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!