Juzz Lightyear’s “To Ballarat & Beyond” Ride
by Juzz Lightyear (Formerly known as Barbie Boy)
This ride report was originally published in the November 2010 issue of the Motorcycle Tourers club magazine, ‘Chain Lube’.
Looking back at the past 3 out of 4 club rides I was not very confident. Adz July ride – raining. David’s August ride – monsoonal. John’s September ride – raining. Juz’s October ride – weather report is for no rain, so there was a glimmer of hope.
I turn up to South Yarra at a little before 9am to discover I was the first one there. First time for everything I guess. A slight chill in the air, but the sun was out and the report was for a clear day. Slowly others started to arrive. By 9.30 we had 11 bikes (including newcomer Ray on a Virago 250). Fueled up, coffee’d up and ready to go I thought we better head off before things got heated after Glenn’s run in with a driver of a black Porsche 911 Turbo (parked 4ft out from the kerb so he didn’t scratch his rims). Apparently Glenn parked a little too close to the Porsche and the owner was worried about being blocked in by all those pesky motorcycles. Even after assuring the driver we were leaving in 5 minutes, this was not good enough for him and he decided to move the car. Porsche drivers in South Yarra, pfft, what can you say really?
Upon calling for a rear rider, everyone was a little shocked to see H put up his hand and offer to take on the role. Things became a little clearer when we discovered he was riding Tim’s bike after earlier that morning discovering the MV had attempted to take its own life and H walked out to find it sitting in a pool of its own oil. He did what any owner of a prestige Italian machine would do. Left it there bleeding and jumped on a reliable Japanese machine.
Off we headed to Laverton where we met up with the rest of the crew for a total of 19 bikes. The real Juzz Lightyear made an appearance at Laverton to wish everyone a safe trip. Not wanting to add to the millions being collected by the government from speed cameras, the ride to morning tea was a docile affair keeping to the speed limit down the hwy and around the ring road.
Morning tea stop was at a great little café just out of Teesdale called Summer Sensations Café & Berry Gardens. I wish I could say it was through good planning that we ended up there, but it was more that during the pre ride it was the only café I could find at the time I was ready for coffee. It did however turned out to be a good find. Arriving at the café both Rob and I discovered missed calls from Dewy who was running slightly late after having trouble getting the 1098 out of the garage (or it not starting) who knows. I called Dewy to hear the unmistakable sound of the Duc V-twin accelerating and the wind rushing past at what I could only assume was about 200kph. Some quick directions and Dewy caught up to us as we were preparing to leave for leg 2 of the journey.
Leg 2 was a short run to Ballarat via Rokewood, with a couple of nice long straights where I could finally crack the wrist and see what the new Daytona could do. After hitting x40kph (the first number shall remain a mystery to protect the not so innocent) I decided to slow down, remembering some considerably large holes on the edge of the road up ahead.
Lunch was intended to be a short stand up affair. My choice of lunch stops was deliberate giving people the choice of a bakery, supermarket or the goodness of other fine foods such as McDonalds and KFC. Assuming the bakery would be the venue of choice I found it quite amusing to see most actually heading for McDonalds for lunch.
After lunch a quick fuel stop and bladder evacuation was in order, then on to the Ballarat Aviation Museum where we met up with Darren B and partner in a shiny yellow Lotus Elise. The museum, while small, was filled with a lot of interesting material from Australia’s Aviation History. It was time to leave when John was discovered fondling one of the weapons. (One of the rockets in the rockets in the museum that is. Geez, get your minds out of the gutter). Outside a quick meeting with club elders took place and it was decided that Darren B was to be banished from the rest of the ride for having more than the maximum number of wheels required for a club ride. We said good bye to Darren and headed on for Leg 3.
Next stop was Bacchus Marsh via a mix of nice roads through Creswick, Daylesford and Trentham. A quick regroup in Daylesford and then on to afternoon tea at a great cake/coffee shop in Bacchus Marsh (thanks Brett for suggesting it). The afternoon stop was pleasant with a little bit of local talent on show, nice coffee and Moff getting the chance to get his mouth around something big and black (mars bar cake I believe it was).
The last leg of the trip was a short blast in to Werribee where the ride ended.
A great day out with the only casualty being my $60 Rego label tube that decided it didn’t like being in captivity. It broke free from its shackles and is now roaming free in the fields somewhere between Daylesford and Bachus Marsh.
Thanks to all who came along, I hope you enjoyed the day as much as I did.
Ride Photos:
