Marysville (short ride) Sunday 1^st June, 2003

Honda CBR929 Ben Warden Ducati 996 Dave Ward (leader)

Honda CBR954 Paul Southwell Suzuki GSXR750 Matt Clark (rear)

Honda CBR600 Kate Stewart Honda CB400/4 Ron Johnston

I was surprised only six riders turned up for this Reefton ride. Thinly disguised by calling it a Marysville Bakery ride seemed to have kept the die hard Reefton riders away or was it the overnight/morning rain and lousy forecast? After a perfect autumn day on Saturday, the first day of the new season was certainly winter.

The roads were wet and slippery so everyone planned to take it easy. Matt and I both volunteered to be rear rider, but Matt insisted. Recognising that he probably needed the rear rider role to keep him sensible I relented, but warned him I would be pretty slow up the Reefton Spur.

Dave Ward outlined the route and warned everyone that the roads were pretty slippery. He told us Darryn Webster had written off a brand new GSXR1000 with only 750kms on the clock, the previous weekend east of Warburton. Apparently he was black and blue but hadn’t broken any bones.

Dave led us out of Yarra Glen to the Old Healesville Road and on to Healesville. We passed a speed camera just as we slowed to make the right turn near the racecourse. It was a strange place to be parked, I guess it was to catch those departing Healesville at more than the posted 60km/h.

On the road to Launching place I found myself admiring Dave's sexy ass for a while as he kept a tight rein on his 996. The cops often monitor the Woori Yallock Road so its wise to behave. Much easier when there is something so fine as a Ducati to gaze at. I must say, usually the long straight beckons me and a quick glance at my dial on my way home along this stretch later in the day revealed a figure Don Bradman would have been proud of, for just a moment or two. I love my new bike! I wondered the merit of doing that sort of thing with the fuel reserve indicator showing ... not wise.

Back on the ride Dave showed great restraint.

The bonus of poor weather is there is less traffic out. With less traffic to impede us the ride kept pretty tight formation to Warburton where we stopped for a break. The bad thing, apart from the slippery aspect of wet roads, is how dirty our visors and bikes get. I noticed this particularly when I got too close to Ron on his 400. Even those skinny tyres can throw back enough crap to cover your visor. So during the break, I sided up to 'Mr Ben Sheen' and begged, then borrowed his spray and rag.... as usual :) Thank you, Ben. I really appreciate your generosity. I really, really, really do! The under-seat space in my bike is sooooo tiny, there’s no way a can would fit in there.

Before leaving Warburton I asked Matt if he would like me to take over as rear rider. He assured me he wanted to take it easy, although I'm not sure he realised how easy that would be! I take Reefton easy in the dry, so with wet roads I was going to be positively slow! He changed his mind after the obligatory stop at the Cumberland junction and I took over the rear rider role for the rest of the ride.

About 3 kms out of Marysville we rode through some very dense fog and I wondered if the town would be shrouded in cloud, but it cleared quickly. Marysville has almost lost all its autumn splendour with most of the colourful leaves fallen now. I'm sure in yesterday’s sunshine it looked lovely, but today it just looked wet and cold. The bakery was warm and welcoming, and still bustling with business, although not with the huge crowds of summer. Service was relatively fast and we all revived ourselves with a tasty lunch.

I was the last to leave Marysville and didn’t spot another bike until Narbethong where Ben was corner marking. He'd left well ahead of me so I'd hate to think how long he had been sitting there. I stayed with him until the corners got tighter, then I was on my own again. The road dried out after nearing Healesville and I had a nice bit of fun through the smooth twisty section. It seems they are widening the road on some of the corners, so I'm sure it will be easier to get past the traffic that can build up along that stretch in the future.

Everyone commented on how slippery the road was just after leaving Narbethong. I thought it was just my cold tyres but Ben suggested diesel was on the road. There certainly was plenty of mud on the road surface.

The ride ended at the Ampol servo in Healesville. I wouldn’t refuel there as I'd once filled up with 'bad' fuel there. I don’t like Shell fuel either so I was going to risk it and see how far my tank would take me on my way home. Paul must've been keen to get home and took off before the rest of us. I waved goodbye to the other four as they turned off towards Yarra Glen and I headed home via Emerald, where I filled with PULP at 210 kms, 20 kms after the reserve indicator came on. I rode the last few kms home in the only noticable rain for the day and washed my bike before removing my wet riding gear.

Is it bad to use warm soapy water on a warm bike in the rain? It didn’t complain. And yes, Ben, I remembered to lube the chain!

Another enjoyable Club ride :)

Ben if you insist on taking out the smilies, people won’t have the chance to work out their meaning. Just rotate the page to see 2 eyes and a smile :) ... or grin :D ... or wink ;)

Kate Stewart (Honda CBR600)