Reports - Mornington Wanderers

Val’s ride to the VIB Breakfast Club at Heathcote

14/12/202406/01/2025

The morning was sunny and the forecast was for a warm day. What a fabulous day for a ride! 5 headed off at 7.30am for Heathcote where the Victorian Breakfast Club had its monthly get-together.

We needed to get some substantial kilometres behind us so we could arrive in reasonable time at the Juniper Café in Heathcote, so rode up Eastlink, through Doncaster, Greensborough onto the Western Ring Road, taking the Hume Freeway exit – much to the confusion of the group since I’d told them we were definitely not taking the Hume Highway. Ooops!

Turning left onto the Northern Highway, we stopped briefly at Wallan, which was very busy with a Saturday morning market. Having done what we needed doing, we were back on the road, arriving at Heathcote a little late and with quite a hunger.

The café is quaint. LP covers were stuck to the ceiling – and there was something for everyone: Demis Roussos, Tom Jones, Nana Mouskouri to name a few. As the bulk of Ulysseans had already enjoyed their breakfast, ours arrived … eventually.

Great to see John, a Grampians Ulysses club member who rode with us on the Halls Gap weekend. Also bumped into Jim (Mij) and Cogs, friends of Trev from Geelong.

After breakfast, a petrol stop and then we headed south out of town, turning onto the Seymour-Tooborac Road, through Puckapunyal. Along the way, we saw an emu under a tree. Not long after that, a group of 3 in a paddock. It’s such a pleasure to see different places and experience things we often wouldn’t otherwise.

We crossed the Hume at Seymour, then headed south-east on the Goulburn Valley Highway to Yea, then taking the Melba Highway to the Toolangi turnoff. A spectacular section of road winding its way through the Toolangi State Forest to Chum Creek and eventually Healesville. By this stage, it was pretty warm and Bob suggested we find the nearest pub for a beer. Being unplanned, we got ourselves a little tangled up, having to do a U-turn back to the Healesville Hotel.

Thirsts quenched and on the road again through more familiar territory – Woori Yallock, Cockatoo, Berwick and stopping at Cranbourne West to say goodbyes.

All up, approx 410km. Thanks to Mark for doing his usual great job as TEC, and thanks to Bob, Shots and Glenn for a great day out.

Cheers, Val

Woody’s ride to Walhalla

01/12/202406/01/2025

It was a perfect morning for motorbiking, which was a relief after some poor forecasts earlier, and me leading for only the second time! I took the first chocolate from the Advent Calendar and headed out. We assembled at Pearcedale at the usual time, a group of 9. My pre-ride instruction was a bit shabby! Thanks, Glenn, for the prompts on the location of morning tea and fuel.

We turned off the Bass Coast Highway at Lang Lang and headed up to Drouin on a road I was not familiar with until I prepared the route. We stopped at Drouin Bakery. I did a lap of main street to make sure everyone got parked (roundabouts were used, not U-turns).

For me, this was my first visit to Drouin, but the Wanderers are clearly regulars. The owner was welcoming and loud, and was happy to see us.

The chosen route from Drouin to Walhalla did not include fuel, so some of us refuelled in Drouin, thereby avoiding a tour of the Moe suburbs. We headed up to Walhalla via Buln Buln and Willow Grove, avoiding the freeways and all those damned cars. Glorious roads in the early Spring sunshine; lots of long, sweeping bends until the last 11km – hairpins galore!

Smiles all round as we dismounted at the Wally Pub, weather still perfect. Ross commented it was the first time he had travelled that road in the dry. Lunch was good, if a little pricey, and the pub not at all crowded. We cruised up to the top of the village and back down, taking in the sights (it didn’t take long), then back to the hairpins.

Thankfully, the traffic was minimal on that stretch, but we did encounter a line of traffic at Rawson/Erica. I overtook a black Audi, and the other vehicles peeled off soon after. Delightedly, I hit the throttle. While enjoying the thrill of the open road, I noticed the Audi in close attendance. Not sure if the driver was hostile at this stage, and Birky, at number 2, was also concerned, joining the chase inorder to memorise the number plate. After a while, I let the Audi pass – but it was always within sight, disappointed perhaps at having nothing to chase.

We stopped for afternoon tea at Willow Grove, a new concept that was embraced by all present. Relaxed vibe, awful coffee though!

