6-Peaks#2

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Although a bit of an "old" one by now... :) :) :)
April 2002


Day 1. ( days 1+2 written up by Dave “MountainHitter”)

Drizzle ! That's what confronted our intrepid group on the very first
morning of the second 6 Peaks Ride.
2500k's to come and a wet start, not exactly what we needed, but we were optimistic if nothing else......

Some couldn't sleep due to the coming excitement. In Jan's and my case, we decided to get out of bed at 2am, shower, feed etc and set of from our home
in Boolarra and get the first 100 mile part of the journey over with.
We arrived at Pete and Goodie's around 5:30am with the idea of getting a couple of hours before leaving. As we pulled up to cover the driveway we noticed a
light on already. Apparently Pete couldn't sleep either.

He must have heard the car pull up because soon he was out tapping on the window of the car.

Gary and Warren arrived later and we left to meet the bunch, at the ever reliable Lilydale Macca's. It was still drizzling but we left close to
the appointed time and Mark immediately made his Across 8 feet wide, just to give us an interest you understand ;D The ride up to Mansfield was
uneventful although the rain did begin to subside leaving the roads still damp but manageable.

That marvellous piece of road leading up to Whitfield
was ridden in a subdued manner with all riders just dreaming of what could have been if it was dry :) After a long day in the saddle and nearing
Tallangatta, Pete suggested a quick loop around some road before halting.

Well, it had long since dried up and after the quiet day we had already had
this "loop" (Pete will tell us where it was) just lit us up, about 40k's of
magic....mmmmmm !! David Cooper (friend of skate-boarders and drinker of
latte) lead the way on his borrowed "chookie" These roads flowed and the pace was great; everyone was blown out when we finally halted.
Bullshit flows...
001.jpg

Warren
002.jpg

Jaz....in the wrong movie ;D
003.jpg

Garry...as usual :) :p
004.jpg

Mick_G
004a.jpg


The evening’s entertainment consisted of walking to the pub in the rain, which had
returned, and supping a fine meal from the appreciative staff at the hotel.
It really was a full day after all and the beer went down very quickly, a
quick game of pool with the local ladies on their own table (we won) <s> and
then the long walk back to the caravan park (200 meters.....pah!!!!)

Day 2.
The morning woke us to unbelievably blue skies,
005.jpg

Dave "MountainHitter"
006.jpg


which was a surprise after hearing the forecast the previous evening but we didn't complain, just
rubbed our hands with glee. We left Tallangatta and headed towards the Dartmouth dam for a quick run and quick it was.
007.jpg


008.jpg

We parked the support
vehicle and Jan got to come with us too...The sights were wonderful, the day was clear and the company was, as usual, fantastic. Now, unlike Pete, I
don't know all the names of the roads but shit, every one that we went on seemed better than the last !

009.jpg


010.jpg


012.jpg


013.jpg


Up along the Murray river for some very fast sweepers....mmmmmmm
014.jpg


015.jpg


018.jpg


019.jpg


020.jpg


to some place that took us into wide sweeping valleys
( I think it ended with an "a" ) Some even got past Mark on this stretch as
we climbed up into the Alpine region. After many sightseeing stops we
finally hit Thredbo and wow !! The road opened up for some fearsome sweepers. What a hoot ! By the time we hit Jindabyne we were all stuffed and ready for some "après ride" bullshit, we weren't to be disappointed.
022.jpg


024.jpg


025.jpg


We had decided to use the camp facilities and have a BBQ, well we needed two people to head into town and get the makings, you know the stuff.

Meat, bread and sauce. So of course five people went and we very nearly got enough stuff, after much discussion, to build a camel. Anyway it tasted great and the beer was good once again.
021.jpg


023.jpg


030.jpg


During the course of the meal we chatted about any "moments" that some may have had and there were a few. Mark (the wide one)
chirped in with his two cents worth and when the group hushed to hear about
it, he hesitated, held up his hands in a descriptive way and said, in all
sincerity " you remember that tight bit" !! Well the group was stunned for
a heartbeat, after 2 days of twisties, and suddenly fell apart pissing
themselves with laughter, ...........Mark, you are a star, a wide star <s>
That's my bit for the first 2 days, I'm sure that others will help to recall
more...........

