Graham riding, we wave goodbye to Steve who was returning home to Castlemaine. We thank him for all his support, he was our only motorcycle escort in Victoria. It was to be a long day. A nostalgia stop at Dog on the Tuckerbox “9 miles from Gundagai”. The photos of Graham at the Devils Marbles and Sassy at the Dog on the Tuckerbox have been the most recognisable from their 1958 trip. They only took seven photos on the whole trip. Why? You may well ask! Sassy took over riding for a lunch stop to Yass where they picked up Britta Bruce from the Hills Ulysses Branch. She had done lots of fundraising and selling of T-shirts while Sassy and Graham were on the road. Well done and thanks for your efforts Britta.

Arriving at Mittagong at about 4.00 pm became another reunion. Motorcyclists from the Hills Ulysses Branch, as well as the HD pre 69ers Motorcycle Club were arriving to ride with the group the next day. A great night at the RSL Club was had by all. Sassy “slowed down” as he was riding to Concord the next day.

The final day was upon us, Sunday 20th July. More motorcyclists turned up to leave with us at 9.30 am. Some had heard Graham on ABC radio 702 the previous morning and came to join them. Graham only had the last minute on the ABC Macca’s “Australia All Over” program that morning to publicise the event. Oh and yes we had to compete for publicity with the Pope!

The weather was kind and Sassy took off with 25 bikes following, including one side car. What a magnificent sight with the mixture of old and new bikes. Ron and Mary joined the group at the Cross Roads Hotel at Liverpool. Craig, Sassy’s son, who had been with us in Darwin had already joined us in Mittagong that morning. So had Phil Roberts on his brand new Yamaha. He wrote off his bike when he left us in Mt Isa on his way home. Sassy pulled over at Yagoona on the Hume Highway for Graham to join him and ride in the box.

The group was on cue at 11.30 am riding into the Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway at Rotary Park Concord. Dennis Quinlan’s Jazz Quartet was playing and Graham and Sassy were escorted to the reception area. Rusty Priest, from the Executive Committee of AARF, and Chairman of the Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway, gave the official welcome in the presence of about 80 people.  Graham responded and thanked all those who had helped them. Professor David Le Couteur, director of AARF, presented both men each with a Certificate of Appreciation. For the next couple of hours there was a sausage sizzle and soft drinks for all, a jazz quartet and lots of chatting. A great finish to a great trip! Britta kept selling T-shirts, adding to the many thousands of dollars already raised. The final figure is approaching $10,000 as these notes were being prepared.

Graham and Sassy have many people to thank for their support before, during and after their big bike ride. The publicity couldn’t have been achieved without several key people from AARF, especially Mari Wright and Joe Stewart. The numerous people who have given donations have all been acknowledged for their support.

Our thanks and appreciation go to the following companies and individuals for their help and assistance.

Thank you one and all

John and Wendy Sinclair and Graham Felton

Some sad news has been received since these notes were completed. Greg Curry of Geelong Harley Davidson died in a scuba diving accident on Sunday 27th July. Graham has written the following tribute.

I received the sad news about Greg on Saturday 2nd August from Steve Gartside who rode with us in Victoria. The funeral was to be Monday 4th August. I decided to attend and represent our group and took a return flight on the day. Keith Neivandt of AES, who Greg arranged to repair our generator, met me at Avalon Airport on his Harley. I attended the service and burial and was in the motorcycle procession on the back of Keith’s bike. The moving tributes and riding with over 300 bikes was a moving experience. Greg was a highly respected businessman in Geelong and was known for his generosity. The assistance he gave us is an example of this.

“Mate you have done more in your 48 years than I could ever hope to achieve even if I live another 20 years. Rest in peace you will never be forgotten”! Our deepest sympathy goes out to his partner, Andrea, and daughter, Jenna and family.