Longwood RTEAfter a late night and a poor sleep I crawled out of bed at 6.45am feeling decidedly seedy.
A look out the window confirmed it wasn't raining...Woohoo!!!
I managed to get away by 8.15am and, as I was concerned the roads in the hills would be still pretty wet, I headed for Ringwood via the Eastlink Freeway.
From there I made my way to Lilydale and then on to Yarra Glen.
Just before Yarra Glen I spotted what may have been a red ST way way in the distance...
Heading through the outskirts of town I saw no more sign of it so continued on my merry way.
It was only when I stopped in Yea and I caught up with Lawrence that I found out it was him I'd seen.
He had apparently stopped at a Servo and I had ridden past him, failing to see him waving at me...
I can only assume I was watching where I was riding or I was still half asleep...lol.
Not to worry, we ended up catching up with Michael and a few others for coffee before we attempted to head to Yarck and then on to Longwood.
Moto Guzzi Martin had volunteered to go tail end Charlie which he was probably soon regretting though as I had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction with my new Jacket zip so was late getting away.
Luckily the others hung back waiting for us at Yarck (thanks guys) and so we all then proceeded as a group to Longwood.
Pulling up at the White Hart Hotel, we found there were already a few other members there that had arrived early.
After greetings were made we all went inside...
By now I was hanging out for a Hot Chocolate...which at $6.00 was a bit steep but, on the bright side it was actually
hot...unlike most "so called" hot chocolates these days that tend to be more luke warm than hot.
I chose a Parma, chips & vegies for lunch, which I thought wasn't a particularly large serving but as nobody else was complaining I just put it down to my "size is important" and getting "value for money" issues...
After having a good ol' chinwag it was soon time for a group photo and then the ride home.
It was while I was talking to Rex & Debbie while preparing to head off that disaster struck!
Some mongrel bird had obviously been saving a weeks worth of poop for this special occasion and then decided I was a worthy recipient!
It proceeded to perch on the branch above me, took aim and shat on me!!!
If his aim was to hit my helmet he stuffed up as the main lot of poop hit my shoulder but then splattered my topbox and seat! Not happy Jan!!!!
Thankfully Rex came to the rescue with a cloth so I was able to wipe the bulk of it off...Thanks Rex!
It's "supposedly" lucky to be shat on so I figured I'd be now having a safe, dry ride home and, with a bit more luck, I might, just might win Tattslotto
*...
Anyhow, moving on...
Not having decided on a route back home I tagged on to Michael & BMW Bob who were heading down the Doom Hwy to Seymour and then onto the Goulburn Valley Hwy toward Yea.
After they had turned off to go their separate ways I proceeded to Yea where I topped up the tank.
$46.00 later (ouch!) and I was on the go again, not even bothering to grab a coffee or even stop for a toilet break.
With plenty of dark clouds hovering over the mountains I was still undecided as to which way I’d go so I just headed towards Yarra Glen.
By the time I got to the Healesville-Kinglake intersection the dark clouds had moved on (thanks to birdy luck perhaps?) so I quickly decided to head for Healesville via Toolangi & Chum Creek.
With the roads being mostly dry I made fairly good time and unlike in the morning I was feeling much better and was actually enjoying the ride.
Normally I would head for home via Woori Yallock, Cockatoo and Pakenham but knowing there are ongoing roadworks on the Pakenham-Koo Wee Rup Road I decided to give that way a miss and head the long way home via Launching Place and Yarra Junction.
The Powelltown to Neerim Junction section was negotiated without spotting any skippys or other wildlife which was a relief as it was starting to get a bit late in the day.
With the prospect of riding the winding Warragul to Korumburra road in the dark, I made the decision to turn off just before Rokeby and head for home via Drouin and Poowong which is more “riding at night” friendly.
Arrived home around 6pm, having ridden 544k's and feeling like I could quite easily have ridden a coupla hundred more.
.
In spite of a bit of an ordinary start to the day it all ended up great so a big thanks must again go to Michael for organising things and everyone else for making the effort to go!
The route there and back... * And yes, I did have a win in Tattslotto...a whole $16.50...WOOHOO!!!
