[Eric]

When I got back from Perth my eldest son asked what I was doing in the morning. Nothing planed so he asked if I would like a ride. So here is our ride to Clare.
I road my rs250 honda and my son road his 600 Kawaka. Leaving home we had a 20mph head wind and my little 250 was flat out at 70 mph. We were having fun riding along when Wanlop stopped suddenly. The helmet was coming off and he was waving me back and I was wondering what was up. When I get back there I find that he has been stung on his nose by a bee. There was a lot of drama but I managed to get the sting out and we made our way into the next town called Auburn to get some cold water. It wasn't too bad, it wasn't my nose. This road is up through the Clare Valley with rolling hills and lots of vineyards and we were loving the ride. So our first stop was Auburn. Now come on you guys what do you think that first building is.
1/ This is a photo of ..............
2&3/A country gas station
4/Getting cold water for the bee sting
5/After getting stung on the nose who would stop in front of all those flowers.
PS: No it not a church. It was a corn barn. Eric

 

[Two Wheel Wing]

Great pics Eric. Do you know the name of the flowers in pic#5?? They seem different...

 

[LarryinSeattle]

Eric, Thanks for the pictures.

Sunday looks to be a good day for riding here ( no rain and 50 degrees ) I need to ride somewhere for something.

 

[Eric]

TWW: You are too quick for me. I haven't even gathered my thoughts from the post and you have replied already. I am not the green finger type but they are Hydragea, but depending on the acid in the soil they can go from blue to purple. To keep them white you have to grow them in neutral Ph soil. Eric

 

[detdrbuzzard]

too bad you didn't get a pic of wanlop's nose

 

[budoka]

With a structure like that, what are they using the corn for? I'd be looking for telltale signs of leftover stainless tubing, yeast and sugar containers. Oh, and a peculiar 'cooking' smell in the air. Is there a non-descript big block Dodge parked out back?
Pretty good notes on growing hydrangia for someone that has no 'green thumb' Eric. Once again thanks for the sharing.

 

[Ron Robertson]

Yup!! a corn barn that's what I was going to say.

 

[Eric]

I have a friend that lives in Victoria and they grow Hydrangia. He is retired and his garden is everything and even if you are not interersted, you still get the run down. But that is ok because I will learn something.
When I seen that corn barn I was convinced that it was some type of church building. Ok I will test you out on this one. Eric

 

[Eric]

Clare is a big wine erea and all the vines are still green. Clare is very old erea and has some great old buildings. Here are some from the main street.
1/ Looking down the main street. The two story building is a pub.
2/ ANZ Bank.
3/ NAB Bank.
And no I do not own a bank. I owe them money. Eric

 

[budoka]

I'll go out on a vine, em, limb on this one. A wine making facility. Can't call it a barn now can we?

 

[Eric]

From Clare we road to Mintaro. The road into Mintaro follows the old bullock team track, up and down rolling hills twisting and turning as it makes it's way through farming land and vineyards. Geee I do it tough in the land Down Under. Mintaro is a town that looks like it did over 100 years ago. It also has a great quality slate mine. The reject slate is in the building and slate fences and paths. I love this place because it's like a hidden treasure, being off the main hwy. Take a look at this place.
1/ Slate as you enter the town.
2/ Vineyard right up to the town.
3/ The bikes facing the turn off into town.
4/ Original building and now a second hand shop.
5/ A cafe

 

[Eric]

I'll go out on a vine, em, limb on this one. A wine making facility. Can't call it a barn now can we?

Sorry, it has nothing to do with the wine industry.

 

[Ron Robertson]

I have a friend that lives in Victoria and they grow Hydrangia. He is retired and his garden is everything and even if you are not interersted, you still get the run down. But that is ok because I will learn something.
When I seen that corn barn I was convinced that it was some type of church building. Ok I will test you out on this one. Eric

It looks to me like there is a newer roof area on and older building. I say the lower part is older by what I can see of the doors set in the stone. I'm going with Daryl on this and say it a Wine cellar.

 

[Ron Robertson]

Clare is a big wine erea and all the vines are still green. Clare is very old erea and has some great old buildings. Here are some from the main street.
1/ Looking down the main street. The two story building is a pub.
2/ ANZ Bank.
3/ NAB Bank.
And no I do not own a bank. I owe them money. Eric

Love the look of the old buildings.

 

[Eric]

Ok, looking at the building you will see the typical loading unloading doors used with the horse and cart days. The roof was renew to protect the building. You have to think along the lines of what would you need in the old days in locations a long way from a service centre. It would have been a 3 day trip from Adelaide back then. Eric

 

[Cantankerous]

Clare is a big wine erea and all the vines are still green. Clare is very old erea and has some great old buildings. Here are some from the main street.
1/ Looking down the main street. The two story building is a pub.
2/ ANZ Bank.
3/ NAB Bank.
And no I do not own a bank. I owe them money. Eric

Clare looks a lot like one of the older towns here! The shot looking down main street made me look twice.


Thank you for the great ride report, Eric,

 

[Chopin]

Hmmm.. Hydrangea. Our blooms don't grow tall like that and rather stay closely clustered on the bush.

 

[fossil92]

Hmmm.. Hydrangea. Our blooms don't grow tall like that and rather stay closely clustered on the bush.

They also attract Bees & Butterflies not Blue Motorcycles & Riders.

Great tour Eric as always.

 

[Eric]

Hmmm.. Hydrangea. Our blooms don't grow tall like that and rather stay closely clustered on the bush.

Our friends live in the mountain erea of Victoria and they grow Hydrangea. They feed them aluminium powder to add to the color. If you look at the color they have a lot of the colors that you can get from the white blue and purple.
Now Vanessa gave you the big rap of being the one that would be able to tell me what the building was used for soooo. Eric

 

[Eric]

When we were in Mintaro I said to wanlop we could go out to Martindale House. This type of building is very rear in Australia. It was built in 1841 and had a coach house as well. Personal it is a story of someone coming into too much money too quickly.
1/ The coach house.
2/ Martindale house