Strathbogie
Ranges BBQ –
Honda CBR929 Greg Hales Yamaha R6 Tamzin Knight
Honda CBR929 Ben Warden Yamaha
YF750 Nigel Davies (1st
ride)
Honda CBR929 Pete Weyermayr Triumph 955 Mark Easterbrook (rear)
Honda CBR929 Ian Payne Suzuki
GSXR1000 Danny Kosinski
Honda CBR929 Craig Morley Yamaha YZF1000 Trevor Harris
Honda CBR929 Findlay Waltot (1st ride) KTM-LC8 Rob Langer (leader)
Honda CBR954 Liz Oliver Suzuki GSXR1000 Jeff Bishop (3rd ride)
Honda CBR600 Shaun Huston (1st ride) Suzuki GSXR750 Matt Clark
Honda CBR400 Ron Johnston Triumph
S/Triple Tom Reynolds (1st
ride)
Suzuki SV650 Mike Grec (1st ride) Yamaha R1 ?
20 bikes, 23 people.
At Whittlesea, one would think the
“Honda Club” had assembled, as nearly half of the group comprised this marque!
A quick count of heads showed a bigger turnout than what was expected so Rob
made a hasty call to Kirsten up at the farm for MORE FOOD!
After a rundown on the route, we were off on a fairly quick sprint up to Kinglake West, Flowerdale and Yea. Just on the outskirts of Yea “all stop” as Police and SES had the road completely blocked. It seems a vehicle had run off the road early in the morning resulting in a fatality. There was nothing we could do but wait until the forensics had finished. After what seemed an eternity, we were allowed through and quickly caught up to Rob, waiting at the highway.
The ride then proceeded west for about four kays towards Seymour before heading up to Highlands and then Caveat where a newly sealed section of road was followed to Ruffy. I was following Rob along this section and noticed he had a “bit” of a rear-end slide on one left hander; he regained control and continued on. As this bend was in the shade of a tree it was difficult to see the road surface so I made a mental note to take the corner a bit wide and hence completely missed a large section of loose gravel!
But unfortunately some of the following bikes weren’t so lucky. First timer, Mike on the SV “had his first real crash” and was on the ground before he knew it! Luckily he only sustained badly torn jeans and lost a couple of layers of skin just below his knee. It looked worse than it really was as the graze wasn’t deep enough to cause blood to flow. His bike, being unfaired, suffered minor cosmetic damage only – left hand blinker, mirror, handlebar, and miscellaneous scratches. But it then proved difficult to start. We think the sidestand cutout switch was bent and had to be put back into place before the motor would fire.
The next bike through was Tamzin with no drama, but in her mirror she saw a yellow bike all crossed up and sideways, and then into the bushes. She thought it was Ben, but it turned out to be Shaun on the CBR600. No damage other than minor gardening scratches, some of which were there already.
Next was the guy on the YZF750. Again no drama, but he pulled up to help.
Then came Jeff on the GXSR1000. Catching a glimpse of the crashed bike and the other bike parked in the bushes, he didn’t notice the gravel and touched the brakes which immediately locked the front wheel and he nose dived hard onto the road. This happened right in front of Ben causing him to run wide while hoping the sliding bike and/or rider didn’t come across in front of him (apparently reminiscent of a Gerry/Dave Ward incident a few years ago). Ben pulled up and, as about 15 bikes had already negotiated the gravel, told Tamzin to carry on and tell the riders ahead of the impending delay. He also got the 600 and YZF750 riders going. Mark assessed Jeff’s condition, which appeared confined to left shoulder damage, so a sling was made for the arm after removing his jacket. As Mark was the rear rider, it was suggested he carry on while Ron and Ben would stay and look after Mike and Jeff.
It is amazing how much carnage a patch of gravel can cause! But to be fair, it was on a gentle, down hill, blind, left hander, and in the shadows. It didn’t appear to be road works, just a collection of fine grey stones!
The plan was for Ben to pillion Jeff to Yea Hospital while Ron would endeavor to start Mike’s bike. Jeff couldn’t lift his arm so it was a bit of a struggle to get his gloves and helmet on! After about a twenty-minute wait in hospital he was treated and his dislocated shoulder “popped” back into place under general anaesthetic!
Meanwhile Ron had got the SV running and Mike rode home. Ron attempted to find firstly Ben, and secondly the ride, but gave up and ended up doing the Reefton Spur.
While all this was happening, the rest of the group had continued on to Merton for fuel, then the Strathbogie Ranges, Polly McQuins, Strathbogie proper and the BBQ site at John and Jo Anderson’s berry farm. At last we could relax, and what a perfect spot. The only other drama being an R1 rider who had tagged along from at about the Flowerdale Road, then disappeared somewhere up the Highlands Road? Mark took off in pursuit, thinking he had left the ride inadvertently, but he was just heading home!
Back at the BBQ everyone was now relaxed and talking about our upcoming ride day at Phillip Island. While enjoying the day we noticed a yellow CBR riding past the property. It was Ben, who had been checking out all the roads heading out of Strathbogie (Boho South, Euroa) looking for us. He had decided to buy a sandwich at the local shop and ask for directions to the Anderson’s property, that eventually bought him here.
It was now time to start thinking about heading home. After thanking our hosts John, Jo and Kirsten we prepared to leave. Kirsten was coming back with us, so she rode pillion with Danny while Rob carried her luggage. Home was via Creightons Creek, Ruffy, Yark and Yea where a short stop was made for fuel. Then down to Flowerdale, Kinglake West, Kinglake, St.Andrews and Warrandyte. What a hoot we had over this sensational stretch of road! Along the way riders peeled off to make their own way home.
A big thankyou to Rob and Kirsten for organizing this very sociable ride that combined an excellent ride plus a relaxing BBQ. Also thanks to John and Jo for the use of their property.
Ian Payne (Honda CBR929RR)
p.s.: The Club has been in contact with Mike and Jeff to ensure they ended up OK. Mike ended up with a broken finger. Both are thinking of taking some action against the council for not having any ‘warning signs’ regarding the gravel on the road, which was in fact road works.
Also Rob, as leader, felt a bit responsible for not warning the others about the gravel. But if the leader were to stop at every hole, bump or gravel section on the road then a Club ride would take forever and generally not work. Given that we were on public roads, every one has to look out for themselves.