It was bucketing rain as I left home, the forecast miserable. I met first time rider Ray Walker hiding under the King’s Bridge Car Park railway bridge, sheltering from the rain, but even it leaks profusely when provoked. Though just the two of us, I figured I couldn’t let the good name of the Club down. This bloke was ready to ride, so I had better go do it.

Miraculously at Laverton the rain disappeared, and while it rained all day in Melbourne, the Great Ocean Road and its tributaries were completely dry. It started to rain again when we reached the West Gate Bridge 4.30 pm that afternoon. The best place to be was on the ride.

We made good time to Anglesea via Lara and Moriac, the usual big sweepers running into Anglesea providing us with a taste of things to come. A coffee scroll at the bakery, a visor clean and squeeze some water from the gloves and we were away again. There was barely a car on the road, no police apart from one on-coming 4WD of which we were flashed mercilessly. A long, leisurely lunch at Apollo Bay outside The Arab. Handed out a couple of itineraries to likely lads before heading north up the Skenes Creek Road and the tight swervery. The tyres, suspension and self were as one and the road flowed pleasantly curling and twisting this way and that. It is almost a religious experience riding a bike sometimes.

Coming into Forest the reverie was abruptly shattered by a nasty piece of road works: fine, invisible gravel leading up and around a tight 30 km/h corner. With the front on the point of lockup I decided to go straight, as they say, discretion the better part of valor. Ray wasn’t as fortunate and dumped the GSXR after a rear wheel lockup, crunching a blinker and a sustaining a few more scratches.

We continued on to Moriac and Lara for fuel. Ray’s fairing was flapping so out with the duct tape and a couple of 6 mm nuts and bolts to secure the plot before continuing to the West Gate servo and dispersion. Ray seemed keen and undeterred. An eventful day as always with the MTCV.