Black Dog RIde - 2014

It's on again - the Annual Black Dog ride to raise money and awareness for Mental Health and Depression........and what better way to help out..........with a motorcycle rally - of course!

On the back of the Chocolate Mill run, some two weeks earlier, the day had come to put that fundraiser moola to good use - and what a cracker ride it was. Approximately 5,000 riders nation wide participated in the Black Dog one-dayer.....with approximately 400 riders on the Victoria leg.....a leg I rode and corner marked for.

Corner marking is a great way to get involved in a large ride such as this - essentially you are in a fast bunch of riders ahead of the main pack - in this case ride leader plus ~10 corner markers ahead of  ~390 participants + TEC.

As the route plays out, large group rides tend to get spaced out quite significantly due to the different skill levels, riding styles, type of bikes involved - this is where corner markers become critically important.

The ride leader will "drop" a corner marker at an intersection or key turn-off of the ride.....your job is to do a funky chicken dance and direct the main bunch through the corner......fair enough........the FUN part is when you are swept up by TEC (tail-end-Charlie).......as a corner marker this means.......GTFO - hammer time back to the group!

The first leg of the ride started in Pakenham - some 60 kms from home......another boring slab was in order.

A riding mate of mine arrived at my place at 8am - we hit the black stuff immediately, engaging "cracking on mode"...........
done and done.

This leg took us out through East Gippsland - it was getting very cold - but the scenery was amazing.......that said, I was happy to be dropped on a corner just before the Inverloch turn-off.....I was frozen, my hands were like blocks of wood - time for a corner marking chicken dance........

The second leg tracked along the coast near Cape Patterson, thankfully the temperature started to rise.



In defrost mode - and having been dropped on a corner I applied liberal use of throttle to catch the main bunch.....fun times..






All said and done - another great run this year. A great turn out for a fantastic cause.
We pulled into Warragul and the ride is over - now I've just got another 120kms to get through before I'm home......

I wrangle up a crew of 3 other experienced riders who are of the same mind, fuel, helmet, GO! We convoy home, making good time.

By 5pm I've got my head out of the lid, I'm on the couch with a beer and some ~400kms complete......and all for charity.......not a bad way to give something back I should think.

The main bunch at the regroup point between leg1 and leg2

Well done to all riders who participated.....see you again next year.....I'll be the one doing the chicken dance on the corners.....

\BitSar

----brakkkkarrrk

Chocolate Run - 2014

Sooooooooo!

It's been ages since I've posted - this is not due to a lack of riding, this is due to a lack of anything resembling free time......bah!

But alas, it's Saturday morning and I have a small window of time to smash out some blog pieces - so here goes.

Sunday 9th of March 2014 was the annual Chocolate Run to the Mt. Franklin Chocolate Mill. This ride is traditionally a fundraiser ride for someone/something within the community.

In the past we've raised money to send an Athlete to the Para Commonwealth Games, donated to families who've had rider down, rider out situations and needed all the help they can get, to this year's run - raising money for the Black Dog Ride for mental health......... a worthy cause indeed and a great excuse to hit the hills with some old riding friends........woot woot.....

We had a good turn-out this year with approximately 40 riders - no larger than last year, in fact maybe slightly smaller......no matter - just ensures the tempo is kept a little higher and ample throttle is the name of the game.

We met off the freeway out west of Melbourne and pointed the bikes north.......get that first boring slab out of the way.

The first regroup at Woodend - take on some fuel, get some lunch, empty the bladder.....continue.....pretty standard issue.





Heading out of Woodend on the way into Daylesford, Hepburn Springs I am near the front of the bunch - Suddenly a frantic sequence of tail-lights flicker from the riders ahead......something's up.....they're all on the anchors......I immediately back off.

As I hit the crest I see the culprit - one very scared, very skittish, juvenile skippy (eastern grey Kangaroo for the international readers).......as EVERY Aussie rider knows, skippys are a dangerous prospect, not only are they a heavy and powerful animal, they also have ZERO road sense or spatial awareness, making them extremely unpredictable.....

This little fella crossed the road through the bunch no less than 3 times before finally somersaulting itself over a wire fence and back off into the bush. Poor little skippy - no Riders or Roos were harmed.

NB** This is not my footage or my bike - this footage belongs to a rider who participated in the Chocolate Run - original link here: youtube
                  This was the first pass the Roo made through the group, you can see it on the left as this rider avoids it. It was closer than it looks - trust me on that one.

