Snake Valley Sunday 17^th May, 2009

Yamaha R1	Geoff Jones (Leader)	Honda CBR954	Ben Warden
Yamaha FZ6	Cameron Stevens	Honda CBR954	Ern Reeders
Yamaha R6	Pina Garasi	Honda CBR600	Ha Du
Honda CBR1000RR	Paul Southwell	Honda CBR600	Dennis Lindemann
Honda CBR1000RR	Misho Zrakic	Suzuki GSXR1000	Mark Rigsby (rear)
Honda CBR1100XX	Tim Pierre-Humbert		11 bikes, 11 people

I woke up this morning with a smile on my dial – I was going on a long ride out west of Melbourne following Geoff up hill and down dale and then home to an evening of Moto GP at Le Mans and WSBK at Kyalami. Geoff got it right in the ride review with full wet weathers recommended for this ride to keep the wind chill at bay. I got up early and prepped the bike (checking tyre pressure/coolant/oil/chain) as I planned to ride up to Whittlesea from Glen Waverley via St Andrews and Kinglake. As I left home at about 8am it started pissing down and rained steadily until a couple of kilometers before Whittlesea. This was the first time I had been up to Kinglake since the fires. Being able to see how the ridge drops off on the edge of the road now that all of the bush is burnt away is a real eye opener. When the bush is growing up next to the road it gives you a false sense of security as the drop off is not so evident!

I was first to arrive at Whittlesea closely followed by Geoff. As my wet weather gear dried we talked about all of the work Geoff has done on his R1 including replacing the engine. He is a treasure trove of knowledge if you need any advice on the ins and outs of a modern sportsbike. I volunteered for rear rider as my front tyre is due for replacement and I did not want to push it on the wet roads.

Nine other riders arrived eager to brave the wet and cold including Tim on his Blackbird for his first ride with the club. Geoff briefed us on the route and then we were off through Eden Park, Wallan, Romsey, Hesket, Woodend, Ashbourne, Trentham East and Trentham for our first break. The short blast through Eden Park is fun with continuous lefts and rights. I also like the run from Wallan to Romsey as there is a good variety of roads, some tight and some sweeping corners up and down the little valleys that populate this area.

From Woodend to Trentham I noted a number of groups of riders on all variety of machines. It seems there were quite a few like-minded riders out enjoying the day. As we had something to eat and drink in Trentham we all admired a local riding up and down the main street on his new 2009 R1, the exhaust note from the cross plane crank is sweet. I remember hearing Ben Spies new R1 going by at the WSBK at the Island; sounded like a WWII fighter plane taking off!

Against a backdrop of spitting rain, and wet and drying roads, it was on to Spring Hill, Glenlyon, Wheatsheaf, Daylesford, Blampied, Kingston, Creswick, Bald Hills and into Ballarat for fuel and lunch at Subway. As rear rider I was hoping to be able to pay attention to where I was going but keeping up with the group and dealing with the variable weather and road conditions had my attention focussed on just following, and not the route. This is one thing I like about riding with the club; if you are not leading you don’t have to worry about where you are going and can just concentrate on enjoying the roads and how you and the bike are responding.

From Ballarat, Geoff took us through Ross Creek, Smythesdale, Snake Valley, Chinaman Flat, Linton, Happy Valley Crossing, Cape Clear, Illabrook (sheep on road), Rokewood Junction, Dereel, Mount Mercer, Woodbourne and Meredith where we stopped for our next break. It was on this leg that we encountered a short dirt section and a narrow pot holed bridge section – you have to tread carefully here, particularly in the wet.

At Meredith we took on some quick refreshment, had the group photo and then blasted on through Sheoaks, Anakie, Anakie Junction, You Yangs and Werribee where the ride ended. The ride was incident free and I hope all enjoyed it as much as I did.

When I got home I noticed my front tyre has worn more on the right hand side than the left which is unusual. (Actually, normal ...camber of the road wears out right hand side first …Ed.) Time for a new front tyre, new brake pads, replace the front fork oil (thanks Ben for the advice on how to do the replacement) and reset the suspension.

Thanks to Geoff for leading the ride, and providing the ride itinerary - I would never have been able to identify all the places we went today without it!

Mark Rigsby