....Leaving The Giant Trout behind, (resisting the temptation to take the obligatory photo), we RV with some Canberra-based riders on the mailing list before turning off to Middlebank and Berridale. This route allows us to cut-out much of the heavily patrolled Monaro Hwy that connects Canberra with Jindabyne and the NSW snow fields. More flowing sweepers ensue before we finally arrive at the Jindabyne BP for more bang-water. Must admit, BPs in the NSW snowies seem to be the places with PULP.

We're keeping to a tight schedule, so we're soon off to Charlotte's Pass via Perisher Blue ski resort. Charlottes is the closest you can get to Mt Kosciusko by road - but this normally lovely stretch of road through the sparsely vegetated (above the tree line) alpine valleys is ruined by a series of major road works. Long stops at temporary traffic lights are taken in good humour however. We chat amiably with the RTA guys who find the long line of motorcycles more interesting to watch than the work before them. They're shocked to find we plan to be in Mt Beauty in the Victorian Alps by that same evening.

Lunch at the old Jindabyne shopping centre - with its brilliant open forecourt, granite stonework and view over Lake Jindabyne and statue of polish explorer Strezlecki - pointing his way to the mountains, looking like a purposeful Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.

Setting out for Thredbo, Tom Groggin and Khancoban in the Murray River Valley - we discover one of the best kept secrets in the country - The Alpine Way is awesome - just way too awesome. I simply cannot do this road justice in words; it has sweepers, not-too-tight twisties, steep mountain descents, forest storming like that mad scene from Star Wars with the scooters flying amongst the trees, and canyon carving as we motor through man-made gorges that were gouged through by the hydroelectric workers in the 50's. Scammels Spur lookout offers a soul-lifting sight of the south side of the NSW alpine country - down which we had just plunged. Guess many road riders think this route has too much dirt - but can you keep a secret? There's now only 7kms or so of easy gravel on this most excellent road.

Descending now past hydro power stations to the pretty village of Khancoban is mad riding on snaking roads - bikes are metronomes pivoting in time to the beat of the Alpine Way, accompanied by an orchestra of screaming gears and howling exhausts.

Past Khancoban, we're now cruising down the Murray Valley Hwy - easy yet intensely satisfying 140km/h sweepers unfold before us as we hasten to the smell of Victorian beer waiting for us in the lovely alpine town of Mt Beauty. We pass the Melbourne group who planned to meet us up here and join us for the night in Mt Beauty. The Mexicans turn around and motor after us - succeeding in catching us but more than a little surprised at the high average cruising speeds.

At Mt Beauty we sample the biker-friendly Caltex servo, and 'crash' at Annie's Snow View Apartments. This simple but excellent accommodation is nestled into the hill-side a short stroll from the village centre. There's beer waiting for us in the fridge and the pool is soon the place to be - delightfully cool and refreshing on aching limbs. We wait for Andrew and Laurie (both on ZZR1100s) to arrive - some concern about what's happened to them. Turns out Andrew's rear tyre, a Pirelli Dragon with allegedly 3,000kms left in it, has spat the dummy at all the high speed fanging. The tyre is down to the canvas right around the centre. Andrew leaves the bike in the care of a local friend, and pillion's with Laurie to the Snow View. An amusing image as the lanky Andrew unpeels himself from the ZZR's rear perch.

Dinner on Saturday night at The Grainery is another example of Mt Beauty's bike-friendliness. A delicious meal and waiting staff who are more friendly and polite than anything this side of the States. After a stroll back to Annie's, a bottle of port is finished off by the pool under an intense expanse of coldly brilliant stars.

Next morning, Jeff (VFR750) volunteers to take Andrew back to his Kwaka (a 1.5 hour return trip) to hunt down a rear hoop. Generosity like Laurie's and Jeff's make these trips the success that they are. Sadly for Andrew, whilst he uncovers a 2nd hand tyre in a close-by town that will fit, he's unable to remove the rear wheel thanks to a sheered nut. He meets us briefly later in the day for lunch at Bright - but his itinerary is a lonely one as he must stay alone in the area that night to get proper repairs effected the next day.