Continuing out to the Chocolate Mill the ride played out as expected on our familiar route......we arrive, park the bikes and take a load off.....

A lovely KTM SuperDuke 1290R came along this year.........damn.....I need a towel

The Ape made an appearance

The bikes parked in the shade at the Chocolate Mill

Another good run this year - we raised enough money for the soon to follow Black Dog Ride - but who needs and excuse eh?

\BitSar

--easy now skippy

Mini me......

Couldn't help myself.....

Came across this:

Nice little scale replica to sit on my desk.......

I've been quiet for a while - busy times.....alas - I have some posts almost ready to go...

New boots are being broken it, I have a fund raiser ride tomorrow and the subsequent charity ride in 2 weeks time.....

\Bitsar

**Slack (again) but for good reason.

Reunion

This Saturday was the 10th Anniversary of the launch of NetRider........an Australian based motorcycling community site with members from all over the World.

So!.........it was decided to use the Saturday morning practice session as a get together......a Reunion of Misfits......

This is only one such event which was held over the weekend......many other States held their own Reunions on the same day to mark the occasion.......there sure are a lot of NetRiders out there.

We couldn't forget to run the practice course.........for some reason it ended up happening like this......

It was a great day out, a great excuse to catch up with mates and to reconnect with many NetRiders I haven't seen for a while......

Thanks guys......Motorcyclists really are the best kind of people.

\BitSar

Chocolate Run

Every year a bunch of riders get together to head out into the hills in search of chocolate!

Some years it is a fund raiser for a community member....some years it's just a good excuse for a ride.....

So....today was the annual Chocolate Run.

What a great run........approximately 60 riders covering 300-400 kms of Victorian countryside.....

I tell you what though - bloody farking cold! Max temperature on the dash was 10C.....this coupled with ample throttle definitely takes the heat out of the bones......

The Ape still made it - no problem....

Thanks for the ride everyone......see you next time.

\Bitsar - now defrosted. 

Jinxed............

A couple of weeks ago I headed down to the old stomping ground and a bit of practice.......

I love these guys and gals........the best people.......

As it happens I got talking to a good friend about bikes, as you do, and for some reason we go onto indicators.........

He rides a lovely black on black 2012 Triumph Street Triple R......a magnificent looking thing......turns out (pun intended) that the indicators are identical to those on the Ape....and the Ducs.....and the Ape APRC RSV's....etc...etc.....

They have been known to fail on the expansion section between the mount and the indicator housing.......

On the day myself and my mate were discussing the "known issue" - my reply......."Nah mate....no problem with mine.......thanks for the heads up though"

JINXED

Got off the bike the following Monday at work and realised I had a broken indicator stalk...........indicator itself still works......

All under warranty and the dealer is being very good about it so no love lost.......

And hey.........mate (you know who you are)......I've got a spare globe now!

Good times indeed..

\BitSar 

Practice, practice, practice..........

About 2 years ago I came across a forum thread offering new riders a chance to practice basic bike skills in a controlled environment...........at the time I'd been road riding for about 12 months so I thought a bit of a refresher might not be such a bad idea......

Since that day - way back when - I've been attending these Saturday Practice sessions frequently and infrequently as life dictates.......

I hadn't been for quite a while so yesterday morning......having no ride plans for the day.....I decided to head back down to the old stomping ground to catch up with some mates and to see the new guys and gals ride the course......

These sessions really are a community service........they are so important to many new riders.........there are two Guru riders who organise and run the sessions......every Saturday.....they do this for the love of riding and to teach new riders how to be safe.......they give their time, experience and wise words every weekend and ask nothing in return........very special indeed.

There is much more to motorcycling than just the ride.......of course......riding is the fun part, it is why we all do it.......but the most important part of being a rider is the people..........I have worked in numerous industries and met many people over the years and I can honestly say that riders are some of the best people I have ever met........

I'll continue to attend these practice sessions well into the future..........I'll still run the course from time to time to keep up low speed skills, although being a commuter I get lots of practice with slow speed technical riding........as any rider knows......it is much HARDER to ride well SLOWLY then it is to go fast......

But mostly......I'll keep going to see my mates........meet the new guys and gals entering into the Moto community and to see all the smiling faces........

You guys are great.

\BitSar