A fuel stop was made as requested by Glenn in Drouin. Weather still fine as I led the group down old Drouin Road from there under darkening skies. By the time we said our goodbyes in Tooradin, the rain was increasing, but no one complained about it. Jack commented that he had never been on any of those roads, which was good to hear.

All in all, a grand day out!

Thanks to Robin for being TEC for the day.

Cheers, Woody

Mark’s ride to the VIB Breakfast Club at Neerim South

09/11/202406/01/2025

Saturday, 9 November was a great day for a ride, a typical Melbourne spring day with a nice clear, crisp morning that blossomed into a beautiful sunny day, ideal for riding.

Nine Wanderers departed from Pearcedale at the earlier than usual time of 0800 hours to join a group of fellow Ulyssean members for the monthly Ulysses Victorian Breakfast Club (VBC) at Misty Hills Cafe in Neerim South. This was our second branch VBC ride following an unofficial pilot ride to Creswick in August and a September ride to Romsey that Muzz led. The October breakfast was in Wangaratta, but we did not attend.

Paul of the Echuca branch organises these rides with the usual format being a Friday night pub dinner for those doing an overnight trip. The breakfast is at 0930 on the Saturday morning, all nice and casual. The only requirement is you advise your attendance to assist with the businesses catering and staffing arrangements and, if required, organise your own accommodation. All activities are at your own expense.

So, with our arrangements in place and a bit of chill in the air, we tracked a well-worn route from Pearcedale via Tooradin, Bayles and then on through Longwarry and Jindivick for a quick regroup stop. Then through a nice little twisty run into Neerim South where we joined a group of 40+ Ulysseans (including Flyrr and Jackie) at Misty Hills Cafe for a hearty breakfast, some banter and BS with like-minded people. It was great to have Trevor on the Yellow Peril and Annie along for the ride.

Following breakfast, Trevor and Muzz headed home for other commitments while Woody headed on to do a reconnaissance ride for his next club ride as Ride Leader. I know it will be good. Check the calendar, 1 December for details.

While Flyrr and Jackie headed home to Warragul, the rest of us headed off through the hills via Nilma and Ranceby to another coffee stop at the Drouin Bakery before heading home via Lang Lang to Tooradin for goodbyes. While a relatively short ride, we still managed some nice roads, beautiful scenery and good company.

It was noted how responsible this ride was with not a drop of beer passing anyone’s lips. (Not sure how that happened, may be my last Ride Leader gig!)

There were also some assertion that an unplanned U-turn occurred. That may or may not be true. There were also some complaints about a patch of dirt road I came across. I know Nizz would be proud of me LOL.

All in all, I think it was another good day. Thanks to all who turned out to support the ride, the Breakfast Club with Paul organising the gathering. And a special thanks to Ross as TEC.

Enjoy the pics and look for more on the Ulysses VIB Facebook site. I recommend keeping an eye on the calendar for future Breakfast Club rides.

Stay happy and safe.

Mark S

Rosco’s Twin Spurs ride

03/11/202406/01/2025

A group of 10 bikes headed off at 9.30am to the small bakery in Cockatoo for ‘smoko’. Here, we met a mate of mine, Peter, who joined us for the ride. The next leg took us through the picturesque Dandenong Ranges to Healesville.

From there, we veered off for some nice twisties to Toolangi via Chum Creek before returning to the other side of Healesville via Myers Creek Road.

Another advantage of this route was we didn’t have to pass through the busy town!

Then up through the Black Spur which, of course, had some bloody cars in the way (probably just as well, keeping us to legal limits) before arriving at Marysville where we settled into the Duck Inn for a refresher and a feed.

As we were about to leave the car park, we helped a bloke load his broken-down bike onto his ute.

Was it a Harley, you ask?
Was it a Triumph, you ask?

No, it was a GS Beemer!

Time to tackle the second twin, the mighty Reefton Spur. Given the wind the night before, the road was relatively clear of debris and we all managed to navigate it safe ’n’ sound.

A quick stop in the busy Warburton to fill up and empty what was necessary before turning off at Launching Place for the terrific road into Gembrook.

We said goodbye to Pete here before heading to our final stop in Tooradin, where we decided the ice cream line was too long to participate.

