Euroa                  Sunday 5th  June 2011

Damir Djikic (leader)

Honda CBR1000

Tom Bartus (1st ride)

Kawasaki ZX1000

Misho Zrakic

Honda CBR1000

John Willis/Lou Tickner

Kawasaki ZX1000

Tony Stegmar

Honda CBR1000

Mark Copeland

Kawasaki ZX10

Paul Southwell

Honda CBR1000

Jason Wilson

Kawasaki ZX9

Ron Johnston 

Honda CBF1000

Pierre Ong

Ducati 1098 S

Colin Lacey (2nd ride)

Honda VTR1000

Marc Marais

Triumph 675

Ben Warden 

Honda CBR954

Gavin Chapman (1st ride)

Triumph 600

Pina Garasi

Honda CBR600

Cindy Lee

Suzuki GSXR750

Raj Malhotra

Yamaha FZ1

Rod Merrett

BMW S1000RR

Geoff Jones (rear rider)

Yamaha R1

 

19 bikes, 20 people

 

This was my first ride since April. May proved to be a very busy month with birthdays, Mother’s Day and hosting kids’ sporting activities.

My plan was to go through Kinglake to Whittlesea but time got the better of me so I had to take the boring route via the Ring Road.

A good turnout of bikes and riders awaits me at Whittlesea. It was good to see Geoff Jones back from his hand injury.  Damir, today’s leader, has a quick chat with the riders and then we are off.  Jason is in a real hurry and flies past me. Cindy’s ducktail flew off just after Kinglake West at the bottom of the steep twisties. Trail bike riders found it and gave it to Ben who ocky strapped it to the back of his bike and gave it back to Cindy at the Flowerdale turnoff.

We lost new rider Tom Bartus at the Flowerdale turnoff – he waited there for 20 minutes. He thought Ben was the rear rider; he also thought the corner markers substituted for each other ie another system not used by us. Amazingly, he eventually caught up with us at Yea and continued on for the rest of the ride. Tom had a couple of close calls, including not long after Merton where he ran wide and into the gutter on the other side of the road, witnessed by Ben and Cindy at least.

Morning tea was at the Yea bakery. It’s a great country bakery and the food is always fresh. I chat to Raj and he informs me that his holed radiator from last week’s ride was fixed. Rod Merrett and Colin Lacey went home from here. Colin had been kicked in the stomach by a horse the day before and was all bruised. He is a farrier by trade (shoes horses, trims their hooves, does 120 horses a week). But John Willis and pillion Lou Ticker joined us, riding straight from Lilydale.

Off again and we back track along the Goulburn Valley Highway to Highlands. I sit behind Pina for a while who is riding really well. Misho flies past and I give chase. These are great roads with no traffic.

Around 10km before Euroa, Mark and I notice Damir parked on the side of the road. We thought he was waving us on, but later found out that he had a puncture. Mark and I pull over in Euroa and, after some time, realised that no other bikes were coming. Then Misho arrived and explained that Damir had a puncture. Mark decided to go to the rescue and headed back.

Misho needs fuel and leaves for the petrol station. I decided to follow Misho but as I take off I stall the bike. I’m on uneven ground and the bike goes over on its side.  I swear under the helmet. Luckily, no damage as the crash protection did its job; just a little dent to my pride and ego.  It reminded me of the time that I went for a ride with my good friend Paul Simonson.  As we were leaving his house his boot became stuck on his right rear-set as he approached the end of his driveway. He was unable to place his right foot down and subsequently fell off the bike at approximately 0 km/h. I was right behind him and it was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. He broke his front and rear brake levers and had no replacement. End of ride. And he didn’t even make it out of his driveway. It was one of those moments where you don’t know whether to laugh or to just keep a straight face. Fortunately, I had my tinted visor on so he couldn’t see me laughing hysterically. The ironic thing about this is that he is an A-grade racer capable of doing 1.38’s on a 600 around the Island.  I guess these things can happen to anyone. Right Tim?     

I digress. The rest of the bikes rolled into Euroa except for Mark who has gone back to Merton but not on the roads that the rest of Club had taken. He eventually came back to Euroa in time for lunch. John and Ben let Tom’s tyres down from 45 rear/42 front to 36/35. His bike now wasn’t as harsh or wanting to slide all over the place – the tyres could get some heat in to them and do some of the suspension work. Tom was much happier, the bike working much better, he reported later.

After lunch we rode back to Yea via Ruffy and Highlands. I swapped bikes with Misho and had a good ride for a number of kilometres. I can now understand why so many members of the MSR have Blades. They feel comfortable from the moment that you sit on them. The power delivery and fuelling is spot on. And the cornering capability is almost telepathic.

The ride finished at Kinglake West. The group photo that Ben sent to us via the Google Group really shows how cold it was.

All up, around 325 km from Whittlesea to Kinglake West. Thanks to Damir for leading and Geoff Jones for rear rider duties.

 

Pierre Ong