Dave Ward & Bron Manifold (R1) Kathy Robinson (CBR600)-Rear Rider

Derek Atkinson (FZR1000) Rob & Al Jones – VTR1000

Paul Tallents (YZF600) Ian Payne (CBR900-Fireblade)

Geoff Hornby (ZX6) Ray Walker (GSXR750)

Wayne Grant (ZX9) Wayne Nimmo (GSXR1300-Hyabusa)

Ben Warden (ZXR750) Harry (Hang-off) Miller (GSXR400)

John Murphy (ZRX1100) Rob Wordie (GSXR750) 1^st ride

Dave Hives (ZXR)

Rob Langer & Kirsten Anderson (R1100S) Peter Doak (Speed Triple)

Geoff Barton (R1100GS) Daryl (Daytona T595)

Stage 1: Hallam-Berwick-Upper Beaconsfield-Monbulk-Belgrave-Olinda-loop around and come back to Olinda again-Monbulk again-Emerald for first break:

Stage 2: Emerald-Avonsleigh-Cockatoo-Gembrook-Mt Burnett loop-Avonsleigh again-Macclesfield-Monbulk again-Olinda again-Sassafrass-The Basin

STAGE 1 Well this could be an easy write-up, the attendees and route have taken up half a page. Can I leave it at this? If I make it a larger font I can get out of the write-up! By the way, thanks Kath for dobbing me in! You owe me! You too Derek, I think you should have done the write-up in return for not getting rear rider duties! (Maybe I should have let you take that fairing off! Oh well, that’s done now, I’ll let you wash my bike instead!)

Onto the write-up I guess. It was a 10.15 am start with Hallam being the first pick-up point due it being one of our new "short rides". Seems to be popular so far: 21 bikes! My observation is that the rides close to home with nice weather seem to attract huge turn-outs. (Funny thing is I don’t know half the people anymore. Seems I’m one of the ones who hasn’t been going on the rides! Oh well, I may be along on more with these shorter rides. I must admit my favourite past-time on a Sunday morning is looking at the inside of my eye-lids!)

I arrived at the starting point early for a change and had a chance to talk to a few people. (Well mutter a few words; I don’t really wake up until mid-day!) I noticed Robbie Langer had turned up. Great to see you on a Club ride again Robbie. Hope to see you and Kirsten on more in the future.

Also noticed Bronnie turned up as a pillion! Shame Bronnie! To be fair Bronnie had a headache. I must plead guilty to giving it to her as I had a migraine the day before…..and Dave: if you make any wisecracks about me giving her the headache from too much talking, I’ll come around and wash your Duke with a metal brush and paint stripper!)

Well, almost finished the first page and haven’t put much fact in yet. Well Theo, I warn you, if you have me do the write-up, they tend to crap on a bit. (Maybe if I crap on enough I won’t get asked to do them anymore! Any chance?) Anyway, Theo gave the pre-ride spiel with a warning of moss on the roads in places, and Derek and Kathy both vied for rear-rider duties. Kathy won (you’ll never win over a red head Derek!), and off we went.

Ben and I corner-marked off the Highway which was charming as it gave a chance for the semi loaded with pigs to drive past and just about knocked me out with the smell. (Bronnie later told me she felt sorry for the pigs. Maybe I’m heartless but I had more sympathy for my nasal passages!).

We rode through Berwick, Upper Beaconsfield, Monbulk, Belgrave, and Olinda. You’ll hear Olinda and Monbulk appear a few times in my write-up. Theo told us we would be "doing a few clover leaves" through the Dandenongs and I was beginning to wonder if he had been doing a few ‘other leaves’ when he did this pre-ride. (Joke Theo-I did really enjoy the roads). For those who have any idea of the Dandenongs I’ll throw some fact into my write-up. From Olinda we went left onto the Sassafrass Road, which took us back onto the Olinda Road, then Mt Dandenong Tourist Road, up and right onto the Crescent (still with me?), left into Perrys Creek Bridge Road, back onto Mt Dandenong Tourist Road and into Olinda .(There it is again!) Right at Olinda to Monbulk (and there’s Monbulk again. Maybe the corner markers could have stayed put and we could have done our clover leaves around them! Then through the freshly sealed road to Emerald for our lunch break.

At Emerald we stopped and yakked (though I never have much to say…cough cough!), enjoyed the wonderful Emerald toilet blocks (complete with empty bottles in the basin, etc), breathed in some mountain air (once you were OUT of the toilet blocks!), and admired the scenery. There was a bit of talk about the roads, some were loving them, some found them a little tight or gravelly or whatever, but everyone seemed to agree they were different to the norm, which is why they appealed to me so much. I was in a cruise, if not tootle mode today, as my mind was not really on the road. I was just really enjoying the gorgeous countryside. It was also great going on roads I’ve barely been on before, and certainly haven’t been on in the last year or two. Good company too, what can I say…..I had a lovely day.

STAGE 2: After a short lunch-stop at Emerald we went back through Avonsleigh, past Cockatoo and Gembrook, did the Mt Burnett loop, back to Avonsleigh, (knew we should have left the cornermarkers there!), right onto Macclesfield Road and through Macclesfield, left onto Swales Road and all the way back onto Monbulk Road to Monbulk (déjà vu), On to Olinda (need I say it!) and Sassafrass, and finally down Mountain Highway to the Basin for a break-up at the coffee-shop.

We lost a couple of riders in this section: Daytona Daryl and Rob & Al Jones on the VTR. They seemed to miss some corner markers and continued on. Ben gave chase for a while but it’s pretty impossible to catch up to riders on roads like that so we had to let them go and continue on our ride. (They thought they were being pursued ….Ed.) Wayne peeled off somewhere along the line too.

Full points to Bronnie for sticking out the ride with the headache (my God, riding pillion with Dave isn’t what I thought would be a headache antidote, but I guess it’s a more exciting cure than popping some Mersyndol & carking it!). Full points to Dave too, and I’ll only say this once, Dave, as we don’t want you to have to buy the next helmet size!, but I do admire a rider of such ability who is so considerate of the rider in front. Being a bit nervous on the bike today I was trying to keep to myself, and I noticed when Dave was behind me he happily sat back a fair distance. Thanks Dave. Anyway, enough of that .(I think you owe me a Ducati for that!) Back to the ride.

Not a lot else I can think of at the moment to say so I’ll call it a day. Thanks Theo for leading the ride; it went very smoothly. I think the roads were great, except for the corner on which I found the moss we were warned about! However, releasing the brakes and taking the corner wide, a few heart palpitations later, and all was well again. The area is gorgeous, the ride well planned and led. What more can I say! And thanks Kathy for going rear rider (however I shall still get you back for dobbing me in for doing the write-up!!) My apologies for any errors in the ‘facts’ of the ride. Stuffed if I ever knew where I was so I’m relying on my scribbled notes!