Jindabyne           Wed 26th to Sun 30th January, 2011

Paul Southwell

Honda CBR1000

Phillip Hotschilt

Suzuki GSX1300

Misho Zrakic

Honda CBR1000

Ben Fuller

Suzuki GSXR1000

Tim Emons

Honda CBR1000

Rob Jones

Suzuki GSXR1000

Damir Djikic

Honda CBR1000

Bill Simpson

Suzuki GSXR1000

John Rousseaux (rear)

Honda CBR1000

Rob Langer

BMW R1150 GS

Ron Johnston

Honda CBF1000

Rod Merrett

BMW HP2

Ben Warden

Honda CBR954

Julie Johnston

car

Pina Garasi

Honda CBR600

Barb Peters

car

Cliff Peters

Kawasaki ZX10

 

17 people, 15 bikes

 

Day 1: Berwick (123km via Hill End) Tyers 86 Briagolong 95 Bruthen 65 Orbost 173 (8.5 +5 km of dirt) Bombala 108 Jindabyne.

Day2: Jindabyne 108 Adaminaby 119 Tumbarumba 53 Cabramurra 70 Khancoban 115 Jindabyne

Day 3: Jindabyne 108 Bombala 109 Eden 92 Bombala 108 Jindabyne 40 Charlotte Pass 40 Jindabyne

Day 4: Jindabyne, Lake Eucumbene 118 Cooma 48 Numeralla 48 Cooma 67 Adaminaby 57 Cabramurra 65 Khancoban 115 Jindabyne

Day 5: Jindabyne 108 Bombala 173 Orbost 99 Bruthen via Buchan 95 Briagolong 86 Tyers 75 Longwarry North

Wow! What a week (5 days) of riding! After meeting Cliffy north of Geelong at 0730 we made a bee line to Berwick. We were about the first ones there but soon after the rest of the crew arrived. I knew a few of the folks at the start of the ride but there were plenty of others that I didn’t know. Greetings exchanged, then the normal pre- ride brief followed. Then we were off.

There was a bit of moisture around on Day One and everyone appeared to proceed with caution (as you should in those conditions).

I’d like to say the ride up to Jindabyne was an uneventful one with the exception of Robbie’s extra close encounter with a low flying Magna. It pretty much was. Isn’t it funny how one man’s misfortune can be another man’s good luck! Up until that point I was going to be sleeping on the floor at the Jindy accommodation but with the early withdrawal of Rob came the availability of a bed. Glad your okay mate. I would never wish you or anyone else any harm. But thanks for the bed. Rumour has it that you enjoyed a nice dinner and some good company anyway! For me it was 800 kms on the first day, so to say I was tired would have been an understatement.

Day Two (Thursday) and we did about 520 kays of awesome roads. I struggled to get into the groove at the start but still managed to hang in the middle of the pack (most the time). It was a great day with fantastic weather as well. Dinner up at Mogels (on-site cafeteria) was awesome. One unnamed person (I think it was Homer Simpson in disguise) ate 5 chicken Marylands... Nice effort!

Day Three (Friday) and it was off to the beach for chips and fish. They were pretty cheap too. NOT! But that aside, we had some awesome riding both to here and after we left. We returned to our accommodation at about 4pm. I grabbed a one hour nanna nap before we headed off for a leisurely ride up to Charlotte Pass. If that’s not one of the best roads ever, I don’t know what is. We had no Cliffy and Ron today as they were off to the Nation’s Capital for a look see. We did 524 kms on day three and had a BBQ for dinner.

Day Four arrived and the more great weather, great roads, great company and great riding. Oh did I mention the roads were great? We had such a fantastic time it’s hard to itemize all the highlights but basically you should have come and been part of it yourself. 560 kays. Also Cliff and Ron were back in town. Dinner up at Mogels again and again it was very nice.

Day Five We left at 0800 for the long, HOT trip home. And it was really hard work in 40 degree heat. That Bonang Highway felt like it kept going forever! I did 790 kays and got home at 8pm. I was totally knackered but had had an absolute ball. No tickets, no mishaps. Perfect!

A big thanks to Barb and Julie (even though she scared the living shite out of me in the middle of the night when she jumped on me) for carting our gear up there and back. Another big thanks to John for being the rear rider all week. Good job mate! A third big thanks to all the attendees for making the trip so awesome. A nicer bunch of people to ride bikes with would be hard to find. We had a lot of laughs along the way. Rob Jones and Ben Fuller totally cracked me up!

I also learnt a lot about stuff and genuinely believe my riding skills improved greatly over the five days. Total kays (for me) was a whisker under 3200.

Finally, a huge thanks to Ben Warden for organizing the ride and being lead rider everyday for the whole five days. Awesome job, Ben!

As I sit here and reflect on this ride, I’m spewing more than a blow fly on a steak that I can’t make it to Tassie this year. I wish you all a safe and fun trip and just know that everyone lucky enough to be going will have the time of their life. Bon voyage.

 

Bill Simpson