Walhalla  -  Sunday 20th January 2002

 

Ben Warden - CBR929RR (Leader)                Rob Jones - VTR1000

Ray Walker - GSXR1000                                Rob Langer - FZ1

Jeff Hornby - ZX6                                            Chris Burns - TL1000R

Ron Johnston - GSX1200 Bandit                      Wayne & Joanne Nimmo - Hayabusa

Dave Hives - ZX9                                            Terry ???? - CBR1000 (Second ride)

Dave Skitt - TL1000S (Rear Rider)                 

 

11 Bikes, 12 People, Weather hot…very hot

 

 

Route: Yarra Glen (10.15am)- Healesville - Yarra Junction - Noojee - Drouin (Lunch at 12.00pm) - Korumburra (almost) - Arawata - Mirboo North (Lunch No2 at 3.00pm) - Thorpdale - Moe - Tyers Walhalla (4.00pm rest stop) - Erica - Willow Grove - Fumina -Noojee (5.30 pm rest stop) - Yarra Junction (Finish at 6.00pm)

 

Yarra Glen to Drouin

I knew the day was going to be hot and after a superb day on Saturday, Sunday was forecast to be 36oC in Melbourne.  I had stuck with full leathers but on arriving at Yarra Glen I noted some riders had opted for lighter clothing.  Already by 10.00 am there was significant heat in the sun and air causing me difficulty in glove removal.

 

Ray arrived and described his Friday morning minor incident with a car and his new GSXR1000 which had resulted in broken fairing etc.

 

Having been with the club for nearly two years I decided it was time to volunteer for rear rider which would also give me chance to try out the set of Michelin Mac100's I had bought on the Saturday…Sport Touring tyres on a TL you might ask!.

 

Ben soon had us on the road heading along the Old Healesville road through Healesville and down to Yarra Junction where we turned on to the Powelltown road.  The shade from the trees provided some cooler air as we picked up pace through to Noojee.  The run from Noojee to Neerim South was fast and hot as we headed out into open country away from the forest areas.

 

A detour from the main road towards Jindivick and Longwarry was where Dave began to slow his ZX9 and eventually stop, complaining of severe tooth ache, caused by severe dentistry on Friday. After a few minutes we pressed on to Drouin, where Ron joined us.  He had thought Hallam was the leaving point.  Also joining us was Terry (not sure of your last name) on his second Club ride. Welcome, and we hope to see you again on Club rides.

 

Drouin to Mirboo North

Following a rest stop and lunch for most of us except Dave (who opted for pain killing drugs), we were off south for Korumburra in Gippsland.  This area has some of my favourite roads in Victoria.  As I approached the left turn to Arawata, Terry had farewelled the corner markers and was off home but Dave obviously feeling the effect of the drugs missed the turn and began following Terry.  A quick discussion revealed Dave was off on a tangent and I chased.  Well catching him was a bit of a challenge and we reached Korumburra (almost) before I caught up.  "Hmm these Mac 100 tyres are pretty good" I thought.

 

Soon we were back on track heading to Arawata but rounding a corner I found Joanne flagging me down.  "Oh no…at least I've got the emergency kit".  Jeff on his ZX6 had gone into a corner and ridden off the road down a particularly steep bank flattening the grass for about 10 metres.  Luckily no harm to Jeff and only some minor fairing damage, missing indicator and registration label.

 

It took about eight of us some serious effort to drag Jeff's bike up the 60o bank back on to the road.  I was more concerned about snakes (we don't have them in New Zealand you see) in the waist deep grass than Jeff's bike.  Jeff was soon bravely back on his machine and we regrouped with Ben and the others after the short gravel section at Fairbank.

 

From here it was off toward Dumbalk. Some cloud was beginning to spread in from the west which kept the air temp to a bearable level.  Soon Dave was again attempting to break away passing a series of cars at high speed at the exact moment he should have been making a left turn to Dumbalk.  Those drugs had him racing!  This time he had seen where he had to go and I didn't need to give chase.

 

Mirboo North to Walhalla

Lunch number two in Mirboo and I topped up the TL again with petrol just to be safe,   14 km/litre over the last section from Drouin wasn't too bad though.

 

By now it was getting hot again and we were keen to keep moving. We headed for Thorpdale and to Coalville on roads not previously ridden by MTCV members or even motorcyclists for that matter.  Ben was soon stopped at a Y junction checking his map.  Yep! Take the right fork.  After a few k's the road became gravel and we turned back.  (According to the map it was meant to be bitumen …Ed.) At one stage we all rode through a crop irrigation system over-spraying water on to the road.  At least the water cooled our hot leathers for a while.

 

As we headed down into the valley past Moe, the heat from the full north-west wind hit us.  The road from Tyers to Walhalla was wide and open for a long way. Already the weather was starting to cool.

 

Walhalla was interesting place nestled in a gum tree filled valley.  A historic gold mining town (for those who have never been there).  Ray was more interested in the "permanently on" fuel light on his GSXR.  Ben said to ride as far as possible and then siphon petrol some from the rear rider.  A few comments about having a TL as rear bike with the smallest tank and the largest thirst for petrol had us all laughing.  By now it was after 4.00 pm and we needed to head for home.

 

Walhalla to Yarra Junction

As we left Walhalla the predicted cool change had come through and the temperature dropped to a comfortable level which was good as the tar was wet in a few places from the heat of the day.

 

A quick refuel stop in Erica (Ray didn't run out after all) and we were back on the road.  The run through Willow Grove to Noojee was bumpy, as predicted, but very scenic through the tall and very large gum trees.

 

We rested in Noojee and made the final run back through Powelltown to Yarra Junction where the ride finished. 

 

A great day out on some of the best roads available.  Thanks Ben for leading us on this ride.  I covered over 600 km for the day after heading home through Emerald and Belgrave to McKinnon.

 

By the way I am really happy with the Michelin Mac 100's.  They have given back some stability to my TL has notoriously bad handling at times.  I hope to get a lot more than the 3,000 km from the Dunlop 207 I had on before.  

 

Dave Skitt (One of the TL's)