A dozen of us gathered at Officer for today’s ride into South Gippsland and enjoyed much, much better weather than last weekend.

  Despite the forecast for a possible afternoon shower, it did not rain at all.

Shamus was riding his Ducati, Alf – KTM, Ian - Suzuki and I was on my new (to me) but old Honda.  The other 75% of us were on BMWs!   People remarked that my much less used Honda has visible taillights and indicators and that the suspension clearly works much better than the bike which has 285,000km.  In brief – it is familiar and a joy to ride.

Sam took on TEC duty.  We rode off a few minutes after 10.00AM and headed into the hills towards Beaconsfield Upper and had a delightful run with no traffic.  We had a bit of hitch with corner marking north of Pakenham and happily got it sorted after a short delay.   Then it was east to Tynong and south through flat farmland down to Bayles

where we stopped for a cuppa break on schedule.   The store was open and we had a leisurely chat, refreshment break and clarified the corner marking glitch.

We then enjoyed a traffic free run via assorted back roads down to Poowong where the road along the ridges provides great views.  We then rode south via more back roads and actually encountered some traffic south of Bena

followed by a large group of Porsches enjoying the same roods in the opposite direction.   We got along at a good clip but always remembered to temper our enthusiasm particularly on bends where visibility was restricted.  Still a very enjoyable ride through the South Gippsland Hills and there are plenty of routes to choose from.  We made our way down to Archies Creek and the back up towards Glen Forbes

where we simply stopped

to take in the vista over Westernport.  Then it was down

to Grantville, where we stopped for lunch and used a couple of cafés.       

After lunch we headed back up into the hills, rode the backroads above the Gurdies before rejoining the highway and rolling into Tooradin for a final chat and rest break. 

The tide was definitely out.  Then it was north up to the freeway at Officer where most peeled off to head back to the city.   Ian S and I headed back not the Dandenongs and made our way home via Emerald.  I bid Ian farewell at Monbulk and then the new Honda demanded I visit some roads the old Honda had previously visited in the hills near home.  I did as the bike dictated.😉

Many thanks to all who came along.  I believe the South Gippsland hills are delightful to ride worth regular visits as so many route options exist.  

Also, a special mention to Ian W who joined the club recently after being made aware of us (Ulysses Club) by Andrew on a BMW event.  This link has led to several members joining us. 

Cheers  John Cook