Southern Region Midweek ride, 4th Dec 2018

You know the importance of the first Tuesday of the month ride when you watch and swear at your phone for six days of forecasting rain on said day only for it to change its mind and grant you a day of no rain and rather warm weather, sometimes life is just great, well, all of that happened so I decided to leave the waterproof inner of my riding gear at home it’s more comfortable and not as hot, it rained just after I got on the point of no return bit of the freeway luckily not to heavy just enough to put dirt all over the motorcycle.

I decided that the advertised time on the club web site 8-30 for a 9-30 start was probably a typo so off I went to arrive at 8-55 and I was right, typo, leaving at 9-00, just enough time to swallow a pre-ride Latte (is that the best coffee you can ever have?) then sixteen members and one guest Brian Mapleback on a rather tasty R65 departed after our fearless ride leader Ed Sleightholm read the riot act, well maybe not quite he explained the corner marshalling system which I’m happy to say went very well we all Buddied up and set forth down the freeway.

Heading for the Officer Upper- Beaconsfield Road to one of my favourites Paternoster Road it’s a ripper then onto the Isle of Gembrook, you don’t need to go to the IOM we’ve one here only this time it was damp which was good it meant you had to remain sensible, I like that. Ed took on a road to the back of Yarra Junction on a nice road I didn’t know existed and I’ve travelled the Yarra Junction – Noojee road squillions of times, then to morning tea at a Bakery I also didn’t know existed. Naturally the coffee was great.

Unfortunately, Jack Youdan had a bit of trouble with the Triumph electronics it slipped into Limp Mode meaning a very slow 50k trip home and a call to the RACV for a tow to the Triumph Dealer, I’m sure all will be well it will just cost.

The next stop was lunch at the Kallista Tea House we arrived there from Yarra Junction via every possible road known, our Vice Pres Graham said to Ed we didn’t miss one he got them all however according to my GPS we didn’t cross any road we’d previously travelled, it was a sort of “I’ve been everywhere man” situation.

From Officer to Kallista was around two hundred kilometres add the seventy I travelled to and from home as did most others it all made for a very enjoyable day. Well done and thank you Ed and to Paul White for Rear End Gunner duties.

Colin Sullivan

Participants.