Mt Baw Baw Sunday 9^th March, 2008

Nic Jacka (leader)	Honda CBR600	Bruce Fleming	Kawasaki GPz900
Dave Ward	Honda CBR600	Penny Green	Yamaha R6
Ben Warden	Honda CBR954	Misho Zrakic	Suzuki GSXR750
Paul Southwell	Honda CBR1000	Rob Langer	KTM 950

It must have been an omen of some sort when a bird almost flew into Misho while leaving home for Yarra Glen; well, it was… a bad one, for further along the journey (Christmas Hills) a kangaroo leapt out of nowhere and jumped into the side of Misho’s Suzuki, breaking the fairing (very expensive), squashing the radiator (very expensive), snapping off the “new f……g sexy indicator” (very upsetting) resulting in…. “there goes the money for my nice new Gaggia coffee machine”. Looking on the bright side, Misho was happy that he still had “the shiny side up” and did not have to use his fingernails to “pull up”.

He even managed to look in his rear vision mirror and see the “poor animal tumbling down the road like a “Max Biaggi” or “like the alien when Ripley kicked his arse out of the spaceship”.

Feeling “pissed off” that he wouldn’t be able to do the ride for the day, I kindly offered as first option – to ride my bike (with me on the back). Option 2 was chosen - duct tape the fairing, check the damaged radiator was not losing any coolant and temperature was stable, an option which gave Misho hope that his ride could continue for the day. A re-check in Healsville confirmed that the Suzuki could cope with miscellaneous forms of wildlife, starting with a snake (now with tyre imprint in the waist area), a couple of birds (now featherless) and a kangaroo (missing a patch of fur) that ‘escaped’ with Misho’s Gaggia. Let’s hope that the next animal will not be an echidna or a “don’t even mention the f…..g thing” – wombat.

The ascent to Mt Baw Baw was a quite a treat, a bit like a never-ending Black Spur except with a few random obstacles thrown in for effect… potholes, gravel, diesel spill. The beautifully green and luscious fernery hugging the side of the Mt Baw Baw road sent me into a little reverie where I imagined reaching out to the ferns and in a child-like manner, running my hands all along them while zooming up on my bike. Were you imagining the same thing, Nic, as you were riding down the mountain? Is this what caused the crash? You must resist the overpowering urge to make close contact with nature… whilst riding a motorbike. Or were you really trying to do a “stoppie” for me, to make up for me not seeing the one and only “stoppie”on the Jindabyne ride?

Dave Ward described you falling in such a way that you could “kiss your arse”… me, I’d like to imagine you tumbling in slow motion with the skill and control of a martial arts expert and gaining your equilibrium quickly with poise and calm. Well, that’s the image I saw when I came upon you, and that’s what’s staying in my mind.

How relieved I was to see that you were okay even though your bike was looking so damaged. And, how sweet it was of you, that in the midst of all of this, you had the composure and thoughtfulness to apologise (several times) to Misho for crashing his previously-owned Honda. And even though it made Misho very sad to see both his beloved motorbikes getting “messed up” on the same day, he still felt happy that both he and you managed to walk away okay. Made me happy too!

Penny Green (with a little input from Misho!)