8 days of Christmas …

Participants:

Ben, Julie and Fiona Warden Car, trailer and Honda CBR929RR.

Ron and Julie Johnston Car, trailer and Suzuki Bandit 1200.

Cliff Peters and Danny Ute, trailer Kawasaki ZX-10R and Suzuki GSXR1000.

Jason Peters (Cliff's nephew) Kawasaki ZX12R

Ken Wright and Louisa Land Rover, trailer and Aprilia RSV1000

Dave Ward and Bronwyn Mercedes van, Augusta MV SPR, MV Brutale and KTM250

Ian Payne Van and Honda CBR929RR.

Stoimen, Vicky, Karl and Nadia Ford 4WD, R1

Peter Feistl Honda Blackbird

Les Leahy Suzuki DRZ400

Renzo Cunico Honda VFR750

Christmas at Porepunkah came as a bit of a surprise! I had other child minding commitments and a replacement of the leaking front shocker seals planned, but the Christmas gift given to the ex-wife put her in a good mood so she insisted I escape for a week to have a blast of a time with the MSTCV.  

Day One (26 Dec) saw everything needed packed into the new ‘Ventura Bag’, with tent and folding seat securely strapped to the back of the Blackbird. The journey was planned to travel the windiest roads but the weight on the back detracted from the fun, so it was Rowville – Black Spur - Mansfield, then Whitfield – Myrtleford - Porepunkah. After setting up camp I met the guys and talked bike talk over a quiet can of Pepsi, then a cup of tea. Julie Warden and I had a deep and meaningful.

Day Two (27 Dec) had us on our first day trip up to Falls Creek. Having ridden with Ben previously, I followed closely behind with Clifford forming a threesome. The ride included Bronwyn and Dave, Danny, Ken, Ian, Ron and Stoimen, making 10 riders and bikes. After a brisk ride we stopped atop the mountain, played with my new camera and then hit the road for the return ride. A couple of hours rest later and off we went to Mt. Buffalo. Little did I know this was the ‘constitutional’ afternoon fling! The evening of wine, women and song didn’t eventuate and Skip-Bo was the rage. As usual, Ron and Julie Johnston had set up camp outside the shower block, but for Ron, this tactic may have proved to be his undoing. Rumour has it that he turned around in a quite a hurry to check out the (female) scenery and twisted his back so severely he couldn’t ride for a few days.

Day Three (28 Dec) had us up bright and early as the crows, magpies and other noisy critters didn’t let us get any sleep past 6:30 am. The ride for the day was to Mount Hotham and on to the Blue Duck at Anglers Rest for lunch, which is a favourite of mine. The road conditions were testing, with loose gravel on the freshly sealed bitumen on the upside of Mt. Hotham. Our stop for morning tea at Dinner Plain was highlighted by the falling of SNOW!

Continuing on with the trip, we found plenty of sand across the ‘black stuff’ making the winding road from Omeo to Anglers Rest more like a skating rink. Lunch at the Duck was great and the ride from Omeo to the top of Mount Hotham tremendously enjoyable. Needless to say, those riding the sports bikes could manage a brisker pace than my slow old Blackbird, so they waited for us up top. As soon as we arrived we were sent to lead the way while waiting riders donned helmets etc.

On the way down the mountain I followed Ben and Clifford again, whilst keeping a constant check for headlights from the following riders. They caught us on the third-last corner of the mountain and a bit like a startled rabbit looking into headlights I was mesmerised and forgot to turn-in and negotiate the corner. Armco guard rails never looked so scary! At this stage I had run out of options and an application of front brake was necessary to ‘gently’ lie the bike down while I got off! CRAAAASH!

We picked the bike up and was I pleased that the bike was rideable with only scratches and scrapes, a broken nose cone and busted windscreen. Nothing a bit of Ben’s duct tape couldn’t fix! As for me – bruised EGO and a bruised leg. We rode home and rested before another constitutional to Buffalo followed by a pick-up of Les and bike who lost his key at the supermarket, then a game of Skip-Bo.

Day Four (29 Dec) was another early start, this time for a sprint to Myrtleford for a new tyre. Seems I was a bit heavy on the right-hand grip over the past few rides and the D208 rear had run out of life after a mere 4000 kms. Mechanic Ken, at Buffalo Farm Machinery Pty Ltd, fitted a new Michelin Sports tyre and all was ready for the day’s adventure to Mount Kosciusko.

