Loch Sunday 18^th May, 2008

Ben Warden (leader)	Honda CBR954	Cameron Stevens	Yamaha FZ6
Misho Zrakic/Pina Garasi	Yamaha R6	Ron Johnston	Honda CB400F
Randal Leacock (rear)	Kawasaki ZX9	Paul Southwell	Honda CBR1000
Aaron Champney (2^ndride)	Kawasaki ZX9	Ken Goederee	Honda CBR1000

It was raining in the morning. While watching the weather I ate my breakfast, hoping the rain would ease off, but it didn’t. I had been hanging out to go for a ride. Still the rain did not ease off. At 9 o’clock I stated to Julie that I wasn’t going to get wet riding to Berwick and be wet and cold all day. By 9:35am it stopped raining. I looked at the clock and anticipated I was not going to make it to Berwick in time for a 10 am start. I paced the floor and watched the clock. At 10 am I said to Julie, “I am going. I will try to catch them at Loch by going straight down the South Gippsland Highway”.

I put all my wet weather gear on including new boots and I was out the door by 10:15 am. Who cares if it rains now! I stopped at a servo in Ferntree Gully to clean my visor. I had put Rainex on it. Instead of keeping it clean the water had clung to both sides and wouldn’t move and I couldn’t see. When I got home and took the visor off to clean it properly it had gone milky and visibility was poor. It would not polish off with Silvo and soft cloth. It looks like the Rainex reacted with the visor though I have used it on all my other visors and never had a problem.

Back to the ride. According to Ben, they left Berwick at 10am, taking the direct route to Nar Nar Goon via Pakenham bypass, then on to Drouin picking up Main South Road. He included lots of diversions ending up as dirt, with U turns aplenty, eventually surfacing at Poowong for the run down to Nyora and Loch for morning tea. Whereas I headed down the South Gippy Highway. Coming into Lang Lang where the servo is on the corner, I saw a large contingent of Hardly Dangerous riders plus a couple of Japanese bikes leaving the servo. There were 4 or 5 bikes left to go, and, as I get there, this clown on a Buell pulls out in front of me and stays there instead of going into the other lane. Numbskull. I had to hit the brakes to avoid him. Some people do stupid things.

I arrived at Loch safe and well, and, as luck would have it, the rest of the troops were there too. Cool. I filled up with petrol and then got something to eat and drink, and had a chat. It was good to be back.

Leg 2.

Ben asked me if I was going home or coming on the ride. I said I hadn’t come all this way just to go home again.

We were off, up the hill. I got passed by everyone except the rear rider. A few kilometres along, on an uphill section near the top on a gentle right hander, a couple of bikes were parked. Aaron and other helpers were picking his bike up from the long grass. Paul Southwell suggested I go ahead and tell the others what had happened. I took off but had only gone a short distance when I met Cameron coming back, so I turned around and went back too. Eventually I went back to find Ben, Paul and Cameron waiting. We waited and waited. In the end we all went back to see what the problem was. Ben swapped bikes with Paul for the return trip. Paul noted that the 954 was lighter, Ben thought the 1000 had a smoother motor, but higher foot pegs. The suspensions and controls felt very similar. Paul felt the 954 had a shorter wheelbase with quicker steering and plenty of power.

We found Aaron on the side of the road with grass hanging out of the fairing. The bike had a cracked right hand side engine cover weeping oil, in front of the clutch cover. The end result was he went back to Loch where he organised a mate with a trailer to come and rescue him.

So back on the road again to Kernot, Almurta, and Glen Forbes. It was around here that Misho and Pina on the R6 got a puncture in the back tyre. We stopped and had a bit of a look. Randal couldn’t see any puncture wounds, so we carried on. I thought it would be awkward to ride with two wheel steering, and even worse two-up. I know from previous experience.

I went ahead and found Ben and Paul waiting at a T intersection near Woolamai. We had a bit of a talk and a photo shoot, and I explained that Misho and Pina had flat on the R6. We were there for quite a while before everyone arrived. Pina got on the back of Ben’s bike for the ride to Wonthaggi, where Ben fixed the puncture while the rest of us went in to town to get something to eat and drink. It was certainly welcome because the ride had been drawn out.

Leg 3

Time to leave. We must have been at Wonthaggi for over half an hour or so. I noticed some dude in a `32 Ford. I can’t remember whether it was a 3 or 5 window coupe. It was silver, lowered, left hook, and sitting on American Racing wheels. Very cool. No plates. It must be a recent import.

Back on the road again, I was having trouble looking out of my visor into the sun.

Ben pillioned Pina on the back of his bike to make it easier for Misho, and to reduce the chance of the tyre going flat again given it was already pretty bald. At Archies Creek we headed up and back along a new road – which turned to dirt, so we back-tracked to Archies Creek picking up the main Loch road to Glen Alvie, turning right down to Kongwak, then north to Bena. I had forgotten how good the roads are. See what happens when you are out of the system for a while? It’s good to be back.

Bena, Ranceby, and my favourite road, the Warragul Korumburra Road. They have even fixed the hole where I came off in February. At least some good has come out of it, probably saving someone else’s skin. Ellinbank to Drouin, where the ride finished at the servo. It was a good day with two incidents, one “minor cosmetic” and one flat tyre. The temperature was a cool 15 degrees but no rain or wind despite the forecast and what kept me at home for so long. 320 km official ride length plus 110 km to get home.

Ron Johnston