Go West II Tour – Making The Wild West Easy
by Darren B
This ride report was originally published in the September 2008 issue of the Motorcycle Tourers club magazine, ‘Chain Lube’.
Well, after arriving home from further west (Perth- 20 degrees and cloudless) about 9pm on the Friday I was quick to check the ol’ ‘b.o.m.’ website when I got home. The forecast was scattered showers. Ah well I figured… could be worse; it could be forecast squally winds and solid rain throughout the weekend. Well although that would have been more accurate, we had a great weekend and a very enjoyable ride.
It was set to work well right from the start when I went to look for a map, and out fell the one I used last time, already highlighted and in its plastic pocket!
Yep. We gathered at South Yarra for a 9 am departure, and off we went right on the knocker. Myself, DP (David), Scooter (Michael), Dewy, Matt, Adam, and Fab were all on board for the ride. At Teds café (the Mobil) meeting spot we gathered Brett & John and soon Phil.
Up Pentland Hills Rd we cruised, which is always novel as it crosses and weaves around the main highway. Further north towards Trentham it became very cold. I think it was close to the coldest I have ridden in because my chin was freezing up and I didn’t think I would be able to speak properly. My chin-o-meter was founded as someone noted that it actually got down to 4 degrees!! We had a refuel at Daylesford, and I availed myself of the servo wall. In that vein I think Scooter was trying to attract the local constabulary with his wares.
We moved right along to Creswick for morning tea. How welcome was that dimmy! Not to mention some coffee for the boys. Onwards we pressed through Avoca towards Ararat for lunch. We were making good time, and enjoyed a solid lunch at a café under some nice radiant heaters. Just prior to our arrival Fab’s bike started losing power, reminiscent of Brett’s GPX one time. Fab was blaming Shell, but somehow looking at the exquisite piece of machinery that is the Across, I was not convinced. Luckily it seemed to get going after lunch. Meanwhile DP was having a discussion with those thugs in uniform that did not appreciate him corner marking on the edge of the corner. We headed out towards Halls Gap on the heels of a heap of BMW’s. Good luck followed the MMT’s, as I headed the way and woke up the wildlife between there and Dunkeld. One kangaroo steak collected a woman, who I believe was fortunately ok.
The sight approaching the south end of the Grampians was amazing, as we rode straight toward this wall of rock, with the top concealed in cloud. The walk up to Mt Abrupt looks like something on my agenda now.
We regrouped in Dunkeld, and some arrived to the sign of some kangaroos jumping across in front of them. These were a species still unclassified as they were wearing full wet weather gear and motorcycle helmets [Front Cover Photo]. Fortunately these kangaroos were skilled enough to push start somebody’s Ducati. This would be the same person that made Dewie’s nut fall off once, and also who previously needed a tow from a Honda! The last major leg was the straight bit and somehow in the inclement conditions it went fast enough. We arrived in town and refuelled, whilst one ring leader kangaroo had to consistently push the Ducati again. This kangaroo was very persistent and seemed to jump out of the bushes every time the ‘dead-cat’ was sighted. Our accommodation was slightly better than expected, although a decent walk from town. One drink stop, then dinner was fine, followed by a walk home for some.
Sunday breakfast was expertly booked by Adam the night before. What an events coordinator (you could do that for a living Adam). Very enjoyable at the old boathouse now called Proudfoot’s. Again more rain as we headed off in our gear. With the shorter ride home, we stopped this time at the London Bridge look out, and also for a laté stop in Port Campbell. Further on was where I took out the figure skating medal, after fishtailing rigorously three times at 120 km/hr. Ask David for the view from behind. After a short regroup and kangaroo stop at Lavers Hill (yep, the same one appeared to have followed us) we pushed on to Apollo Bay for lunch. We enjoyed a light lunch and travelled direct to Angelsea where a leak was necessary. Next stop was the last regoup after Geelong at the BP.
Thanks all for a great weekend. This was in fact one of the easiest MMT groups I have led, so well done all riders helping to keep on track. We covered a fair bit of distance in arduous conditions, and still managed to have some nice meals, and arrive before dark.
PS. Rumour has it, that not only was there speeding, crossing double white lines, but also riding in a push bike lane, and even under passing a car!
John’s Mental Notes
by John H
Saturday dawned and Brett and I struggled out of bed at least four hours earlier than our normal Saturday wake-up time of 11am. With one eye on the skies above and another on the trusty Bureau of Meteorology website, I pondered the question – do I wear my “new” 140-euros-off-eBay, oh-so-comfy and oh-so-bright-red Dainese leathers, or go for the frumpy if functional Dri-rider? With the weather forecast using words like “scattered showers” and “clearing”, and the weather radar showing a few fast retreating spots of rain, I went for leathers. The sun shone brilliantly on the fast evaporating water on the road surface as we headed off and it seemed I had made the right choice. No sooner had we locked in our choice, with no time left to change and still make our rendezvous with Darren and the other riders heading over from South Yarra, the sky suddenly clouded over and the rain started falling. Something it more or less continued to do until we parked the bikes in Warrnambool that evening, and reprised for most of the next day.
