Some how I managed to get voted in for the write up!
After some whining and complaining by myself, Di
volunteered to do the write up as well. So today’s report is a combined effort.
Unusually I decided to go 2 up as this was a
social ride to
I do not believe I have ever seen so much
traffic on that road before. It was like
The rest of the ride to morning tea was
relatively uneventful, as we were quite a way back due to the delay. Morning
tea in Warbarton and the usual verbal diarrhoea
continued at a feverish pace. Again sleepy old Warbarton
felt like
I caught up to Dave and Bron
on their 650. They were going at rather a painfully slow pace so I passed and
continued to the base of Reefton. As I passed the bottom I saw a hive of
activity with people and bikes everywhere. I proceeded cautiously as my
passenger was new to bikes. 100 or so meters up the spur I noticed a beam of
light catching up. I knew it had to be Dave and Bron
so I upped the pace a touch as they latched on to the back of my bike. What an
interesting journey up the hill with the 20 – 30 mobile chicanes in the form of
CBR 250RRs and alike. Every boy wonder and his mate trying as hard as they
could to out corner Dave and me. Both of us 2 up; we put some great moves on
most of them. About ½ way up Dave was getting restless
behind me. I invited him through to take the lead for a while. Mate! The 650
single with Bron was on fire, scrapping just about on
every left hander. It was much more enjoyable watching the fun and games from
behind rather than leading. The entertainment getting past all the boy blunders
in our little convoy was not to be missed. One or two tried a bit of a blocking
move, but let’s face it, they had no chance against
the freight train descending upon them. The big test was the 4 wheel drive ute trying to be “Possum Bourne”. He was not too slow and
getting past 2 up is not an easy task. Luckily we caught him nearer the top and
could see through the corners. Dave must have had the 650 bouncing off red line
to get past. I was not going to miss an overtaking opportunity and promptly
jumped on the back of Dave as he went around the ute.
All was going well until Dave had to turn quite a hard left-hand corner and
promptly started grinding the side stand. Dave had cleared the ute before the corner, but I had not fully. I wanted to
accelerate through the corner to be sure to miss the ute
as I merged back into the correct left hand lane. The problem was Dave was at
maximum speed scrapping his side stand and was in danger of running wide if he
was to go any harder. This forced me into a quandary. Do I put on the brakes so
as not to hit Dave and may be get a tap from the ute or do I continue in the
right hand lane and pass Dave? As another corner was not far away I did not
like any of my choices but decided that the way the 650 was scrapping it might
well run wide. I opted to touch the brakes to slow a touch. I believe the ute driver was not impressed with my antics as he was
flashing his lights. (I blame Dave for riding too slowly. If the bike is
grinding then to save your mates you move your ass off the seat and hang off. I
would have been impressed with a Nori Harga style of riding on the 650).
Up to the top for a rest and more verbal
diarrhoea most of which I was guilty. The ride back to Marysville was a gentle
affair with a few of our more experienced riders passing me on the way down. I
did hear of a great stand up wheelie from Craig, that unfortunately I did not
see. What a show pony. Lunch at the biker Bash was ok. Due to the fact Daz Webster had arrived prior and laid claim to our usual
table in the shade.
All in all it was a good ride.
David Moore