Drouin,
18th January, 2004
Honda CBR 929 Ben Warden (lead)
Honda CBR 954 Paul Southwell (rear)
Honda CBR 954 Liz Oliver Kawasaki
ZX12R Paul Grosser
Honda CBR 929 Pete Weyermayr
What a start! Rolled the
bike out of the shed into brilliant sunshine, but it didn’t take long before it
all changed. By the time I got to the starting point in Yarra Glen I was wet
and getting wetter and colder. I remember thinking at the time that maybe I
shouldn’t have chosen tyres that looked like slicks and maybe the guys in the
bike shop were right in saying that ‘those tyres won’t be much good in the
wet’. It was the weather that kept everybody in their beds that morning, wasn’t
it!
Four of us listened to Ben
give the itinerary for the day: head to Yarra Junction via Healesville, then on
to Powelltown and Noojee for the first break. A very uneventful journey to
Powelltown was probably due the wet conditions and law-abiding pace.
After Powelltown the road
conditions improved nicely, to the point where Liz was asking me if I could be
rear rider. Fortunately for Liz I was in
a relaxed mood and rear rider sounded like a good idea.Which is exactly what it
was.
We headed off to Trafalgar
via Hill End. Magnificent roads with scenic views and very little traffic.
Bliss. After Trafalgar it was on to Mirboo North via Thorpdale. Those of you
that have been on one of Ben’s rides down into South Gippsland will know that
once he gets you into this area you are trapped. In Ben’s words ‘these are some
of the best roads in the world’. He is probably right: these roads are
brilliant, but once you go with Ben into this area you start to feel like
you’re trapped in a maze.
After Mirboo North we
travelled in ever increasing circles. The path travelled sort-off went like
this: out of Mirboo North around a winding road or two, back to Mirboo North
for lunch. After lunch on another winding road to Dumbalk, more winding to
Arawata via Ben’s ‘you shall ride on dirt, it’s good for you’ section. From
Arawata winding up to Ellinbank and somehow over to Drouin, where the ride
officially ended.
Thankyou Ben for leading us
through some of your favourite bits of country roads. And thankyou for bringing
us out again!!!
Paul
Southwell (Honda CBR 954)