Saturday, April 19, 2008 - 08:18 pm, by: Glen Muller(Doom_and_gloom)
Hi all!
Today was the day for the April Victorian Cruise organised and led by yours truly. Myself and my partner arrived at the meet point around half an hour early and went inside to grab some Maccas before the others arrived, only for Daniel and Wafi to arrive just as I took a bite out of my Big Mac.
Diggler and partner rocked up a few moments later, followed by Prayag and his younger sibling in the single turbo, and James in the TT with one of his mates. Pretty soon the introductions had all been made, and we were all out in the carpark at the Calder Park service centre chewing the fat and checking out each others' rides. I'm sold on Daniel's exhaust setup (thanks!), so hopefully that will be on the cards soon enough, funds permitting.
After 45 minutes it was obvious that nobody else was going to show, so we made a move north on the Calder Freeway in the direction of Woodend. I must use this point in my ramblings to say just how damn awesome 5 Soarers look heading up the freeway in single file - the sight is enough to get me on every cruise I can possibly make.
We peeled off the freeway on to the old Calder Highway near Woodend and gently cruised through the Black Forest area. Woodend residents were treated to the image of the Soarers, while we rolled through town to the Daylesford turn-off. The drive meandered through the Hepburn Shire region, with all 5 Soarer drivers taking it pretty easy (except I did get in trouble from the lady friend for my foot on the floor 2-car overtake).
We arrived in Daylesford, found parking, and wandered off for a feed. I'm not quite sure what the others had but we decided on a nice healthy cafe since we'd eaten McShit for breakfast! I also bought a pack of chilli venison jerky from a local butcher, and we've devoured most of it already. Ask Wafi - it was damn tasty.
We continued to Mt Franklin where a few photos were taken (great spot for some photography). After a brief spell the group went on to Castlemaine and stopped off for a drink and a break in one of the pubs before trickling off to our various abodes. I led the group back to the freeway at Elphinstone before I took the left turn to head back to Bendigo, and the rest of the crew headed on back to Melbourne. I hear it was a nice easy drive home, which is good to hear.
All in all, no damaged cars, no demerit points lost, and a good time had by all. It's nice to sometimes have a nice cruise at a relaxed pace; not everything needs to be done at breakneck speed.
Thanks to the participants for a great day out. I can't wait for the next one! I just hope we get a few more, since 5 is a pretty awful turnout.
Crappy camera phone shots: (we forgot our digicam - don't worry, there were other cameras and I'm sure the others will be along to upload them promptly!)
From the left: Morgan's TT, Prayag's single turbo, Daniel's '31 V8, James' TT and my '31 V8.
