28 June - South Gippsland

After a long period of wet weather, today promised to be fine, although somewhat cool. The fog cleared around 10am and I set off along the Highland Way to Yarram. The temperature gauge on the Beemer read 3.5 degrees! It warmed steadily and by the time I reached the Yarram Bakery for coffee and apricot crumble, the temperature had climbed to 12 deg. As I reached the South Gippsland highway heading towards Inverloch the temperature was 15.5 degrees, and the sun was streaming down - very pleasant. Had a leisurely lunch in Inverloch followed by a cigar, before returning via Leongatha and Mirboo North. Stopped briefly for a photo just outside of Mirboo Nth. and then continued on home and arrived at 3:30pm.

Total Distance 267 km.

15 June - Loch Sport

Woke this morning to the first day of my 69th year. While the sky was a bit grey, the temperature was mild and no sign of rain. Fired up the Beemer and rode to Loch Sport on the Gippsland Lakes and arrived there at 11:30. I haven't been to Loch Sport for over 40 years and in recent year have heard lots of reports of its popularity and growth, and so I was quite hopeful of finding the an interesting place to eat. Well, Loch Sport has definitely grown into a large town and the road which was once a sandy track is now sealed. There is now a large marina with an adjacent hotel overlooking Lake Victoria. Drove around for a while to check out cafes or bakeries but in the end did not find anything which looked appetising and decided to have lunch in Sale instead. Much better luck this time and by now the sky cleared completely producing a great day. The return trip was via Maffra (coffee at the bakery), Glenmaggie and Cowarr. A very enjoyable ride.

Total Distance 250 km.

11 June - Warburton, Reefton Spur, Marysville and Healesville

(Photo - Courtesy The Age)

Today was the first day with forecast sunshine, for quite a while. Zane and I had planned to meet in Morwell and ride to Warburton. At 10 am the fog was quite thick and the temperature was only 5.5 degrees. But - no rain! Headed west along the Princes Highway and the fog didn't clear completely until we reached Trafalgar. Left the highway at Nilma and cut through Neerim to top up Zane's KLX250 at Neerim Junction. Continued on our way through Powelltown and Yarra Junction and reached Warburton exactly at noon. By then the sky was clear and the sun was shining but the temperature had not progressed much above 8 degrees. Had coffee and a great lunch at "Three Sugars" in the main street of Warburton and thawed out to the point where we were ready to ride again. Instead of turning for home we decided to do the extra leg through Reefton Spur and Marysville. What a wonderful ride this was. The views were breathtaking but with the additional altitude the temperature bottomed out at 4.5 degrees. The BMW's grip heaters really come in handy in these conditions. Stopped at the Marysville bakery for another coffee and fuelled both bikes. The return trip was through the Black Spur, Healesville, Cockatoo and Pakenham. Home at 5pm.

Total Distance 390 km.