17 February - Warburton and Yarra Valley

Met Zane this morning in Morwell for a ride to Warburton. The forecast was for a warm and fine day and that's how it turned out. We turned off the highway at Nilma to take the road through Neerim, Powelltown and Yarra Junction. The day attracted many other riders including some larger groups. Observing some other riders provides a great understanding of the motorcycle accident statistics. In the hills approaching Powelltown we were stuck behind a couple of slow cars and as it was double lines all the way we decided to wait to pass them. Not so with a large group of BMW riders coming up behind us who seemed quite happy to cross double lines and go around blind corners on the wrong side of the road. Fortunately, most other riders seemed to be content to take it easy and enjoy the day and the scenery. Had lunch at our usual haunt (Three Sugars - excellent again!) and then continued on to take a look at the Upper Yarra Reservoir about 25 km away. After a leg stretch and a few photos here we returned to Warburton for fuel for Zane's KLX before retracing our steps home. Another great day.

Total Distance 327 km.

12-13 February - Port Melbourne

Left Traralgon on Tuesday morning to ride to Marcus' place in Port Melbourne. We had both received invitations from Southbank BMW to attend a presentation by Lois Pryce, an English motorcyclist who has completed some amazing adventure motorcycle trips. After a day of catching up we almost forgot what time it was but at 6:45 we hopped on our bikes, me on the Beemer and Marcus on his trusty Vespa for the short ride into Southbank. Lois' story is amazing. In 2003, at the age of 29 she left her office job in London and travelled with her new motorcycle to Alaska with the aim of riding all the way down the North and South American continents, by herself and with very little riding or travelling experience. In the end, after 8 months she succeeded in riding from Alaska to the very tip of Argentina. As soon as she returned from this trip she planned the next on which involved crossing Africa from North to South including crossing the Sahara dessert. Check out Lois' adventures on http://www.loisontheloose.com

We finished the night with a Bluray, pizza and a few beers.
Rode back home on Wednesday and although it was fine it was pretty windy so instead of a more ambitious ride I returned via the Sth Gippsland Highway and got home around 2pm.

Total Distance 376 km.

7 February - Warragul and Oakleigh

Rode the Honda to Warragul early this morning for its 30,000km service. It's  unbelievable how quickly the km's accumulate while you're having fun particularly when I consider that I had not really ridden it much since I bought the Beemer. Anyway, as I am keeping my old mate, it was time for the service which only took about an hour while I had breakfast at a nearby cafe. Then, it was time to ride to Oakleigh to Rosa's parent's house to supervise the arrangements for a ramp to make access to and from the house a bit more convenient. By 3pm I was on the bike heading back to Traralgon in 38ºC heat, which was not too bad until I hit road works and walking pace progress on the Pakenham bypass. In a car you suffer these inconveniences in air conditioned comfort, but on a bike you sweat it out inside your leathers and a helmet. Apart from that and the nauseating smell of freshly poured bitumen, the rest of the ride progressed smoothly.

Total Distance 290 km.