Bush Fire Appeal Ride - Sunday 15th Feb 2009

Well I never ever thought the first entry of 2009 on this blog would be to talk about a ride raising money for bushfire victims! I just heard tonight that the death toll is now 189 and climbing - the stories still coming out of Kinglake & Marysville are as horrifically vivid as if it had happened yesterday.
We had been in Marysville over the Australia Day week-end and it was beautiful - rhe ride up to Lake Mountain at 7:30am on Sunday morning was as good as it gets - even caught glimpse of a lyrebird walking calmly across the road & jumping up into a lush green forest. We stayed at Marylands - a bit of a treat. A beautiful old guest house - it had been around since 1927 & stood proudly in the lush Marysville landscape. What a shock to wake up & watch the news last Sunday morning! Now its all gone. We met some lovely people that week-end - some we now know never made it out of the inferno that engulfed that beautiful little town.
So, it was great to hear about (thanks to Mal) the charity ride to raise money on Sunday - those places where some of our favorite haunts - Marysville was a place we all loved to go for week-ends.
This ride was one we definitely weren't going to miss & I've heard there are many more to come.
The ride itself on Sunday wasn't anything exciting - just a simple ride to Williamstown, catch up with the guys & then back to Geelong.
There were a few hairy moments when some blokes on bikes fancied themselves as traffic cops - nearly ended in disaster when they stopped traffic on the Princes Hwy at the Rippleside junction! The group itself got split up & some heading to the Little River pub while the rest of us rode straight up the highway - slightly chaotic at times!
But, it was great catching up with the usual crew & on the way back we stopped off at the Wharfshed for a cold beer & to kick back for an hour before we went home.
The Wharfsheds looking good by the way - some even think that's where we should meet again - felt like we'd come home! It was a great atmosphere down there & the beer wasn't bad either!
I heard today that the ride raised over $1500 for the bushfire appeal.
One part I didn't mention was the bloke on the Harley doing monos from the lights at Corio - now I've seen everything! In case you didn't guess already - his name was Warren!!
It will be great to get away for a week-end & I've heard that there's something on the calendar for the Labour Day week-end - calendar should be available soon.
Next meeting is at the Max on last Thursday of the month - next Thurs 26th Feb.