Mt Donna Buang Sunday 15th March, 2009
|
Honda CBR1000 |
Ken Goederee (leader) |
Suzuki Hayabusa |
Tony Stegmar |
|
Honda CBR954 |
Ben Warden |
Yamaha FZ6 |
Cameron Stevens |
|
Honda ST1300 |
Willem Vandeveld |
|
Darryl Lyons |
|
Suzuki GSXR1000 |
Chris Pointon |
|
Cliff Peters |
|
Triumph 675 |
Henry Wright (rear) |
|
9 bikes, 9 people |
It was cold and miserable, but it was Sunday and Ken needed some support. So Cliff, Tony and I agreed we’d go on the Club ride, even if we had just got off the Spirit of Tasmania. Arriving home around 8.10am I had time to have a shower, shave, breakfast, unpack the car and 11 days of dirty clothes and put as much stuff away as possible. Change the bike rack and then head off at 9am for the 10am Berwick start.
The rear tyre (Pilot Power) had “one more ride” left in it after 3,900 Tassy kilometres in 10 days. The front Pilot Power is good for another few thousand at least, I hope. So all good on the tyre front.
The three Tassy diehards brought the total number of certifiably insane riders up to nine. It was cold, wet and miserable. But it was good to be back on the bike, extending the holiday for a few more precious hours before heading back to work on Monday.
Henry appointed himself rear rider; Ken wished we would all go home, relented and described the route through the fire ravaged areas around Harkaway, Beaconsfield Upper, Cockatoo and Gembrook. Warburton was the designated first stop. We set off, roads wet and probably slippery. Cliff and I pushed as hard as we dared, form from riding 4,000 km of twisties not easily lost. Darryl was both amazed and shocked, describing us as lunatics. Tony bailed early, conditions for the big ’Busa not ideal.
At Warburton, parking was at a premium, cars
and pushbikes everywhere. The eateries – aren’t they multiplying – were short on
service and long on waiting. I headed up towards the Bakery at the top end of
town – shut due to renovations. I eased myself into a new café and had the
usual salad sandwich (ran out of rolls) striking up a conversation with a
cyclist of about the same age, lycra
from top to bottom. He had just come down from Mt Donna Buang and was now
suffering hypothermia. I started to notice various other cyclists with their
teeth chattering and general shivering.
My friend had already ridden from
The remaining eight regrouped and headed up the mountain. The mist turned to pelting rain turned to stinging hail, coating the road in a white layer of 6-8mm size hail stones. Not ideal riding conditions. And my leaky waterproofs and boots were starting to live up to their name. We battled our way to the summit, some riding in the tracks left by a 4WD, me preferring to cut my own path. These were harder riding conditions than anything encountered in Tassy including the 26 km (plus 12) of dirt to Pieman’s Ferry, or the muddy tunnel at Zeehan. The rain and hail eased to fog and we were happy again.
Cliff and I took ran up the fire-tower where I took a few photos of the mist, trying to capture the “atmosphere” but cold is a difficult animal to crystalize in digital pixels.
It was agreed to call it quits and head home – once we all made it safely to the bottom again. I think Cameron was of a mind to head around the Reefton Spur towards Marysville to see how far he could go before meeting the no-go fire zone, still off limits to the general public while the coroner does his work.
Home early after 140 km official ride length, and that much again travelling to and fro. Julie was out walking with her lady friends so I settled in to watch the car racing and promptly fell asleep.
Later I checked the oil level because the gear box seemed stiffer and more clunky than normal. It took about 2 litres. Yep, at 155,000 km it might just be time to swap out the motor. Or buy a 1000? No! Still just use the same amount of oil according to the CBR1000 aficionados’ musings on our very own msr-google news group/blog. Stick with Plan A me thinks.
Thanks to my fellow riders, Ken for leading and Henry for the rear riding duty.
Ben Warden