This ride report was originally published in the February 2010 issue of the Motorcycle Tourers club magazine, ‘Chain Lube’.
This is such an honour. There are so many people to thank. First to the big man upstairs, you know who you are, I love you. To my mum and dad for believing in me, my manager for making this all possible………..Wait a minute. That’s my Grammy acceptance speech. Where’s my ride report. Ah, here it is.
After being in the club for a year, I finally got around to leading a ride, which happened to be an overnighter. What was I thinking? I had thought my first lead ride would be a nice simple Sunday affair. Adam T approached me late last year and mentioned that he has access to accommodation on Mt Buller and thinking he wasn’t fast enough to lead, asked if I would be interested in leading a ride up there. I quickly said yes. Again, what was I thinking?
The ride (or drive) unofficially started Wednesday night with a car load of bags to be taken up the mountain. Rob B, and David W couldn’t be bothered packing their things on the bikes, Dewy and H on the other hand didn’t have a lot of choice with their respective bikes minuscule luggage carrying capacity. Part 2 of the pre ride activities involved a shopping trip Friday night to buy breakfast supplies. I can barely cater for myself, how was I going to manage enough food for 20 people? After shopping, Kenneth (our support vehicle driver) dropped by to load up the car.
Come Saturday morning, the car was loaded, bags packed and the Daytona washed and fueled up for the weekends activities. Mother Nature supplied us with a glorious day for riding. Clear blue skies were the order of the day. South Yarra pickup saw half the crew arrive for a morning caffeine refill, including John M on his shinny new (but already slightly damaged) Suzuki GS650F, who also took over the honour from John H of having the biggest exhaust pipe. After other envious scooter riders had a sit on the new beast we got underway towards the 2nd pickup point. Heading up Hoddle St, John M, having already had enough of the new geared bike started to head home. He quickly regained his confidence and decided to rejoin the group. (We won’t tell anyone that he may not have heard me say we were not going to mark that corner) Lilydale saw us meet the rest of the gang. In all 17 bikes (2 along for lunch) & 3 pillions headed off.
Our first stop was a quick refuelling and rehydrating in Warburton. The temperature had risen considerably which saw everyone searching for shade and having a cool drink. Shortly after we were on our way, heading for Reefton spur. A brief regrouping before the spur and we were on our way again. Another regroup at the end of the spur once again saw everyone searching for shade. I decided the break was long enough after getting attacked by a fly the size of a small cat and we got underway again.
We headed on to Alexandra and the Old Dairy Cafe for lunch where we met up with Kenneth and Jae (our support vehicle drivers). Lunch was very nice and service good with the majority of the gang pre ordering their food beforehand. As we left we lost 2 riders in Moff and Gary who had joined us for lunch and were heading back home. A stop for fuel and then on we go. Just before Mansfield I thought it appropriate to let Adam T lead some of the ride, seeing as how we were both organising it. Adam led us through the back streets of Mansfield but after a short time decided it was all too much and waved me through the resume the lead. Fortunately, we didn’t cause too much confusion, as no one else knew about this plan.
Another regrouping at the bottom of the mountain to gather our breath saw John H, looking like the queen mum, perched on a rock enjoying some shade. Adam T headed off first to open up the accommodation and get things set up. Dewy and I decided to let everyone ride ahead so we could get some video footage from our tank mounted cameras. Our threats to pass everyone on the way up the mountain were taken as a challenge by David P and Rob who scampered up the mountain never to be seen again. (well…until we got to the top of course).
Daytona 675 following Ducati 1098 Tricolor.
Once reaching the top I started heading to the accommodation. Forgetting that I wasn’t the last one up the mountain I forgot to mark a corner. A quick back track to the corner and I found H, who with only 2 choices of which way to go, went the wrong way. I Pointed him in the right direction and I waited for the rest. We reached our destination (Belmore Ski Club) about 4.30 and went inside for a look and drop our gear off.
