There's no doubt that fine weather brings out the bikes. All of our rides at this time of year seem to have been really popular and this ride was no exception.

A lot of new faces turned up and I was surprised to see Stew back after his US stint, and back on a VTR. Unfortunately Ben was unable to lead this ride so Ian stepped in for the job.

Heading off from Hallam we headed off through North Harkaway, Pakenham, to Bunyip and onto Drouin for a bite to eat and smoko. Ben’s knowledge of the Gippsland area certainly showed as we ripped along some really great roads to Topiram, Poowong, and Ranceby. Onto Arawata (still dirt) setting up the loop through Dumbalk, Mirboo, Limonite, Boolara, and into Mirboo North for lunch.

After a relaxed lunch and a lot of comment about the dirt at Arawata, a local woman went to great pains to try and sell us some really nice jackets. Nice as they were I didn't see any takers.

After refueling and the necessary personal stops, we set off on another loop down to Mardan, Wooreen, Hallston, Allambee South and back to Mirboo North. With the sun shining and clear skies, this was riding heaven. A lot of these corners require real concentration so you feel that you've done the distance.

Leaving Mirboo North. for the second time we headed north to Thorpdale and Trafalgar. By the time we reached Yarragon, I was starting to feel the days riding. Ian kept the pace going on through Ellinbank, Lardner, Drouin and Pakenham where we broke up the ride.

Thanks Ian for leading and Rob for the rear rider duties. The distance was about 450km of fast, great roads.

Rhys Williams (Kawasaki ZX7R)