Australia Day “Ride to Remember”
by John H
This ride report was originally published in the February 2008 issue of the Motorcycle Tourers club magazine, ‘Chain Lube’.
Every year, the Victoria Police’s Blue Ribbon Foundation organises a “Ride to Remember” to commemorate those police officers who have lost their lives in the course of their duty. The ride has become very popular, and this year over 500 riders had pre-registered for the trip from Albert Park, through the CBD, out to the Upper Yarra Reservoir via Emerald, Woori Yallock and Warburton.
Let me start our story in my typical style by finding something to complain about. [start rant] Have you ever noticed how inconsiderate some Harley riders are? The only people who won’t wave/nod back at you on the highway? (Much less stop to assist if you were in trouble?) Well Brett and myself had only just arrived at pit lane on Aughtie Drive in Albert Park when we had another “Harley experience”. There we were, waiting in line to be marshalled into the pits area when a typically pig-headed Hog rider, complete with matching Harley “fashion” items, simply rode past everyone in the line and barged his way through to the front. Charming. [end rant]
There was a fantastic assortment of bikes. As well as the usual CBR, GSXR, YZF, ZXsomethingR sportsbikes, there were a lot of cruisers, some Italian exotica, and some classic Nortons, Enfields, and the like. Present from the Tourers were: Yours Truly (Suzuki SV650S), Brett F (Kwaka ZZR250), Tzup (the Black Stallion – VFR750), Byron (Suzuki Burgman 650), Adam (riding something truly majestic, see below), erstwhile nonmember but guest rider Kevin (CBR900RR), and special visitors Robert from Albury (Yamaha FZ6), and Robert’s riding buddy Troy from Canberra (CBR1000RR).
Adam was highly excited, as he had just purchased a brand spanking new scooter – a Yamaha Majesty 400 – a truly splendid carriage, fit for a queen! May I share an observation with you? Sportsbike riders get excited about things like carbon fibre bits, upside-down forks and Akrapovic exhausts. Cruiser riders seem to get all excited about customised chrome/leather tassle features on their rigs. Whereas scooter riders go straight to what is the heart of the matter for them – storage compartments! Adam was enthusiastically demonstrating the forward cargo hold as he catalogued the various comfort and convenience features of his new ride. I think he had just got to the optional martini shaker function on the auto-chilling cupholders when 8 o’clock came round and it was time for us to head off.
A quick blast through the city, then on to the South Eastern Freeway for our only fast riding of the day, then Wellington Road. We generally rode in two columns of bikes even along the single lane roads, which made the cornering a little more tricky (just as well we were going so slowly!) This meant that you would often find yourself very close beside a particular bike for long periods of time. There was one point where I was riding next to a guy wearing full leathers (eye candy!) on a Suzuki TL1000R (ear candy!) – this was good! Then there were the times I was stuck next to a delightful old chap riding an 1893 model (or thereabouts) single-cylinder Enfield which sounded exactly like council workers using a jackhammer on a concrete footpath.
One of the reasons that so many people choose not to ride on the annual Police Blue Ribbon ride on Australia Day is because it’s a slow ride and as such boring. As anyone who’s been stuck behind me on a club ride would probably know, I can do slow! The fact that we spend a morning touring through the hills to the Upper Yarra Reservoir at speeds normally associated with ladies driving a brown Cortina to lawn bowls is no barrier to the enjoyment of motorcycling, I say!
Just on the topic of speed, do you ever have that experience where you try to shift up to a phantom 7th gear? You know, you’re blasting along and the engine is winding up, and it just feels like there should be another gear above sixth? Well – and I swear this is the truth – at one point on this ride, speeds got so low that I was trying to shift down to a gear lower than first! No doubt our friend on the ancient Enfield jackhammer had consulted his copy of the Highway Code from 1903 and discovered that it was unlawful for motorised velocipedes to proceed at more than 2 MPH unless being escorted on foot by a man holding a red flag.
We had a brief stop at Woori Yallock along the way. Poor Adam had made an unpleasant discovery. It appears that when you ride a brand new bike out into the country, it gets dirty. What’s even more disconcerting, the odometer keeps going up and up, making the bike seem less new with each increment! We assured him that both faults would no doubt be covered by his warranty.
As we continued along the Warburton Highway to Launching Place, there was a poignant reminder of what it is we’re supposed to be remembering on the “Ride to Remember”. [start seriousness] A few weeks ago Brett and myself cycled from Lilydale to Warburton along the route of the old train line, which is now a bike path. On that day, we’d stopped at one point for a rest at a little memorial area where the bike path runs adjacent to the highway. There was a plaque that commemorated a police officer who died there in 2005 after being shot by the occupant of a car he’d pulled over. Today as we rode past on the motorbikes, we noticed a small group of cops who were standing opposite the memorial, heads bowed. [end seriousness]
And so on we rode. Upon our final arrival at the Upper Yarra Reservoir Park at around 11:30 (yes, it took us 3 and half hours to ride 120km!), we all hopped off our bikes and followed our instincts. Byron, Tzup and Kevin followed their instinct to avoid the enormous long queue for lunch that Brett and I ended up in by getting in early. Whereas our visiting riders Rob and Troy followed their instinct to perve on as many bikers as possible, Troy coming specially prepared with a telephoto lens for those Kodak special moments!
I’m not quite sure what happened to Byron and Adam after lunch – I’m worried they may have accidentally locked themselves in the cavernous underseat storage area on Adam’s new scooter! The rest of us retreated to the shade where we’d parked our bikes and pondered the mysteries of the universe. As the afternoon wore on, we went our separate ways – Brett and myself taking the direct road back home to West Footscray while Kevin, Rob and Troy all headed off to Marysville for the decidedly scenic road back to Coburg, Albury and Canberra respectively.
A great day out.
Photos from the ride:
