Brisbane Ranges – 31^st October 2004

Honda CBR929 Ian Payne (leader) KTM640 Rhys Williams

Yamaha R6 Joel Haley Suzuki GSXR750 Matt Clark

Suzuki Hayabusa Wayne and Joanne Nimmo (rear)

I was unsure how many would turn up for today’s ride with most of the regulars up at Towong for the ‘Snowy Mountains Cup Weekend’ ride. It was also the first day of ‘daylight saving’ which could have a bearing on the numbers.

After meeting the smallish group at West Gate Servo, I outlined the day’s activities. Wayne volunteered for the rear rider job. We then headed off down the Freeway in glorious sunshine, exiting at Grieve Parade to Dohertys, Derrimut and Greigs roads which now had us at Exford.

We continued on towards Rowsley. Just when the roads got interesting, a wayward cyclist, on a blind left-hander, had us scattering in all directions. From the way he was wobbling about, it appeared he had gear selection problems. As I rounded the bend, he was almost on the white line. I blasted the horn and went ‘wide’ to go around him. Fortunately, he went wobbling back to the left. The idea of oncoming cars didn’t bear thinking about.

We pushed on and up the old Club Hill Climb at Mount Wallace. Boy, was the road in poor condition. Loose gravel and pot holes everywhere; even a snake sun baking! Apparently, it objected to being disturbed and reared up ready to attack the last of the bikes!

We then headed towards Anakie but diverged onto back roads that took in Ballark, Bungal, Mount Egerton and Yendon. While travelling these narrow, extremely bumpy and essentially straight sections of road, I began to wonder why I’d chosen this route! In my memory, the roads never seemed this bad. The Club has been exploring the area for more years than I can remember with trips to Bungal Dam, Lal Lal Falls and Dunnstown. Perhaps we have just been spoilt with all the newer roads!

I was now heading to another old Club haunt, the fire tower at Mt. Buninyong. That is, once I got the ‘One Way’ entry road right! Near the top another surprise, an old koala ambling along the roadway quite unperturbed at our presence! We parked the bikes and headed up the tower. What a magnificent view! Ballarat appeared to be at our feet and the clear skies allowed one to see as far as the horizon. But time was getting on, so back down, onto the bikes and into Buninyong for lunch. During lunch, I commented that Rhys hadn’t had any trouble keeping up. Seems he had dropped two teeth on the rear sprocket which now allowed the KTM to reach 140 km/h and cruise at 120. Not bad for a big dirt bike!

Wayne and Joanne told us about their recent adventures in Cairns and especially their trip out to the Great Barrier Reef where they went snorkelling. Heading out on the big tourist boat the sea was a little choppy, so went inside and down stairs to be more comfortable because Joanne was feeling queasy and Wayne a bit hung over from the night before. The rolling motion was just starting to get to them. As they bent down to get sick-bags, a huge, freak wave struck the boat, shattering the large, glass windows, smashing furniture and sending passengers sprawling. The decks were awash with injured people. Wayne and Joanne escaped unhurt, though soaked through. It seems they had bent down just at the right time as the wave of water and shards of glass passed over their heads! The boat continued on to the Docking Pontoon where the injured were airlifted out and the rest waited for up to 5 hours till another boat arrived. What a holiday trip!

Soon lunch was over and it was off to the servo for fuel. They had no unleaded so we settled on ‘premium’, which, at $1.12 per litre, appeared pretty expensive, until Matt commented that it was cheaper than at West Gate!

Just as we left, Rhys asked about the roads and I said “From now on, they’re all good”. The plan was to head towards Mount Mercer on a good road, but at the next intersection I misread the sign to Meredith and headed instead to Shelford! This stretch of road was dead straight. By the time I realised it was the wrong road, we were more than half way, so I continued on to Shelford. We then took the next road back to Meredith. Unfortunately, this road was no better: although it did have some ‘bends’, the bumps out-weighted them in a ratio of ten to one.

Meredith finally appeared and the “good” road through Steiglitz to Maude was enjoyed by all. Apart from Pringles Road, that was the end of the twisty roads! We continued on Anakie, Anakie Junction, Staughton Vale, Exford and the Melton South servo where the ride finished.

What a ride! Although not long in distance, the bumpy roads had certainly taken their toll; I felt like I’d just completed a marathon!

A big thanks you to everyone who came on the ride. I hope you weren’t too saddle sore the next day.

Ian Payne (Honda CBR929)