Three days of riding to get here, and now the rally proper kicks off. Day 4 - the first full day of the Victorian State HOG Rally - and Shepparton is packed. Over 500 bikes from all across the country have rolled in, and a couple have come all the way from France. That’s the thing about a HOG rally: you turn up a stranger and leave with a hundred new mates.
First thing on the program is the Thunder Run - all the bikes lined up by their Chapters, and the host Chapter leads the whole drove out through the streets of Shepparton. The local community had been told we were coming, and they were out on their front lawns waving and cheering us through. Five hundred-odd Harleys rumbling through town in convoy is a serious bit of theatre - and it’s always good for the local economy too.
The run pulled in at Total Tools, one of the major sponsors, where we filled the car park and overflowed into the surrounding streets. They wanted to welcome everyone to the rally, hand out a few prizes, and grab a cracking drone photo op out front of the store.
From Total Tools the run carried on through town and back to Rally HQ at the Museum of Vehicle Evolution - MOVE. Good spot for it, too - a museum full of machines, surrounded by a paddock full of Harleys.
After a great ride with the full complement of HOGs, a few of us decided to peel off and take a ride out to Echuca for lunch. Turns out plenty of others had the same idea - there were bikes all over the road out there. A lovely run through the countryside to Echuca, sitting right on the banks of the Murray.
The town was absolutely pumping. It was a long weekend in Victoria and Echuca had its annual race day on the Sunday, so the place was packed. Great weather, great atmosphere, and a great old river town.
First stop was the Shamrock Hotel, right on the main street. This place has 101 parmas to choose from. A hundred and one. Crazy.
It’s one of those lovely old pubs that’s kept all its original charm and character, then added a side extension for a beer garden and sports bar - so you get the best of both. The big screens had the Melbourne Grand Prix on, cold beer in hand, a feed sorted. Hard to beat.
After lunch we wandered down to the Murray to watch the paddle steamers chugging up the river, just like the good old days. The Port of Echuca is a beautiful bit of preserved history - red-brick bonded stores, old timber wharves, and that classic riverboat-town feel.
We walked back through town and took in the cool old buildings, the heritage shopfronts and a few of the other pubs along the way - like the Star Hotel, a grand old two-storey opposite the wharf.
Last stop was a farewell drink at The Echuca Hotel - another cracking old pub with a big rear beer garden extension, the perfect spot to soak up the glorious weather before the run home.
From Echuca we took a different route back to Shepparton to freshen up and get ready for Night 2 of the rally - Hawaiian night and dinner. Surfboards, tiki masks and a cold Great Northern. Not a bad way to end a rally day.
Three days of hard riding to get to the rally, and now we’re in the thick of it - 500 bikes, a Thunder Run, a riverboat town, and good mates everywhere you look. This is what it’s all about.
Day 4 Stats
Rally day done. The riding’s not finished yet - there’s plenty more road to come.