The 850 km ride was fabulous with hardly a straight road to be found. The only incident of the day was Stoimen’s parking in the ditch followed by an abrupt and somewhat surprising ‘off’. This time I was glad to ceremoniously pass the duct tape to complete repairs before continuing. Other notable highlights of the day included the six man freight train led by Dave and the blast to Charlotte’s Pass. Today’s ride also had Dave, Danny, Clifford, Ken, Ian, Ben and Jason enjoying the scenery, though Jason’s tyre felt more like a painter’s canvas than black rubber. Needless to say, the constitutional event occurred when we got back to camp at 7:30 pm!

Day Five (30 Dec) was a designated rest day to spend time with families and friends. Ron was still laid up with a bad back and I had sore legs from the Kosciusko ride. We chatted most of the day, telling stories about how fast and safe we ride, despite both having crashed in recent times and consistently being passed by Dave, Danny and Stoimen and Ben and Jason etc etc … Paul Southwell dropped in to say hello, stayed for about 4 hours and confirmed his speed and safety record.

Danny, Clifford and Enzo took the opportunity for a road ride to Dartmouth Dam and Mitta Mitta, while Dave went bush on his KTM.

We all joined in for the constitutional ride in the evening before settling in for a feast of trout and a session of Skip-Bo. I actually won one round, which in hindsight would have been a good time to quit.

Day Six (31 Dec) and the constitutional ride last night to Buffalo revealed a set of severely worn front disk pads on the Blackbird, so again it was an early start in search of new brakes! Myrtleford, Beechworth, Wodonga and finally Albury before a new set of pads could be found. These were quickly installed by yours truly, before departing for Falls Creek and a rendezvous with the rest of the riders.

Problem was that Ben forgot his mobile phone and I waited for them at Falls Creek while the group enjoyed the Mall at Mount Beauty township. Anyway, this gave me time to check the bike and discover the chain had stretched past the use-by length so another expenditure is scheduled when returning to Melbourne. When finally meeting the group, I enjoyed a session behind Dave on Bronwyn’s bike. I stuck to him like glue and enjoyed following his lines (and keeping up), only to be told at the next stop that he was riding slowly because his back tyre was shot! At this stage I started thinking A NEW BIKE IS NEEDED!

The day continued with the constitutional events and preparation for the NEW YEAR celebrations. At last Wine, Women and Song… Surely….. Well we settled into more Skip-Bo but I should have quit while I was ahead. Ben and Fiona are quite the masters of the game. With Champagne and ‘Bourbon and Cokes’ primed and ready, midnight was approaching……… What happened next cannot be published …

Day Seven (1 Jan) started late due to the late finish from the previous evening and a 10am ride was scheduled. Bronwyn was suffering a mysterious illness and spent the day in bed. Today’s easy ride was again to Falls Creek and back in time for lunch at the caravan park. Ron finally joined us after many days rest and plenty of Dr. Enzo’s Potion and Pills. Following lunch Danny, Clifford and Ron travelled to Mt. Hotham and Omeo while, Julie, Ben, Fiona and I travelled to Mt. Beauty for a Go-Kart Challenge. This was my opportunity to beat Ben at some form of motorised sport. But alas the Go-Kart centre had closed 12 months ago, so a consolation ice-cream and fun at the playground was had by all! We drove home for a constitutional ride to Buffalo, dinner, then another game of Skip-Bo.

Day Eight (2 Jan) arrived and Clifford was now sick with the same mysterious illness that had beset Bronwyn. ‘River fever’ is what I reckon so what better time to pack up and head on home, back in readiness for work and the mundaneness of life in the slow lane. After striking camp, packing the bike and saying goodbye to new friends, I rode to Jamieson via Whitfield, to catch up with old friends. On arrival it was a quick chat over a cold drink, then up to Mount Buller for a fast mountain blast. Most corners were wide radius, fast and bitumen in pristine condition. My thoughts were for Danny, Dave and in fact all of the boys who were missing this last piece of holiday excitement. I returned to Jamieson in search of wine, women and song and stayed the night before setting off the following morning for the final leg to Melbourne.

The holiday was a real buzz and my riding and confidence on the bike improved out of sight, but seven days of fast riding and 2500 km will do that for you. There are a few bike skills still to be honed, so I will book in for Superbike School Level 3 when I get back. Talking to the guys about riding and watching what they do has been a valuable lesson. Throughout the week I rode between 70% and 80% of my available talent, which kept me clearly on the black stuff.

The ‘STUPIDITY Reserves’ were called on during my crash, teaching me to never look behind when going forward through a corner. It’s a bit like closing your eyes in a corner – guaranteed to cause you and your hip pocket grief.

So now it’s time to repair the bike, replace the front seals, replace the sprockets and chains, service the engine, repair the damaged panels etc, all in readiness for the Tassie Trip, so I can do it all again!

Peter “feisty” Feistl (Honda CBR1100XX)