Lancefield (short
ride) Sunday
Honda CBR929 Ben Warden (leader) Kawasaki ZX12R Paul Grosser
Yamaha R1 Mick Hanlon (rear) Yamaha R6 Joel Hale
Suzuki GSXR1000 Clifford Peters
Honda CBR1100XX Martin Hastie Suzuki DRZ400 Les Leahy
Honda CBR954 Paul Southwell Honda CB400 Ron Johnston
Suzuki GSF1200 Stewart Lens Suzuki ? ??
I woke early Sunday morning still tired and with sore feet from standing for nine hours on Saturday at the $6000,000 Motor Cycle Accessories Auction. The prices were ridiculously cheap.
Carmen was planning to come on the ride, but decided to do the house chores that didn’t get done on Saturday. So I got my gear on including my new boots, which I paid less than half price for, and headed off to Whittlesea. Travelling along High Street, overtaking a taxi who waited until I was at his door before turning right. We hit. Luckily for me, Carmen wasn’t on the bike and I glanced off the car with only my foot and pillion foot peg making contact with the car. Close call – with no visible damage.
I then had the misfortune of catching every red light till Bundoora, finally getting into Whittlesea to find the rest of the group ready to leave. I had a quick fill up, paid my money and then listened as the servo operator bellowed over the PA for Rob to get off his bike while filling it with fuel. Ben commented later that he was told off for not removing his helmet while filling, not getting off the bike, and using a mobile phone.
Ben gave us the
usual spiel and then noted that there was to be no video cameras operating on
the ride. We left Whittlesea at
I caught up with Ben at the Flowerdale Pub and did my first stint of corner marking duties. Paul Southwell was with me. Just before the rear rider rolled up a guy on a Suzuki stopped to say he was low on fuel and might not make it to the next town. I asked Paul (as he could do a quick catch up to the group later) to stay with him because the rear rider had arrived. I don’t know the reason, but speaking with Paul later, he said the Suzuki failed to re-start, so Paul suggested he push it down to the Flowerdale pub, wait till they open, and then call someone for help. (Which begs a series of questions: Who was it? What bike were they riding? Why didn’t the rear rider etc offer assistance, as we would normally do? Is this the attitude we wish to promote? …Ed.)
The next excitement was coming into Strath Creek where I had to play chicken with a chook running across the road! No feathers were ruffled, but maybe a few missed heartbeats for the chook. I wondered what the eggs would be like the next day!
On past Broadford motorcycle track, through Broadford and on to Pyalong and Lancefield. Doing a good rate of knots through the tree lined roads there appeared to be a branch in the shadows. I missed it but from news at the morning tea break was that Mick Bosworth collected it resulting in a bent front rim on his ZX9. Ben thought it would easily roll out.
Further on I
came across a dirt bike doing the speed limit. Several of us passed him. Then we met
road works with deep, loose stones all over the road and a 60 km/h speed
limit. The dirt bike passed us. And when
the road went back to smooth bitumen, we blasted past him again. We got into
Lancefield and the dirt bike turned up. It was Les Leahy on his new Suzuki,
having sold the KTM. (It was his first foray with the Club since sustaining
severe eye damage (but non-permanent) due to the continuous vibration on his
last outback epic. …Ed.)
Time for a chat, loo stop and coffee fill up. I got talking to a local who had a very frightened sheep dog on a lead. He told me he was 75 years old and he was trying to get the dog, who had never been around people (having lived in a kennel), used to people because he wanted to train the dog for the Royal Melbourne Show dog trials.
Rob disappeared for a while and when he returned he wanted to have a long break and enjoy a full meal at the local shop. But we didn’t have time. Everyone else had found time to eat pies, sandwiches and salad rolls. Ben rounded us up and soon we were heading back to Kinglake West.
I was following Cliff’s stepson Jason on Cliff’s old Kwaka when he hit a branch across the road. Luckily he only clipped it and it spat across the road out of harms way. A couple of corners later we corner marked and discussed the branch. Jason didn’t realise the force with which it had spat out after his bike clipped it.
Up through Emu Flat, back to Pyalong and across to Tallarook and King Parrot Creek. Then onto Strath Creek where I corner marked with Cliff and we discussed his kangaroo incident over Xmas. He showed me his hand wounds after not wearing gloves and how little damage was done to bike considering the event.
On through Strath Creek to Flowerdale, then through the bends where I followed a bike at a good pace through to Kinglake West. I thought it was one of our group but it turned out to be a stray. When we got to the Kinglake West milkbar he came up to me to apologise if he slowed me down through the bends. But we were going at a sufficient pace, given the prevailing traffic and conditions.
The ride disbanded and I headed off. It started to drizzle. My fuel was on reserve so I continued slowly down into Whittlesea and fuelled up. I rode home following Paul until the Ring Road where we bad our farewells.
Thanks to Ben leading, Mick Hanlon for the rear rider duties and the group who for a good time.
For anyone who is interested, I am leading a leisurely ride next Sunday along a similar route, with a lunch stop at Daylesford.
Martin Hastie
(Honda CBRXX1100 Blackbird)
True story 0: A man walked into a Topeka, Kansas Kwik Stop, and asked for all the money in the cash drawer. Apparently, the take was too small, so he tied up the store clerk and worked the counter himself for three hours until police showed up and grabbed him.
True story 1: Police in
True story 2: A man spoke frantically into the phone, "My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only two minutes apart!" "Is this her first child?" the doctor asked. "No!" the man shouted, "This is her husband!
True story 3: In