Violet Town by Jean Eldridge                       Sunday 12th October, 2008

 

Craig Morley

Honda VTR1000SP1

Peter Jones

Yamaha R1

Ken Goederee

Honda CBR1000

Jean Eldridge

Suzuki GSF250

Ian Payne (Leader)

Honda CBR1000

Dave Ward/Bronwyn Manifold

Kawasaki Z750

Paul Southwell

Honda CBR1000

Renzo Cunico

Ducati 916SP

Kurn Bridgeman

Honda CBR600

Misho Zrakic

Suzuki GSXR750

Mark Welland

Honda CB1300

Pina Garasi (rear rider)

Yamaha R6

Sam Shmith (1st ride)

Honda VTR250

Cameron Stevens

Yamaha FZ6

Getting back on the bike with you guys has been terrific. I was beginning to lose sight of just how much I enjoy riding. The last six months have been very quiet as I have had bike issues and have been trying to get some coin stacked away: a new (second-hand) bike and the inevitable baby – not happening just yet! Waking up and seeing a nice clear sky and a forecast of fine weather and over 28 degrees was the ideal way to get back into a Club ride.

At Yarra Glen I saw some familiar faces and bikes lined up. I couldn’t help but smile; I love these rides! Among the faces was a new one that belongs to Sam. Sam is a first time rider with the Club and on a VTR250. Sweet! Another 250 rider! This will be fun! Ben was scheduled to lead but was attending a conference in Canberra. Ian had stepped up to the task. He let us know that he might be a little distracted as his daughter had just had a baby. The baby was born quite a few weeks premature and his mind would no doubt be drifting back to the little bub and his daughter.

The ride started in Yarra Glen following the back roads to Chum Creek. It’s great to get out of town and get some fresh country air. Before leaving I thought about taking it a bit easy today as I have not done a great deal of anything but commuting for quite a few months. That went out the window after the first corner. It’s great to get back out there! We headed to Toolangi and I noticed another familiar face on a FZ6 on the side of the road. It was Cameron and I gave a quick thumbs-up to confirm everything was okay . He joined us. He had been ‘doing laps’ of the Chum Creek road.

We moved on to Kinglake, Kinglake West and Flowerdale taking the Old Glenburn road back to the Melba Highway, then on to Yea for a break. When we rolled into town I noticed lots of bikes lined up along the centre strip. At the end of the row of bikes I saw Renzo sitting on a park seat looking very relaxed and cool with his hair slicked back. He couldn’t make the start of the ride but had left a message with Ben that he would meet up with us at Yea. Too bad Ben was in Canberra! The large group of bikes belonged to members of the Ulysses Club including ex MSR members Andrew Kennedy and Martin Bastock who came over to say hello.

We took a nice long break which gave Misho more than enough time to take a good look at his leaking radiator. I thought it might be the end of the ride for him but he kept going saying that, “The faster I go the cooler it runs!”

All the guys must have been having a good time chatting because when it was time to go Ian sounded his horn three times with no response. I did a quick run around to let people know we were moving off. Cameron, Ken and Mark left us here to watch the Bathurst car races. We headed west out of town to Ghin Ghin, Highlands, Caveat, Terip Terip and Gobur. Then on to the Maroondah Highway to Merton servo for fuel and lunch. Here I noticed yet another familiar face! Lyn Duncan was out on a solo ride. After lunch, Ian decided that there was nothing much at Violet Town and so we skipped it.

We headed up the Euroa Road for about 25km then turned left at a dirt road to Creighton Creek, then back to Terip Terip, Caveat, Highlands, Yea, Flowerdale, Kinglake West and the bakery at Pheasant Creek where the ride finished. When Sam pulled up I watched him get off his bike. I was eager to see how he had fared. It took him some time to straighten up, his face flushed. He turned rather slowly toward me and said “That was absolutely awesome! The roads just didn’t stop, all of them excellent, they just never stopped!” It’s safe to say he had a good time J

Today’s ride had a relaxed feel and was very enjoyable. Thanks to Ian for stepping in to lead and Pina for rear riding. See you all soon on my CBR600F!