Wed 11th July Timboon Ride

What could be better than a long ride on the coldest day of winter so far, with the forecast of plenty of rain thrown in for good measure? Well eight riders were silly enough to think that it sounded like a good idea! And they were rewarded with quite an enjoyable day's riding despite the conditions. We actually had nine starters, though Phil only planned to come for a short run to Birregurra. Graeme Beardwood led the ride and Jim Crerar volunteered to be TEC. Both did an excellent job in far from ideal weather conditions. Sheryl T dropped in on her Vespa on her way to work to say g'day and show off her other set of wheels - as the Wed ride group only ever see her on the BMW.





Yes Geoff - it is wet!



It drizzled a bit during Graeme's briefing.



You will never see a more committed or braver bunch of motorcyclists! Some are even smiling!



Here's the route we rode. Cape Otway Rd to Birregurra. 



Warm drinks and cheerful conversation under the veranda of the Birregurra General Store.


After Birre there was a couple of kms on the Princes Hwy and then we bypassed Colac via the Trasks / Forrest / Old Yeo / Bushby's Rds to travel to the west and south of Colac, then out to Irrewillipe and along the Timboon - Colac Rd to Timboon. We fuelled up in Timboon as currently there is only 91 RON fuel available in Port Campbell. We decided on lunch at the Timboon pub, where Jimbo told us that Neville (Nifty) Humphryis had told him that the drinks for this Wednesday's riders were on him (Nifty).  Thanks Neville - that was a very thoughtful gesture to the Wednesday riding group and we all send you our best wishes.

It was great to warm up in the pub and have a hearty meal. The locals didn't disguise the fact that they thought that we were nuts!



After lunch we headed on through Port Campbell and then along the GOR to Lavers Hill. The first part of the GOR was actaully dry, however, as we approached the twisty stuff it started to rain. As we neared Lavers Hill the temp dropped to a bracing 2C - 4C. I was really snug in all my gortex lined gear and heated jacket and I was genuinely enjoying the ride. Along the ridge from Lavers Hill to Ferguson it we found ourselves in misty, drizzly conditions. After an uneventful run down to Gellibrand we pulled in at store for some warm drinks and a pit stop.

Everyone seemed pretty happy, and Don was even "Singing in the rain" at one stage.





It occurred to me as I looked at the mix of motorcycle brands, just how competent modern motorcycles are in adverse weather and road conditions.

As time was marching on, we decided to skirt around Colac again and then head for the Princes Hwy to get a quicker run but to Geelong. Again, I found the riding from Gellibrand towards Colac through the bush to be really satisfying, despite the damp conditions. Once we hit the highway we made pretty good time. Despite some initial roadworks just east of Colac we were on the divided two lane highway pretty quickly and in no time we were through Winchelsea and pulled into the East bound rest area to finish up the ride. All up it was approx 330kms from start to finish. 



A big thanks to Graeme B for the time and effort he put into planning the route and leading the ride. Thanks also to Jim C for TEC duties. All up it was a very memorable ride due to the wintry conditions - but it certainly wasn't a bad ride at all! These Wednesday riders really are a hard core bunch of motorcycle enthusiasts!

Cheers Jules.

I am glad that the ride went ahead, hopefully I can put Graeme and this ride down for a Sunday Ride in the early months of next year. Sounds like a fantastic ride.

Many thanks for all those ‘hardy riders’ that joined me for the ride to Port Campbell. It really was a great ride, despite the weather conditions. It would be good to do the ride again, but in warmer weather.
Whilst the weather during the ride changed a few times, one thing that was constant, was the great comradeship that existed during the ride and especially during the ‘breaks’.
I hope everyone has thawed out, especially those more hardy [crazy] souls, that did not have heated-grips or other heated apparel.
It took me over two hours to clean the bike as it was very dirty after the ride - I even had to replace the glad-wrap from the number plate!