Thompson Dam Sunday 12^th April, 2009

Ern Reeders	Honda CBR954	Cameron Stevens	Yamaha FZ6 (½ rear)
Ben Warden (½ rear)	Honda CBR954	Mark Welland	Honda CB1300
Trevor Harris (leader)	Yamaha YZF1000	Tony Stegmar	Suzuki Hayabusa
Fred Menz (1^st ride)	Kawasaki ZX9	Dave Wilson (2^nd ride)	Yamaha R1

It was good to see Mark again at the meet point as I hadn’t seen him for some time. He tells me that his Club riding drought was due to the fact his wife had given birth to his first child, Oliver, in February. Congratulations Mark!

Also at the meet point was first time club rider Fred on a 2001 ZX9 with some strange looking factory colour scheme on the bike. Apparently he bought it in South Africa and rather than selling it there for a pittance he decided to transport it to Australia and ride on.

We set off to our first stop at Noojee which we all made apart from Mark. Another Club member, Paul I think it was who was riding with another group informed us that Mark was stranded by the side of the road with a flat tyre. Ben went back towards Powelltown to repair Mark’s tyre. After the puncture repair Mark set sail for home. (Mark had already repaired it by the time I got there …Ed.)

The group, with Trevor Harris in charge, left for Moe via Hill End and on to our next stop at the Thomson Dam wall. The sun was shinning beautifully on the waterless dam walls as the group stood there contemplating why tougher water restrictions hadn’t been brought in. Some resolution was made around the political implications tighter restrictions may have.

Ben caught up with the group at the Dam wall and shortly after we left heading for Moe for lunch. Lunch was at the usual near Subway spot which was one of the few eateries open. It was Easter Monday and all three bakeries nearby were shut. Tony and Ben spied the open door of the local flip and dip shop and headed in that direction. Tony ordered a piece of fish and they gave him free chips. It was quite impressive to still see some old fashion values still in place. The quality of the chips was sensational to boot.

From here we headed home along Old Sale Road via Jindivick with the ride concluding at the BP servo at Longwarry North. With no crashes or bookings to report, it was a good ride. Thanks for leading Trev and Ben for going rear.

Cameron Stevens