OCTOBER 2011 TO EILDON

Well what can we say about this ride? It was and will be again one of the most scenic rides that we go on. I marvel at the way the forests have recovered from the "Black Saturday" fires and I am also saddened to see the loss of so many of those great Mountain Ashe trees. Saturday was a mixture of riding conditions with rain falling in the middle part of our trip making the ride thru the "Reefton Spur" area difficult to say the least. Such was the concentration needed to stay on the wet and sometimes slippery roads that some of us didn't get to take in much of the scenery, but once we got past Marysville the rain stopped, the rain cleared, the roads dried out and we had a bit fun on the way into Eildon. The motel we stay at has some wonderful views of the Pondage and surrounding hills and makes it a very pleasant place to camp. We had a fairly quiet night and the next morning after a hearty breakfast we set off for a look at the weir and then made our way home on what turned out to be a good riding track. Thank goodness for all we made it home this time with no mishaps. P.S. Welcome and congratulations to Dean "Spoofy" Cummins on his nomination to join "Mad Mob" and I wish him well. Bird.

DEDERANG 24+25 SEPTEMBER 2011

Still one of my favourite rides especially when we include travelling over Whitfield, it makes it a fairly big day of riding but well worth the effort. With 8 bikes we had a very good trip, except for one mishap with "lucky" Dave being in the wrong place at just the right time to be hit by a tail light that came off my bike smashing into his headlight and just catching him in the leg. After retrieving the taillight with number plate attached we all realised just how much damage this missile could have done and I for one was very thankful it did only hit his light and not Dave or anyone else, the offending light has been secured never to come off again. The rest of the trip was excellent with everything a rider loves and the hotel waiting at the end of the ride is very comfy, the publican is friendly and welcoming and we brought our own company so we know that is good too. The next day was a pretty good ride as well with everyone getting home safe and sound. I hope everyone enjoyed the ride. Bird