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