Paul Tallents (CBR600) (leader) Ben Warden (Fireblade-929) Rhys Williams (ZX9)

Di Welsford (CBR 600) Ian Payne (Fireblade-919)

After getting up and looking at the weather (cold and wet!) I decided I was sick of these cold wet days keeping me indoors and I would go on this ride regardless. I turned up at Yarra Glen to find only the leader, Paul, hoping no-one would show and wondering what on earth got me out on a day like this. Then Rhys showed up….Paul said he still wouldn’t be leading the ride for 2 loonies who would come out on a day like this…..then Ben and Ian showed up and ruined his plans!

I volunteered rear rider due to the conditions, and Paul mentioned he had seen snow up past Marysville the day before on his pre-ride but the road had been dry. I must admit I’m glad I went riding on the day before….a week earlier my bike was serviced and the bolt on top of the oil filter was left loose….on Saturday I went on a small ride with Cathy who noticed at Yarra Glen that my bike was covered with oil inside and out, and on the rear tyre! Not happy Jan!!! I rode back to the shop where they degreased my entire bike and tightened the bolt, but at that stage I had 100km on my odometer since the service, and a lot of oil on the rear tyre….I couldn’t help but note if I hadn’t ridden on Saturday, I would have had that amount of oil on my rear tyre as I reached Lake Mountain where it was wet and snowy! Hmmm! I must thank Vinnie and Doug for cleaning my bike, but I hope the mechanic is more thorough on the next bike. You only get one life!

Anyway, back to happier things, being the ride. We headed along the Melba Highway through Dixons Creek out to Kinglake National Park and turned right taking the Toolangi Road to Healesville. We then rode up the Black Spur, headed through Marysville, where I was hoping for a coffee stop as I was losing circulation in my legs! At about the bottom of Lake Mountain the snow started…LOTS of it. All the people with cars were fitting chains at that point. The road from here to the beginning of the Reefton was spectacular: it was a mass of snow covered ferns, snow piled along both sides of the road, every branch covered in snow…it was spectacular, yet surreal….in fact I tried to open my visor to enjoy the view more, but as it was spitting, my face felt like a dartboard. The visor was put down very quickly! In my 9 years of riding this is the first time I have ever ridden through snow and I really wish I had my camera to get a photo. It took me by surprise. Paul had taken his but said it was too cold to stop.

We stopped at the Cumberland Junction intersection where Ian tried to unfog his glasses…he mentioned you know it’s cold when you open your visor and your glasses fog up even worse! The trade-off for the spectacular scenery was the cold, but I certainly saw that area in a new way.

The whole Reefton Spur was covered in bark. I just took my time and cruised through. We finally stopped for lunch at Warburton after about 160km where, for some reason, the guys chose to stand in the cold and eat takeaways instead of enjoying the lovely warm bakery. This must be a "blokie-thing"! No goss really, just plenty of talk of the cold, the snow and fogging glasses and visors.

Paul said the ride would go back to Healesville to break-up but I said I’d just follow the Warbie Highway home as I could hear a warm shower calling me. I’m told later by Ben that the ride kind of disbanded here. Rhys probably followed the Warbie Highway. I didn’t notice as I pulled over soon after to make sure I didn’t have oil on my rear tyre again. It had "broken loose" as I had overtaken a car. It didn’t so it must have just been an oil patch. Ian turned off somewhere, Paul filled up in Yarra Glen and Ben rode through to go home.

Thanks Paul for still leading on such a bleak day. Thanks to those who made the effort. This is one of the most gorgeous (if coldest!) rides I have been on in ages. I’ll have to start taking my camera on more rides!

Di Welsford (Honda CBR 600)