The weather was great all day, no incidents, no one misbehaved (badly), so all good. Thanks to Mark for TEC.

Cheers, Ross

Val’s ride through the Gippsland hills

18/07/202418/07/2024

Well, the day’s conditions for a ride in the Gippsland hills were less than optimal with 1-3mm of rain forecast. The trip from home to Pearcedalewas one of the heaviest showers for the day. I arrived and huddled under a tree waiting for the gang to arrive.

An intrepid group of 5 riders trickled in, and we headed out at 9.30am and enjoyed a fabulous ride through some fairly spectacular countryside.

We covered familiar territory at the start, going down the South Gippsland Highway to The Gurdies turnoff. The planked bridge coming into Kernot was quite slippery but it didn’t claim any scalps.

The intrepid 5 bravely went forth

We wound up the hills to the peak at Ryanston, then down through Kongwak, dodging the market crowds. At the crest of the hill on the other side of Kongwak,an expansive scene revealed itself with some sun and patches where it was clearly raining in the distance. Sensational!

We had a welcome coffee at Kelly’s Bakery, then off again – to Leongatha, up the Wild Dog Valley Road to Leongatha North, to Mirboo North, and along
the continuation of the Grand Ridge Road towards Mirboo and Dumbalk East. This section of road is pure joy – varying from tight to sweeping corners, awesome countryside, and very little traffic.

From there, we rode right up into the hills to Mardan, then down a narrow local road towards Dumbalk. It was raining at this stage. Had the weather been better, we would have stopped to take pictures of the awesome view across the Dumbalkvalley. Not to be.

From there, the road winds uphill again, past Nerrena and into Leongatha, where we had lunch at McCartin’s Hotel.

Woody and Pete were very happy to sample the Guinness on tap. The meals were good, but Bob ended up with a calamari-only lunch – somehow, the order got lost in translation.

After lunch, a quick fuel stop for those with dainty tank capacities, then along the highway to Korumburra and across the Strzelecki hills to Warragul. All was going well until I had a call from Birky – Woody had come off his bike. There was a slippery patch on the road, perhaps diesel. My rear wheel span a little harder going over it, Happy’s bike did a bit of a whip as he rode through it; Bob’s bike also broke traction. But Woody’s bike whipped a little more seriously and he found himself high sided.

Fortunately, Birky was right behind him and able to signal to traffic, help Woody with the bike and assess the damage. Woody was not injured and the bike appeared to only sustain some cosmetic damage. After a pause, we again headed off into Warragul, Drouin and Lang Lang, then back to Tooradin to conclude the ride.

I wish I’d captured some of the sights but it’s that tension between being in the moment and having the pictures to show later. Being in the moment wins!

Thanks to all who came on the ride. What a day. 302km of wet weather riding practise! Thanks to Birky for ably performing TEC duties and for looking after Woody on the home run.

Cheers, Val

Glenn’s Cape Paterson Ride

30/06/202418/07/2024

Ride Leader Glenn, Tail End Charlie Birky

Weather – bloody freezing, grey, wet, B.O.M radar showing rain all over the south.

Only those afflicted with some mental health problem show up in this kinda weather, being the ‘Ice Bergers’ – Bob, Happy, Mark, Birky and myself. Obviously.

Met at the usual point – Pearcedale Shopping Village. Just the five feeble-minded souls on the day with cold and cloudy conditions and a high probability of snow and sleet. By the time we left the servo, the rain had stopped, but a little rain never hurt, did it, Birky? We all had the right gear, so a bit of cold weather was not a problem, eh.

First leg was leisurely. The general traffic was light, but wet conditions weren’t ideal. Out to Tooradin, then Koo Wee Rup, Bales, Catani, Yannathan, Nyora, Poowong, Ranceby and through the twisties to Korumburra. Morning tea at the bakery with the sun shining (sort of). Lots of moisture on the corner apexes so care was required.

It’s still bloody freezing

We left Korumburra, heading east for the leg towards Leongatha on the South Gippy Highway, Koonwarra, then down through the hills towards Tarwin, Inverloch, then Cape Paterson for lunch at the Tavern. The Cape Paterson-Inverloch Road was terrific. The intrepid Ice Bergers head down into the rain and, to our joy, it didn’t rain much through the twisties with the fabulous ocean coast view on our left and rolling green hills on the right.

