Jeeralang North (near Morwell) Sunday 24^th February, 2008

Ben Warden (leader)	Honda CBR954	Cameron Stevens	Yamaha FZ6
Nic Jacka	Honda CBR600	Marty Thompson	Kawasaki ZRX1200
Pina Garasi (rear rider)	Yamaha R6	Rachel Howard	Honda Spada 250

It was like riding in winter again, riding down the Monash to the Berwick meeting point. The weather did its usual trick of fooling me into thinking that all was fine before I left home. Then about half way down the down the Monash, after passing the second police presence in the 80km zone, the rain started pouring down. I wasn’t wearing my wets so had to stop to change into them, as I only really put them on now if I’m desperate. I find that the jacket-flap factor is even more pronounced riding a naked bike than it was on the gixxer.

At the meeting point we had a first time rider, Rachel, join us on her Honda Spada which she shuffled along quite well. Marty Thompson turned up on a 2001 Kawasaki ZRX1200. Marty reports that the ride position is near identical to that of the BMW which he traded in. We didn’t have a huge turn out partly due to a cold and mixed weather forecast and partly due to some of the more regular riders being off on the Three Mountains ride.

Morning tea was at the Korumburra bakery after which Marty and Rachel left the group and headed for home. [Marty had only planned coming as far as Berwick to discuss the Morwell River Road, south of Boolarra. But the temptation to continue riding was too great and he succumbed. Rachel felt she was holding Pina up, despite Pina noting that only a few months ago she must have been in a similar situation and that it was fine to continue. Mind you, at that stage we had negotiated the Korumburra Warragul Ridge Road in strong, blustery winds, with the occasional rain squall. The road surface was the usual milk tanker damaged bumpy self, and now slippery and wet. It was tough, even for seasoned campaigners, let alone Learner riders… Ed.]

That left Ben, Nick, Pina and I to enjoy the rest of the ride. Ben took us down some less travelled back roads on the way to Churchill. [The weather fined up almost immediately! We investigated five roads heading south from the highway between Boolarra and Churchill, all of which eventually turned to dirt, but all climbing steeply into the mountains on good bitumen before doing so, offering spectacular views back across the Latrobe Valley. The further east we went, the better the roads got…Ed.]

Going up the Jeeralang North (final one) we were greeted by two large black cows grazing at the side of the road. On the return trip, one of the cows spooked me as it was running straight along the side of the road. A quick blip of the throttle while smiling through clenched teeth, and I was past it.

Lunch and a fuel stop were at Churchill. We visited a KFC like chicken shop which wasn’t too bad. I received one of the largest serves of medium size chips in my life which others in the group kindly help me consume.

[The ride continued north on new roads towards Morwell, skirting around the large power station cooling pond, eventually picking up the main Morwell-Mirboo North Road. We quickly diverged and headed via back roads to Thorpdale and now familiar roads to Trafalgar. A brief stint down the Princes Highway saw us exit at Yarragon heading for Lardner and Ellinbank…Ed.]

The break-up point was at Drouin where the wind blew my helmet off my tank onto the ground breaking the visor’s base plate. Lucky for me, Ben had silver packaging tape on hand which we used to tape the visor back onto the helmet. Once on, I couldn’t tell it was taped up, other than by the fact that I would lift the visor. I’ll try and find a new base plate later in the week. However, my wife is badgering me to buy a new helmet as this one has already had a knock.

Cameron Stevens