ChillOut Ride
by David P.
This ride report was originally published in the March 2010 issue of the Motorcycle Tourers club magazine, ‘Chain Lube’.
Sunday 7th March will always be remembered as the day after one of the worst storms in Melbourne’s history where wild winds, driving rain and hail the size of golf balls caused wide spread damage and havoc across the city and suburbs. It will also be remembered by MMT as our first official representation at the Annual ChillOut Festival held at Daylesford. Early last year a suggestion was put forward at a club meeting for MMT to participate at ChillOut. Due to the usual high costs and liability insurance issues it was agreed that we would not have a stall at the festival, but would participate in the street parade. So given that this ride was scheduled during such inclement weather I was not expecting a large turn-out.
The day started off with dark clouds and light rain and upon arrival at South Yarra Michael & I were greeted by Rolf who was sitting on the footpath all on his own sheltering from the weather. The normally busy café was closed due to water damage. Staff who would normally be busy taking coffee orders could be seen mopping up behind the closed doors. As the rain became heavier the three of us set off to the second pick up point. On arrival at Rockbank we were greeted by Linda, Moffelhoff, Brett & John.
By now the rain had stopped as we departed on what was a straight forward ride up the Western Freeway towards Ballarat. Oh, did I say straight forward! Well to keep things interesting I some how managed to miss the turn-off to Daylesford. My dodgy map appeared to have two exits off the freeway and I opted for the second exit. Of course there was no second exit and despite visiting Daylesford on many occasions in the past I still managed to f**k it up. To make matters worse I needed to travel another ten K’s along the freeway before we had an opportunity to make a u-turn.
Anyway, we arrived in Daylesford just in time to find our place in the parade line up. John from Musk & Adam on the Aprilia were quite anxious to see us as the parade was about to start. We followed D.O.B. in an initial lap of the main street which was lined all the way with an enthusiastic crowd. We then completed another lap leading the parade, and then another this time bringing up the rear. Now I know where the term “Dizzy Queens” originated from!
Once the parade finished we parked the bikes up a side street and headed for one of the many café’s along the main street. There was a 25 minute wait for coffee so we decided to try our luck at the pub which didn’t seem to be quite as busy. From there we went back to the bikes and rode a short distance to the footy oval where the actual ChillOut Festival was being held. By now the sun was out and the weather was very pleasant, but still damp underfoot.
I’ve never been to ChillOut before. It’s very similar to how the Midsumma Festival used to be before it became more of a commercial venture. Lots of community based stands and a centre stage. Parting with $18 was necessary before you were allowed through the gate. Which I thought was a little steep seeing all you really get for that is a pink paper band around your wrist. Still I was led to believe that the money was going to good cause???
Dark clouds started to gather over the horizon causing panic for a few of our members who’d managed to stay dry during the ride up. So it was decided that we’d make a hasty retreat rather than battle the elements on the ride home. As it turned out we probably had about another hour of sun before we really needed to leave without getting wet. None-the less I had enough time to check out all the stalls, sample a baby Moroccan burger (No, I don’t believe it was actually made from Moroccan babies) and chat to a few MMT members (past & present) who’d made their own way to the festival.
All in all it was a great day even if the day was cut short due to the threat of more rain. Hopefully next year we’ll see better weather and a good attendance from club members, which would make this event a most memorable day.
Ride Photos:
