Mountain Madness 2013 - The Double Helix Ride: Day 2

Omeo to Cooma . . .

Well . . . some of us went this way!

Early Start . . .

So I was up very early and wandering around this highland town and sending some meaningless emails to 'absent MM friends'. I must have such a trustworthy face as the proprietors of the Hilltop Hotel gave me a key so I could make a cup of tea and write rubbish in the wee small hours - I hope they realise I also had full access to the bar and unlocked fridges and wine 'cellar'.

Is that a black hole forming in the clouds . . . the mountains are calling

'Hilltop Hilton' . . .

Breakfast involved lots of bacon, eggs, hash browns, baked beans, sausages and toast . . . which is included in the $35 tariff. I know it sounds like a bargain, but there seemed to be a growing groundswell of opinion that the Hilltop wasn't meeting expectations. This of course was excellent news to me as my objective is to be forbidden from the role of coordinating MM ever again and this can only cast doubt over my judgement for selecting the place!


The 'pack' starting to stir!

Doing my penance in front of the Hilltop for making the booking!

A Happy Melissa . . .

Phil took some lovely shots of Melissa . . . she does indeed look very happy and ready to ride that Suzuki to within 2.4 cm of its life!

No - this is not an advertisement for that dastardly Hilltop!

And neither is this!

There Was Movement at the Station . . .

One by one our intrepid mountaineers got their stuff stuffed into panniers, top boxes and tank bags (all three in the case of Mark and Josie - just what do you carry in there?) and loaded them onto their steeds . . . and then started to muster at the front of the Hilltop.

So some of Banjo Paterson's poems seemed apt given what was about to unfold . . . for the word had passed around that something special was going to happen 'up front' today. Of course this a world that I normally have absolutely no visibility of and have to take the loudest proponents at their word . . . but of course the camera doesn't lie! And of course we were damned close to where the poem was penned.

It was all quite serene at first as mountaineers came around to the front of the (now banned) Hilltop - and of course we were joined by Alf on his Harley and his mate 'The Stig #1 (Graham). Young Tim (Alf's son) was also meant to join us on his brother's SV650, but he was sleeping in after getting home at 8:30am from a NYE party!

The Mustering Mountaineers

Getting Under Way . . .

We all pulled away at the same time and trundled our way to the northern outskirts of town. The 'plan' (a big concept in our world) was for the A-Team (Phil and Tony) to join us to the Falls Creek turn-off and then take the Omeo Highway to Tallangatta while the B-Team (the rest of us) went down the hill via Falls Creek, Mt Beauty and the beautiful Kiewa Valley - also to Talangatta. So that bit worked well.

Like a Bat Out of Hell . . .

The video images from the ride to the Falls Creek turn off show that 'The Stig' can really ride. I am unaccustomed to what normally happens at the front, but from the video I could see a super fast, smooth, cool and controlled rider pacing everyone so as to get some good footage. And there is some very interesting footage . . . so much for a relaxing and enjoyable ride with the 'top dogs' - these guys appear to be riding at about 11/10ths for at least some of the time.

The only person I didn't see Graham come up on and film was Phil . . . there could be two reasons for this and I don't think it was because Phil couldn't keep up! But frankly, you guys can have that kind of riding to yourselves!

And for the record, Graham didn't bother filming me as I was going way too slow . . . we are just a blip on a passing frame!

Latest Traffic Avoidance Technique . . .

Graham has apparently done this filming party trick before and brought along some 'evidence' from previous rides . . . and it is clear that Tony has examined actuarial tables and analysed driver behaviour so as to minimise the chances of a collision with oncoming traffic.

You can see from both of these examples the secret is to get as far as you can to the right hand side of the road in a corner and assume that other road users will be make similar misjudgements. There is a good example on the DVD that Graham gave us of today's ride!

Best to stay to the right in a blind corner on the assumption drivers will cut the corner!

Staying right even in right handers - and is Phil C about to be passed . . . surely not!

Just Who is the Stig . . .

So just who is this 'Stig'? Surely Graham is really a retired Moto GP rider or some such thing! It seemed as if he was riding at least the same speed as our 'top riders' but focused on the cinematography and production values - even parking in the right spots so as to film the 'incoming' bikes at every stop.

Falls Creek and Mt Beauty . . .

Anyway, us mere mortals trundled our way to Falls Creek for a short stop to wait for Karen - well, that's our excuse anyway. By now Karen had already proven her girl racer status and was choosing to ride at more customary speeds.

Quick rest at Falls Creek

Next stop was Mt Beauty for even more fuel - and it was here that Tim also caught up with us at about 11:00am. So he was clearly fully rested after getting home at 8:30am and on bike and well down the road a few hours later - and on L Plates of course!

Tallangatta . . .

We met up with the A-Team in downtown Tallangatta for lunch . . . again at the 'usual' spot outside the bakery and opposite the public toilet! Some seemed to have quite a nice lunch - but most ate even more crap.

