Walhalla Sunday 4^th March, 2007

Trevor Harris (leader)	Yamaha YZF1000	Mick (Misho) Zrakic (rear)	Honda CBR600
Cameron Stevens	Suzuki GSXR1000

I didn’t wake feeling too well on the morning of this ride. I’d been suffering a cold-like virus since Wednesday which had really kicked-in by today. Tired and panting for a drink, I stumbled around the house looking for a remedy for my current condition. The recipe, which, while I’ve never turned a page in a Women’s Weekly cookbook, I am confident you aren’t going to find in there, so I suggest you hang on to this edition of Good Vibrations should a future need for it arise.

I hereby write the Cameron Stevens cure for all things viral in order to take part in an MSTCV ride. This is a two part recipe consisting of the kitchen and the bathroom. Part1 – The Kitchen: 1 apple, 1 banana, 6 Wheatbix, 3 litres of water, 1 very strong cup of coffee. Part 2 – The bathroom: 4 Codral cold and flu tablets, 2 Disprin, 2 Panadols

I arrived at Berwick with the coffee and the three litres of waters having made their way through my system to be greeted by the call of nature yelling in my ear. I dismounted from my bike and headed to the toilet as fast as I could without looking like I’m running.

Mick is the only other rider at Berwick and after fuelling up I head over to where we normally park. Mick mentions the industrial waste bin was stinking to high heaven and suggested we move. We move over to just outside the tyre shop and wait until 10:00am for no other riders to arrive. I think the Club’s Tassie trip and the Superbikes being on may have contributed to the low rider turn out.

Mick tells me, while we are hanging around, that he’s been working, changing traffic light controller boxes, since 4:30am and this is his after work ride. And here I was thinking I was keen. At a few minutes past ten Trevor, our intrepid ride leader, turns up, making a grand total of three. Mick volunteers to go rear rider and with Trevor leading that would make me the corner marker. After Mick and I pass the club captain’s tyre inspection, I volunteer to write the article.

The first stop for the day was at Noojee where the local friendly cop did a U-turn right in front where we were parked, presumably just to let us know he was around. After about a 20 minute break we head for Moe via Icy Creek Road for lunch.

Having only three in the group made for a low group ride overhead and with Trevor and Mick both knowing how the throttle worked, we made good progress from point to point.

From Moe the next stop was Walhalla where two bus loads of nursing home escapees were waiting for us. Trevor gets bailed up by some bloke before he even takes his helmet off. I shuffle around the back of him with my fingers in my ears and head to the local shop to purchase a drink. Mick follows me and, much to my surprise, Trevor wasn’t too far behind. We didn’t have to wait long to buy a drink but we couldn’t get a table out the front due to it all being full with the blue rinse set.

From Walhalla we head back to Moe for a quick splash of fuel before doing the Neerim’s and having the official ride finish declared at Powelltown. All up a 359.8 km incident free fun ride.

Cameron Stevens