Ted has ridden across Australia on the back of Ken Eaton’s BMW.
Esperance people were intrigued to see groups of older leather-clad ladies and gents on the streets last weekend, both on and off their powerful motorcycles.
On Saturday they were at Esperance Mechanical Restoration Group to look at the many heritage machines before a quick beer at the Gibson Soak Tavern and dinner at Esperance Football Club.
Ken Eaton has been riding with the Ulysses Club for 18 years now, with a small dog perched on the pillion of his powerful BMW.
“My last little dog, Chloe, rode over 230,000 kilometres all over Australia with me visiting every capital city in Australia,” he told the Weekender.
“Little Ted here, he’s four now and he’s been to, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and back as we went to one of the national events.”
We asked how the group got its motto.
“We were formed 40 years ago last year, by a group of six mature riders,” Mr Eaton said.
“They were at an afternoon tea somewhere and a lady said: ‘that’s disgraceful’.
“So the motto began: ‘grow old disgracefully’.”
As the local chapters don’t have a Sergeant at Arms and members don’t wear denim colours we were somewhat sceptical about how “disgraceful” they really were, but Mr Eaton continued:
“We are a group of riders from different parts of Australia and we get together once a year nationally and also on the Queen’s and now the King’s birthday once a year somewhere in regional WA.
“We always have a good time — most groups ride every Sunday out to a local Country pub for lunch.
“And we meet once a month for breakfast somewhere around the metropolitan area or outer metropolitan and we do a lot of money-raising for charity.”
Mr Eaton said charities included a fund for research into rheumatoid arthritis.
As president of the Joondalup branch, Mr Eaton represents one of the Ulysses group’s six WA branches which also include Geraldton, Bunbury, Fremantle, Warnbro Sound, Armadale, and Perth.
He said current membership was about 8,000 Australia wide.
