Walhalla Sunday 20^th April, 2008

Trevor Harris (Leader)	Yamaha YZF1000	Dave Ward	Honda CBR600
Ken Goederee (3^rd ride)	Honda CBR1000	Danny Hain	Suzuki GSXR750
Willem Vandeveld (1/2 rear)	Honda ST1300	Greg Trainor	Triumph 955i
Kurt McEnaney (1^st ride)	Honda VTR1000	Graeme Tattersall	Yamaha R1
Bruce Fleming	Kawasaki GPz900	Randal Leacock	Kawasaki ZX9
Bronwyn Manifold (1/2 rear)	Kawasaki Z750	Paul Walkley	Kawasaki Z1000
Rob Jones	Suzuki GSXR1000	Cameron Stevens	Yamaha FZ6
Peter Fisher (1^st ride)	Suzuki GSXR750	Ben Warden	Honda CBR954
Damian Kaak (1^st ride)	Suzuki Hayabusa	Darryn Webster	Triumph 675
Dom Rafael	Suzuki Hayabusa (1^st ride)	Dennis Lindemann	Honda CBR600
Dave Wilson (1^st ride)	Yamaha R1	Ian Payne	Honda CBR1000

22 bikes and riders

Saturday 19^th and I’m up early for the pre-ride. On to the XJ9 and I’m out the door at 8am. A quiet ride takes me through Eltham and the Christmas Hills (looking for camera cars) to Yarra Glen. Check the tyre pressures (a bit low, pump them up) and it’s off I go in a northerly direction. It’s a brilliant day – fine, calm, pleasant temperature, although it was a bit cool out towards Noojee. Noticed there were a few damp spots to raise in the riders’ briefing, plus there was still evidence of the storm that passed through a couple of weeks back – lots of blown-over trees that had been chain-sawed enough to get them off the road and not much else.

Get to Noojee and keep on rolling. Down to Moe, past the burn offs and into the bakery (of course). Fill the bike as I didn’t earlier – the benefits of having a 20 litre tank and a range of around 400km. North again, turn right to Tyers and then the interesting road to the Walhalla turnoff, noting the corner where the Hayabusa came to grief a couple of years ago. I decide not to go to/from Walhalla itself today, and carry on to the dam. The water is very calm and still, and there’s no magpie dive-bombing me this time. Back to Moe and then on to Longwarry North. And the long ride home. That was easy…

Sunday 20^th. Up almost as early and I get the YZF out of the garage and head away at 9am. The Christmas Hills has a number of cars tearing along at 70 km/h or so from about the half-way mark, so I decide to calmly follow them – don’t need to get busted this early in the day. Yarra Glen and there are 30+ Ulysses riders meeting up for one of their runs – hope we don’t head in the same direction at the same time! As I pull into the gas station I see there are a number of bikes waiting in ‘our’ meeting spot. Fill the tanks, check the tyres and head over. Ben is there taking name/bike/ICE details, so that is a task I can avoid. More bikes arrive for a total of 22, including a few first timers. Must be the weather – did I mention it was clear, calm and sunny? Great day for a ride. Riders’ briefing (three main legs; get petrol at Moe – twice; it’s not a race) and we’re off, with no-one volunteering to do the write-up. Ben had already given the new riders the rundown on our corner-marking system.

We take the Old Healesville Road to Healesville, then to Woori Yallock. A bit of zig-zagging and we came out at Gladysdale on the Noojee Road, with only two traffic lights so far – the pedestrian lights at Yarra Glen and Healesville – and they are both green when I go past. I’m surprised that there are less bikes behind me than I thought there would be, but keep going. Cameron is corner marking for the second time today – that boy is out for a Good Time on this brilliant day. I catch up to a group of Harleys and work my way through them. As I get to the front at Powelltown Ian catches up and tells me of an “off”. In Bens words, “Hayabusa crash (Dom) – possibly dislocated shoulder. Darryn and Dave rode bike back to Yarra Glen and Greg Trainor took him home/hospital; Darryn dinked Dave back to his bike and then those two caught us up in Noojee. Dom dropped bike at low speed crossing up front wheel in gravel on left hand side of road trying to stop – low speed, near walking pace. Down to 20 bikes”.

