Toora Wind Farm Sunday 26^th March, 2007

Ben Warden (leader)	Honda CBR954	Tony Raditsis	Yamaha TRX850
Ron Solomon	Yamaha R1	Ron Johnston (rear)	Suzuki GSF1200
Chris Pointon	Suzuki GSXR1000	Cameron Stevens	Suzuki GSXR1000
Corbin Spurr (1^st ride)	Suzuki Hayabusa	Renzo Cunico	Honda VFR750

South Gippsland usually means great roads, light traffic and high speeds and this ride lived up to expectations. Cameron reminded me that we were heading down to the site of my recent, unfortunate crash. He probably remembers the scene well because at the time I was rear rider and with a quick glance in his mirror, Cameron caught sight of me cutting the grass horizontally with my trusty TRX. Ben, however, set him straight in that we were heading well south of Dumbalk.

While waiting for the off, I spent a bit of time drooling over Ron Solomon’s beautiful black R1. Ron’s decided to step off the annual model upgrade merry-go-round and hang on to his current bikes for a few years (well, that’s what he says). In fact, he had upped the power of the R1 with a capacity increase. This involved having the cylinders re-bored and re-plated at $450 each (gulp!). At least Ron can put it all back together himself.

With no sign of Peter Feistl, our designated leader for the day, Ben took over as we headed off with a late start. Talking about late, daylight savings time change always catches someone out, with Renzo arriving 6 minutes past 10 needing fuel, despite the extra hour. This spreads the group a fair bit, so I decided to cruise up the freeway and take in the sights on what turned out to be a glorious autumn day.

Usual run across to Hallam, back roads to Drouin, down to Ellinbank to pick up the Warragul Korumburra Road. I just love this road; it’s got everything. High speed sweepers, medium and tight corners, bumps, rough surfaces, blind corners, generally light traffic and the view’s not bad either (or so I’m told).

I was a bit surprised to easily catching Ron S. on the R1, and figured he must be still running-in the motor or something else was not right. (It turned out he had bought a new visor and, being the incorrect one, the gap let in so much wind he had trouble seeing where he was going). After a kilometre or so, I followed Renzo who was really flying. So much so, I couldn’t keep up. Truth was, I was conserving oil for later in the day so I kept the revs down.

Morning tea break at Korumburra where we tried out the brand new bakery. We were nicely settled down to coffees and buns until Ben decided we needed to get a move on.

South to Outrim, through Buffalo, Fish Creek and Foster and the traffic is light on all the back roads and the weather couldn’t be better. Stopped at the lookout below the wind farm. The view over Corner Inlet and Wilson’s Prom is fantastic. It reminded me of the time I rode out the back of Sandy Point where you could ride along the beach which was great. Unfortunately, curiosity got the better of me when I decided to ride out to a sign right at the end to see what it said. It read something like ‘Do not go beyond this point due to soft sand’. It was at this point I noticed the bike had sunk almost to the axles. Quick U-turn as I paddled the bike along, making sure I didn’t stop moving until back on hard sand.

After the lookout, we continued up to the wind turbine display area where we lined up the bikes for a photo. Checked out the stats: 13 turbines, each with 3 blades with the tip rotating at 160 km/h, 21 revs per min and powering 6,600 houses. Pretty impressive! On the way out, Corbin turned right out of the car park instead of left and rear rider Ronnie J. takes off on a chase while everyone waits further up the road, unaware of the delay.

Ben decides to detour to Agnes Falls which at 59m, are the highest single span falls in Victoria. It’s been a couple of decades since I was last here with the family on a picnic and it really is a nice spot. As we walk back to the car park, Ron S. finishes up a story with a few loud, choice four letter expletives, unaware of a young lady a few metres behind him. That’s our Ron, a ‘Touch of class’!

After 14 kms of twisties, back to Welshpool and a boring highway run to Yarram. While glancing in the mirror, I realise the black bike behind me seems to have no headlight. It’s Ron Solomon amusing himself by doing a long distance mono.

We fuel up at Yarram, and with a conga line at the cash register, I take the opportunity to grab some oil and top up the TRX as I hadn’t had the chance to check the level before the ride (which meant I could now let loose without wondering how much oil was circulating). Late lunch at 2pm with general discussion including Ron J’s opinion that Corbin’s Landrover is one of the greatest pieces of junk ever made (or words to that effect). Accusations all round that Ron was ‘holding back’ and ‘beating around the bush’ so he should just ‘spit it out’. With the local cop cruising up and down the main street looking for a bit of action, we decide to hit the road.

My oil top-up proved a good move as the non-stop run from Yarram to Traralgon was high speed, so in no time we’re cruising past the massive Loy Yang power station which is a pretty impressive sight. Quick stop in Moe for the Suzuki’s to top up on fuel and the final leg to Longwarry North via Old Sale Road, Buln Buln, Crossover and Jindivick. I’m getting to know the section between Neerim South and Longwarry North pretty well, so attack it with confidence and manage to keep ahead of Cameron, his headlight appearing briefly in the mirrors, but not getting too close.

After the break up we hit the freeway back to Melbourne and with the day getting late, ride directly into the sun amongst heavy traffic but keeping up a good pace. Living out near Knox City, I always take the detour at Pakenham and bypass the boring freeway run by going up through Beaconsfield Upper, Narre Warren East and Ferntree Gully. Managing to stay on twisty roads up to within a few kays of home is always a perfect way to finish off a top ride. Thanks for a great day Ben.

Tony Raditsis