Mt Buninyong Fire Tower Sunday 16th March 2008
|
Willem Vandeveld |
Honda ST1300 |
Geoff Jones (leader) |
Yamaha R1 |
|
Ben Warden |
Honda CBR954 |
Cameron Stevens |
Yamaha FZ6 |
|
Bill Simpson |
Honda VTR1000 |
Pina Garasi (rear) |
Yamaha R6 |
|
Bob Broadhurst |
Honda CBR600 |
Marty Thompson |
|
|
Richard Marek (2nd ride) |
Honda CBR1100XX |
Bruce Flaming |
|
|
Misho Zrakic |
Suzuki GSXR750 |
|
11
bikes, 11 people |
I've done this ride a few times over the years and it's always interesting. According to The Age weather map next day, the temperature in the areas we visited hovered between 37 and 40 degrees.
Our illustrious leader for the day was Geoff, on his newly jetted and rattle-installed R1. The R1 started off okay; it just got noisier as the day progressed! Geoff suggested it was something that had come loose – he had been at the carbs again - but it sounded more like a broken cam chain tensioner. I imagine having to keep Hondas and Kawasakis at bay over the years has taken its toll!
The meeting point gave us a few more players than I would have imagined on a day forecast for 40 degrees. However, the usual die-hards and a few new riders saw a total of 11 bikes and riders on the ride.
Geoff very cunningly
devised a route out of
At Meredith we filled up. I somehow managed to park the bike not quite on the side stand. Half way between the bike and the shop, I heard that sound! "Crunch"! Sure enough, the ZRX had toppled over. It was a mixed damage report. My helmet had taken most of the impact, limiting the bike damage to a bent clutch lever and a smashed indicator lens! No panel damage or any other damage! Mind you, it totally wrecked my rather exxie BMW helmet! Oh well, I've got other lids, thankfully.
I spent the next 20 minutes reinstalling the blinker which had pushed through the fairing without breaking it. A new globe and judiciously applied packaging tape to the now multi-piece lens saw the blinker looking and working almost like new. The biggest difficulty was having big fingers and no access room. In the hot sun. Thanks to Ben and Geoff for lending a hand – literally.
After the long morning tea, we snaked our way across hill and down dale to Mt Mercer, picking up some thickly dusted and corrugated dirt road making life exciting. Eventually we tripped over the road up to the Buninyong fire tower!
It takes a bit of trust using both sides of the road, but, that's exactly what you do! It's one way! It's a bit eerie for the first few corners. Once at the top, those who either hadn't been up, or who could be bothered, climbed the tower to enjoy the views of the surrounding countryside! I thought I could see my house from there last time! A fire spotter was in attendance. He popped his head out to say hello.
After that was out of our system and we had taken a group photo for the archives, we made our way down into Daylesford for lunch - after another 100 km of roads picking up places like Yendon, Gordon, and Springbank. I managed to snag some quick service and brilliant tucker at the bakery across the road. Others managed to find themselves a long wait for some dry tidbits! One broke all the rules and went and had a beer! Good on him, I reckon. It was, after-all, 37 degrees!
After lunch we lost our VTR riding friend Bill who went straight home as he lives close to Meredith where he had joined us. Geoff lead us around the back of Daylesford heading for Spring Hill, successfully negotiating a route towards Kyneton and Carlsruhe before heading back past Hanging Rock and on to Hesketh.
There was a corner marking issue where Misho and I overshot the corner by about 3 km and Geoff set off in pursuit of us. The rest of the ride headed off unwittingly without a leader but we all managed to find ourselves at Bolinda. I bet Pina got a surprise when Geoff passed her.
There was interesting gravel strewn across some corners to ensure dirt bike practice was covered during the ride. One particular right hander had the big 12 sliding both front and back wheels across the road for what seemed like...too long! Once again, being older and slower, I did nothing and the bike carried on as though nothing had happened! Jeepers they make motorbikes good these days, don't they!
We wound our way through
some back roads heading towards the Bulla and the Freeway, picking up the fast
sweepers on
Thanks to all the fellow enthusiasts who made the effort in sweltering conditions, the weather barely rating a mention in conversation all day. We were there to enjoy the roads and good company, not to worry about the weather. If you weren’t there, you missed something special.
Marty Thompson