We finished the morning’s leg of 160km by 12:30, arriving at the Tavern. After a good meal, a couple of beers and cokes and the compulsory banter and slagging, we headed off back to Tooradinvia Wonthaggi.

Off the Bass Highway to Glen Alvie – brilliant scenery – Kernot and to The Gurdies, then left onto the Gurdies-St Helier Road, which takes you through the farmland that is the Gurdies. Nice roads except for the damp.

As you might have guessed, it turned out to be an all BMW day.

We ended up doing roughly 280km on roads in this area of Gippsland. The ride ended around 3:00pm and was enjoyed by all those who didn’t come along. Just joking.
Stay upright
Glenn – ‘Bullet’

Woody’s ride to Buxton

26/05/202424/07/2024

5 go mad in the alpine ranges

It was a cold and foggy morning when I set out on my first ride as leader. So, it was a small but dedicated band that assembled in the usual meeting point.
That suited me because less people equals less pressure.

First to arrive was Birky, who had a verbal stoush with a guy in a 4-wheel drive while fuelling up. I was preparing to race across to break up the ‘heated debate’, fortunately, after insults were traded, it was all over before any punches were thrown.

The fog seemed to be getting thicker as we headed up the Westernport Highway and suddenly encountered two lanes of stationary traffic due to a two-car smash at the entrance to the dog showgrounds. One of the cars appeared to be a beach buggy, which seemed strange on such a morning.

After some nifty lane filtering, we made our way up through Clematis, Emerald and Cockatoo, as the sky cleared to a beautiful, chilly day. Morning coffee break was had at the bakery in Gembrook, where I won an award on my first ride.

We blasted our way up through Hoddles Creek and sauntered along the Warburton Highway to sample the delights of the Reefton Spur.

I got a bit excited at that stage and overshot the left turn to Reefton. Fortunately, I was far enough ahead to correct my mistake and turn around before the others arrived, but not quick enough to cover up for my error.

Thanks to the fab 4 who participated, I wonder if I will win an award for leading the smallest group of the year!

We had the road to ourselves all the way up to the Woods Point turn-off, and made the most of it.

We observed a white sports car that was abandoned after hitting a tree head on. On our way down the other side, we ran into some slow traffic but, at that point, I was content to sit back and take in the scenery, my appetite for twisties was all but satisfied … and so, on to Buxton to satisfy a different kind of hunger.

In the afternoon, the first course was, as you might expect, the Black Spur.

I was fortunate to have the slow cars pull off to the side and let me through, but my followers were not so lucky, After that, I had a lot of fun chasing the faster cars through the twisties.

This was followed by the main course; the road from Healesville to Launching Place that featured an interesting section of dirt road, which we negotiated unscathed. Then we returned to the Hoddles Creek-Gembook Road. We paused in Gembrook for me to answer the call of nature. Then on to Pakenham, where we split into two groups heading home into the sunset.

Thanks to Wayne for doing an excellent job as TEC.

Cheers, Woody

Nizz’s – Variety dirt bike bash for the kids

18/05/202424/07/2024

I entered the ‘Variety dirt bike bash for the kids’ last weekend. It was an amazing event with over 200 riders covering an 80km look through the Neerim state forest.

They did a fantastic job of organising this with huge prizes to be won, an auction, full catering, fun events, poker run, etc. Everything was donated. The course was great with marshals and support staff at every bend. They raised just on $29,000 for the day.

I made it to the end (just), if not a bit beaten up thanks to the $1,500 suspension
upgrade recommended to me prior, that made my KTM almost unrideable and spat me off at will without notice (and, boy, do I have the bruises to prove it).

Ross’s ride to Thorpdale – 325km

05/05/202424/07/2024

A good crew were all fuelled up (even though the BP was having problems with its pumps
again!) and ready to go for 9.15 am stands up. This included 4 ladies, which raised the
standard – well done, girls.

The fog lifted at Poowong.

With the fog higher than our shoulders we finally managed a group shot at the lookout overlooking the hills. We then jumped onto some back twisty roads through Bena and Kongwak before arriving at Kellys Bakery in Korumburra for a coffee and some delights. Val’s brother, Bill, joined the ride here, bringing the total to 12 bikes and 14 people.

