Marysville Bakery      25th April, 2004

 

Riders

David Ward – MV Brutale (leader)       Peter Weyermayr – CBR929RR           Liz Oliver – CBR954RR          

Ian Payne  - CBR929RR (rear)            Nigel & Kylie Hellyer - GPZ1000         Rob Langer – R1200GS                      

7 people, 6 bikes.

 

Route

Yarra Glen, Old Healesville Road, Healesville, Yarra Junction and Warburton for a break. Reefton, Cumberland Junction and Marysville for lunch, then onto Healesville for break-up.

 

The Ride

I arrived at Yarra Glen to be greeted by Dave with a "What the hell are you doing here on a day like this? I was hoping to go back home to bed." True, the weather could have been a lot better, but having met Liz en-route and already discussed this issue we agreed, "What else could you do on this Anzac Day when the shops weren't open until noon." Looking at the turnout, the others must have had the same idea.

 

Nigel was there with pillion Kylie or 'ballast' as she put it. It was her first outing with the Club as previously she wasn't allowed to go as it would slow Nigel down. But this time it was a short ride, although for these two, it was not really short as they had already notched up 140km getting to Yarra Glen from their home at Carlsruhe! Rob had the new BM out and Pete thought the weather ideal to test out his new Pirelli tyres.

 

We headed down the highway for the usual back-road run to Healesville and then the Woori Yallock road to Yarra Junction and Warburton. There seemed to be a bit of a traffic jam at Warburton. After working our way to the front we found the road closed due to the Anzac Day memorial service. We parked the bikes and wandered into town. Dave went off to check out an alternative route around the closure but by the time he returned the road was just opened, so we continued on our way.

 

The Reefton was wet and I was quite happy following Pete as he tested out the road surface. It seemed grippy but it was still hard to lean into a corner. We caught up to Nigel who was setting a good pace considering he was two-up and riding 20-year-old technology! A quick regroup at Cumberland Junction and then into fog and the bark littered road to Marysville. My bladder cried enough and I made a quick pit stop. It was quite cold and I half expected to see snow along this section of road, although there was none by the number of cars coming up the mountain. I suspect there may have been some at Lake Mountain.

 

Halfway down the fog cleared and the road was dry, so it was a good run down to the round-a-bout. But finding no bikes and a police blockade there, confusion set in until I realized it was ANOTHER Anzac Day Parade. I then noticed the police directing me down a side road that linked up with the main road and the Bakery where the others were parked.

 

As I parked, I noticed Nigel and Kylie were missing. No one else had seen them either! I thought maybe they had stopped in the foggy section and I'd missed them, so back up the mountain I went. In reality Nigel had continued through the round-a-bout and on to Buxton before realizing his mistake. A quick back track and soon we were all together and enjoying the Bakery's hospitality.

 

As time was getting on, Dave signaled it was time to go. The roads were quite dry now so the Black Spur would be a lot of fun! Unfortunately, a recent downpour had made it quite wet and slippery, so a cautious pace was maintained all the way to the Healesville break-up. 

 

Thanks Dave for an enjoyable day. Even with the wintry weather the good roads and good company made it well worth the effort.

 

 

Ian Payne (Honda CBR929RR)