Towong, Australia Day Weekend

Due to work commitments Peter and I were unable to join the other members riding to Corryong on Friday; instead we rode up on Saturday afternoon. Due to the expected increased police presence on the roads over this long weekend and Peter still smarting from his last encounter, we decided to keep relatively close to the speed limits on our way up and settled into a fairly monotonous, body aching rhythm.

My right hand kept going numb holding the throttle in the same position for long periods of time and also as I'd fastened my gloves a bit tightly. So I resorted to letting go of the throttle occasionally while trying to shake some blood down to my fingers. I was doing this when we had our first cop sighting, so we were well under the limit. A bright blue candy coloured toggy coming towards us on one of the tempting long straights between the Hume Hwy and Whittlesea.

Just outside of Whittlesea my bike mysteriously lost power and stopped. After fearing the worst ...oh no, not another break down! We decided perhaps I'd unwittingly hit the kill switch while shaking my numb hand, and so continued on cautiously through Kinglake and on to Yea. I didn’t let the ponies loose until Junction Hill where I spotted a few bikes ahead and set off to disturb their relaxed pace. Passing them was easy on those lovely wide flowing corners and the ponies continued to run until we approached Yea.

Once on the main Highway we settled into cautious mode again, this time all the way to Mansfield. Food, fuel and a rest for my now extremely numb bum at Mansfield. Then it was off along one of my favorite sections... the road to Whitfield. We found ourselves in the midst of a Ulysses ride. They seemed to be a never ending stream but I finally worked my way past them all, surprising a few who set off after me. I chuckled to myself thinking about how easily the male ego can be revved up. Of course in our Club I'm the one being overtaken, so the opportunity for me to pass several bikes rarely occurs.

At Whitfield we stopped in the shade for another rest, this time the boots came off as we stripped down in an effort to cool our hot and weary bodies. A couple Blackbirds waved as they passed by. Back on the road we crawled past the speed camera parked along the main street of Whitfield, then waved at the Blackbirds as we passed them stopped by a Toggy further down the road, thankful that we were being very restrained and the cop was already occupied. Apparently the cops have been targeting bikes and speed offenders on the road between Whitfield and Oxley for the past 6 months or so, and had claimed several licences over the weekend.

It was nearly 5.30pm by the time we refueled in Beechworth and the servo attendant told us loads of bikes had been through heading to Corryong for the weekend so I excitedly imagined a huge group of our members would be there to greet us when we finally got there.

Having missed the turn to Kiewa, we found ourselves at Gundowring and quite a bit out of our way heading towards Mt Beauty. After crossing the river then blasting along the quiet country road through the dairy farms back towards Tallangatta we had added approx 40kms to our trip. This detour meant we tackled the 95 or so kilometers along the road to Corryong at dusk. So we diligently kept a lookout for wildlife, seeing none.

The last 50kms seemed to take forever but we finally rolled into Corryong, all points intact. We found the others, 7 of them, at the Sporting Club having dinner. Where were the rest of you? Geoff Jones, Rob Langer,  Danny Kosinski and Ben Warden all rode up the previous day, while Julie Warden drove her car and Dave Ward and Bronwyn took the MV Augusta up in their van. Bronwyn's new bike has not yet arrived in the country. Not as many people had made the trip up as I expected and our presence seemed well received as Geoff made the comment "Kate and Peter, your arrival has cheapened the place!"  I hope he was referring to the accommodation cost!

The accommodation was very comfortable and had been hand built by the owner in a pleasant rustic style. Ben and Julie, Dave and Bronwyn had rooms in the main house, while in the cottage the 3 boys shared a room with a double and a bunk bed. Peter and I had a firm but comfortable double bed (much better than a saggy one) tucked around the corner of the main room where cards, backgammon and the TV entertained us late into the night. The bikes were all parked undercover downstairs in a garage with enough room for Dave and Bronwyn's van as well. There was another cottage on the property occupied by another group who, at one stage, thought they too might use the garage under our cottage to house their prestige car, but this was corrected in due course, by our hosts. Bikes only!  

Saturday's activities for the others included canoeing and pushbike riding for Bronwyn and Julie. Julie, once again a casualty of a gravel drift, coming down with a thud and skinning her palm, similar to her incident in Bright.

The guys had all been riding up to Jindabyne. They had the misfortune to run into a new kind of undercover traffic policing system. A little old lady warned Ben of police up ahead with a hairdryer. The nice twisty road was sign posted 60 and 80 all the way to Thredbo, so Ben led the group cautiously on the look out for the radar trap, finally spotted 20 km down the road in Thredbo! What a ploy by those cunning cops... Granny power!

On Sunday, Julie and Bronwyn headed up to Thredbo for an ambitious bushwalk while the rest of us rode up to Cabramurra and down to Sue City where Ben, Danny, Dave and Geoff said goodbye as they continued along Elliot Way to Tumbarumba and up to Tumut. Rob, Peter and I returned to Towong. Peter and I ventured into Corryong for some snacks and to refuel before chilling out for the remainder of the afternoon. Rob pondered whether to change his tyre for the trip back to Melb. The only tyre available that could fit on his KTM 950 was a much skinnier one than desirable so he finally opted to just ride conservatively and save what remained of his rubber.  The girls returned, disillusioned with their days activities, having been stung by the Thredbo cop for doing 80 in a 60 zone when Bronwyn thought it was an 80 zone, then being stung again by the cost of riding the chairlift.

A splash in the river, a beer or two, then dinner at the Corryong pub saw us all fit for another round of Backgammon and cards. Outside the skies put on a spectacular light show above the mountains. I feared we might get wet for the trip home, but this proved unfounded as Monday dawned still and clear. Bronwyn and Dave were first to get on the road followed by Rob, then Julie, all going the most direct route. The rest of us took the scenic route via Walwa where we escorted the local cop for a few kms. It was amusing to see us all in line following the 4WD at just below the speed limit. Fortunately she stopped in Walwa allowing us to continue on and enjoy the sweepers along the Murray River before heading over Granya Gap.

Peter and I left the boys at the Murray Valley Highway intersection while Ben watered the flora, as they were planning a lengthy detour to Dartmouth Dam. We headed to Yackandandah where we stopped for fuel, then on through Beechworth, Oxley, Whitfield and Mansfield for a decent rest and a feed. I was flaked out on a bench when Ben flashed by followed by Danny and Geoff, who spotted Peter and I waving and pulled up to tell us they were stopping for fuel in Yarck. Peter and I casually got back on the road and proceeded down the well patrolled stretch, thinking there is no way we will catch up to them at Yarck. But they were still there, resting in the shade of a big umbrella outside the pie shop. A quick discussion on the most direct route home and we jumped back on the bikes for the home stretch.

Ben and Geoff heading through Yea and Whittlesea, Danny, Peter and I opting for the Maroondah Hwy. Danny planned to go through Marysville, Peter and I took the most direct route to Healesville. I'd done more than enough kms and didn’t want to do a single extra one on the way home. My favourite blast through Nagana was cop free and finally we were home, sore, but happy to have spent a few days riding and having fun with great company in fine weather.

Kate Stewart (Honda CBR600)