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Gateway Custom Bike and Tattoo Show 2004

Overcast skies and the occasional shower on Saturday morning didn’t bode well for the weekend as Kaz and I headed out from home towards Quirindi and the Gateway Rally, however all thoughts of a wet weekend were dispelled as we crossed the range at Murrurundi and rode into sunshine and a welcome rise in temperature. Less than an hour later saw us rolling into the Imperial Hotel at Quirindi, and after saying a few g’days Kaz headed for the bar whilst I went off to snap a couple of photos.

This rally has unfortunately become fairly run down over the previous years, so in an effort to get it kick-started again the Hunter Valley Chapter of the Nomads MC had stepped in to host it It was obvious that they had put in a fair bit of effort as everything was in place when we arrived and the first band in the form of ‘Dizzy Lizard’ about to get stuck into some easy listening music prior to the post splitting competition.

After a few numbers from the band the sound of chainsaws firing up drew the crowd over to where Fat Man, Al Campbell and Rick Fraser were getting ready to do battle with their respective logs, Scotty who was the MC for the day introduced them to the crowd and then with the drop of his hat, it was with chainsaws flat out, sawdust flying, the sound of sledge-hammers pounding steel wedges into the cuts and the dull thud of crowbars thrust into the splits that, to the sound of clapping from a very appreciative audience they all ended up with a pile of split posts where only a couple of minutes previous there were three bloody great logs. They were to do it all again later in a Calcutta event with the crowd bidding on them for a chance to win the bidding pool minus a donation to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter who were the main beneficiaries for the rally.

With the band back up on stage I joined Kaz and a few others for a drink and hoed into a steak sandwich from the Lions Club barbeque before heading off to check out the entries in the show and shine, Triumph would have been proud on the day as they outnumbered Harleys and I got a chance to get a close up look at a couple of the new Rocket 3s, they are an awesome bit of gear and certainly a far cry from the bikes we rode in the 60s. As various raffles were being run the Tattoo Comp and the judging of the bikes got under way, then with Scotty slinging in a few jokes and announcements between the bands sets, the sun finally started to go down heralding the forthcoming evening entertainment.

A quick trip into town for a feed of Chinese tucker saw us back in time for the Wet T Shirt Comp, a good line up of lovely ladies had the crowd pressing closer for a better look at the entrants, I don’t think there were any altruistic motives involved, so it must have just been a very close contest to cause Scotty to call them back individually a number of times to the front to be wet down again before the final decision could be made for a winner. ‘Green Ginger’ then took to the stage for the evenings session and as with ‘Dizzy Lizard’ the music was just right for the crowd.

With all the ruggies off to bed for the night it was time for the adult entertainment to commence, a couple of blokes in the crowd got a bit of a frisking from the stripper dressed as a policewoman, they seemed to look pretty happy about their close encounter with the law, but somehow I don’t think the local highway patrol cop will get the same reaction if he tries her method on them. “Barbie” hit the stage next and I can tell you a lot of blokes are considering taking up collecting dolls after seeing her routine, I’m not sure how true this is but I heard that 25 blokes changed their name by deed poll to Ken that night.

Sunday morning was fast approaching as Kaz and I began to wind down and give thought to hitting the sack. Before we left I was talking to the Publican and one of the Nomads, they both said that all up with about 300 people going through the gate it had turned out well and would definitely be on again bigger and better next year. With it being so handy to Newcastle and Tamworth and combined with a nice ride to the site I reckon its going to be well worth putting in the calendar for the future.

Many thanks to the Nomads MC Hunter Valley for reviving this rally,

See you there next year.

Crusty