Meredith (Brisbane Ranges) - Sunday October 26^th, 2003

Yamaha R1	Geoff ‘This Sucks’ Jones (Leader)
Yamaha YZF1000R	Trevor ‘Leaky’ Harris
Honda CBR929RR	Ben ‘Good Samaritan’ Warden
KTM 950 LC8	Rob ‘I could go a coffee’ Langer (Rear Rider)

It was a dark and stormy night. Actually, not so stormy, but definitely cold with showers. With more of the same forecast for Sunday, that could explain the low turnout for today’s ride. We don’t know if the start of daylight saving resulted in people showing up at 11:15 for a 10:15 getaway, but it is always a possibility on this day of the year. I saw there was some sunshine on the deck at home while eating breakfast and took that as a Good Sign for the day. And then tied the wet-weather gear onto the bike anyway.

I arrived at the Westgate gas station at 10:15, and joined Ben filling up at the pumps. Rob and Geoff were already there, and I’ll assume that Rob had finished his customary coffee before I arrived. We waited about ten more minutes for latecomers (none came), and then Geoff gave us a rundown on the proposed route - Westgate to Whittlesea with a few corners in between. I had a quick visit to the Gents, and off we went.

The first leg was to be ‘about 100km’, and so it was over the bridge, heading for Werribee. A few km along there was a couple of emergency vehicles on our side of the road, dealing with a car/caravan that had somehow run off the freeway (jack-knifed?) and ended up in the fence, well off the road. The caravan was looking extremely second-hand and suitable for a one-way trip to the tip. Off the freeway, through Werribee, onto the back roads towards the Brisbane Ranges. It was attempting to rain, nothing serious but enough to make me think that maybe I should have put on the rain gear over the leathers – the others had on jackets/pants more suited to the day.

The roads were quiet and dry, so we made good time. After about 50km, I kept checking the tripmeter every few km as the combination of cold weather and bumpy roads was making my bladder shrink, if you know what I mean. I eventually stopped to relieve the pressure about ten minutes before the first scheduled stop, as I couldn’t concentrate fully on my riding…. Rob said he’d wait at the next corner, and I caught up after a few minutes. Morning tea for all at Meredith, where Rob got a coffee and some munchies; a chocky bar for me. The sun came out, so we moved the outdoor furniture outside and got some solar heating on our bodies. I headed to the local dunny for another leak, and then it was through some new roads and repeating some of the earlier ones to get to Bacchus Marsh. I hadn’t come into town on that road before, so it was a bit surprising to find we were in suburbia. Everyone filled up here, and I again observed the Rob doesn’t yet seem 100% comfortable with getting on/off/parking the tall KTM – maybe he needs taller soles on his boots to gain a bit of height?

We got spread out leaving the gas station, as we moved off before everyone was ready – something that is happening more and more on Club rides, and that shouldn’t occur in such a small group. Maybe it’s time to reintroduce the ‘Five minutes!’ call of the early nineties? Next section was the great Portland Hills road to Trentham, then off along the (narrow) roads through Little Hampton and Spring Hill, the loop past the (very low) reservoirs and into Kyneton for lunch. Unusually, we managed to coincide our arrival with a V/Line train - on a Sunday! - and so we had to wait a few minutes for the boom gates to be opened. Lunch time, but first it was a visit to the Gents for me. Again.

Kyneton was dead, probably has been that way since it was bypassed by the freeway. We found somewhere open, and cake was the common theme for lunch, and of course Rob had a coffee. In fact, we all had a hot drink, as the day was still cold. The threatening rain had never materialised, but the temperature was hovering around 15 degrees or less. The gauge on the YZF was sitting on an indicated 60 degrees all day. I have doubts as to its’ accuracy.

Fed and watered, Geoff led us on a spirited run on still more quiet backroads through Pyalong and on to Tallarook. I was travelling at a ‘spirited pace’ on the section of road near Tallarook that parallels the freeway, making good progress on the freeway traffic to my right. And then I noticed the cop car… Glad that there is no northbound exit at this town. It was onto the 11km of good corners leading to the Goulbourn Valley Highway. We all enjoyed the run past the Trawool Resort (love that lefthander). Along here I mentally paused to admire the purple hillsides (Paterson’s Curse) and rapidly came back to reality for a sharp right-hander. Moral – Concentrate!

We caught up to a bunch of cars just before the King Parrot Creek road; none of them turned into it, and so we were off again into a little-trafficked road with good corners. All four bikes together at this point, Geoff was still leading with gusto. So much gusto in fact, that he managed to empty his tank after covering 185km. For those into figures: this works out to 10.3 km/litre = 9.73 l/100k = 29mpg. His R1 sucks fuel at a rapid rate, especially when the throttle is held open… Note: My YZF had used about 13 litres for the same distance. We all stop, and out comes the siphon hose. Unfortunately, the level of all the other tanks is too low to get anything out, so Ben heads to Strath Creek about 6km down the road, returning with one litre of petrol in a used oil container. This goes into the R1, the R1 starts, and we’re off again. I siphoned my body’s internal tank while we waited – nothing unusual for me today.

Strath Creek. Petrol for Ben. Petrol for Geoff. $4.50 worth, as that was all the cash he had, and they don’t take plastic. Ben/Rob insist he fills NOW and repays them later, and he accepts. This is the last regroup of the ride, as we don’t stop in Whittlesea after the run though Flowerdale and Kinglake West. The roads were still relatively free of traffic, except for the run down into Whittlesea. Damn!

Thanks to Geoff for leading, Rob for bringing up the tail, and Ben for acting a Geoff’s personal Petrol Delivery agent. The rain never came, the roads were generally quiet, and the company was good.

Trevor Harris (Yamaha YZF1000R)