Euroa MKIII 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 |
Forgetting
to nominate someone for the article duties on my last ride resulted in a few
pressure emails and text messages from Ben. So here I am nearly a month later
trying to remember my Euroa ride.
Arriving
at Whittlesea I was second only to Tom, who we all got to know a lot better,
but unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. I remember a very cold Friday and
Saturday so was pleasantly surprised to see a significant turnout. A couple of
first time riders along with the MSR diehards and we were ready to go. Geoff
Jones put his hand up for rear riding duties, Jason, as he always does, volunteered in case of emergency mouth-to-mouth action. I
also offered him the lead so that I could pick up all the falling bits of his
green machine but he politely refusedJ Misho, as usual, was having a smoke while everyone
else was just about ready to leave.
From
Whittlesea we headed north to Kinglake West along the beautiful sweepers which
were surprisingly dry. I went for a pre-ride a couple of days earlier but still
can’t name half of the roads we went on. In my head I had Ben’s directions and
Misho’s voice echoing not to f… up and get us all lostJ With a bit of luck I managed
to make the right turns and made it to our first stop at Yea. We were a rider
short. Tom somehow managed to corner mark even after the rear rider had gone
past. It turned out that Tom was confused when Geoff and Cindy went on a chase
after her seat cowl. He did, however, turn up on time for the second leg to
Euroa.
Heading
towards Euroa I was really enjoying the roads up until the point when my rear
wheel decided to overtake the front. I pulled up on the side to find my rear
tyre completely flat. As I was making unhappy wog
(western origin gentleman) hand gestures, Mark and Pierre flew past me,
assuming I was waving them on. I guess the gestures were lost in translationJ Soon after the rest of the
group arrived, very eager to get me going again. Ben was quick to put the plug
in, Geoff provided the air, all the while Tony was taking photos of my
misfortunes. Before I knew it, we were on our way again, two riders short,
hoping to find them in Euroa.
Everyone
got fuel at Euroa before heading to the town centre for lunch. The town centre
looked like a ghost town. Apart from a few bakery employees, we were alone.
Tom
was having an issue with his tyres only to realise they were both at 46psi.
Pressure adjusted and problem solved for the day.
For
my final leg back to Kinglake West I was not sure of which roads to take and
asked Ben for assistance. He kindly suggested to take the road
there and turn left when I get to there and then right when I get there and I
will be all goodJ
“Okay Ben”, I said jumping on the bike with no idea where I was going. By
chance I saw a sign which said Ruffy so there I
turned. The closest I came to getting lost was at the intersection in the
middle of nowhere but was once again saved by Ben who pointed straight ahead.
I
remember the rest of the ride being very cold with little to mention apart from
Paul who flew past me as if I was at a standstill. I guess he was just getting
his fix.
At
Kinglake West it was windy and very cold so we were quick to say our goodbyes.
As usual I followed Misho and Pina back home. I would like to thank everyone
who rode on that cold day but, more importantly, wish all the best to those
involved in the recent accident. Cliffy, you better get on the bike soon
because with just Jason, the Kawasaki green flag is not flying highJ
Damir Djikic