Iron Ass Ride Days 3 & 4
Again we were greeted with lovely clear blue skies & with some of the best roads in Australia ahead we were keen to get going.......except that the whole town of Omeo was thrown into utter chaos when the servo attendant couldnt locate the key to open up 
So time for brekky, a chat & finally some fuel & it was off towards Mt Hotham. This stretch of road is fantastic & is similar to the Snowy moutains Highway in NSW. Plenty of twisties, a good surface & plenty of scenery to check out. Upon arriving in Mt Hotham there were several attempt to take photo of the month which I am sure will be posted up seperately.
When you leave Mt Hotham heading to Bright it is well worth buttoning off the speed & enjoying the view. The road itself is excellent, tight & well signposted with a great surface but the views are much better & the road beyond has more corners on it than you can imagine so just cruise along & enjoy. Once you get back down off the mountain it becomes thick forest & the road becomes your main concern again. It's just never ending 25. 35. 45. 55 km/h corners with no rest in between. The biplane was out leading the way here setting a nice pace & i'm sure his wings were just touching down occaisonaly with Ian taking some great lines & really hooking in. Some of the corners are a little ragged where trucks have been gouging the road but it's easy to spot as is all the bark, sticks etc. Great fun as long as it is ridden to the conditions of the day. A quick stop for some action shots & down to Harrietville for a chat with one of the locals about all the boy racer wannabes who frequent the area 
The ride into Bright is very cruisy & we decided to do the Mt Buffalo hill climb before lunch. This is the second longest competetive hill climb in the world behind Pikes Peak in the USA so was much anticipated. The cost is $2.70 / bike as its national park but it is worth it. The only problem we had was the roadworks which must have been completed the day before & as usual has left all the loose gravel especially on corners for us to contend with. Once we were through it the road is great though littered with bark etc. All corners from 15km/h hairpins to 65km/h sweepers (haha) for about 40 km's continually climbing. Very nice ride & worth doing if in the area, a bonus is the country side is very spectacular.
So after winding our way back down & replenishing in Bright it was along to Mt Beauty via the Towonga Gap Rd. This piece of road though only 20 odd k's long is sensational as you climb up over the ridge & then plummet back down again. Its a great surface, well sign posted & heaps of fun....sorry guys but I do like that piece of road 
. This was the last real piece of twisty road for us & it was nearly decided to turn around & do it again though time was running short & we still had a long way to go to Tumut. The route we took was more interesting than the normal highway as we went along Redbank Rd towards Tallangatta, then onto the Hume Weir & then over the bridge that Gary took his photo of the month at (can't remember the name). The bridge is being totally rebuilt & it took a little sweet talking to allow us across as it was totally closed for sevral hours & we would've had to back track to get around. The weather was also starting to set in with a big storm brewing & a gale force wind blowing. It was about this time that Mr Personality appeared for the first time & the bi-plane was now being piloted by Ian's alter ego. Anyway we headed off along the Murray River Road which in itself is a great detour to take. It follows the Murray River all the way & even though the rain had set in was a very nice ride. It was along here that Jay manned up while the rest off us snivelling softies donned the wet weather gear. The rest of the day was a little wet as we headed along through Walwa, Tintaldra, Tooma, Tumbarumba, Batlow & eventually Tumut. No stops were had along the way as it was near freezing & wet for the last part of the ride.
Friday morning found us with blue skies again but also the need to repair Jays tyre which had been pierced by 2 bits of gravel from roadworks. The guys at the Tumut Tyre centre were fantastic & dropped all their jobs to help out. The young mechanic, Alex, turned out to be a bike nut with a fireblade that he took to the track as much as possible. A proper repair job was done at a more than reasonable price & we were on our way again towards Cooma.
Mr Personality had left our ranks & Ian was again in charge of the biplane & set out at a lovely pace towards Kiandra. The road is open & flowing till you get to the Talbingo turn off where there is a climb for about 6 km's of tight,twisty,rough, corrugated road but still good fun. Ian again took the road captain postion & set off for Kiandra & Adaminaby for a quick refresh before arriving at The Alpine Angler to await the rest of tha rabble to arrive.
I know it's a little late though I would like to thank DZ who helped plan the Iron Arse ride but then couldn't make it. Was a great trip but would have been even better with you on it mate. 
Also a big thankyou to my fellow Iron Arses...
Dallas , Ian & Jay. The roads were bloody sensational but it would have just been a ride without you guys along. The trip was totally unforgettable in every way thanks mainly to my fellow riders. Cheers guys & may we do it all again soon. 
Iron Ass Ride Days 3 & 4
Tuesday, 21 November 2006
