Mirboo North - Sunday 22/12/2002

 

Ben Warden (leader)               Honda  CBR929RR                 Greg Hales                        Suzuki TL1000S

Michael Ramsden (1stride)     Kawasaki ZZR1100                   Dean Von Schill                 Honda VTR1000

Ron Johnston                            Suzuki GSF1200                      Hung Tran (1st ride)           Yamaha R6

Will Surtida (1stride)                 Suzuki GSXR750                     Dave Deas (2nd ride)         Yamaha R1

Rob Langer (rear)                     BMW 1150 GS             Andrew Symes                  Suzuki RF900

Mario Ibeas                              Yamaha R1                                11 Bikes, 11 People

 

Only six people at Yarra Glen set out on Ben’s epic journey into Gippsland, with one non-member Michael Ramsden on a Kawasaki ZZR1100. We seem to be having an influx of new people at the moment, which is good. Greg was standing there in his multi-coloured leathers, his hair blonde again. This bloke changes his hair colour as often as the weather. Good on you, Greg; good to see someone is adventurous and not afraid of change.

 

Rob volunteered to be rear rider as usual; it must be someone else’s turn I reckon, but Rob hasn’t said anything yet. Yours truly is doing the write up. I can’t understand why people are afraid of it; the write up, that is. As I have said, it’s not some incurable disease. I suppose for those that haven’t done one before it seems pretty scary. It is always good to get some one else’s view of the ride. 

 

Usual jaunt to Healesville except that it was a bit slower than usual because they have chip sealed the road recently and we got spread out.  We regrouped at Healesville and set off to Yarra Junction via Launching Place. At Yarra Junction there were five more riders waiting for us, which was a pleasant surprise: a bit of competition. Good to see the extra people because they make the day more interesting.

 

I stopped and waited for Mario to tell Rob that his five friends were with us. Then we cruised along to Powelltown where the speed picked up a bit. We started the twisty hill climb. I was out in front waiting for the others to catch up. Greg came up quickly and I let him pass, then followed him through to Piedmont where we corner marked.  Here we turned right and fanged it up the hill. I like that bit of road. Greg passed me and I just had to give chase. At Neerim we turned right for Jindivick and headed down and around some good tight and twisty roads that we rarely use. Then Rokeby to Drouin for food and fuel. Ben had to talk to a couple of the first timers about the corner marking system and the way the system works, seeing they missed the start. 

            

We left Drouin via Ellinbank; the roads are really good around here. There was lots of corner marking and place swapping going on. We picked up the Warragul –Korumburra road – what a racetrack, and turned left to Arawata along some tight, twisty roads. After the three kilometers of dirt we regrouped to lube our chains and then it was on to Dumbalk and Boolara. The last 14 kilometers to Mirboo North left everyone panting for more.

 

At Mirboo North we stopped for fuel and then headed down to the Bakery for lunch. We passed the time by telling the usual tall tales and gossip about the ride so far.  Mario thinks I am mad. What’s new? Salad sandwiches, pies and drinks were the order of the day, plus the odd sticky bun for a sugar fix. Michael Ramsden on the ZZR 1100 left the ride at this stage to meet a prior commitment. After about half an hour Ben rounded up the troops and explained we were going to do a loop around and back to Mirboo North, so we mounted up and headed off. No cops around the side streets. Good, because they’re usually there, and someone gets pinched. The roads around here are superb; the Gippsland region is first class riding country without a doubt. Good on you Ben.

 

At Hallston there is a sign depicting a T intersection, except it’s around the corner. (I think you’ll find its before the corner…Ed.) Everybody comes hooting along, you turn the corner to meet - a stop sign. You have got about 50 yards to pull up, or else overshoot the corner and go over the edge. I was corner marking with Dean and we watched everybody stop safely except Hung Tran on the R6, who did a lock up across the road, nearly saved it, was almost stopped, then hit the gravel on the shoulder and put the bike down. Damage was minor cosmetic, along with a bruised ego, but otherwise okay. Dean and I helped pick his bike up and checked things over. It took a bit to start due to oil in the cylinders. It blew a bit of smoke, cleared itself and was ready to ride. 

 

Back through Mirboo North taking turn-off to Thorpedale and Trafalgar. This too is a great road. I especially like the hill climb after we turned off the highway. I was playing cat and mouse with Dean on the VTR and some of the others. Good fun. The downhill run to Trafalgar was great because the tar hadn’t melted like it usually does when it gets hot. Dean corner marked at Trafalgar and found his rear tyre was a bit soft. I held the bike over on its side stand while he spun the wheel and checked the tyre for anything that might have punctured it. It was okay, so Dean went to the servo to put more air in it. We told Rob to carry on and we would catch up.

 

Down the highway to Yarragon, turning left and taking the back road to Warragul. A few of us just cruised this part. Unusual! Tran continued on down the highway, his day over. No fuel stop this time. The milk bar was closed, but the people were cleaning up, and allowed a couple of us to get something to eat and drink, which was a bonus.

 

After a short break we headed back the 70 km to Noojee and Powelltown to finish at Yarra Junction at around 4.45 pm. Everyone was going at a fair clip and took a bit to catch up. I passed everybody on the downhill run into the Neerim Junction including Mario last on the straight coming into the big sweeper, (right hander), then corner marked. Mario said something to me, but I don’t think it was printable! You will have to ask him. I managed to hold Greg off on the twisty part coming into Powelltown.  From here its all down hill all the way back to Yarra Junction. I was already on reserve and was hoping I would get to a servo before running out fuel. So was Greg. We arrived at Yarra Junction and talked about the day’s ride and discussed other things. Will Surtida was lying on the footpath wanting to go to sleep. He reckons we wore him out. He isn’t used to this type of riding, but he still enjoyed it.

 

We had good weather, magnificent roads, plenty of riders, and everyone enjoyed themselves. Thanks to Ben for a great day’s ride. See some of you at the Xmas Camp. Enjoy the festive season…

 

Ron Johnston (Suzuki 1200 Bandit)