Gray skies and a bit nippy, too…
A Beemer GS1150 followed me to the meeting spot in Launching Place/ Yarra Valley. Intros nodded as we approached a roundabout; I lost Rob at one of the servos along the way. He joined up again as we waited for a friend of his... Dave showing up on one of those flash-bang new BMW HP2-Uberchookies, the bare-bone version of the GS1200, sorta…
What a piece of serious-looking kit…and still on it’s OEM Metzeler Karoo-Knobbies…yep, THAT new!
The short-notice post in AdventureRider had brought together Rob, Dave, Marty and I, the latter 2 on the V-Stroms.
Through Warburton, up Mt. Donna Buang to the Acheron Way turn-off, then onto the dirt towards St. Fillans. Things got a bit slippery through the twisties on the way down, once back on the asphalt the wallabies marked the way…plenty of them.....all the way.
The sun broke through before Buxton, then Taggerty and the turn towards Eildon, just short of town onto the Jamieson Rd for 35km of sweet, but twitchy twisties…gravel galore.
Past Big River Camp for the 14k’s of dirt, fairly rough and corrugated this time around.
A quick stop after to regroup for an all-too-short dream-run through the tight stuff to the T-junction, followed by the cruise up the Woods Point Road into Mansfield for a fill-up and break. Well, sorta cruise, ya know...
Great to see things fall into place that easily, 2 seasoned riders (Rob and Dave) that I’d never seen before…obviously knowing what they were doing, giving plenty of room, safety first…. good stuff.
Pointing north, we turned off the road onto dirt again in Barjarg, 25km of good, single-lane stuff through bush and pine-plantations, winding it’s way up into the Strathbogie Ranges. Rob on the 1150 up front, chucking the beast around like a 250…on very-well-worn road-rubber at the rear, what a stumper!
Potholed and broken asphalt followed on the single-laners through Strathbogie to the turn-off to Mt. Wombat. Good dirt, then things got tight and visibility dropped markedly as the bush grows close to the track.
The really steep bit at the end is a concrete-slabbed climb to the top…and straight into the sky…bright-blue.
Dave couldn’t help himself and jumped-bumped the HP2 up some big rock-ledges to the fire-lookout-hut, having a yack with the guy on duty.
The views were incredible, the near 360-panorama only broken by the comm.-towers.
From the flatland to the north of the Great Divide to Mt. Buller, Mt.Sterling and Mt. Buffalo in the distance, Kinglake National Park and Cathedral Ranges, across the Switzerland Ranges towards Seymour…what a place.
Eventually we had to pack up, back through Strathbogie and the “Old Road” down towards Merton, some more roughish downhill dirt here.
Bonnie Doon was next, some superb twisties along the shores of Lake Eildon towards Peppin Point, then more bumpy dirt and rock-ledges up the Maintongoon Rd. while climbing up the ridge towards Skyline Road.
A quick stop after the rough climb, then along Skyline Road (still dirt, but pretty well graded), stealing a few glimpses of the lake…mountain ranges as layered backdrop. Fantastic.
Back onto asphalt shortly before the roundabout at the top of the ridge, Marty waiting for us there. I hadn’t seen anything of Dave and Rob for a while…I’d only left a minute or so before them and they’d been quicker pretty much all day long. Marty waved me through.
A 5-minute wait at the agreed meeting point at the Eildon servo had me worried…calling Marty I found out that Rob’s rear-tyre-luck had come to an end and they were right in the middle of plugging the flat.
Rob took the shortest way home after that, Dave and Marty made it for the fill-up (the HP2 only has a 13liter tank) to Eildon 40mins later.
Slowly running out of energy and time it was a quick hop across the Black Spur into Healesville and across to Woori Yallock, waving Good-Byes in Yellingbo.
To me it was another short hop through Monbulk/ Olinda/ Sassafras, one last squirt down the twisties to The Basin and home.
Just under 12hrs door-to-door, 560km, just on 160km dirt out of that…. what a day!!!
Brilliant!
Ahhh…and if anyone ever sees a HP2 on Knobbies in their mirrors while being close to the limit cranking the R1 through some tight twisties, don’t even think about it…. just get outta the bloody way!!
