Well, today’s ride certainly was a ride of two parts. 

Peter, Ralph and Roger ignored all the weather warnings and joined me for a ride exploring the areas east of Melbourne in Cardinia and Yarra Ranges Shires.  With such a small group we dispensed with corner marking and just kept each other in sight, and it worked well.

The observant may note the photos reveal this was not a normal Ulysses Club, Melbourne Branch ride as there were no BMWs at all! 

Peter’s Guzzi was sporting brand new tyres and we managed to “scrub them in” on dry roads as we made our way north through Upper Beaconsfield from Officer, past Cardinia reservoir, rode the curves of Paternoster Road,

passed though Gembrook and continued north past Kurth Kiln,

took in some more curves via assorted back roads

and arrived in Yarra Junction for a refreshment break in dry conditions. 

Roger mentioned his version of “three coins in a fountain” and converted that to “three drops on a visor” which proved an accurate and ominous sign for part two of the ride.  Peter was happy with the fact he had scrubbed his new tyres in on dry roads and he also enjoyed the curry he had while we drank coffee etc.

As we were chatting, a guy arrived on a very very old Indian operating the throttle with his left hand while adjusting the timing with his right hand as he pulled in for a coffee.

After a chat he rode off juggling coffees and other tasks.

The forecast rain arrived and we all donned wet weather gear before riding off.  Caution was used as some sections of road were very shiny and slippery looking.  We enjoyed more back roads through to Woori Yallock, headed west briefly and took more back roads via Gruyere

to Healesville and the drizzle became steady rain.

We rode on past Yarra Valley wineries and took in some views which were limited by mist and fogging visors before stopping in Yarra Glen for lunch at the bakery.  

During discussions, Roger revealed his jacket was made of that well known fabric – “Yewstabee” (used to be waterproof) and I guess a wet warm summer day is a better time to discover that than mid winter.  Once chats and lunch were finished, we all headed off home independently in steadily heavier rain.  When I arrived home I concluded that I would have been better off putting waterproof over mitts on as the gap between my jacket cuff and gauntlets was just enough to let water in.  Unlike a few weeks ago, my jacket worked fine as I’d remembered the waterproof liner this time.

Despite the rain during the second half of the ride, I thoroughly enjoyed the company and the ride.    Thanks for coming along fellas.     

Cheers  John Cook