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Being the last working day of the month, there was zero possibility of my wangling an RDO - Rostered Day Off - on Friday 28 April. The best I could hope for would be to get away early, heading straight to the Rally after work. Everything went to plan as right on 2.30pm, I rolled out of Yakka’s driveway into the cool, overcast afternoon on my K100RS. Meanwhile, having had the day off, Angela had packed the car in the morning while Alana and Melissa were at school. She then picked the girls up at lunchtime and headed up the Hume Freeway. As arranged, she met up with Giselle, Nic and baby Natalie Watson at Donnybrook and they drove up the Hume in a two-car ‘cruise control’ convoy. Like most motorcyclists, I’m of the opinion that, whenever at all possible, the concentration sapping boredom of the over policed Hume Freeway should be avoided. So, I headed east along the Ring Road before exiting north onto Plenty Road where I paused to fuel the bike at South Morang. Leaving Whittlesea, I effectively had the road to myself and upped the pace a bit as I enjoyed the twisties to Flowerdale and beyond. The speed crept up a little more as the countryside opened up and the roads flattened out on the approach to Yea. It had been some time since I’d practised an emergency stop from higher speeds and the deserted roads presented an ideal opportunity to rectify that. The first attempt was hopeless. So I tried a second one. Much better but there was still room for improvement. The third was much smoother and more controlled. I am a firm believer that we all should regularly practice our emergency stops. These need to be done at the speeds and in the conditions that we ride. You never know when a real emergency will present itself, rarely happening at moderate speeds in perfect conditions. At Yea, I turned towards Mansfield and found myself sharing the road with a number of horse float towing four-wheel drives that slowed progress a little until the Benalla turnoff. Following a ‘pit stop’ at Lake Nillahcootie, I crossed the Hume Freeway and rode on through Benalla. The K100RS was in its element and purred along, relishing the quick pace in the perfect conditions as I made my way to Yarrawonga on nearly deserted roads. Rolling into Yarrawonga Holiday Park a little before 6.00pm, I found Alana and Melissa playing in some sand near the Registration Tent. Meanwhile Angela was nearby, just finishing putting up our tent. Talk about perfect timing. All that was left for me to do was to unpack our bedding into the tent. Then it was time to catch up with some of our fellow Rally goers already in residence. Being unsure of our arrival time, we’d decided to not book for Friday night’s meal at the Rally. As it was now past Alana and Melissa’s dinnertime, they were getting hungry and we headed into town for dinner. Based on a recommendation, we sought out Murray’s Bistro at the Victoria Hotel. Light, steady rain began to fall during our enjoyable meal and continued as we returned to camp. Then it was time to bath the girls and put them to bed. A little while later, we also crawled into our sleeping bags. A steady, heavy drizzle continued to fall on the tent as we fell asleep. The rain had stopped by the morning and everyone headed into town for breakfast where a large section of the kerbside parking in the centre of town had been set-aside for our Club. This area then steadily filled with a great variety of BMW motorcycles. The collection looked impressive as we admired it over breakfast Once fuelled up, Nic Watson came along as my pillion as we headed off on the organised Club ride to Beechworth. Meanwhile, Angela, Giselle and the girls had a relaxing day, first exploring the town, then back at camp. After crossing the bridge over the lake, the ride reassembled in Mulwala. Initially, there was a little confusion as to who was going on the ride and who was doing their own thing before Peter Matthews led the group away. A K1200LT, towing a trailer, had developed a problem forcing the rider to pull out of the ride. That sorted, we headed out of town towards Corowa and picked up speed to catch up with the group. Having passed through Rutherglen, by the time we reached Chiltern, the group had been stretched out for some distance. A ‘pit stop’ was made while some stragglers caught up and the ride reassembled. In was then a short stretch to Beechworth for the lunch stop where most of the group made their way to the famous Beechworth Pie Shop. Following lunch, we wandered around the town for an hour or so. Nic and I were able to direct ‘Tail End Charlie’ Chris Hearne to a shop where he was able to replace his lost Beret. Chris was happy. Beret in place, he now felt justified in retaining his nickname of ‘Pierre’. A group of riders, having ridden up from Melbourne, met us for lunch in Beechworth. Not joining the ride, they left for Yarrawonga the way we’d come, stopping off to look at some waterfalls, just off the road to Chiltern. With last nights rain, the theory was that the falls would be worth seeing. A little after two o’clock, the ride reassembled on the road towards Wangaratta. Heading west, we crossed the Hume Freeway near Wangaratta, then skirted north around the city and continued towards Yarrawonga. At one point we came across some cattle on the left beside the road. Just after realising that there wasn’t any fencing to keep them off the road, the herd charged across the road in front of us. We managed to pull up safely and waited for ‘Tail End Charlie’ with our hazard lights on as the cattle ‘exited stage right’ along a dirt road. Nearing Yarrawonga, we passed through a couple of drizzle patches, and then encountered a very wet stretch of road before arriving back at camp to end a most enjoyable day ride. That evening, we were booked for the Rally dinner at the Yarrawonga Football Netball Club rooms. Following the meal, Phil