A magnificent turnout, certainly compared with our last ride, and equally magnificent weather boded well for the ride to Birdwood. Eighteen starters assembled at a cut-down Civic Park car park in Modbury. The toilet block is being renovated and cyclone fencing took over most of the area.
For the first time in two years the historic bikes outnumbered the moderns 11 to 7! They included :- Gary Priest 70 Honda CB750, Allan Morris 73 Triumph T150, Kym Miller 78 Yamaha XT500, Tony Mitchell 87 Honda XBR500, John Mikutta 71 Suzuki T500, Rob Smyth 68 Honda CB250, Neville Gray 77 Honda 550K, Ed Lowrey 79 Triumph T140E, David Saint 76 Suzuki GT750, John Suggate 74 Honda CB750K5 and I rode a 67 Triumph T120R. On the moderns :- Wayne Williams Yamaha XVS650, Ian Roddie Yamaha FZ1, Gail Priest (nee Yates) Harley-Davidson FXDC, Louis Peilschmidt Honda VF750C, Mick Hayes Suzuki 650, Clayton Penley Harley-Davidson EVO 1340, Trevor Jones Triumph Bonneville.
The law was laid down from the start, no shortcuts to our first destination The Throttle Shed at One Tree Hill. Heading through Chain of Ponds we turned left to Kersbrook and the then left again in Kersbrook itself towards Black Top Rd and One Tree Hill to the Throttle Shed cafe.
After refreshments we started down Humbug Scrub Rd with the intention of heading to Williamstown, but for some reason I turned left at Yettie Rd instead of right. Part way down the road I did a U-turn and signalled the oncoming bikes to follow. All good, we travelled through Williamstown and then onto the Springton Rd eventually stopping in Springton while 3 riders filled up at the local pumps.
We then headed south to Mt Pleasant, but turned off left on Angas Valley Rd which is the road to Walker Flat. A couple of our riders remarked how riding on this section of road, up and over the hills, through the trees and then down past the rocks onto the flat was an uplifting experience. They were right; it’s a great stretch of road. We turned first right on the flat through Milendella and headed to Palmer, Tungkillo and Mt Torrens where we turned right to Birdwood. We pulled over at the last cafe/bakery as you head west out of Birdwood.
We had an extended lunch enjoying the sunshine and conversation outside. Some riders returned home from the bakery, the rest headed through the Gorge peeling off here and there towards their homes. That only left me to complete the planned ride by heading up Montacute Rd, across the ridge to Ashton and finally descending into town down Greenhill Rd and home.
Overall this was quite a fast ride, as most of it was on 100kph roads – might as well travel on them before they lower the speed limits. It was also my first ride along Humbug Scrub Rd which is very scenic, but some of the bends tighten up on the unsuspecting rider. It was also encouraging to see many members riding their older bikes.
Our next run is on Sunday July 30th details of which have yet to be announced.
Charles Oliver, Club Captain.
hey great ride Charles…