That'll be Dave...most likely ;D ;D ;D
more photos at http://www.martyh.com/2006-02_19_dirty_ride/index.htm
A Beemer GS1150 followed me to the meeting spot in Launching Place/ Yarra Valley. Intros nodded as we approached a roundabout; I lost Rob at one of the servos along the way. He joined up again as we waited for a friend of his... Dave showing up on one of those flash-bang new BMW HP2-Uberchookies, the bare-bone version of the GS1200, sorta…
What a piece of serious-looking kit…and still on it’s OEM Metzeler Karoo-Knobbies…yep, THAT new!
The short-notice post in AdventureRider had brought together Rob, Dave, Marty and I, the latter 2 on the V-Stroms.
Through Warburton, up Mt. Donna Buang to the Acheron Way turn-off, then onto the dirt towards St. Fillans. Things got a bit slippery through the twisties on the way down, once back on the asphalt the wallabies marked the way…plenty of them.....all the way.
The sun broke through before Buxton, then Taggerty and the turn towards Eildon, just short of town onto the Jamieson Rd for 35km of sweet, but twitchy twisties…gravel galore.
Past Big River Camp for the 14k’s of dirt, fairly rough and corrugated this time around.
A quick stop after to regroup for an all-too-short dream-run through the tight stuff to the T-junction, followed by the cruise up the Woods Point Road into Mansfield for a fill-up and break. Well, sorta cruise, ya know...
Great to see things fall into place that easily, 2 seasoned riders (Rob and Dave) that I’d never seen before…obviously knowing what they were doing, giving plenty of room, safety first…. good stuff.
Pointing north, we turned off the road onto dirt again in Barjarg, 25km of good, single-lane stuff through bush and pine-plantations, winding it’s way up into the Strathbogie Ranges. Rob on the 1150 up front, chucking the beast around like a 250…on very-well-worn road-rubber at the rear, what a stumper!
Potholed and broken asphalt followed on the single-laners through Strathbogie to the turn-off to Mt. Wombat. Good dirt, then things got tight and visibility dropped markedly as the bush grows close to the track.
The really steep bit at the end is a concrete-slabbed climb to the top…and straight into the sky…bright-blue.
Dave couldn’t help himself and jumped-bumped the HP2 up some big rock-ledges to the fire-lookout-hut, having a yack with the guy on duty.
The views were incredible, the near 360-panorama only broken by the comm.-towers.
From the flatland to the north of the Great Divide to Mt. Buller, Mt.Sterling and Mt. Buffalo in the distance, Kinglake National Park and Cathedral Ranges, across the Switzerland Ranges towards Seymour…what a place.
Eventually we had to pack up, back through Strathbogie and the “Old Road” down towards Merton, some more roughish downhill dirt here.
Bonnie Doon was next, some superb twisties along the shores of Lake Eildon towards Peppin Point, then more bumpy dirt and rock-ledges up the Maintongoon Rd. while climbing up the ridge towards Skyline Road.
A quick stop after the rough climb, then along Skyline Road (still dirt, but pretty well graded), stealing a few glimpses of the lake…mountain ranges as layered backdrop. Fantastic.
Back onto asphalt shortly before the roundabout at the top of the ridge, Marty waiting for us there. I hadn’t seen anything of Dave and Rob for a while…I’d only left a minute or so before them and they’d been quicker pretty much all day long. Marty waved me through.
A 5-minute wait at the agreed meeting point at the Eildon servo had me worried…calling Marty I found out that Rob’s rear-tyre-luck had come to an end and they were right in the middle of plugging the flat.
Rob took the shortest way home after that, Dave and Marty made it for the fill-up (the HP2 only has a 13liter tank) to Eildon 40mins later.
Slowly running out of energy and time it was a quick hop across the Black Spur into Healesville and across to Woori Yallock, waving Good-Byes in Yellingbo.
To me it was another short hop through Monbulk/ Olinda/ Sassafras, one last squirt down the twisties to The Basin and home.
Just under 12hrs door-to-door, 560km, just on 160km dirt out of that…. what a day!!!
Brilliant!
Ahhh…and if anyone ever sees a HP2 on Knobbies in their mirrors while being close to the limit cranking the R1 through some tight twisties, don’t even think about it…. just get outta the bloody way!!
That'll be Dave...most likely ;D ;D ;D
more photos at http://www.martyh.com/2006-02_19_dirty_ride/index.htm