Reports - Mornington Wanderers

Rosco’s Twin Spurs ride

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rosco’s Twin Spurs ride

No, it was a GS Beemer!

Cheers, Ross

Val’s ride through the Gippsland hills

The intrepid 5 bravely went forth

Glenn’s Cape Paterson Ride

It’s still bloody freezing

Woody’s ride to Buxton

5 go mad in the alpine ranges

Nizz’s – Variety dirt bike bash for the kids

Ross’s ride to Thorpdale – 325km

The fog lifted at Poowong.

Val’s ride to Mt Macedon

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Mornington Wanderers

No, it was a GS Beemer!

Cheers, Ross

The intrepid 5 bravely went forth

It’s still bloody freezing

5 go mad in the alpine ranges

The fog lifted at Poowong.

do you have questions? don’t wait, let’s talk

Meeting place:vesbarsaturdaysfrom 10am- 12 noon

quick links

social media

do you have questions?
don’t wait, let’s talk

Meeting place:

vesbar

saturdays
from 10am- 12 noon