Mt Buller MK II        Sunday 11th April, 2010

 

Ron Johnston (Leader)

CBF1000

Rob Jones

GSXR1000

Mark Rigsby (first rear rider)

GSXR1000

Ben Fuller

GSXR1000

Misho Zrakic

CBR1000RR

Paul Southwell

CBR1000RR

Ben Warden

CBR954RR

Pina Garassi (second rear rider)

CBR600RR

For the past few Sundays the autumn weather has been cool in the morning but then warmed up nicely as the day went on.  On this basis I chose to wear leathers today. Misho followed suit, which ended up being the wrong decision. The day got progressively colder and wetter such that by the time we reached Mansfield my brain and body were feeling hypothermic.  I thought,  “There is no way I’m going up the mountain”, especially after hearing from a reliable contact of Rob Jones  that it was three degrees and snowing up at Mt Buller. 

The riders who made it this far - Ben Fuller, Rob Jones, Misho and me decided to not ride to Mt Buller and instead warm up with lunch and some good laughs (Rob Jones’s jokes!) in the local pub.  Ron was looking a bit unhappy about not going to Mt Buller, but he had no choice but to join us as no-one was going to follow the leader.

Mark Rigsby headed home after completing the morning rear-rider duty.  Thanks Mark.

Ben Warden had decided to retreat before getting to Mansfield, having had enough of the miserable wetness and boring stretches of highway. 

Paul Southwell also turned back at some stage before Mansfield too; not sure why - perhaps a good game of footy was waiting to be watched in a nice cosy lounge room.

The sun popped at about 2 pm and, although Ron was feeling optimistic about doing Mt Buller, none of us shared his enthusiasm.  So instead, he led us home the ‘curly’ way via Highlands which left us feeling more satisfied after some fun riding.  Apparently, Ben had decided to go home the same way and amused himself with some road exploration adventures on the way. 

Thanks for leading the ride, Ronny. I know you were feeling disappointed that the ride was not completed as you had planned; maybe next time… in warmer weather.

 

Pina Garasi