Traverse 06 | Page 28

over for this bike. It’s in the van and back to the overnight stop at Bathurst. Beer and laughter are the order of the night. There’s tales, mostly overstated, about the days riding, all with good humour. Beer glasses clink as the stories get more embellished. Lewis Croft and his team put on a great night, prizes given away and lots of talk about riding. There’s no force-fed benefits of riding a Suzuki, just great chat about riding and exploring areas new to most. Ten-year-old Lilli Bryant, as enthusiastic as any of the more seasoned riders, gives a run down of her days ‘rid- ing’, her dad, Chris, couldn’t be prouder … Lilli’s a Suzuki rider of the future. She grins as she guards the 3 litres of oil she won for being the youngest rider or was it for being on her first adventure ride? No! It was over 200 kilometres on the back of her dad’s bike, life couldn’t be much better. The night ends with much laughter amongst new found friends. Amongst the biting cold of the new day, eyes are red, heads are sore, the night before has taken its toll on some riders. All but one fight on, this ride is too good to forego. We take to the bitumen and ride 75 kilometres to a town TRAVERSE 28