The MTCV Home Page took 387 hits during January and has taken 18,861 since April 1996. We continue to generate new members via the web and our ads in the bike magazines are doing well. I am thinking of incorporating photos into either the writeups in the members area, or at the itinerary page available to everyone, or both! I have got as far as generating “thumbnails”. Then doing away with the photo section all together – which I never update anyway.
Seen at the January Social Sip: Geoff
Jones, Ben and Julie Warden, Andrew Symes, Ron and
Julie Johnston, Di Welsdford,
Pete Weyermayr, Liz Oliver, Rhys Williams, Ken Wright, Pete Pondeljak and Kate
Stewart, Bruce Saville, Paul and Jo Southwell, Ian
Payne, Martin Hastie and Carmen de Bono, Mark Easterbrook. 20 people, 16
members.
The Points System. The Club Participant of the Year is based on aggregate points accumulated at 1 point per ride, an extra point for leading or being rear rider, and 1 point per Magazine article (maximum 2 per Magazine). It runs till the May AGM. We are already nine months into the 2004 points and at the end of January the top ten points scorers are: Ben Warden (66), Pete Weyermayr (41.5), Ian Payne (36), Liz Oliver (31), Paul Southwell (30), Mark Easterbrook (28.5), Greg Hales (28.5), Rob Langer (28), Ron Johnston (27), and Kate Stewart (25.5), and Geoff Jones (22.5). Quite a bit of movement this month in the minor placings.
The use of video cameras on Club rides. The Committee has deemed that at the start of each ride, the Leader must request that riders’ using video cameras identify themselves. “The use of video cameras, while riding on Club rides is banned, unless every rider waives his right to privacy.” No video cameras please.
Mt Buffalo Caravan Park has a new owner and new managers. We have decided to stay for another year to see if the new owners/managers improve the facilities and rating of the park. Hence, some of us have already booked for next year. Please ring 03 5756 2235 to confirm your booking.
The new itinerary
is available. Due to a request, the nominal start time of rides has been moved
from
We have run out of Magazine covers. I expect a new colour and design for next month.
It has been an excellent month in terms of motorcycle crashes on Club rides with zero recorded! Here is an update on last month’s who’s bruised:
#1: Ray Walker: early release from
Crash #2: Ken Wright: back at work on 7th
January, pain “horrendous”, still popping pills. Has residual tingling in both
arms, physio trying to work out what is going on,
maybe “Class 4 syndrome”. Strength fine. Still waiting for bike parts from
Crash #3: Rhys Williams: back at work on the 16th January, pain slowly dissipating but still popping two Panadol every night to help get to sleep. First ride back with the Club on his new KTM Sunday 1st Feb. Ride went well but caught speeding (radar) on the way home on the Packenham Road. The cop was interested in the bike and knocked the speed back to (!) 3 points and $200. As a result of the crash Rhys will be charged with Careless Driving, but with a Diversion Order where the police, at their discretion, can recommend a defensive driving course. Rhys has to take his chances at Moe Magistrates Court. If the magistrate is happy with the police recommendation, he will order it, and Rhys is likely to cop a small fine payable to the Poor Box. No conviction will be recorded, no points and no fine. Good luck Rhys.
Crash #4: Rob Jones: is suffering from numbness in a leg and both feet, potentially for life according to the neurosurgeon. An MRI scan revealed the sacks on each side of a vertebra have burst and the ruptured disk is pressing on a nerve. He strongly identifies with what Ray is going through. He was a physical wreck for 2 or 3 weeks after the crash, speech badly affected. Yet there were no marks or bruises anywhere. Now he is in no pain and has full strength. An operation would fix the numbness problem, but incapacitate him for a couple of months and be extremely painful. As he runs his own structural steel business, this is out of the question; he will live with the occasional stumble. On the bike front, there is a delay while a Police Report is forwarded. He expects this to be a formality and can’t wait to get a new road bike. In the interim he had his first dirt bike ride experience on Sunday, albeit at a lesser pace than normal. (He once raced dirt bikes.)
Crash #5: Ron Johnston: Ron is back at work.
Here is an email he sent: My 400/4 is of the road at the moment.
I replaced the timing chain tensioner and guide last
week and when I put the rocker cover back on and pulled the bolts down it felt
as if I had stripped one of the bolts. I took the rocker cover back off and it
had pulled one of the helicoils out of the head.
There is 4 of them around the cam sprocket and it
split the aluminium so I have had to take the
head off the spare engine and get the valves and the seats cut before I
put it back on. I have taken the barrels and pistons off
and am going to re-ring it as well because it was using a bit of
oil. I will be off the road for 2 or 3 weeks; hopefully it will go a lot
better when its done. I was going to do it last year
but came off the Bandit first.
Crash #6: Clifford Peters: c/o Barb’s email: Cliff went to his doctor on Monday, had more x-rays and found out he has 3 broken ribs. Two have healed, one has not and it has sort of criss-crossed itself. He is also still very dizzy and had a CT scan today. He will know the results tomorrow. c/o Ron’s email: I went to Cliff’s farm on the Australia Day weekend. Cliff is okay but not doing much. He hasn’t done anything to his bike yet. Danny, his nephew was doing some shearing for him for obvious reasons. He was telling me he was going to buy a new ZX10 Kawasaki in March and we will probably see him on it at Easter.
We wish all our injured members a speedy and full
recovery.
Dave
Moore’s new email address is [email protected]
Kirsten Anderson’s new mobile number is 0425 799 287.