Marty and I took a run down to Lorne last evening to meet up with Steve on his vintage Norton – which he rode from Colac. Unfortunately the 79 year old bike broke down and had to return home on the trailer. Marty and I had a terrific run on the way home up through the bush to Deans Marsh on the big Kawasakis just before dusk on a beautiful balmy evening. From there we took the Cape Otway road to Geelong as the sun went down behind us.
The metric toolkit from the Kwaka wasn’t very helpful!
Back in October of 2013 Mrs T and I came across a Spyder owners’ gathering at the Forrest West Barwon Dam. I wrote about it HERE.
Anyway, I recently got a freebie ‘Cruiser & Trike’ magazine thrown in with a bike magazine I bought and there lurking in the background in one of the pics was a very familiar Kawasaki ZX14R.
The 2014 New Year’s Day AGM of the West Coast Procrastinators was thwarted by an unfavorable weather forecast, which actually eventuated in a day of wind and rain of ‘biblical proportions’ as Marty described it. In a rare display of decisiveness, the ride, lunch & AGM were re-scheduled to 2nd January, 2014. Mind you, I packed my wet weather gear as I wasn’t 100% convinced that it would remain dry for the whole ride.
Marty and I met on the outskirts of Geelong then headed via the Cape Otway Road to Steve’s property just outside Colac.
When we arrived at Steve’s the team were found to be in good form, with Andy deriding the exhausts on my ZX14 before I even had a chance to get my helmet off. It seems that size does matter in this case!
Two ZX14R’s and a Commando
Steve’s Norton Commando
Marty’s ZX14R
After some more good natured banter and New Year handshakes we headed off for a tour of the lakes near Warrion, then on to our destination at the Timboon rail shed distillery for lunch. Fortunately we had booked a table as the joint was packed and even getting a parking spot was problematic.
Tarsnakes’ ZX14R
The ambiance of the restaurant was only sullied by the presence of a former politician who had been at the heart of the “Children Overboard” affair (suggested by some as one of Australia’s great political lies) and who had condoned unprecedented strikebreaking measures during the Waterfront dispute. (Imagine security guards in balaclavas with German shepherd dogs used for the first, and only, time in Australia’s history).
Anyway, after a tasty lunch and an uneventful and mercifully brief AGM, we hit the road and headed for the 12 Apostles via the Great Ocean Road and then tracked inland to Beech Forest for a pit stop and photos.
Three of four at Beech Forest
And with no procrastination at all, rode Turton’s Track to Forrest. Turton’s was in excellent condition with none of the usual slippery wet bark covering the asphalt.
Here’s a file shot of Turton’s Track
Our last stop for the ride was the Forrest Brewery. Time for a drink, swatting the abundant flies, a bit of a debrief, some more New Year handshakes and we were on our way agiain – Marty and I back to Geelong and Steve and Andy back to Colac.
All up, I’d done 390 very enjoyable kms for the ride – and it didn’t rain once!
West Coast Procrastinators 