Ride Report 22nd September 2024
Present (with newly acquired nick names):
| Rider | Motorcycle | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Ian Snadden | BMW R90S | 1974 |
| Peter Trathen | Ducati 900 GTS | 1979 |
| Paul Clayton | Honda VTR1000 | 1997 |
| Jimmy Linton | Yamaha XJR 1300 | 1999 |
| Graham Bouter | Yamaha XJR 1300 | 1999 |
| John Addy | Suzuki GSX650 | 2008 |
| John Killingsworth | BMW R1200GS | 2011 |
| Ian Bryant | Kawasaki W800 | 2012 |
| David & Mez McLennan | Triumph Thruxton | 2016 |
| Peter Hansen | Triumph Street Twin | 2017 |
| Paul Beukelman | Harley Davidson Low Rider ST | 2023 |
The rider was off to a good start in the overcast ‘let’s hope it doesn’t rain’ Melbourne sky, with the correct meeting point of Chirnside Park, soon overriding the earlier notification of starting at Greensborough!
The correct (Chirnside Park) start location under the gloomy Melbourne sky
President ‘I want to park on a hill because I got a flat battery’ President Jimmy
Soon a small band of 11 happy bikes duly assembled around 8:30am (for 9am start). The early ones had time for a coffee, (note for next time, get there a bit earlier, so I have time for a coffee!).
The entertaining Club Captain John did not fail to amuse, explained in no uncertain terms the safety, “I have 2 first aid kits (one for each hand?) and Tail End Chalie (Peter Hanson) has one”. Then the intended route, “I’ve finally decided where to go; we’ll go to morning tea at King Lake West and lunch at Seymour. If we’re early for morning tea, I’ll do a few loops”, however the highlight comment was; “fist left out of the car park and then left at where the pine trees where…but they have been cut down”, to which Peter H responded; “how about we just follow you”!
Off we went, promptly at 9am. We went past St Andrews Pub, Whittlesea and then on to the excellent ‘Flour Flower’ bakery behind the servo at Kinglake West. I questioned Caption John where all the loops were and his cheerful reply was, ‘I got hungry, so I came straight here’!
After suitable hydration and sugar rush, David & Mez on their Thruxton headed off for home saying they had to dog sit their new baby! The rest off us headed to Seymour, with Captain John saying we’ll avoid the Melba Highway as much as possible due to its deteriorating road conditions.
I noted two things on the run to Seymour on the back roads from morning tea; the amount of potholes / ruff surfaces that has seem to have been unrepaired for a while, with the only remedy a warning sign put up. Must be the new way of the state government to save money? The other noticeable thing was the number of dead kangaroos / wombats on the side of the road. Either there are more live animals on the road (not that we saw live native animals at all) or there are less road patrols coming along to remove the carcasses?
At Seymour we all went to the excellent ‘Brewers Table Café’, where we sat in the outside courtyard. To my surprise we all ordered ‘egg and bacon rolls’, even though there were over 30 items on the menu. Must have been because we were still full of morning tea!
The band of merry men keenly awaiting the egg and bacon rolls, discussing and solving the problems of the world!
After an enjoyable lunch we made our way back to past a servo to fill up.
On the other side of the road to the servo in Seymour, waiting in a row for the last of the mob to fill up
Caption John then took us back via Flowerdale, Strath Creek to finish at King Lake West, where we all split up.
All in all, a lovely day out, with no rain, no incidents and over 300km (for me) door to door of relaxing early Spring riding.
Paul Beukelman