Honda
CBR929 Ben Warden (leading) Yamaha R6 Joel
Haley
Yamaha
TRX850 Tony Raditsis Suzuki GSXR1000 Lyn Duncan
Honda
CBR1000 Paul
Southwell Honda VTR1000 Bill
Wee
Honda
CBR954 Ian Payne (rear)
I’m first to arrive, hoping I’ve got the correct
pickup point, unlike last week. Joel is only two minutes behind, then Tony pulls up. Joel, Tony and I last rode together on
the Mt Baw Baw ride, so we
did some reminiscing while watching everyone else roll up at once. Ian would
start out as our rear rider. Paul: tomorrow’s leader. Ben: taking over the
leading duties from Ron Johnston who couldn’t make it. Bill: whom I haven’t
ridden with yet. Joel: pulling on his
wet-weathers.
I look over my shoulder to see more dark clouds
rolling in from the north. There has been some patchy rain already this
morning, so I’m pretty much expecting wet roads.
We take the high road to Healesville, copping a
light sprinkle of rain which turns out to be the only rain all day. Heaps of Harleys and cruisers along here. On
to Yarra Junction and the
It was a nice run through to Noojee with no traffic.
We stopped for our morning break. The camping ground was absolutely packed.
Off through
Then we headed north to Mt Erica and Rawson, along
another grouse road I have never been on before; we just keep on finding ‘em.
This section had a short bit of road with orange, wet clay over the bitumen,
scaring me. And half way round a right hand sweeper a convoy of 4x4s had
tracked mud out onto the road. We were the very next traffic to come along,
because they were just pulling back into the bush just up a bit further up the
road. It’s a wonder I haven’t squeezed my tank into a different shape after the
amount of clenching that goes on. On through this fantastic
section to Tyers and then Moe for lunch.
Ian had been rear riding up until now, thank you so
much. But I think he was starting to suffer a bit with his neck and wanted to
pull out after lunch. So Joel took over, thanks.
Leaving directly south from Moe, Ben decided on a
bit of exploring, which had us pulling a couple of U turns. According to the Master
of the Maps, the first route we tried was Pearces
Track. A nice up, down and around little road but it turned to dirt. The other
a road, bit shorter, also dried up, returning us to a great tricky little road
through to Coalville. The beginning of this road was
a bit wet with trees hanging over and very narrow. On a right hand corner, the first incident
of the day occurred.
An oncoming car didn’t want to get their wheels off
the bitumen. Bill may have been concentrating on the road surface a wee bit too
long before he noticed how little room the car driver had left him, resulting
in him missing the car by millimeters. The car just propped, mid corner,
waiting for the rest of us to pass. The driver told Paul he was too scared to
move.
The following half a dozen left hand corners each
had a couple of shovels full of gravel thrown onto them. Bill nearly got spat
off on the last one, a feet-flying-off-the-pegs type indecent. A few frayed
nerves from that incident also, I’d say.
We regrouped at the Narracan
intersection where I checked out some minor fairing damage to Bill’s VTR, as I
was being told of an earlier incident when Bill slipped on some grass when he
had parked on a corner, dropping the bike. If it was me, I would have been ready for a breather
at this point
We veered left to link up with Thorpedale-Morwell
road where we turned right at a ‘T’junction. I
remember a big sweeping right-hander looking out onto lush paddocks off to the
left. What I found astonishing was that there was wire rope fencing all the way
around the sweeper. I think it would be safer to take your chances with the
cows rather than get caught up in that stuff eight feet off the bitumen!?
On to Thorpedale and
another exploritory road to see if we can get through
to Childers. Ben says he checks this road every so often to see if there has
been any more bitumen laid. Great road, though it started to get little bit untrustworthy towards the end where we
had the choice of two dirt (mud?) roads, or to backtrack. Ben said we’ll stick
to the black stuff, which was good news to me. Back along from whenst we came. I love doing that,
it’s the third time today. It’s a bit like having done a sighting lap.
Turn right when we get back to Thorpedale. Right again to Mirboo North. Then drop down south on the
Ben’s phone rings. Let alone getting reception, it is more amazing that we are actually stopped so he is able to answer it. A photo opportunity. I’m glad to be carrying a bit of water but wish I had a Billabong. Speaking of Bill, he seems pretty knackered. He has been carrying a back pack all day which becomes extremely uncomfortable and tiring as the day progresses. Ben gave him a cereal bar. Maybe he wasn’t expecting so many kays for the day though it was marked as an arduous ride.
We are heading back now and I realize we are going
to pick up a really grouse road. Ben,
Paul and I did it just three weeks ago on Paul’s Drouin
ride, the Korumburra-Warragul Road, which looks like
a major road but there is no traffic at all. Super superb.
Left off this to come to a ‘T’ just south of Drouin
where I corner marked to have Paul and Joel turn up without Bill. He went
roaring past Paul corner marking and couldn’t be caught. At least he is heading
for the Highway, and so can’t get lost …
We haven’t done a full stop regroup until we get
back to the highway at Tynong, after following along
the south side of the highway through ‘toon towns.
This is when first Ben learns that we’ve lost Bill. Ben says Bill should sail
past us about now. And sure enough, there he is! Ben has an uncanny knack.
I refuel and we are off straight down the highway, a
repeat of three weeks ago, with the sun in our eyes. It was very hard to see,
though I did manage to see a speed camera set up on the other side of Freeway,
a bloody old, army green, dual cabin ute with a
canopy. With a station wagon sitting behind it. You’d never pick it. The sun was so bad, if it
wasn’t for Ben’s brake light coming on, I wouldn’t have seen the candy car in
the middle medium strip.
But the story does not end there. Back at Ben’s home
he gets a call from Paul and an update for the write up. Bill has dropped his
bike in the servo. Maybe from just plain being tired.
Paul had four lanes of fast moving traffic, a fifty meter medium strip, another
service road, plus the huge entrance to the servo separating him from getting
over to help Bill pickup the bike. So he was glad to see a motorist stop and
help. Never a dull moment on some rides, hey!
Ben, thanks ever so much for all
the fantastic roads you take us on. And everyone else,
thanks for a very entertaining and enjoyable 550 odd kilometers we did for the
day. Grouse!