Castlemaine Economy Ride                   22^nd July, 2007

Ben Warden (leader)	Honda CBR954	Geoff Ross        (1^st ride)	Triumph  675
Paul Southwell (rear)	Honda CBR1000	Dale Shallcross (1^st ride)	Ducati 620 Monster
Renzo Cunico	Honda VFR750	Luke Stratford (1^st ride)	Suzuki GSXR750
Simon Trubiano	Honda CBR929	Duncan Ferguson (1^st ride)	Kawasaki ZX10
Cameron Stevens	Suzuki GSXR1000	Dave Wilson   (1^st ride)	Yamaha  R1
Dave Twentyman	Suzuki Hayabusa	Cameron Burgess	Yamaha YZF1000
Lorry Ciantar  (2^nd ride)	Aprillia RS250

Even though the ground was blanketed by frost, with clear skies, it wasn’t long before the sun dried things up. I even removed the wet riding gear and threw the sunnies in, which later I regretted. Being an economy ride and with a front tyre on the way out, I was sure that the pace would be less “spirited.” Yeah, right.

Petrol pumps at Whittlesea were manned by Ben where odometer readings were noted and tanks topped up. Lorry’s Aprillia had a bad chain and he decided he wouldn’t venture out with us today. With more non members than members, Ben went through our riding systems and the planned route: Flowerdale, Broadford, lunch at Castlemaine, and back home through Woodend and Macedon, was the plan.

Heading through Kinglake West, it was beautiful to see steam rising from the forest floor. The frost was starting to fall from the trees but the road seemed to be holding good grip. At Flowerdale I saw our first corner markers, whom will remain nameless. Strath Creek was clouded in and visibility was exceptionally bad around Tyaak. Past the Broadford race track and the fog disappeared. Riding alone all this way I caught up to Ben where I corner marked just out of Broadford. Geoff, on the Triumph, joined me to corner mark. We had a good chat. Before long Ben returned. Something was wrong.

Returning back to the town of Broadford, we fortunately met up with the rest of the gang. Because our anonymous corner markers at Flowerdale took off before the rear rider had arrived, Paul and Dale went to Yea. They figured out they had lost the ride and headed back to Strath Creek via Trawool. I was a bit envious. Luckily everyone stayed at their corners and we all regrouped at Broadford for morning tea.

We decided to refuel at Lancefield instead of Castlemaine. Ben took final odometer readings and fuel measurements to later calculate our fuel economy to Lancefield. This was going to be interesting as some of us had travelled different routes while others had non-standard sprockets, upsetting the bike’s odometer readings!

Coincidentally, Dave Ward was also at Lancefield with his trail bike in the back of the ute.

Good time was made from Lancefield to Castlemaine. Stopping for lunch I felt a bit weary and cold. “If I ride quicker, this won’t happen”, explained Cameron. Luke, who was hoping to join us at Whittlesea, was iced in at Kyneton but managed to catch us at Castlemaine. Ten past two we finished lunch. Dale decided to break off here, not riding well due to fatigue.

Woodend was our next destination. The roads were unfamiliar to me, though quite enjoyable. Heading over a crest towards an unexpected corner marker gave us a chance to practice an emergency stop. When I saw the Hepburn Springs sign, I was prompted to take a quick pit stop. Luke had a small mishap doing a U turn.

We fueled up at Woodend and then whipped through Mt Macedon towards Bulla. After Straws Lane Geoff continued on to Romsey and Whittlesea to watch the Superbikes on Foxtel at a mate’s. The rest of us headed for Clarkefield and the eventually Wild Dog Road bringing us into Bulla. The pace was up and Cameron on the YZF reckons his tyres were just starting to warm up, although his front wasn’t touching the ground much. Even though I was pushing hard down the straights, everyone still passed me.

Goodbyes were said at Bulla after approximately 360 km’s had been travelled. Thanks to all the corner markers who held their ground. Thanks to rear rider Paul who did an extra 40 kms and Ben for his lead and final calculations. 

Simon Trubiano