Reefton and Black Spurs Sunday 10^th June, 2007

Honda CBR1000	Ian Payne (rear)	Suzuki GSXR600	Dave Ward (leader)
Honda CBR1000	Paul Southwell	Suzuki GSXR1000	Cameron Stevens
Honda CBR954	Ben Warden	BMW R1200GS	Rob Langer
Honda VFR750	Renzo Cunico	Suzuki GSXR600	Breht Emmerson
Honda CBR1000	Andrew Kennedy	Suzuki GSXR750	Clint Vertigan
Yamaha TRX850	Tony Raditsis		17 deg., 240 km

Compared to the riding conditions the club has been experiencing lately, the start to Dave’s ride was near perfect. Mind you there were a lot of wet corners but don’t not let that get in the way of the story.

Dave’s rides normally take in the scenic twisty bits not far from Melbourne and this one was no exception. After the riders’ brief, Dave led us over to Healesville via the well established ‘back way’, then up Chum Creek Road to Toolangi. On the way up the ‘hill’ we get our first taste of things to come, that is, slippery wet corners. Having said that, I admit the sections of the road that had been exposed to sunlight or the slightest breeze are (usually) quite dry.

The run back down the ‘hill’ was slippery and required the rider’s full attention. By this time Dave was completely out of sight; nothing unusual about that.

The next little bit of fun happened as we cross over Ben Cain (1040m) to drop down into Warburton. There is one advantage to riding on wet dirt roads, there is no dust! Mind you, the little curved wooden bridge at the end of this dirt section was well camouflaged with mud and, for the unwary, a bit of a surprise!

The bakery at Warburton was humming as usual. Seen at the bakery was former member Rhys Williams on his Yamaha V-MAX. An interesting machine. Rhys reckons the torque is very impressive.

The Reefton was in the usual condition, some times good; sometimes not-so-good. The council will need to resurface some of the sections that they started resurfacing last summer as it is breaking-up already.

Over the top and down into Marysville, all plain sailing. Marysville was buzzing. Just leaving Marysville heading for the Maroondah Highway, Ben and I moved to pass an unknown GSXR1000 rider when a burst of light temporarily stopped us in our tracks. Cameron, lurking thereabouts, took off like a scalded cat. A hidden 4WD Police vehicle exposed its hiding place: up a dirt track at the base of the last hill just before Marysville. Later Ben was heard to say “So that’s where they hide. I have always wondered how Peter Weyermayr got done leading along here a few years ago, and now I know.”

“The Spur” had all its usual challenges: slow cars, even slower cars with trailers, etc, oncoming motorcyclists (was I on his side or was he on mine?). Luckily, I able to catch onto the tail of Dave and Ben as they cleared the way for me. This exercise is always going have the adrenalin pumping.

Just to finish off the ride Dave decides to take us back up to Toolangi then back down Chum Creek Road. Normally this is most welcome. Unfortunately for Tony Raditsis, it turned out to be the straw that broke the camels back. Tony had a front-end lose near the bottom of Chum Creek Road. Tony’s OK, bike not so OK, leaking oil out of the cracked engine cases. Handily, Breht came back with a trailer to pick it up, living just around the corner, relatively speaking.

Apart from Tony getting down and personal with the bitumen, the rest of the day’s riding was incident and hassle free. Thanks Dave for a great day out.

Paul Southwell