Day 3… ( continued by Pete)
…and another sparkler, the early sun painting the lake golden. Things
went smooth, tanks filled up the night before, we left around 9ish, after Ben joined up.
The ride into the National Park was pretty chilly but the roads made up for
it. Medium sweepers winding uphill before the turnoff to Guthega and after
20ks (frost lining the road in the shaded parts) it was onto 4ks of dirt,
the shortcut to Smiggins.
026.jpg


027.jpg


028.jpg


Garry took Janet as a dirt-pillion (leaving Dave
to battle the GSXF on his own :), doing a few extra laps around the carpark
at Smiggins, putting down the pegs of the Peg, bloody show-off :).
On to Charlotte's Pass for the obligatory group shot with Mt. Kosciousco in
the background, then the ride became a bit of a blur.

034.jpg


035.jpg


036.jpg
Jindabyne, Berridale,
Adaminiby (lunch), then the not-to-be-missed part to Kiandra, turning off
towards Corryong.
Down to Tumut2 PowerStation and further along the river up to the dam, a
nice ride across a few single-laned bridges, for a quick stop before the
return to the main road and the stop at Cabramurra.

045.jpg


Some complained about
sore wrists brought about by the steep descent to the power station, that
road really is steep and tight.
037.jpg


Jas nearly ornamented the hood of the local copper on the way down from the
lookout, then it was on for the run (well....twisties for 50ks) followed by
some straights towards Khancoban.
042.jpg



Running west with the late afternoon sun blinding despite the sunnies,I had
a lucky escape as 2 wallabies hopped across the road, the bum of the last
one barely missing the front wheel by a couple of inches. A fraction of a
second earlier and I would've been down, half a second later and I wouldn't
have even seen them behind me.
I had to get off for a few minutes to regain composure, that was a real
close one...
Again, everyone filled up in Corryong before pulling into the garage
provided by the publican of the Courthouse Hotel and settling in for the
night.
Like the 2 nights before, everyone (with a few exceptions) seem to be
knackered by the days ride and tucked in fairly early (some as early as
9.00)
Day4 started early, up just after 6, packing the gear was a 5 minute job by
now, everything had it's place...
Before brecky the bikes were ready to go, packed, warmed up and all, good
stuff.
Another chilly morning sparkling away on the run down towards Wodonga,
before the turnoff to the eastern-side road up the Kiewa Valley.
Finishing in another 2ks of fairly good dirt ( watching Warren letting loose
on the Peg, shaking the tail big time at way beyond legal :))
Up the Gap and across to Bright, with Janet once more pillioning up Mt.
Buffalo for lunch.
043.jpg


044.jpg


What a road... with some bike-swapping going on, Garry had his moment of
luck when coming off the road with Stefs CBR and riding it out of the dirt
and bushes back onto the road...without a scratch to either man and machine.
After lunch David Cooper and Ben (Canberra) had to leave the group to return
home.
back to where the car and trailer were parked and the chase was on up Mt.
Hotham, this time in the dry....and what a delight that road can be (if it
wouldn't have been for the f%$#wit in that red Patrol who'd seem to have fun
making overtaking as hard and risky as possible for some of us).
The views from the top were plenty of compensation, though...and the
sweepers past Dinner Plain down into Omeo in the late afternoon light were
just plain magic, the never-ending right followed by the never-ending left
in particular (felt like cork-screwing the bike into the ground, hehe).
Livingstone flats in Omeo provided good accomodation again, the night ending
in much mirth and laughter out the front verandah.
Day5 and everyone is ready to go early once more, we leave Omeo nearly 1hr
earlier than planned for Swifts creek and brecky at the bakery.
Not taking the boring main road but rather the slightly longer way via
Cassilis, the road is now sealed all the way, but there is some leftover
gravel and sand from the roadworks.
Paul , being backmarker on that stretch, slipped on a bit of sand and
wrenched his knee out/backwards, kept the bike upright and rode on with much
pain and increasing swelling to Swifts Creek.
046.jpg


047.jpg


Due to a more relaxed position and easier on/off of the Pegs, we swapped
bikes and we rode on, down the twisties, to Bruthen, Bairnsdale, Sale and
finally, Traralgon, checking Paul into the Emergency at the LaTrobe Hospital
for X-rays.
Then it was off to Dave/Janets place for bbq on the veranda, great spot
guys, great tucker, too.
The group broke up here, Stef had left us earlier, some went home via Mirboo
North, some went back to Traralgon/Morwell to see Paul again and to pick up
the silver Peg (his TL being stored at Boolara by Dave and Jan).
Another day of blue skies and sunshine wound down as we entered suburbia via
the boring Princess Hwy, too weary to clean the sheets of bugs off the
bikes.
I was up at 6.00 the next morning, looking around for the Ventura bags, the
leathers, the skidlid, ready for another day....
 
Top Bottom