Irvine showed some Super 8 home movies of rallies past. Isn’t it amazing not only how much some of our older members have changed but also how Rallies have changed? Much to the dismay of some of the traditionalists, in many ways a Caravan Park is an ideal venue for our Rally. The full range of accommodation options is usually available together with good amenities. These would be impossible to provide at a more isolated, traditional venue that we had to ourselves. Dan Rotman of Motorcycling Australia in his ‘MA News’ column (p.13) of May’s ‘Cycle Torque’ - about the Ducati Rally - wrote that “…a number said they mourned the old days when a rally included bringing a tent, a flagon of port and quite a lot of warm clothing. Those days there was a lot of standing around a blazing fire (unless it was raining) telling lies about how fast you’d ridden, or close encounters with wildlife or cops or other ferals, before retiring to the inside of a damp sleeping bag. But most said that the opportunity to sleep in a warm comfortable bed, eat a hot breakfast, and most specially a hot shower made the idea of a rally much more attractive and it also meant they could bring the spouse along. Motorcycling is changing. We’re getting older. We want comfort” The disadvantage in not having a venue to ourselves is that we are spread around and mixed in with other patrons. This makes finding everyone a bit awkward and impedes Rally socialising a little. Perhaps, one of the main justifications of a Rally is the opportunity to go for a nice, long ride. Hence the venue may be of secondary importance. The following morning, we were back at the Yarrawonga Football Netball Club rooms for the Rally breakfast. This was followed by presentation of the various Rally award Trophies. There had been a little rain while at breakfast and I tried to dry the tent with limited success as we continued to pack up. While packing, Ben Tidball, the Sales Manager from Online Motorcycles in Albury arrived, bringing a K1200S, an R1200GS and a R1200ST along for Rally participants to ‘test ride’. As Det Lier had left by the time his turn came, I managed to fill his vacant spot. With the necessary paperwork complete, I chose the K1200S. Nic Watson climbed aboard the R1200GS. Nic and I followed Ben on the R1200ST for about seven kilometres; first through Mulwala, then north into the countryside where we picked up quite some speed. Encountering ridges of asphalt at slow speed, first impressions were that the suspension was a little harsh. However, with a range of adjustments available, this should be able to be improved. At pace, however, the K felt totally planted. Leant over at speed while the engine just kept on pulling, the K just kept accelerating hard. Fortunately, very powerful, effective brakes matched the engine performance. We were fortunate also in that the oncoming Police four-wheel drive ignored us! As we turned around and pulled over to swap bikes, two large pigs wandered up out of the long grass by the roadside to check out the bikes and say ‘hello’. Perhaps they thought we were riding Harleys? After we’d patted the pigs, Nic swapped to the K1200S and I threw a leg over the R1200ST for the return trip while Ben rode the GS. I liked the K much better, finding the R very ordinary in comparison. But it is hard to form any valid opinion in only seven kilometres over unfamiliar roads. Returning to camp, I helped Angela finish the last of the packing before a large group of us headed into town for lunch at the Slug and Lettuce. Even if the service was somewhat slow, the meals were enjoyable as we dined al fresco under the large umbrellas. The clock on the K’s dash displayed 14.30 as I followed Angela out of Yarrawonga and on to Benalla where I stopped to refuel. Angela and the girls continued on, turning off onto the Hume Freeway. A little later, I continued south to Mansfield, backtracking Friday night’s ride. It started to rain as I approached Lake Nillahcootie, prompting me to stop to don my waterproofs. A little further on in some curves, I passed on oncoming police car. As it flashed past, I observed that, fortunately, it wasn’t equipped with mobile radar. Nonetheless, I backed the speed off a little and kept a wary eye on my mirrors for the next few kilometres, just in case! Having turned west towards Yea, the rain started to absolutely bucket down on the approach to Bonnie Doon and it quickly became apparent that my waterproofs didn’t quite live up to their name! It then continued to rain, on and off, to all the way to Yea. Road spray causing poor visibility and slow traffic restricted passing opportunities, mostly to overtaking lanes. At Yea I turned south. Although the road was damp, the rain had stopped and there were only a few cars to hinder my progress. Entering the twisty section after Flowerdale, I encountered a few kilometres of road that felt a bit slippery. Once safely past it, I continued splashing my way homeward. The rain started again just after Kinglake West and stayed with me all the way home though Whittlesea and Donnybrook. I arrived home quite wet just a little before six in the evening to find the girls already at home. And so ends another BMWMCC Rally. Now it is only a two-year wait until the next one. Thank you very much to Ian Galt and his crew for all their hard work that contributed so much to the success of the event. Unlike a Club Ride, this Rally provided opportunities for different kinds of ‘sheer riding pleasure”. As the Club Rides to the Rally organised by the Club didn’t ‘fit’ with our circumstances, mine were mostly a solo experience. My weekend included three rides - five if you count the two short test rides – each of different character and each of which I enjoyed immensely. This is a report on our Rally from my perspective. I hope your Rally experiences, although naturally different, were at least as enjoyable as mine. Karl Haering F0740 K100RS(16v) |
