The Convoy marked our first official run as the Canberra Torana
Club. The fun started early, with Phil calling in that he needed a timing
light because his engine was running off song, and some sort of short
behind the dash was pushing Pat's temperature gauge off the scale. Not
good for driving on a hot day. Anyway, Phil did a quick call in to John's,
a slight adjustment and it was a case of cat and mouse across town as
he and John tried to catch up with Pat and Laurie, while Amanda and Mike
awaited the main group to turn up at McDonalds Dickson Car park.
Still with no sign of Phil or John, we departed for
the show grounds, when Phil called just as we turned onto Northbourne
Avenue, to enquire of our whereabouts. With Laurie waiting at the Shell,
Amanda and Mike at the car park on the other side of the McDonalds,
rendezvous point maps appear essential.
Driving up Northbourne, we passed the amassed trucks on Northbourne
Avenue. As we were behind the bikes, we had to snake our way up the
median strip to the front to go after the motorcycles. We parked the
three Toranas in the middle lane of Northbourne to allow the bikes space
to depart. Phil soon arrived, but John had somehow got lost en-route,
and was never heard of again!
No sooner had we got out, paid our $25 to the Eden-Monaro Cancer
Support Group, put our T-shirts on, and we were off. Jon Stanhope waved
the Australian flag to start the convoy, ably assisted by Pat's new
set of air horns, which almost gave the Chief Minister a heart attack!
Following motorcyclists, the ride into and through town was
extremely brisk! Mike was hanging out the window trying out the new
digital toy, making movies and taking pictures of us driving through
town! Can't remember what speed I was doing through the red light/speed
camera, Dulp!!!
Confusion reigned again as we crossed the Commonwealth Avenue
Bridge, and Phil missed the turn off! He wouldn't catch us again till
we were in Queanbeyan.
The drive through town was enjoyable, with people starting
to line the route for the trucks, which were a ways behind us! The drive
through town was enjoyable, as the bikers stopped traffic for us at
all the round-a-bouts! If only driving to work every day was like that!
In next to no time we arrived in Queanbeyan. There were heaps
more people, and again, the motorcyclists timid little horns were ably
supported by the tooting horns of the Toranas.
By the time we made our way into the Queanbeyan Showground,
the sky turned ugly, and before we knew it we were all running for shelter,
as the heavens opened, which was great to settle the dust. Robyn, Madeline,
Emily and Ainslie arrived soaking wet as they walked to the showground
from the Main Street.
After the rain stopped, we took in the rides, Laurie trying
to convince everyone to go on the Hurricane, to which there were no
takers. Time for a quick bite and a refreshing drink, and we returned
to the cars.
The cars were a mess, with a mixture of water and dust! We
awaited the arrival of the trucks, of which there were many.
Following the arrival of the trucks, restless kids, and the
sight of our dirty cars, we all decided to head off, and get our cars
prepared for Shannon's Wheels Expo the next day.
All in all, the event marked a pretty successful event for
the Club's first official run.
Pat.
Cars Attending:-
Laurie & Aiden - LX A9X Hatch
Pat, Robyn, Madeline, Emily & Ainslie - LH SL/R 5000
Amanda, Mike, Nathan, and Brendan - LH SL/R
Phil, and Jamie - LX Sedan
John (MIA) - LX Hatch
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