That was tough.......

I've ridden King Lake, Lake Mountain, the Reefton and Black Spurs many times - all great roads.

I've ridden these roads in Summer and Winter with varying degrees of seasonal difficulty........I rode them this Saturday...........it was hard work.

Saturday was the first properly warm, dry day we've had in a while. A buddy and I decided to "Hit the Hills" out East - we should have waited a little longer for Winter to pass.

Coming into King Lake from Kangaroo Ground our spirits were high. The road was dry and clean - the air was a comfortable 23C, we hit the throttle with gusto, stringing together a lovely run into King Lake junction.

The burnt vegetation you see along the road is due to the intense Black Saturday fires of 2009, this area was hit hard and is still recovering.



From King Lake we headed through Healesville out to Marysville - this leg was again fun and fast - no problem with road condition. Usually we would stop to take some caffeine on board at the Marysville bakehouse, for some reason today we decided to push on.

We took off over Lake Mountain in the general direction of the Reefton Spur.

As we continuing to climb into the Sub-Alpine region, the indicated temperature on the dash started to drop - eventually bottoming out at 11C. All of a sudden it felt very much like Winter again.

The road condition was becoming increasingly treacherous. Leaf litter, stringy bark, clay, loose gravel and potholes were the name of the game. Staying upright became a bit of a challenge. Both myself and my riding buddy had a few "moments".......we promptly decided to back off.

Unfortunately we were not clear of the bad conditions.

Reefton Spur was also covered in a loose top-layer of debris and detritus. The front end did not want to stay on line through corners and the rear was more than happy to spin up on nearly every exit.......this was fun for a while - it became not so fun pretty quickly.


By the time we reached Reefton Hotel we were more than happy to get off the bikes for a while, have a cold drink and sit in the sun - we were absolutely shagged.

I looked at my buddy and said - "mate, that was tough" - his face said it all. No. Reply. Required.

A couple of riders showed up who had come from the Warburton side - they asked how the Reefton was - we told them - they went back the way they came..........which lucky for us, was our way home.



\BitSar
--had a ball - just trying to stay upright.

GOR!

Every Australian motorcyclist knows the term GOR - Great Ocean Road - one of the all-time must ride roads comprising of more than 350kms of Coastal road, Rainforest cuttings and spectacular views.

So it was on for the GOR this Saturday. Pumped.

We were not going to complete a full run - much less in fact - due to the ride being a single day trip and the  forecasted heat.........the forecast was right......

An early start was a must - get up, hit the road and get the first 1.5 hour slab to Torquay completed.


The sky was already looking scorched. It was 6:50am and I was about to throw a leg over the Ape and hit the black top: tail bag packed, full tank, empty bladder. Game on.





I swung past my buddies place for a pickup at ~7:15am - quick G'day - onto the next meeting point.....

The third rider joined us in Belmont on the outskirts of Geelong. 8:30am meet - done. We rolled into Torquay by 9am for a quick regroup and caffeine then onto the GOR!

Heading out of Torquay traffic was starting to build - the GOR is a key tourist location and of course I had forgotten this was a long weekend with a public Holiday on Monday, needless to say - traffic was shite!

Coming into Lorne is was evident that we were going to have to use some "special motorcycling technique" to find holes in the mindless procession of cages. The GOR is posted from 80kp/h to 100kp/h with the majority of the switchback corners somewhere between 30-40kp/h advisory speeds. Most of the vehicles we encountered were travelling in full-blown sightseeing mode - a mode with a max speed of 60kp/h and the unconventional practice of braking hard mid corner and refusing to use the "Slow vehicle" turnouts F#^King A$$hole B4stards....

Enough was enough. Time to get creative with some passing maneuvers.

Eventually we punched through and managed to string together a beautiful run into Apollo Bay

The black stuff was warm, sticky and twisty, encouraging the bike not to be upright for very long, flicking the nose in another direction and getting the butt-cheek off the seat......

Having made our way into Apollo bay and after seeing the horrendous traffic which was back building before continuing further down the GOR, the decision was made; back track - head inland into the Otways....

Not that the Otways are a bad thing. Oh no - quite the contrary!

We stitched our way through Skenes creek and the Otway National Park. A lovely road in the shade of the rainforest with very little traffic and a more moderate temperature, from here we continued out through Deans Marsh in the hunt for some rural fast sweepers.

