I headed out today on the annual Men's Health Ride and "Show and Shine" Competition, and while not expecting to win, I did spend half a day washing and polishing the ST to make her look her best. Around 100 bikes gathered at the Burnside Town Hall, and headed off at around 10.00am. The route took us south, with a rest stop at the little town of Kangarilla, and then on to Birdwood and the National Motor Museum. There was a live band, free entry to the museum, raffles, BBQ, coffee and icecream, all of which I sampled. The ST did look very good among the various other bikes in the Japanese Class, but the clear winner was a beautifully restored Kawaskaki 900.
There was one other ST there, a silver 2007 ST1300 with just 18,000km on the dial. Tim the owner now has a OzSTOC card.
This ride was for a great cause, raising awareness and money for research into men's health issues. However, riding along with 100 other bikes clearly reminded me of why I hate riding in large groups, as there was dangerous tailgating, inappropriate speed, impatience with other road users, and some of the most aggressive overtaking moves that I've seen for a while. Everyone seemed to need to be at the front of the group. When it was all over, I was very happy to take off on my own, with a stress free and safe ride home.
