Mt Baw Baw Sunday 22^nd January, 2006

Breht Emmerson Honda CBR 954 Paul Southwell Honda CBR1000RR(Leader)

Joel Haley Yamaha R6 Ian Payne Honda CBR1000RR(Rear Rider)

Ben Warden Honda CBR 929

What a day for a ride, the forecast 43! Not sure if I will go today because last night was also hot. It was like trying to sleep in a sauna with the only comfort an upright fan pushing the hot air around. This continued through to the morning so it was impossible to stay in bed.

Up early and I give the bike that wash I’d been planning. Well it’s out of the garage and now it is shiny (sort of, cheap detergent) so I figure what the hell I can come home early if it gets too hot. On with the leathers, wearing as little as possible underneath and over to Yarra Glen arriving about 9:45am.

Perfect! Heaps of time to get fuel, park in the shade and enjoy a cold bottle of water outside the Café. Joel soon arrives followed by Ben shortly after. Ben tells us that Lyn will not be leading today, Paul Southwell taking the honors. Lyn apparently enjoyed the roads on the Xmas-Camp so much that she decided to stay longer. I don’t blame her! Hard to come back to the roads down here given the quality we experienced over Christmas.

Paul and Ian roll in to find us all enjoying a drink of water and not in much of a hurry to put the leather jackets back on. It is quickly decided, given the weather, the shorter ride option will be taken as stated in the itinerary. It is noted the large amount of bikes on the road, at the time watching a small group of three riders leave Yarra Glen heading towards Melbourne, comically looking at one stage as if they would split in 3 different directions.

We finish our water and conversations, put our gear back on and head for Healesville. Leaving out the usual St Leonards loop we pass the 3 stooges from Yarra Glen heading the other way. Woori Yallock Road to Dalry Road to Launching Place where we pass a lady taking a photo of the cross marking the death of the policeman shot with his own gun. On to Yarra Junction and turn off for the good stuff. Ian spots a rider wanting to know if we are headed to Mt Baw Baw as he waits for Ben in Powelltown. Ben had stopped in YJ for a visor clean. The rider’s apparel consisted of T-shirt, shorts and a pair of thongs. Ian kindly told the man he would not be riding with us.

Morning tea at Noojee saw us partake of more fluids and energy bars. It was good having a small group. It meant there was very little or no corner marking needed. The shade we could find though was valuable real estate. The man in the shorts and his wiser fully leathered friend soon arrive and stop as we have. They must have decided to head home after we left because we didn’t see them again. Smart move!

On the way to the top of the mountain I notice bike tyre lines left by the guys up front, apparently an indentation in the surface and not a trail of rubber. A nice ride up except for the leaves and huge strands of bark and, oh yeah, all the sticks that would fly up and hit your boot. I would catch up to Joel and then lose him again. He said the same thing would happen to him with Ben and Paul. A combination of water over the road followed by a really tight left hander nearly caught some of us out. The fading brake lines of a car leading straight into the run off didn’t help.

At the top it was not as cool as hoped. You could see the fires at Erica burning, the hot weather not helping anyone it would seem. A quick chat and trigger happy Ben and Paul snap up a few photos. (I can’t complain; I enjoy looking at them on the club site). A good range of bike colours were on display. Joel wants a new 1000, perhaps intimidated by the big bore Hondas surrounding his R6. I suggest a ZX10 to add a bit of green but he is not interested! I would hate to see him on a new Blade or Gixxer; we would never see him if he rides it like his 600.

Having had enough of the heat we head back down to Noojee, Ben leading the charge and not seen until lunch. Ian and I rush to get our gear organised and take off, soon passing a bloke on a Blackbird we met at the top who had tried unsuccessfully to follow Joel down. Eventually I catch Joel and Paul who seemed to be doing a good impression of Moses by parting the Red Sea of leaves which covered the road. Paul let us past as he was getting over heated and wanting to take it a bit easy. Not long after Joel points out my seat cowl has flicked up, a result of trying to put too much into the diminishing space in the boot of the newer bikes.

Finally, lunch back at Noojee. No hot food this lunchtime; salad rolls were the go. The lady behind the counter said she had 5 kids and had the art of making multiple sandwiches mastered. While we catch our breath, Ian tells us he is still coming to grips with the new bike’s handling. Now where have I heard that song before? (I am still finding my way). It is decided the best thing to do is head home to the air-con, cold beer and TV. No arguments or protest and we are soon ready to go.

A nice run back into Yarra Junction saw most tanks hit reserve by the time we got to the pumps. A re-fuel with no helmets removed by any of us and a quick “Thanks Paul” “Thanks Ian”, too f#$ing hot, see ya later kind of a break up. A good day’s ride with no incidents saw us finish at about 2:30pm after a ride length of 213 km.

Paul followed me back to Healesville via a back track of this morning. I like this bit of road because I know every corner and I soon discovered Paul was either too hot or too smart to follow directly behind, as before I know it a bloody motorcycle cop is heading the other way. Luckily a parked car had slowed me down the corner before, so I gave the cop the biggest friendliest nod I could produce at 20 kms over and kept on going. I rode with Paul the rest of the way (I am sure he was having a little chuckle). I gave Paul a wave at the turn off and then straight home into a cold shower while the rest are still riding home. Yep, glad I went!

Breht Emmerson