I had planned to take “Chooky” my BMW R80G/S on this run as it would be the first good test of the bike after the mini restoration and by and large it ran well although with the cold and rain it might have been a bad choice.  As it turned out the weather was really not bad at all with only a few sprinkles at the start and some rain at the finish, about 10 K from home.
Seven riders met at the Shell Garage at Narre Warren.  It was drizzling a bit so we gathered under the roof to stay dry much to the consternation of the servo operator who was concerned we might block potential customers from contributing to the morning profits.  Perhaps some of us had our helmets on and we all know the terror it strikes in he heart of servo operators when that occurs.

Soon we were off up the old princess highway to the turn off on to the Old Sale Road at Drouin West all the way to Moe.  It’s a lovely road with little or no traffic as it winds through the countryside.  It is the sort of road you wish would never end.  At Moe we stopped for morning tea and pee before traversing the Stryslecki through Coalville, Narracan, Thorpedale, Mirboo North, Allenbee South, Hallston, Wooreen, Leongatha and Korumburra for lunch.  We Took the Ruby Road between Leongatha and Korumburra which is beaut by- pass to all the traffic and gave us all an opportunity to say G’Day to the cows along the way.

At lunch, Reg, who had assumed the role of  "Tail End Charlie” shared with all of us his observation of  our neglectful habit of not turning off our indicators.  All mindful of this grievous oversight promised to mend our ways. Reg offered us a clever way to remember:  "GDAY(I) " Which stands for “Glance Down At Your Instrument.”  I tried this and sure enough I noticed my fly was open.  Fortunately I was well rugged up and the instrument was warm and safe.  Along the ride we rode for a short distance along the Grand Ridge Road and we all agreed that we must schedule a ride for the length of it one day.  Preferably when the weather is dry as it is not sealed all the way. 

After lunch and a fuel stop we headed for home through Ranceby, Poowong, Nyora and Lang Lang to Cranbourne.  I peeled off at Koo Wee Rup and Pakenham to avoid Cranbourne, not one of my favorite towns to ride through. 

Another fantastically great ride created by our master navigator and organizer.  Well done Ed, and thank you.

Phillip McArdle

The Riders:
Ed Sleightholm, Triumph Bonneville, John Best, Suzuki, Adrian Nash Kawasaki, Ian Riddick, Yamaha, Reg Hammond, Honda, Dennis Wright, Triumph Bonneville. Phillip McArdle BMW R80G/S