Mental Note 1: The BoM forecast for Melbourne should not be read as the weather forecast for all Victoria.
Mental Note 2: The rainfall radar loop for the last half an hour should not be taken as an indication of expected rainfall in the next 48 hours.
As Darren mentioned, the rainy weather produced occasional moments of natural beauty. As we rode through Halls Gap, there was a point where the clouds briefly parted and the sun shone through. It created a glorious rainbow that arched over the road and continued in its technicolour glory into the field next to the road, brilliantly contrasting with the dark rocky outcrops behind it. As Michael Van Scooter and I wound our way through the forested landscape on our Cagivas (I don’t care if the badge says Suzuki, it’s got the same engine as a Cagiva, so it must be a Cagiva too!) I saw a lovely fluffy grey kangaroo, just like Skippy herself, amble along the side of the road. (“Chch-chch-chch.” “What’s that Skip? Motorcycles?”) At the point in Michael’s approach where it would have been an incredibly silly idea for the ‘roo to cross the road, it of course decided to hop right in front of him. Fortunately Michael’s stoppers were working far better than David’s starter this weekend.
Mental Note 3: We were all lied to as children. Kangaroos are not intelligent creatures who form meaningful relationships with young boys named Sonny and outwit robbers or help park rangers find lost children. Kangaroos are depressingly stupid creatures who just assume everything can simply be bounced off, be it the ground beneath their silly feet or the vehicles travelling across it at over 100km/h
Sunday morning dawned and after a brief paparazzi moment for a half-naked Dewy (whose barechested photo incidentally continues to be our most downloaded picture on the website!) it was time to set off. This involved Dewy’s super-high performance 1098 struggling to turn over in the cold, David’s 749 being push-started, and of course the usual trepidation as to whether Michael’s Cagiva would run on one or two cylinders.
Mental Note 4: Italian motorcycles, regardless of age, price, manufacturer, or model, just don’t like cold weather.
Mental Note 5: OK, so Phil’s Aprilia ran fine all weekend, but since when do I let tedious things like facts get in the way of a good sweeping generalisation?
A warming caffeine stop in Port Campbell, we set off again through the elements. We were setting a fine pace (particularly Darren and David who set off at Warp Factor 5), probably all of us wanting to get to the next café with its warm dry interior! As we raced along one stretch of straight, flat but rather wet and worn bitumen, I noticed David pulled over on the right side of the road, facing towards us, gesticulating in some sort of a waving motion. Given his lofty socio-political status as twice-elected convenor of Melbourne Motorcycle Tourers, I no doubt assumed he was practicing his Royal Wave, for the day he finds himself in the back of a Daimler DS420 limousine greeting his adoring subjects. Fab was just ahead of me on the Suzuki Across, which had demonstrated an unstinting desire to stop moving all weekend. Fab suddenly slowed right down and I naturally assumed his engine had stopped working, again. Over I pulled into the oncoming lane and opened the throttle up for a quick overtake. Little did I realise that I was on the same ice-skating rink that Darren had earlier been pirouetting his way across. Even with just its modest 74 horsepower, the SV suddenly let rip with violent fishtailing, the likes of which haven’t been seen since “Rex Hunt’s Fishing Adventures” was last on television. There was a moment or two where I thought I was about to be launched airborne, but the 74 horses soon resumed their Shetland Pony-like docility and we continued on our merry way.
Mental Note 6: When David is waving his hands in the air on a ride, it’s not always a sign of greeting.
Mental Note 7: When Fab’s bike suddenly slows for no apparent reason, it’s not always because it’s broken down.
After a lunch stop at Apollo Bay, the weather cleared enough for the roads to start to dry out, my fishtailing angst gradually left me, and I finally got to enjoy a few corners. I had the good fortune of car drivers who generally were happy to make room for you to pass. Great fun, although later after we pulled up in Anglesea Michael Van Scooter was gleefully pointing out my big wide “chicken strips” on the back tyre, so I was apparently not enjoying myself quite as much as I could have been! What fun I had been having was however cruelly cut short some way after Lorne by an ancient couple in a little red Hyundai who were driving at under 60km/h and braking to 25km/h at every corner, and had collected about a dozen impatient drivers trailing them. We crawled through some wonderful corners, and because there were no straight sections of any reasonable length my overtaking opportunities were limited. By the time I hopped to the front and passed Ma and Pa Kettle, the road straightened out and the fun corners were all behind us.
Mental Note 8: Red cars do go faster, except when they are small red rental cars driven by old age pensioners, in which case red cars only go faster than glaciers.
Despite slippery roads, rain, ‘roos and O.A.P.s on the loose, it was a great fun weekend with great company, so let’s hear a big three roots for Darren for organising it.
Ride Photos:
