April Ride Day Change!

The April Ride Day is listed on the calendar as Sunday 8th April 07 - but that happens to be Easter Sunday.

So, at the Wharfshed meeting on Thursday night everyone agreed that the ride day should be changed to this Sunday 1st April 07 - and we're not doing it because it's April Fools Day!! Meet at the Wharfshed at 9am onwards - leaving at 9:30am.

So, if you're interested in a burn down the road on Sunday - see you there.

Marysville Week-end 10-12 March 07

Well where do I start... it was another great week-end away and even better that it was a long one with the public holiday on Monday. It was probably the smallest group that I'd seen yet for a week-end trip but even if it was only me going I'd still have had a great time. It was great to see PJ rock up at the Wharfshed to come on the ride with us to Marysville - especially since he lives in Healesville and rode all the way to Geelong in the morning to ride back with us!
The plan was to ride to Gisbourne for our first stop, then to Yea for lunch and on to Marysville where we'd meet Rod & Shirley. The ride via Staughton Vale was a bit rough at times and on one lefthander the Sprint felt more like a pogo stick! There was a quick stop in Gisbourne for a cold drink as the temperature was beginning to rise & a few pieces of clothing got removed.
It was a casual ride from Gisbourne to Broadford and then the road was fun as it wound its way through Strath Creek, then along King Parrot Creek Road & on to the main road to Yea. PJ looked like he was loving it on the Daytona 600!
We had a huge lunch in the Yea pub at a reasonable price & the barman told us to be careful as the police have a task force in the area riding sports bikes - he told tales of licenses getting suspended!
We pushed on to Marysville where we met Rod & Shirley - they'd been off playing golf - clubs strapped to their bikes! Shirley had won the ladies competition - well done Shirl!
On Saturday night we headed for the pub for tea and everyone had a hearty feed - Shirley shared stories of the local wombat that had horns and a bushy tail - called a gunni apparently.
It got us all wondering and someone made the suggestion we get our gear on, mount up and ride to Stevensons Falls in search of the gunni! Riding at 40km/hr in pitch black, watching for furry animals we eventually made it to the falls car-park enveloped in blackness.
Luckily Leigh had a torch - he has everything in the back-pack!
The stars were unbelievable out there and there was the frequent sigh as a shooting star or a satellite passed overhead! Down to the falls we trekked behind Leigh, but not a gunni did we find - plenty of bats though!

Next day it was down for breakkie at the local cafe & watch all the bikes arrive from the city - poor buggers, they had to go home again!
The local market got some of our money when it convinced Leigh & Murray they needed new work socks and the girls needed new earrings!
We rode down the Reefton Spur to a spot that Leigh had been told held significant historical value - the big culvert and Victorias biggest tree - we found the culvert okay - but think the tree must have been chopped down! We stood inside the culvert - like Rats up a drainpipe comes to mind...
Once we got to the bottom of the Reefton Spur we decided to ride back up it - it was crazy - too much traffic & no where to pass. Next we rode down the black spur to Healesville - much better road with wider corners & plenty of run off - very enjoyable motorbike country.
There were lots of idiots around and the biggest two shot passed us on the black spur on a blind corner leaving a smoke haze - one on a BSA and the other on an original Trident - I laughed to myself when I saw him taking corners on the Trident like he was on a GP bike!
Back up the Black Spur and it was time to lock the bikes up & retire to the pub for a few refreshments.

We tried a few resturaunts and it was getting desparate when we went to Faggi or Franger as Leigh called it. Fantastic little resturaunt and even better when a few musicians got out their instruments and played a few celtic tunes - music to our ears!
Next morning Leigh had his muffins & jam as usual (using the butter he got Janey to pinch from the pub!) and then we set off for the journey home - it was sad to leave it all behind - anyway, great week-end with great company - look forward to May 07 Grampians trip - Halls Gap look out!

March 07 - Ride Day

It was a bit chaotic in Geelong last Sunday when we went to meet for the monthly run. Half of the city and the entire Portarlington Rd was closed of for the Gatorade triathlon series.
We managed to get a parking spot close to the Wharfshed and could see the swim section of the event - how can they do that and then ride a bike to Drysdale & back!
It was a great day for a ride & I had a bit of a dilemma in the morning as we had thought about going to the Superbikes at Phillip Island. But, the thought of a good burn along some country roads made me quickly decide.
I got some photos from Mick (red Sprint) via e-mail from the racing and they are awesome - now I wish I had been there!
Despite only 4 of us turning up, we were looking forward to a good day and decided to make our first stop the Peppercorn Cafe in Steiglitz. It used to be owned by an old couple but has been taken over by a couple of ladies and I'd recommend it as a great place to stop on the way through - especially try the fresh lemonade scones with strawberry jam & cream.

One of the ladies has a soft spot for Triumphs as her husband owned a 1962 Thunderbird when she met him!
It's a great road to Steiglitz and some of it has been resurfaced making it grippy and fast on some corners.
We regrouped and decided to take a trip to Blackwood & have lunch in the pub. So it was back on the bikes and on to Meredith, then back across to the Ballan/Anakie Road & then straight through to Blackwood via Ballan & Greendale. The pub at Backwood isn't bad but the meals aren't cheap - there's a cheeky little cafe across the road from the pub that we might try next time.
We came out of the pub feeling adventurous & looking for new roads. A couple of blokes in a 4x4 got out their maps showing fire trails & dirt tracks & started telling us where we were - though I don't think they really knew as they were Poms!! So, it was the safe way home in the end via via Daylesford and a stop at the bakery in Ballan on the way back for a Vanilla Slice.
It was a great day for a ride - there are times when a smaller group is good - not so many to catch up with and easy decision making!

Next Saturday 10th March is the week-end to Marysville. There's only a few of us going but we're all looking forward to the break away. Should be good riding & I've heard the temperature is going to be just right. For those going, we're meeting at the Wharfshed at 9am & will leave about 9:30am.

Some of you might have seen a beautiful blue Sprint on TV recently - well look out for it in the motorcyle magazines in the next couple of months as well - and for those that haven't seen it, have a look at it on youtube.com!