Eildon I Sunday 7^th June, 2009

Paul Southwell	Honda CBR1000	Geoff Shugg	Suzuki DL650
Misho Zrakic	Honda CBR1000	Pina Garasi	Yamaha R6
Ben Warden (leader)	Honda CBR954	Marty Thompson	Kawasaki ZRX1200
Ha Du	Honda CBR600	Cliff Peters	Kawasaki ZX10
Dennis Lindemann	Honda CBR600	Dave Ward (rear)	Kawasaki Z750
Ken Goederee	Ducati Multistrada 1100		11 bikes, 11 people

The forecast wasn’t all that encouraging the previous night, but I hadn’t been for a ride for a while, so I bit the bullet and set the alarm for an 8.30am wakeup. I warmed the bike up in the driveway, with the air biting the skin and the drizzle wetting my hands making it difficult to put on my winter gloves. I had figured temperatures would not exceed much more than about 9 or 10 degrees, so dressed accordingly, with the thermals, then another thermal top, thermal socks and finally the uber uncool but oh-so-comfy BMW Pro-Rally suit. Toasty!

I headed out to the Yarra Glen meet point and must have managed every green light on the way. I arrived half an hour early with enough time for a decent latte from the bakery. I was a little surprised to see so many bikes out on such a cold, drizzly day!

We headed out to Healesville and on to Narbethong. The Black Spur was full of tourist tin-tops and was wet, so the pace was sedate. The road up to Marysville was wet and cold but a few of us had a little play up the hill and then settled it back down once the road straightened out coming into Marysville. The town is a shocking sight to see with barely a building left standing. It was the third or fourth time I had seen it since Black Saturday and I still found it quite confronting.

We had our first retirement at Marysville with Dennis on the CBR deciding that it was all too wet and cold, turning for home. Dennis informed the corner markers marking the roundabout coming out of Marysville and the group continued without delay to Buxton, Thornton and then to Eildon for an early lunch/late morning tea. We had a few more retirements with Paul and Cliff going to the football and Ken not risking riding his Ducati in the rain for fear of staining his tutu.

The next section of the ride was a series of No Through roads and little loops. It was nice to explore the boat ramps, boat clubs etc., and take in the spectacular views when the clouds and mist dissipated enough to allow unobscured vision. The rain continued to fall, sometimes just a mist, other times quite heavily, with mist coming and going depending on the altitude.

We rode down to the Jerusalem Creek boat ramp and watched while a certain vertically challenged member attempted to do a U-turn on uneven, rutted, slippery, wet clay on a definite slope. Thankfully, Wardy ended any potential damage with some assistance. A difficult enough task on a road bike for even an experienced punter, let alone someone who’s feet already only just make the tarmac at the lights. Well done for knowing when a little assistance is better than a lot of repairs!

With that challenge overcome, we headed for Mt Pinninger Lookout and the scene of Paul’s recent BladeCross adventure. Ben, of course, attempted to take a picture of the group with the views in the background. However, the clouds and mist rushing across behind us put paid to any thoughts of a scenic photo! It was spectacular, though, to watch how quickly the mist arrived and obscured the views. We rode back down and over the dam wall, the old wall now clearly visible.

We sneaked around the boom gates at the gated houseboat “Trailer Park” and down to the end of the tarmac road where we stopped to swap some lies. Then we remounted and backtracked up and out of the “Trailer Park” and down into Taylors Bay. We took both the arms of this road and enjoyed some interesting, if tight and challenging, roads with lots of elevation changes mid-corner to make the wet roads just that much more entertaining. We then continued along to the Fraser National Park Road and back down to Alexandra for lunch/afternoon tea.

There was some sort of Show N Shine along with a fair going on, with most of the town blocked off and the streets very busy. We watched as foot bound police officers did random checks on regos and licences of the tin tops as they passed through town.

The next section was longer and involved some roads which I hadn’t been on before, so I found it interesting to say the least. That, and an errant 4WD, and some chats with the constabulary at Kinglake, made for an enjoyable afternoon.

After lunch, we headed to the Whanregarwen (Molesworth Road) towards Yea and then took the Limestone Road and Murrindindi Roads through to Glenburn and then on to Exton’s Way for the run into the back of Kinglake.

It was along the Melba Highway section where we passed a 4WD being driven by a rather lovely young lady who took exception to the bikes being able to leapfrog the line of cars. The “Lovely” young lady then proceeded to follow us onto the Exton Road and make it an interesting exercise for some of us to pass. When I went past, she moved across on me and without the superfluous power of the ZRX, I may have ended up in the bushes. It barely raised a blip on the heart monitor though and I continued on enjoying the remainder of the ride on this new road. It was only when the local constabulary started asking questions of our group upon arrival at Kinglake that I realised she had decided to dial the local police, informing them of the suicidal group of two wheeled terrorists who were racing at breakneck speeds along the road towards them. Thankfully for us, our calm group took it in our stride and barely raised a PSI of blood pressure. Thus, when a screaming banshee arrived to yell at the police, she was dealt with accordingly by the locals! All in all, I blame Dave for the entire event! He’s a definite two wheeled terrorist! Exton’s Way, however, is a cracker and would be brilliant in summer, once the fire damage inspired regrowth stops the soil being washed across the road.

Blowed if I know how many kilometres we did, but even with the cold and rain, the ride was a hoot! Thanks again Ben for leading yet another epic day and for Dave for both his rear rider and 4WD overtaking prowess!

Marty Thompson