Lake Mountain Night Ride Friday 17th January, 2003

Yamaha R1 Geoff Jones (leader) Honda CBR600 Di Welsford (rear)

Honda CBR929 Ian Payne Ducati 750 Mark Easterbrook

Suzuki GSXR1000 Ray Walker Suzuki GSF1200 Ron Johnston

Suzuki GSF1200 Stuart Lens Yamaha FZR1000 Derek Atkinson

CBR929 Ben and Julie Warden 4WD Bruce Saville

Revere 650 Dan. Kosinski and Jenny Burns Car Kate Stewart

Car Jon Riddett and Jackie Car Julie Johnston

The dining room of the Yarra Glen pub gradually filled with motorcyclists from the time I arrived at 7pm to the time we left at 8:30 pm. Their helmets, gloves and other sundries filled the spaces between the bodies. Some people came early for dinner, others came later, closer to the departure time. Others came only to eat and chat. Kate came to socialise while she waits until she gets her new bike. But which one? Julie Johnston also came to socialise. There was a definite thrill of excitement in the air and the swapping of stories from past motorcycling adventures filled conversations. For many, it was a chance to converse on the xmas holiday season and welcome each other to the new year.

The night run, being the only one of the year, and the weather being so nice, attracted a healthy turnout. Geoff Jones was leading and he gave us a quick brief on what to expect. Di Welsford was rear rider. The terrain was fairly familiar to everyone: a ride to Lake Mountain via Healesville and Marysville with advice to look out for wildlife. (I can't speak for others but the only wildlife I saw was insects).

There were 10 bikes altogether as we left Yarra Glen bound for Healesville, via our usual route. Jon and his friend Jackie, in a BMW Roadster, were busy filming the bikes as they passed him at a goodly pace, making the most of the available light. Further on, they were filming in darker conditions and threw a hat at me as they went by. We rolled through Healesville with the night quickly coming on. By the time we reached Marysville, it was well and truely dark, and the usual suspects were well out in front. Is it fearlessness or do these guys eat a lot of carrots? How many times did Ron and Rob pass me?

Climbing up to the Lake Mountain turn off the weather was devine, the full moon was appearing behind just a wisp of cloud and lit up open sections of the road well. Through here was a plague of terrorist moths whose fulfillment in life was to suicide on helmet visors, making it even more difficult to see. At the turn off to Lake Mountain I corner marked with Ian and, after remounting the bike, I made an awful hash of the first two corners. Standing around with the bike light on had ruined my night vision for a few seconds. Onward and upward. We all made it safely to the top where we stopped for a break and excited chatter about the ride thus far. Derek Atkinson did some minor adjustments to his FZR1000 lighting in an attempt to get his light to point to the road.

Half an hour later we were riding back down the hill. This is where I might have come unstuck except for the great handling of the Ducati. Too late I saw an enormous rock on the road. Unable to avoid it, the bike bucked as first the front, then the rear went over the rock. The bike started making a horrible hissing noise as we continued. I knew there was some sort problem because the bike wasn't handling very well, as if the front tyre needed some air. Indeed it did. The ride continued down through Marysville and the Black Spur. Note: if the Black Spur continues to get an bumpier, they'll be running motocross races on it.

When I arrived back in Healesville, most other riders were already there. It was about 11:30pm. This is when Ben pointed out the dent in my rim. Nasty and expensive. Ben suggested there was probably only 15 psi in the tyre. Good guess. There was exactly that. But I couldn't put anymore than 32 psi in without it leaking and it still leaked if I rode over a bump. So, it's off for repairs.

The police, who prowled past checking out us evil bikies, were evidently waiting further down road where they caught up with Ben and Geoff. What happened there I don't know, but I'm sure Ben can fill you in. (They gave us a severe glare as Julie and I did the big helmet kiss thing. …Ed.)

Mark Easterbrook  (Ducati 750SS)