We met at Narre Warren at the Shell service station on the Princes Highway in light rain and about 9 or 10 degrees, most of us having left home in dry conditions, but we were looking forward to the ride so no matter. Ed’s briefing revealed to us that morning tea/coffee was going to be at Trafalgar, about a 100 km ride, so with no hot drinks at the servo we set off to the east in anticipation.
The Princes Highway was very wet and speeding trucks were throwing up clouds of spray but we turned off to the north of the highway into the rural road network toward Robin Hood and Drouin West, with hills to our left and the Latrobe Valley to the right. Now on narrow rustic and largely deserted roads we passed a farmyard with its rich aroma, muddy utes parked left and right, and slicks of reddish soil spread from the gates across the road. Splat! It stuck to our bikes and will take some effort to clean off later.
Swinging through bend after bend we crossed the Tarago River, later turning south and descending rapidly from the ridges down the almost straight road to Trafalgar. Here we headed with enthusiasm to the bakery cafe – our mid week rides are great supporters of country bakeries!
Ed has a nice new jacket, and some of us talked as motorcyclists often do about the effectiveness of our various clothing choices, including reflective vests and sashes.
Now warmed up, from Trafalgar we rode south and climbed a twisting and turning road to Thorpdale passing carefully through low cloud and emerging into patches of sunshine. Some parts of the road were now drying but wet patches remained in the shadows along with occasional stretches of green surface – lichen growing in permanently shadowed areas I guess.
Still no traffic and Ed led us to Mirboo North via 500 corners made for nimble classic bikes, and later in improving weather to Leongatha bakery for lunch made for classic riders. Pies, cakes and coffee were enthusiastically consumed – cold weather can make you hungry. During lunch we variously talk about the finer points of classic era BMW front brake master cylinder repairs, UK campsites, handlebar risers and many other things.
Then it was time to gear up and head homeward via Korumburra, later pausing at Clyde – Five Ways, but where were Bill and Adrian? It turned out that Adrian’s bike was suffering coil problems and not running on both cylinders at Korrumburra. Bill gave Adrian a lift home to Northcote later, Adrian collecting his bike the next day.
List of participants:
Peter Cullen, BMW R60/5, 1971
Tony Border, BMW R100RS, 1982
Ray Isles, BMW R80, 1995
Connor and Eamon Murphy, Yamaha XJ900, 1984
Adrian Nash, Kawasaki Z250, 1982
Bill Weeden, Honda ST1300, 2003
Ian Roddick, Yamaha FJR1300, 2007
Ed Sleightholm, Triumph Bonneville T100, 2005
Jack Youdan, Yamaha FZ1, 2009
John Best, Suzuki Bandit, 2008.
Thanks to Ed for a good day out, those who corner marshalled, and to Bill for his tail-end Charlie and rescue work.
