Cooma, yep, you can probably assume that they were doing the Snowy Ride but there were a lot of other motorcyclists in that Region over the weekend who were not associated with the Snowy Ride. Perhaps as it occurred on Saturday they were doing the FarRide to Mallacoota or perhaps they were attending the Motorfest at Cooma that was held on Saturday.
Wyndham, Eden? Both a long way from the Snowy Ride area. The accident at Eden on Sunday, maybe you can assume they were heading home but the Snowy ride was over. Lots of Riders going up and down the coast at this time of year.
Wyndham? Buggered if I know. One would have to assume from the information available that she was a lone female rider riding in the middle of nowhere. Can anyone definitely say that she was doing the Snowy Ride or is the death just being attributed to the Snowy Ride because it was on that weekend.
It's funny how the authorities allocate these fatalities to a particular event. Apparently last year a local farmer was killed when he had an accident on his trail bike on his own property in the Snowy Region. Yet, that fatality was still attributed to the Snowy Ride.
You try and work that one out. I wonder what the truth of these 3 incidents really is.
Having said that, I have now participated in the Snowy Ride for the total 13 years that it has been run and this year was no different to the previous 12 years. There are a lot of riders who participate in this event every year whose riding skills are extremely limited or non existent and who are a danger to themselves and all other road users. I'm not sure how the organisers can overcome this problem but it is an issue that needs to be addressed.
The policing presence at this years event was extremely limited and well below that of previous events. Usually during the presentation on the Saturday afternoon the issue of accidents/incidents that have occurred during the event is raised, some statistics given and a general safety/riding warning given, there is also usually a short address given by a police officer during that presentation. This year, neither of these normal formalities occurred.
The Snowy Ride is a great event and raises a lot of money for Childhood Cancer Research and Treatment Programs and it would be sad if these deaths did occur as a result of people participating in this event. If this were the case and the alleged trend of accidents and fatalities attributed to the event were to continue, the event will finish up claiming more lives than it is actually trying to save.
