The MSTCV Home Page
accumulated 337 hits during September, down 301 from last month, possibly due
to the 50th Celebration in August inflating the count, or conversely,
the pathetic weather and the GP during September reducing the interest in club
riding. Total visits 31,656 since April 1996.
Some work has been done on the Visitors Page with additions to the
frequently asked questions section on the Visitors’ page. Behind the scenes, some changes to the ordering
of meta keywords and descriptions and the inclusion of
an “H1” (heading) section should make the site easier to find for search
engines.
Seen at the September General Meeting on Thursday
3rd August: Breht Emmerson and Libby O’Neil, Ben and Julie Warden,
Trevor Harris and Barbara Rolfe, Peter Feistl, Martin Hastie, Rob Johnston,
Peter Philferan, Paul Southwell and Stoimen Stojanov.
There was concern about the low attendance
at the well publicised meeting. Take away the Committee and partners and only
three members attended, which would have been embarrassing for the Club if the
guest speaker had not been unavoidably detained. Contributing factors could be a very well
attended Social Sip a month earlier followed by the 53 people at the 50th
Anniversary Party. And then only 2 weeks later the General
meeting. Throw in high fuel prices and maybe it was too much for one
month.
The February General Meeting will
provide more information about the direction the Club is heading. If people
continue to vote with their feet, we may reduce the number of formal meetings
to one per year, the AGM, as required by the constitution.
The Club Participant of the Year is based on aggregate points accumulated at 1 point per ride, an extra point for leading or being rear rider, and 1 point per magazine article (maximum 2 per magazine). Attending one or more days of a weekend event scores 3 points for leading, 3 for rear riding duties and 2 points for participating. See attached sheet for your score. Any discrepancies let the Editor know.
The point scores after five months of
the 2006/7 count are: Ben Warden (41.5), Ian Payne (30.5), Paul Southwell (29),
Breht Emmerson (25), Joel Haley (20), Ron Johnston (20), Lyn Duncan (19), Trevor
Harris (19), Cameron Stevens (15), and Ern Reeders (14.5). Lots of movement
this month with Ron jumping 4 places, Joel (gone to
Geoff Jones is back from Asia, albeit somewhat more svelte as the effects of the food poisoning are not all bad; Renzo is back from Italy last Wednesday, his pocket a lot lighter and yes, this really is the lucky country.
Dave
Ward and partner Bronwyn are touring
2/10/06 – The Nurburgring
was farken insane. The only thing I carved up was the
tour bus! I have never been passed by so many cars in my life!
Front Cover: standing atop Mt Eccles, Sunday 10th September. Back row Cameron Stevens, Geoff Jones and Dean von Schill. Front Row: Tony Raditsis, Paul Punicki, Trevor Harris and Chris Pointon. Ben behind the lens. Thanks to Peter Feistl for appending the banner.
Trevor Harris kindly captured the 50th Anniversary raffle winners’ details on my PC. They were, in order of least to most: Dean von Schill (cleaning rags), Paul Southwell (business satchel), Jo Southwell (mobile phone charger), Vince Green (half price Phillip Island Track Day, auctioned off to Dean von Schill, half the proceeds going back to the Club), Brett Stuart (jacket), Libby O’Neil (electric water cooler), and finally Vince Green (again), set of Dunlop Qualifier tyres, fitted at Redwing a day later.
Welcome back to Mark Rigsby returning after crashing a few months ago. His Suzuki K5 looks like new. Issues with the insurance company and work commitments delayed his return to the fray.
Frequent rider, Cameron Stevens, turned up last Sunday with a new Suzuki K6 with only 90 km on the clock. After reading many bike reviews, all giving the nod to the K6 as the most touring friendly of the Big 4 Japanese manufacturers, he was amazed at how sport oriented the bike was. With more than 150 ponies at the rear wheel, it is just sooo fast. Begs the question: “So what are the other bikes like then?”
Tony Raditsis crashed on the Mt Eccles ride just after lunch at Mirboo North as we started a loop down towards Dumbalk. He was the rear rider at the time. Cameron saw him disappear from rear view in the steep downhill twisties. The concept of “no-tread, no grip” was brought home in a most meaningful way. His front tyre had “just one more ride” in it, or so he thought. He is now much, much wiser. He hit the road with his right shoulder and is still sore three weeks later, a visit to the doctor confirming that no structural damage was incurred. Even so, the first night was very painful, and a day off work followed. And he couldn’t ride to the GP.
His bike suffered ‘minor cosmetic’ damage and is still at the Yamaha shop getting repaired. New/repair footpeg, blinker, fairing, instrument subframe, muffler, etc. Though quite rideable after some serious bending and realigning took place at the side of the road, the bike definitely now has character. The few dollars saved by running the tyre, a Pilot Power, into the ground were returned with interest: serious damage to his leathers and helmet and a hit on his insurance premiums.
Mark
Rigsby (email, 3rd
October) reports that Action Motorcycles
in
Towong
Melbourne Cup Weekend, Saturday 4th to
Tuesday 7th November, 2006
As usual, this is strictly
first come, first served, with any overflow into either The Ridge or the Corryong pubs. Preference will be given to members. A $135 deposit
is required. The deposit buys you three nights accommodation. All you need is your toothbrush, a change of clothes and near new tyres, or a method of replacing them.
There are NO places left. Alternative accommodation can be provided at The Ridge. Contact details are Sharon and Mark on 02-6076-8252, or at the Pinnabar Motel in
Corryong.
The plan is to go for 8 days leaving on a
Saturday and returning the following Labour Day
Monday. This was the successful formula we used in 2003 and 2005. We usually
have a couple of cars to act as mules to carry the luggage, allowing us to ride
unencumbered. The first week in March avoids the school holidays and has the
greatest chance of fine weather and adequate day light hours.
The plan is to travel during the day for
$228 per person return. Check out the prices at: http://www.spiritoftasmania.com.au as they fluctuate quite a bit. Car $138 return.
These prices are current as of 6th September, 2006.
Last time we had 18 people, 15 bikes, 3 cars
and travelled between 2,500 and 3,600 km
each, and had fantastic weather for 85% of the time.
The
trip is a goer! Sufficient
interest has been shown. Deposit ($228
plus $90 = $318) into Club bank account with YOUR NAME if you and bike. If car
and driver, then (228+138=366). Legging it: $228
I have booked for 8 people. Is your name on the list?