Ian and I had pulled over and the Harleys went past… so we had to pass them again. At least they were good-natured about it and seem to accept that we corner faster than they do. The more open corners after the Ada Tree turnoff are great; you can get along at a nice pace here…

Noojee after 80km from the start was the first regroup of the day, a break of around 20 minutes. Ben arrived and we headed off on Leg 2 to Moe via Icy Creek, Hill End and Willow Grove. Blue Lake Dam is looking …blue. We break for lunch and fuel – filling the tanks first is the way to go on these rides as it means we can get away as a group. So far we had covered 134 km. People headed to various eateries (I went to a bakery of course) and we had a leisurely break to eat and talk. And talk. Bens words: “Rob Jones and his three mates (Graeme T., Kurt and Dave Wilson) head directly to Walhalla to the pub. Down to 16 bikes and riders.” I gave a ‘Five Minutes!” call and we get ready for Leg 3.

Leg 3: Yep – North towards Rawson, then a right on to Purvis road to Tyers. Nice open roads and good sweepers. Left at Tyers, and we are into the n-i-c-e left-hander: 3^rd gear and go for it! Then it’s through the forest for 26km of good roads – some open sweepers, some less open corners and its All Good. Ian and I corner mark at the Walhalla turnoff. I have told the group that they can go ahead at their own pace along here – no leader to hold them back. Being a dead end, as far as road bikes are concerned, the riders can’t get lost. Everyone comes through, with Bronny bringing up the rear. She is also waved ahead, then Ian and I get mobile again. That was the last I saw of Ian until the car park.

And at the car park I arrive to find that Dave Ward has holed the CBRs radiator. This is getting to be a habit as he holed the radiator on the Ducati 1098 on a previous ride that I led – time for Dave to buy an air-cooled bike? Danny lends a hand as he holed his CBR600 radiator on the same ride in January (that I also led) and knows how to get the bodywork off the CBR and access the filler cap. Should I mention that Cameron had a holed radiator on a ride I led in June 2007? There looks to be a pattern evolving here. Bens words: “Dave holes radiator following Cameron. Ground pepper inserted into coolant; radiator gum applied externally to leak. At Rawson copper particles stuff (radiator stop leak) put into coolant. Each time fairing has to be removed – 5 screws. Dave and Bronwyn left ride. Ian Payne and Darryn Webster followed. Down to 12 bikes.”

Leg 4 sees eleven of us head to and through Rawson and then turn right for the Thomson Dam, to check out the primary water supply for Melbourne. And the great sweepers to get there – you need to ride this road. It was in pretty good shape after the storm, with one tree still protruding on to the road on an open lefthander – easy to see and avoid. More talk, some photos and it’s time to head back to Moe on Leg 5 for more fuel. On the ride out I get passed by Cameron. Twice. Hmmm – something funny is going on here as I didn’t pass him. It turns out that the first one to pass me was Paul on the Z1000 (sporting replacement rims after the Seymour ride on January 20^th (Yep – another one that I led!), and then Cameron soon afterwards. A pair of naked black bikes, so I was easily confused. Ben is heading in as we are heading out, having assisted Dave with the radiator problem. A u-turn and he is back with the group. Rawson, Erica, nice roads with one tight lefthander to keep you alert.

Back to the petrol station where I fill the YZF this time, after 280ish km. Love that 20 litre tank. Into the main street for more talk – social bunch that we are. The final leg of the day’s ride beckons: Old Sale Road into the setting sun (I miss daylight saving) and a brief run north towards Neerim South and it’s left to Jindivic. Thanks to Ben for the directions as I didn’t find the right roads during the pre-ride. We get to Longwarry North where the ride officially ends, 90ish km from Melbourne. I need to find another breakup point! Riding into the setting sun is a nuisance/hazard, and taking the Powelltown option is not that much better – just ask Breht.

We’ve covered 350 km for the ride, over a number of hours. The breaks seem to be working out well – feedback welcome on this. (Too short? Too long? Too many? Just right?) The final chat session of the day is held, we look at a few tyres, Ben takes a few photos and we head off.

Thanks to those that came along, Bronny and Willem for rear-rider duties, Ben and the assistants with Dom and the holed radiator. Hope that Dom recovers quickly.

And how many police vehicles did I see today: None! Of course, we were all behaving and travelling in a sensible manner so it wouldn’t have been an issue if we had encountered any. J

Trevor Harris