The procession into Cooma
Began today (5th) on a subdued note with a late start at 8am. Rode the twisties to Cann River then on to Bombala for muster & morning tea. On to Nimmitabel to muster again for a police escort to Cooma.
What an emotional rush. To see all those bikes, riders & pillions grouped & riding in formation with support crew at head & tail, all snaking around sweeping bends up & down hills was inspiring.
We had ridden so far together in 33 days we knew what each other was thinking & who would react how. When an interloper cut in to the formation you could see they didn't fit. A stop at the Cooma stockyards to lose the interlopers while the police closed the road to other traffic then a slow procession into the main street for a lap of the town. Clapping, cheering & photos from onlookers, bike horns sounding as we waited for our turn to park up then hugs & tears all round.
On to Thredbo this time with car & bike police escort. Some of the kids we rode for were waving to us from the walk bridge over the road where we parked up together for the final time. Onlookers again clapping, cheering & taking photos. Tears all round & hugs all round as we realised we had all succeeded with no major incidents. Even Tony, who had broken his leg when he slipped in the pindan mud, was able to be there with us as he should.
A BBQ & presentation ceremony was then held where every AAR participant was presented with a personalised engraved medal. Speeches were given & we learned that collectively we had raised well over $300,000 with the final amount still to be tallied.
The Around Australia Ride was officially over after 33 days in the saddle together around this amazing country of ours.
What an emotional rush. To see all those bikes, riders & pillions grouped & riding in formation with support crew at head & tail, all snaking around sweeping bends up & down hills was inspiring.
We had ridden so far together in 33 days we knew what each other was thinking & who would react how. When an interloper cut in to the formation you could see they didn't fit. A stop at the Cooma stockyards to lose the interlopers while the police closed the road to other traffic then a slow procession into the main street for a lap of the town. Clapping, cheering & photos from onlookers, bike horns sounding as we waited for our turn to park up then hugs & tears all round.
On to Thredbo this time with car & bike police escort. Some of the kids we rode for were waving to us from the walk bridge over the road where we parked up together for the final time. Onlookers again clapping, cheering & taking photos. Tears all round & hugs all round as we realised we had all succeeded with no major incidents. Even Tony, who had broken his leg when he slipped in the pindan mud, was able to be there with us as he should.
A BBQ & presentation ceremony was then held where every AAR participant was presented with a personalised engraved medal. Speeches were given & we learned that collectively we had raised well over $300,000 with the final amount still to be tallied.
The Around Australia Ride was officially over after 33 days in the saddle together around this amazing country of ours.
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