October is a great time of year to ride a motorbike here on Phillip Island, Australia. We have three major bike events over the course of three weekends.

First the Superbike championship is held at the Grand Prix track (just down the road). Superbikes aren't really my thing ... and we do get a lot of 'squids' riding around town, but we can hear the bikes on the track from the back door at home. Aaaand, it's always good to have more bikes around the place.

The next weekend is The Blessing of the Bikes, held just up the road at San Remo. It's basically a ceremony where riders ride their bikes through an arch and get blessed by a priest to safeguard them for the year ahead. The fallen are also remembered as a group of doves are released. (I generally avoid the blessing bit, for fear my bike (or me) might catch on fire if it comes in contact with holy water!). But, there are merchandising stalls etc ... and ... this year, Royal Enfield was the naming sponsor, so I got to see their new offerings up close. Oh, and over 10,000 riders make the trip so there's lots to see.

Then, the weekend after that, we host the MotoGP. This is the best bit - such an eclectic crowd, and a great buzz around town. There are two main convoys that come into town - they start somewhere (a long way away, and pick up riders along the way). One comes on Thursday, the other on Saturday. Locals set up deck chairs on the side of the main road to watch them come in.

I took a few photos of the town during MotoGP weekend, for any one who likes such things:

The main road, down by the water becomes 'bike central'.




So do the side streets.




Bikes come and go all day.




We get the usual 'eccentrics'.




And, a band down on the foreshore on Saturday night.




When the MotoGP is over there's a huge exodus off the Island. The local council paint a blue line on the left side of the road. Bikes on the left, cars on the right. I didn't photograph this part this year, but here's a photo I took a couple of years ago which is indicative of the exit.




Oh, and as for Savage specific news ... I saw the very first 'other' Savage/S40 that I have ever seen outside a showroom, apart from my own bike. It was a new 2017 S40 in burnt orange.

Oh, and I do love watching people squint at my tank badge as they try to figure out what the hell my bike is. Is it an import? is it a 250? nice bike mate, it looks like fun