THE ODYSSEY TO THE ISLAND
Sunday we left at 0700 and rode to the Island, stopping only for a tank of juice and a sausage roll at Traralgon. During this stop, we found that rzCrew's credit card had expired at the previous midnight, and so we debated whether to (a) leave him there and allow the service station owner to exercise a lien over him or (b) lend him money.
I was all for leaving him there, but Bly has a far greater sense of fairness than I and spotted him a fifty.
We were rolling up to turn 12 at Phillip Island Circuit before midday, and it was time to catch up with old friends. I asked some advice from 'Quoll ("you're not going fast enough"), got up-to-date on the state of Thommo's FJR, had a VFR rave with Rabbi, bought JD a beer, drank the beer that JD bought me, swapped some cheek with Cricky, enquired after Boon and Daniel5600's health, slapped Leigh's back, kissed Busababe's cheek, kept an eye on Wayne less he start any of his ninja tricks, shook hands with Jonesy, dug out a polo shirt for resn8 and chatted with the dry-as-a-dog-biscuit Gromit.
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Turn 12: rzCrew talks to Jonesy, Bly talks to Island Mick's back |
The racing started at 12:00.
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Wayne projected a hologram of himself onto a chair, and then secreted himself in the tree above |
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Personally, I never go to hairdressers when I'm that drunk |
Island Mick started cheering and waving whenever the last-place rider passed. People at the fence were staring at him. Two laps later, the last-place rider was second-last. "See?", said Mick. "It works! Let's cheer him all the way up to first place!"
We all joined in. It didn't seem to work all that well, and a couple of last place getters couldn't bear to pass us and retired to the pits.
The racing was good. Watching the pack swoop in to turn 12 was special, but details as to who was actually winning the races was sketchy. I gather Haga won the first race and Spies the second, with Leon the Pocket Rocket Haslam third in race 2 and Fabrizio running 4th and 5th in the two races.
Four hours later it was all over, and we joined the crowds riding east on Phillip Island Road four abreast.
Back at the pub we drank a beer while waiting for Boon and Daniel5600 to turn up. Some other riders with helmets came in and one asked who the guy on the Triumph Speed Triple is. "He's upstairs changing", I said. "Nice wheelies" said the rider.
Our new drinking companion and his mates had left Grafton on Wednesday and zig-zagged across the Great Dividing Range all the way down to Phillip Island, taking all the twisty routes.
Boon and Daniel5600 and Daniel5600's hangover turned up a little later, and we went to dinner at the Lakes Chinese with them. Boon announced that he wanted to get back to Sydney as soon as possible and wouldn't be coming with us the following day. We asked why, but he refused to answer.
"It's a woman, isn't it?" I asked.
He refused to answer.
"Why the secrecy, Boon?"
He refused to answer.
"Someone we know?"
He refused to answer.
"Wife of a cabinet minister?"
He refused to answer.
"A policewoman, and she's promised to wear her gunbelt and let you use her handcuffs?"
He refused to answer.
"You might have the same amount of fun," I said, "but if you come with us it will last longer. And it will probably be dirtier."
Boon refused to be swayed, so we ate the food and drank the wine and headed back to the pub to get an early night for the 0630 start on Monday.
