Trafalgar Sunday 17th August, 2008
|
Ian
Payne (rear rider) |
Honda
CBR1000 |
Nic
Jacka (leader) |
Honda
CBR600 |
|
Randal
Leacock |
|
Ben
Warden |
Honda
CBR954 |
|
Dennis
Lindemann |
Honda
CBR600 |
Dave
Ward |
|
|
Cliff
Peters |
Suzuki
GSXR1000 |
Misho
Zrakic |
Suzuki
GSXR750 |
|
Pina
Garasi |
Yamaha
R6 |
Cameron
Stevens |
Yamaha
FZ6 |
|
Chris
Pointon |
Suzuki
GSXR1000 |
|
11 bikes, 11 people |
With a little intrepidation I head for the Sunday ride to Trafalgar; just got my R6 back after 1 ½ month’s absence due to repairs. Can’t describe that weird “wobbly” feeling inside my guts, a feeling I carried with me for the first six months on my “L’s” – let’s just say I lost a little weight as a result of this.
A nice welcoming awaits me at Yarra Glen for being back on my bike. We then head off into the day’s ride with Nic Jacka leading and Il Presidente, Ian Payne, kindly doing rear riding duties (and making sure I’m okay).
Glad at having made it to Noojee for morning tea without any mishap, but still feeling a wee bit scared… the next stretch is where I was to ‘face my demons’ – Icy Creek Road – where I came off in June. Sensing my apprehension, Dave Ward calmly led the way for me, and together with Ian Payne riding behind me, I felt I was being enveloped in a security blanket - so good for my spirit.
I rode with caution as the road was damp from rain and when I recognised the spot, I thought what an insignificant place it was to come off – I just must not have been concentrating and got a bit startled when I came upon ‘the corner’ and by then it was too late.
It felt good to reach the end of this road and I realise now why it took so long for one of the MSR riders to come back to find me when I was “missing” last time – it’s such a long and twisty road with no stops for at least half an hour.
Lunch is in Drouin at the “Feathers & Fins” fish and chip shop where I was fearing the “feathers” component on the menu to be seagulls, but was actually chicken; so a chicken souvlaki was had and I shared in the boys’ overdose of fish and chips… Nic Jacka, how could you possibly imagine you could consume a family-size serve all by yourself?
After our late afternoon lunch, the sun made an appearance which naturally meant “let’s do Korumburra”!… a nice way to end the day; although I must confess when I arrived home and rode into the driveway, I came to a stop and the bike and me just proceeded to slowly fall over sideways just like a falling leaf; luckily the garage wall stopped me from landing on the pavement. The look of disbelief on Misho’s face had me laughing hysterically… how ridiculous to end an almost 500 km incident-free ride like this? Ah well, I guess I just felt an enormous sense of relief.
May I sincerely thank all my fellow riders for all your words of encouragement, for keeping a ‘watchful eye’ over me and for your patience – so very much appreciated during this journey, and to Misho – for your constant support, your boundless energy, your irresistible enthusiasm and for all the wheelies which put a big smile on my face.
Pina Garasi