After finding a bed and a having brief rest it was time for some exploring. Supermarket (bottle shop) was the first stop. A few supplies for breakfast and copious amounts of alcamahol and we were headed back to Belmore. A trip up to the summit was the next order of business. Dewy, David P, Rob, John M, Adam T, Phil, Evan and David W decided it was a nice day for a walk, but having made the trek up the hill in snowboard boots many times before I knew what lay ahead. I decided the bike was a better option. Brett, John H, Craig and Byron with pillion (Michael) all saw the wisdom in my thinking and followed on bikes. After reaching the summit, John M, who nearly went in to cardiac arrest, was probably wishing he had taken the bike as well. Thankfully for him, it was all downhill to get home.
Useless fact:
Atop Mt Buller on the summit is a fire watch station. This is manned throughout summer and looks out over the entire alpine region. Ranger Tom (not sure what his name was) has manned the station for the past 33 years, working 7 days a week over summer. The only time he is not required to work is when it’s raining.
Returning to Belmore we find Kenneth, Jae and Tim playing up words in a manner that was probably not intended by the manufacturers. There were a couple of words that needed explaining. (See the sealed photo section. For once, it’s not me in a towel.)
Dinner was at Alpine retreat on the mountain. The food was good as well as the service. Chicken Parma seemed to be the preferred choice and after seeing the 2inch thick parma’s being served a few others were probably wishing they had them too (myself included). We were only missing Kenneth and Jay who were tired after the long haul in the Air Conditioned Commodore. They decided to stay back and have a “rest” although the meaning of rest may be left open to interpretation. On the way home from dinner we came across a large bin. Brett, fearing a mid-summer snow fall found some old ski’s and decided to take one to strap to the ZZR in case he needed it for the ride down the mountain Sunday. The rest of the night consisted of lots of alcohol being consumed and some great conversation.
Sunday morning saw most people awake around 9. Breakfast was a deluxe affair of cereal, juice, fruit, bacon, eggs, sausages and toast. Thanks to all the helpers, I’d of had a hard time of it myself. I can hardly get motivated to cook for me let alone 20 hungry campers.
After a cleanup of the accommodation, we decided to move the scheduled departure time forward an hour. A quick line up out the front for a group shot and we were heading down the mountain. The weather looked uninviting when we woke, but by the time we left the cloud had passed and we had a chilly but sunny morning. A fuel stop in Mansfield then on to Yea for lunch.
Lunch was at Marmalade cafe in Yea, suggested by David P, and was a great choice. Michael V was in Marysville, so decided to drive over and meet us for lunch. Once again, great food and good service as we had experience all weekend.
After lunch I had the chance to ride the amazing 1098 trico(thanks so much to Dewy for this). I would have had a ride earlier, but Rob (with considerably more body hair than me) got the honours. With all the excitement of a big Italian between my legs, I missed the turn off to Melbourne. H kindly rode past and pointed me in the right direction. We caught up with Adam T who had taken the correct turn off and continued on our way. I had been a little disappointed with Dewy describing my Daytona 675 as sounding like an angry mosquito, but after he did a couple of “fly” bys, I was shocked to realise that is actually what is sounds like. I used the immense power of the Duc to retake the lead and on we went. A quick stop before we got in to King Lake and I handed the trico back to Dewy. A little rain started to fall and I didn’t want to take the risk. Especially considering the rear tyre is slightly overdue for replacement.
We headed on to Whittlesea where my second oops of the day was pointed out to me. Once again with the excitement of riding the 1098, I forgot to mention to Byron our tail rider for the day, that our final destination was changed from King Lake to Whittlesea. Sincere apologies Byron. He and Craig managed to find their way to us and we ended up the weekend with no u-turns and no offs which was great.
In all it was a fantastic weekend. Great weather, great roads and great company. What more could you ask for? I had a lot of fun leading my first ride and I hope everyone on the ride enjoyed themselves as much as I did. Thanks to all involved. Also a special mention goes out to our International guests John and Massimo, friends of Dewy’s over here on holidays from Italy. Thanks for coming. I Hope you enjoyed the ride.
by Justin
Ride Photos:
