Blackwood – Sunday the 28th of October

 

Wayne Grant    (lead)   ZX9R              Peter Weyermaya                     GSXR750M

Ben Warden                 CBR929         Martin Quinn    (1/2 rear)          R6

Liz Oliver (1/2 rear)      CBR900

 

The day was looking pretty gloomy, overcast with the chance of not only rain but also possible hail.  The previous day was wet, windy and miserable.  We could only hope today was not going to be a repeat.

 

The first and only pickup was from Whittlesea and I was not going to be too surprised if nobody showed at all.  However, I had not been there very long at all when in rode Martin.  He deserves congratulations for that effort alone as Martin lives in Rhys territory down at Langwarren.  For him any ride from Whittlesea means an early start.  Not long after Peter and Liz arrived, a New Zealand couple I had not previously met.  Naturally Ben was also there, as if I need state the obvious.

 

The ride was to head north then swing around to the west, although given the skies I thought we would reassess the day at each stop.  The first stop was Pyalong after enjoying the great roads to be had via Flowerdale, Strath Creek, Trawool and Tallarook.  Very few cars made this 100 odd km section most enjoyable.  A quick stop for refreshment and away we were heading toward Kyneton.

 

I was aware that this part of the journey would involve a short stint through gravel.  Each time I had ridden this section it seemed fine and today was no different.  A hard packed surface meant nobody had any trouble at all.  At lunch later in the day the Kiwis mentioned that in NZ you really need to be far more flexible about road surface than in Australia.  We bitch and moan about our roads however I guess it boils down to what you are used to.  The weather also rated a mention when Peter said there was nothing cold about Melbourne but rather it was the heat he found difficult.

 

We arrived at Kyneton fairly quickly so decided to push on rather than stop again so soon after Pyalong.  When leaving Kyneton I enjoy going via Spring Hill and the Reservoir so we took this little diversion before heading south.  The south road via Trentham, Blackwood towards Ballan is very enjoyable and despite being a main road is often very quiet.  I have yet to see a police car on it.  By the time we had reached Ballan hunger had set in, so lunch it was.

 

From Ballan Mt Wallace is only down the road and for those who have not been that way it is something a little different.  Although this time around it had more gravel on it than I had ever seen, so rapid time trials would not have been advised.  From Mt Wallace a gentle and easy cruise into Bacchus Marsh led us to the break up point at Diggers Rest.  All in all, a very enjoyable day where the weather was very kind, the roads terrific and the company very enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

Wayne Grant (Kawasaki ZX9R)