It was starting to get friggin' hot in Tallangatta

Corryong . . .

From here the A and B teams rode up the road to Corryong together in the increasing heat - we were all ready for the next fuel stop at the caravan park servo and so very tempted by the pool out the back.

We sort of took over the servo in Corryong

But it takes a while to get everyone pointed in the same direction

Difference of Opinion . . .

We had all agreed to head to Cooma via Cabramurra - but there is some difference of opinion about the most efficacious route. OK - I may have lead the B-Team off the main road a little early, but relying on a positive attitude and a 'quick shoe shuffle' we managed to not only demonstrate the virtues of inspecting the Southern Cloud crash site (of interest to no-one but me and Ivan!) AND we rode the entire Elliot Way. Apart from that, a 'tour guide' should never do a U-Turn as it is a sure sign that you don't know what you are doing . . . best to keep this in reserve until absolutely necessary

Southern Cloud Memorial Lookout : 25-January-2011

A memorial well worth seeing!

Elliots Way . . .

It was on the (extended) downhill part of the Elliot Way that Tim had his little whoopsie - it is a good thing that he is still wearing his L Plates as he might learn from his error.

Fundamentally the event transpired thus . . . Ivan passed me on a right hander and set up for the next left corner and Tim followed him through. Apparently he misjudged the braking and the bike ended up on its side in the grass on the right hand side of the road facing back towards Tumbarumba.

We managed to get him upright and inspected the damage - a broken gear shift and left foot peg assembly. After a compulsory rest, water and sugar intake, we rolled our way down the hill to O'Hare's Rest on the gorgeous Tumut River and assessed the damage and consulted a very helpful man with a big 4WD, caravan and lots of tools.

A very good learning experience!

What a lovely place to stop for a while!

O'Hares Rest . . .

As you may expect, O'Hare's Rest is in a deep valley and also in a telephony black hole so we had no way of informing the A-Team about what had happened - but I was fairly sure they would appear from the other way along Elliots Way, and they did.

After much general discussion, engineering advice, rider input and differences of opinion, it was concluded that Tim would ride using just 3rd gear and put his foot on the rear foot peg. And so he did all the way to Cooma.

Almost like a bikers' picnic

Mark and Josie find a nap helps solve most things . . .

A good thing not many of us can be seen

The beautiful Tumut River

Those bearded blokes have a lot in common!

Perhaps we could install a hand gear shift here?

Thanks again . . . you guys were very helpful!

MM Sponsorship Opportunity . . .

Have you ever noticed the number and variety of bugs that end up all over our helmets, jackets, bikes and boots? It seemed to me that we might be able to turn a problem into an opportunity by conducting entomological research for the CSIRO or some such organisation.

After all, we do make reasonably systematic transects through the Australian mountains and using appropriate sampling techniques I am sure they could determine the prevalence of particular species of bugs. At the very least we could hand over our gear for bug removal and cleaning!

Perhaps I had better stick to riding?

Lots of good information here

Cooma . . .

The Royal Hotel in Cooma is of a similar genre to Hilltop in Omeo - old, shared bathrooms and pretty grubby . . . but we all seemed to resolve to its foibles and settled in for a lot of beer, a decent meal on the expansive balcony and some frivolity with the local constabulary. And of course it gave young Tim a chance to rest his sore leg.

The beautiful Royal Hotel - on the outside anyway!

Tim getting a 'fatherly' talking to!

Our wounded soldier chilling out

Now there's a happy shot

Biker Phil . . .

Biker Phil from Byron Bay (Alf's mate) appeared on a BMW R1150S . . . he is a man with a LOT of motor cycles and a very experienced rider. He is also a non drinker - and, you guessed it, the coppers were hovering around all our bikes looking for someone to book.

We had become quite rowdy and pretty boisterous when Biker Phil rode off to his accommodation down the road - and BAM the waiting coppers pounced on him by parking right across the Give Way sign with lights flashing - and of course the entire patronage of the pub spilled out onto the footpath and started slinging 'defication' at the coppers. Naturally they had lots of egg on their faces when he blew a zero reading - I think I even saw a smile on one of the officer's face when he was walking back to the car.

This was a small victory, but a significant one! Mind you, if they had tested our very own man who rode up to Nanny Goat Hill a few hours earlier it might have been a different story altogether!

Of course the gendarmes were hovering around in the morning - they even parked their patrol car right across the road and took photos of our bikes and regos in a somewhat intimidating manner - but we are bigger than that, right!

Here comes Biker Phil

The A Team checking out the new Stig

It's tough being top dog in Cooma!

Dining Veranda . . .

We all eventually adjourned upstairs to our very own private dining room . . . well, dining veranda anyway. Lorraine and I had discovered it with some friends from the UK and Canada when we did a Canberra road trip some years ago.