Without the tree canopy the temperature starting rising. It was getting HOT - I mean really hot. Out here with zero breeze and no shade we started to feel the couple of hundred kilometres already travelled.

We had another break. Fill up with water, empty the bladder, you know, do your bit for the environment - water a tree eh?

<-- look in the backgroud of this pic....what an environmentalist!




From here we changed pace. We all engaged "Cracking on Mode" - this is a mode well-known to any seasoned rider - it means "over it for now.......crack on!" Through the fast rural sweepers and back roads of inland Western Victoria I think is fair enough to keep the average tempo to a moderate $1.50.......

As we stumbled across Ballan - heading for different location - we decided another short hiatus from the saddle was in order, quick bakery refuel for the humans; the bikes would have to wait for the final refuel point in Bacchus Marsh no more than 25kms away.

Making the final stop we refuel, shake hands - "safe home fellas.....see ya next time!"

The last slab homeward bound is when the aches of the day start to come on. You've been on a bike for 8 hours, ridden near as makes no difference ~500kms in 37 C heat - BUT!

You have the biggest shite eating grin on your face for the effort....


Riding really does enrich your life - it takes you to places which are not accessible in a cage. Not because you can't drive the route we took, you can. But I'll damn well guarantee you if you'd spent 8 hours driving it you'd be wanting to forget it, not savour it.

You can't get to where we were with 4 wheels - simple as that!

I did make it home, but by then I was slightly broken


Thank you gentleman for the ride, as always - a pleasure.....
Where next?


\BitSar

Toy Run - 2012

Each year the MRA in association with the Salvos organise a Toy Run charity ride..................
Each year I ride and bring a Toy donation for needy kids and their families..........a good excuse for a ride eh?

***

The guys met at my place for a Man's breakfast whilst we got the bikes ready and strapped on the tail-bags full with our gifts.....................almost like Ye'old St.Nick with his sleigh and sack...........although, I think our rides have just a little more horsepower...........

We headed to the official meet point in Port Melbourne where hundreds of bikes were congregating......all manner of decorations and costumes........riders really do have big hearts.....

As the Port meet point is an official start location it attracts a large amount of riders making travelling in convoy quite difficult...............VicPol get involved and help to get the bikes out to Calder park safely.................they even let us through against Red lights....shepherd us onto the Tulla Freeway without having to wait........and.......turn a blind eye to some of our Mods...........thanks boys!

We arrived at Calder park Raceway.........

Once at Calder park we give our Toys......talk to vendors and see the displays.......

Each year there are Stunt and Trials riders who amaze the crowd...........but that's not the reason why we do it......this ride is for the kids........but hey.....a little rider-entertainment can't hurt eh?

Thanks for the ride fellas......

\BitSar

Yea - it's Saturday

Saturday is the default ride day for many riders.........just because I commute doesn't mean I don't like a weekend blat too........

Originally the plan was to head down the Mornington Peninsula for a Arthur's Seat/Redhill/Costal run......luckily one of my mates recalled that today was the cycling event "Around the Bay in a Day".................now I am an avid cyclist......but the thought of contending with hundreds of weekend warrior, gumby pushbikes was enough to put us off and to change plans.......

Another mate suggested we hit the hills - Kinglake is always fun.......see where we end up eh? We took off in the general North-Eastern direction.......

WHAT A CRACKER RIDE.........one of my ride buddies has a particular knack for finding great "B" roads in rural Victoria, and today, he did not disappoint.

Having found some nice twisties and slightly technical road into Kinglake we stop for a coffee and decided the next destination should be Yea..................hell - let's go.......

Yea via Kinglake west was a fantastic ride - especially when coupled with ample use of throttle and open fast sweepers.......

The bikes all lined up in the shade in Yea..........

A creepy sculpture I found made from Diff gears, Saw blades and Barbed-Wire.........hmmmmm Yea?

We had another coffee and decided it was time to head for home.......one mate lives out West from where we were....another is back near Melbourne CBD, as am I......we part ways.........Cheers mate, quick toot of the horn and we hit the road.....

The ride back to Melbourne was definitely not a let down.............we found a nice "semi-direct" route from Yea to Melbourne via Toolangi and Healesvile - cracker roads in this stretch......

Thanks for a pearler of ride Gentleman.............where next? =D

\BitSar