A fuel top-up for some before heading north through Strzelecki to hook up onto the Grand Ridge Road for more adventure. The road was a little damp in places, but we all navigated it safely, including the small patch of gravel where I’m led to believe Andy powered the Harley through with ease.

Then into Mirboo North, hopefully all avoiding the speed cameras, before arriving at the Travellers Rest Hotel in Thorpdale around 1 pm. It was quite busy and cosy with a fire going and a nice lunch was had by all, some ordering half meals and some full meals.

Kimberley wasn’t getting any power and, after a test ride by Muzz, the problem was detected as a slipping heated grip on the throttle, so they left the ride for a shorter way home.

I was going to do a couple more back roads but time was marching on, so the rest of us headed back to Mirboo North via Driffield, where we skilfully dodged the black cloud overhead before a fuel stop at Leongatha.

Then back through Korumburra via the Ruby back road, turning off the highway at Loch
to Nyora and finally back to Tooradin where the ride ended and some (including yours truly) enjoyed a well-earned ice cream around 4.30 pm.

All up 325km.

Thanks to all for coming along. I hope you all enjoyed the day, and thanks and well done to our
TEC, Val.

Cheers, Ross

Val’s ride to Mt Macedon

14/04/202424/07/2024

From 8.30am, a group of riders began assembling at Pearcedale shops for their weekend ‘fix’ – a ride to Mt Macedon. By briefing time, 10 riders were ready to go. The weather was
fine, as forecast … welcome after more than a week of rain.

We headed off down the Westernport Highway and along Eastlink to exit at Ringwood, then to Warrandyte, St Andrews and to Kinglake. The ride up the Heidelberg-Kinglake Road through the Kinglake National Park was slow, twisty and scenic, and not particularly busy. On arrival at Kinglake, we found a café where they served excellent coffee.

While chatting out the front, a constant procession of bike riding groups kept us entertained.

There were also cyclists – very fit cyclists – who had made it all the way up to Kinglake. One man’s bike, made of carbon fibre, weighed only 7kg!

The next leg of our trip was all the way back down the hills to Whittlesea, where we made a sharp right-hand turn to head through Upper Plenty and on to Wallan. From there, the road takes many interesting dips, rises and turns through to Romsey.

From Romsey, the forestation thickens as the distance to the Macedon Ranges closes.
We did a loop out to see Hanging Rock, then up Mt Macedon – over the top and down again to Mt Macedon.

Riding through the town, it’s as though you’ve stepped back in time. High walled fences surround the beautiful gardens that attract huge numbers of visitors to the town. We pulled up at the Mt Macedon Hotel for lunch. It is not a venue I’d recommend for a quick lunch! Even ordering lunch is a bit difficult. Despite that, the food was great when it was finally served.

After lunch, we rode back up the mountain to the Memorial Cross. Again, this was overrun with visitors and we had to spread out to park our bikes.

There’s a 10-minute walk to the memorial cross, through the lovely English-style garden, with hydrangeas in full bloom. The cross itself it a memorial built after WW1 to commemorate the heroics of those who served. It has been rebuilt more than once due to fire and general disrepair.

By the cross is a compass showing the directions and distances to various towns and landmarks.

Ross was pleased to show us the Major Mitchell Lookout, which has expansive views from Woodend down towards Melbourne.

From there, it was time to head home. It was slow going down the mountain with a public event underway. We rode through New Gisborne to Riddells Creek, through Sunbury to Bulla, around the back of the airport, then onto the Tullamarine Freeway. Murray stopped near the airport to do some plane spotting.

Exciting times as the traffic came to a crawl on the Bolte Bridge which made lane splitting the best option. I discovered it’s not yet my forte. Glenn and Woody headed home down Eastlink, while the remaining riders followed the Monash to finish at Cranbourne West.

The ride was 326km in total and a fair commitment in time, finishing at about 4.55pm (I may never be asked to lead a ride again!). Thanks to Ross for being Tail End Charlie for the day – and thanks to all the riders who came along. It was great to welcome Nolan on his first ride with the Wanderers, and it was a pleasure to experience the different countryside and stretch the legs on the mountain.

Cheers, Val

Mornington Wanderers

Val’s ride to the VIB Breakfast Club at Heathcote