Mt Macedon Sunday 2^nd August, 2009

Willem Vandeveld	Honda ST1300	Tony Stegbar	Hayabusa GSXR1300
Ian Payne	Honda CBR1000	Rob Langer	BMW R1150GS
Dave Ward	Honda CBR1000	Chris Pointon/Suzi Pollard	Suzuki GSXR1000
Paul Southwell	Honda CBR1000	Mick Bosworth	Kawasaki ZX10
Misho Zrakic	Honda CBR1000	Cliff Peters	Kawasaki ZX10
Ben Warden/Ha Du	Honda CBR954	Cameron Stevens	Yamaha FZ6
Rob Matricciani	Honda CB750	Pina Garasi	Yamaha R6
Dennis Lindemann	Honda CBR600	Damien & Fiona Denny (1^st ride)	Honda 600 Hornet

Hooley-dooley it was cold, especially weathering the conditions as pillion. Even more noticeable, as pillion, was how unpleasant the wind and bumps could be. Three hundred odd kilometres of wind-lash wore my neck muscles out completely so that by the time we were heading towards Whittlesea to part ways, my neck muscles just couldn’t take it anymore and caved in. I felt like my head was going to roll off and go bouncing away somewhere.

Ok, so my true colours are starting to show; I’m a lazy writer-upper-er. I promise the next one will be more normal. News from the day:

· We were joined by a new couple, Damian and Fiona (pillion) on a 600 Hornet. Damian’s only been riding for about three months but very enthusiastic and keen, and seemed to be able to hold his own amongst the group, which was very good to see. A couple of returned riders and Rob Langer also showed up today, each saying that that they were happy they came along, all making for a good sized group.

· Paul was on his hot new Fireblade and happy again. With the help of all the accumulated spare parts, it had been converted from yellow and black to silver and black.

· Ian, you’re a star for leading from the Westgate servo!—Got to love that extra half hour sleep in—and the route through the hills was fab.

· Thanks to Rob and Paul for sharing the rear duties.

I’m sure everyone remembers the lichen lined wet corners through Glenlyon. They certainly made me a little bit nervous. I made a conscious decision to relax more as pillion on this ride though, partly due to guilt from making Ben ride slower than usual last weekend. I decided that as long as all my tissues, limbs and joints are intact each time I step off Ben’s bike, I’ll just roll with it—not that I doubt Ben’s riding abilities, but anyone who’s not accustomed to being pillion will understand.

I still don’t like being pillion, but it was worth it just to be out there on Sunday, at least, and to eyeball Ben’s riding technique close up, as well as everyone else’s who I don’t normally get to watch whilst riding at my own speed. I’d have to say that that was the most outstanding part of the day. Being on a bike that did some really exceptional moves that I’d never done myself was the bestest! J The Mt Wallace hilltop was one of those moments with Chris and Suzi, Ben and I, and Dave all clustered really close together, weaving up around a couple of corners, and watching Dave do a swift, but very smooth overtake on a tight corner. Just super!

I was told that this was a popular MSR racing spot which started back in the early 1990s not long after Geoff Jones joined up. After a quick flick through the September 2001 article on the club members’ site, I couldn’t help but laugh when I discovered that the whole Jones clan was in on this, with one person at the Mt Wallace hilltop and another at the bottom, decked out with a gas stove, tea, coffee, various cakes, CB radios and stopwatches ready to synchronise and time each rider’s mad race up the hill. I guess it shouldn’t be any surprise to anyone that Dave came up fastest on a jaw dropping 43 second run! Ian, Ben, Geoff and Rob Langer were all also part of the mad thrill, as well as a few others I haven’t met. It would have been very cool to watch! If the combination of my sources are correct, these races continued for about seven years—with no crashes; that’s got to be a plus! But alas, public liability eventually put an end to it all. If anyone’s interested and has time, they can read more about it in the Club magazine section of the Members’ site (September 2001). Otherwise, talk to one of the guys who was there.

In the meantime, look after yourselves until the next ride.

Ha Du