Life member Len Shearer passed away on the 6^th of February. Not many current members would know Len, as he had not been active in the Club for many years, but in the 1960's was the Editor and an active motorcyclist (scooter). Len had been battling cancer for some time and was admitted into hospital late December where he remained until the end. Friend and also life member, Peter Philferan, attended the funeral on our behalf. As requested, in lieu of flowers, a donation ($50) in memory of Len was sent to the Anti-Cancer Council.

The MTCV Home Page has taken 229 hits during February and 7542 since April 1996. See more information such as magazine articles in the Members-only section. Have your say on the Visitors' Page. It makes interesting reading. Note: it is edited from time to time.

Road Conditions Reporting Line: 9854-2899 where motorcyclists can report road conditions and give suggestions for improvement on any road in Victoria.

Dave Moore crashed his 390 km old Yamaha R6 on the Black Spur on Saturday 20^th of January. Old news I know. The update is that he has bought the "wreck" back from the insurance company and is fixing it - Bob Martin straightened the frame (swing-arm primarily), after-market plastic, etc. It should be on the road very soon.

Ron Johnston has traded in his cleaner than clean '92 Honda CB 750 which had done 107,000 km on a '96 "candy apple red" Suzuki Bandit 1200. It has 15,000 kms on the speedo and it "goes reasonably quick and its hard to keep the front wheel on the ground." Be very afraid.

Similarly Rhys Williams has traded in his trusty green ZX7 for an even meaner green meanie, a new 2001 ZX9. He debuted in last Sunday on Wayne's short ride to Pyalong. Very tasty.

Soon to be member, Chris Reeves, dumped his BMW R850 on his father-in-law Geoff Barton's Churchill Island ride. It was a tricky tight, blind left-hander that he went straight through, after meeting a car mid-corner. The bike suffered extensive cosmetic damage - instruments, headlight, subframe - but Chris walked away. The bike was rideable. Geoff's wife and daughter are still probably scouring the back blocks of Kongwak looking for Chris, having been despatched to provide a pick-up service. That would make three incidents, Geoff: that encounter in Flowerdale, daughter and now son-in-law crashes.

Club Participant of the Year is drawing to a close at at the end of April. Points are awarded for attending a ride or function such as a Club Meeting or Social Sip (1 point), leading a ride (extra point) and doing rear riding duties (extra point), as well as for writing contributions for the Club Magazine (limit 2 points per magazine). The current standings as at the 24^th of February are: Ian Payne (66), Ben Warden (64.5), (half a point when rear riding duties are shared), Ron Johnston (35), Ray Walker (31), Geoff Jones (30.5), Bruce Saville (29), Wayne Grant and Dianne Welsford (27.5) and Geoff Barton (26) rounding out the top ten.

Joke: Ireland's worst air disaster occurred today when a small two-seater Cessna plane crashed into a cemetery early this afternoon in central Ireland. Irish search and rescue workers have recovered 826 bodies so far and expect that number to climb as digging continues into the night.

Dave Ward crashed Bronwyn's RGV250 at a Phillip Island Ride Day on Monday January 29^th. He was not racing but was involved in a braking dual coming into Honda. He lost the front end but did not let go of the bike at all, stopping it flipping and doing serious damage. Minor cosmetic damage to the bike - being painted - and his leathers are going cheap!

Thanks to Dianne Welsford who typed up the bulk of Les Leahy's eight page hand written article at very short notice. I reckon she types faster than I can read. Mind you Les's hand writing is bordering on print quality anyway. It is excellent, as is his article. Check it out.