Ruffy Vinduro report
With no Blue light rally this year the Victoria Police Motor Sports Club (VPMSC) together with sponsors Riders Edge motorcycle shop decided to run a new event on the Victorian vinduro calendar and would take place south west of the township of Euroa just near the settlement of Ruffy. Run on a property owned by motorcycle friendly owners, the event attracted 50 or so riders.
Blue skies, hot coffee, egg and bacon sangers created a friendly atmosphere as people stood and talked while others walked around taking pics as more entrants arrived at the venue.
With the sign in and riders briefing out of the way it was time to get bikes out on the track. Time cards were handed out at this point then punched at the completion of each lap. A cold kick start saw three riders away per minute on to relatively tight single track coarse with the odd tree and rock to watch out for and very few opportunities for over taking . After all the rain Victoria has received recently there were some bog holes to negotiate but no one seemed to be troubled by them.
Aboard my IT200 everything felt just right! Of course this couldn’t last; I knew that as soon as I tried to squeeze the IT between two rocks making an expensive gouging sound as it did. Looking down I saw the foot brake lever had tried its best to rap itself around the foot peg, side cases luckily still intact. Good start and I had not even completed one lap. Deciding to press on regardless the rest my eight laps went by without any more mishaps, taking great care to avoid the nasty line through the rock garden taken on lap one.
The small creek crossing caused some degree of difficulty for some riders as they skewed sideways or flipping over backwards into the creek after skidding over the two wooden pallets submerged in place to stop bikes digging in. Beyond this point was a short hill climb, another cluster of side case smashing rocks and a beautiful grass track which had bermed up just nicely by my 4th lap, then at start/finish area completing your lap.
Congratulations to the VPMSC and Riders Edge for a well organised, event especially having sweep riders and helpers there right where you need them the most, without being obstructive and your catering Saturday night and Sunday for all us hungry, thirsty riders and most importantly a big thankyou to Henry the property owner for use of his property. I hope we return to ride next year!
Wade