The throaty roar of a bunch of Indians reverberated around the Bega Showground on Sunday.
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The Gypsy Tour's 90th anniversary re-enactment was in town and no doubt their fellow campers and nearby residents were well aware of the 15 or so motorbikes of up to 1800cc each visiting.
After enjoying the evening, the riders, who are travelling from Melbourne to Sydney, held a gymkhana on the showground to the enjoyment – and occasional amusement – of their mates and the intrigued public who went along for a stickybeak.
Many of the gymkhana events tested the riders’ ability to handle their heavy and powerful bikes at slow speed while also performing other skills like tossing tennis balls at a bin or seeing who could get to the finish line the slowest – without stalling or putting their feet down.
From Bega the group was heading on to Narooma and then Batemans Bay for the night.
On Monday, the Gypsy Tour is scheduled to arrive at the Indian Motorcycles outlet in Ashfield, Sydney, in time for lunch before a gala dinner.
The route follows that taken 90 years ago by what was believed at the time to be the world's largest Gypsy Tour.
On Christmas Eve 1927, 70 riders on 41 bikes left Melbourne and rode up the coast to Sydney.
Their journey was covered in the Sydney Morning Herald at the time when “what is believed to be the largest gypsy touring party of motorcyclists organised in any part of the world” arrived to set up camp at the Sydney Agricultural Showground.
To celebrate their forebears, this weekend saw current Indian owners and riders saddle up and take to the Princes Hwy.
Departing from Indian Motorcycles in Melbourne’s CBD on Thursday, April 20, they followed the exact route their Indian pioneers took 90 years ago.
They stopped at Traralgon and Sans Souci before Bega, and then it was on to Batemans Bay and Sydney.
The “Gypsy” idea is to make the riders entirely self-dependent, and with that objective they camp out at night as often as possible. The idea of the Gypsy Tour originated in America, where rides were often organised simultaneously in different cities and towns with the routes converging on one central rally location.
Those on the weekend's ride were hoping to repeat the journey in five years and then again in 10 for the 100th anniversary.