Sunday is just another shitty day in paradise. Sunny, windless and delightfully cool again. We sample Annie's bran muffins, (which jet propel us for the rest of the trip), but never see the Triumph Thunderbird she secretes in her garage. We're soon motoring off to Falls Creek up an extraordinarily tight 30kms of endless forested mountain curves. No speeds posted on the corners - so no-one is hero-peg scratching these buggers, although (a different) Andrew on a VFR750 with D&D exhaust roars up the mountain like a lit rocket.  The corners are almost too tight - but taken on a rolling throttle - a lot of fun is had by everyone, including the tourers. We stop only briefly in the frigid air at the top - as the itinerary demands we keep moving. We're soon off to Hotham Heights on similarly unbelievable twisty roads. And I thought the Oxley Hwy in NSW was good! This stuff shits all over it. The road is deeply benched into the ridge top at Hotham - making for some dramatic views and tippy-toe riding. A few hearty laughs are had at local landmark names like Mt Baldy and Mt Blowhard.

Sue (Transalp), Frank (K1100LT) and Jeff (VFR750) take the dirt route from Falls to Omeo and then back up to Hotham Heights. Sue offs in the dirt down to Omeo. The bike loses half a brake lever but is otherwise looking indistinguishable from its previous banged-up shape. Its owner has sustained suspected cracked ribs in the fall, but Sue soldiers on stoically for the rest of the trip. They report back that the Blue Duck Hotel between Falls and Omeo is a totally magic spot that deserves an overnight stay.

Down to Bright for lunch, up to Mt Buffalo (yet more twisties) and then across to Tintaldra for the night. Motoring to Tintaldra is a big hike so late in the day. We scoot through places with outrageous names like Yackandandah and Tangambalanga - (just try saying that 10 times fast). The road by Lake Hume is perfect high speed cruising - with nary another vehicle in sight. Victoria is great like this - rural areas with bugger-all population are still served by a network of great bike roads. That's hardly the case in NSW.

Lake Hume imparts a surreal atmosphere - with its hundreds of flooded trees poking starkly from the waters. We stop for fuel in the deserted town of Tallangatta. Laurie had phoned ahead to ask the rickety servo to stay open to fuel 20 thirsty bikes. I'm putting octane booster into the K12's tank now that only standard unleaded is available. The stuff works - there's no pinging. I try not to breath the fumes as I hear octane boosting additives are incredibly toxic. Local plod pulls up in his 4WD - sniffing an opportunity to get an advantage from so many congregated bikes. He needs to get his RBT numbers up for his report to the district commander, so bags every one of us - even the only pillion passenger of the trip - just for good measure.

Alf at the Tintaldra pub is another example of north-eastern Victoria's biker friendliness. And Alf's wife Maija puts on a great feed for the group. I sleep like a dead man that night - the 650km of awesome roads having used up all my reserves. Next day we're off by 8:15am - over the Murray and motoring the extraordinary Elliot Way to Cabramurra. We climb dramatically from the Murray valley into real alpine country again - the temperature drops 8 degrees and the vegetation turns to snow gum forests. Some unforgiving but fun twisties are brutally dissected in the frigid morning air around the Tumut river and past Tumut 2 power station.. Cabramurra is an oddly artificial village - a company town - built by the Snowy Mnts Authority for its hydro workers. The view from the town look-out offers an amusing view of rows of identical homes with green-painted corrugated iron roofs, all sloping the same way to discard the winter snows.

There's a bushfire around Talbingo Mtn, on the Snowy Mtns Hwy near Blowering Reservoir. This had been the planned route home, but as the road is closed nor-west of Kiandra, we must travel sou-east instead to Cooma. Some more high speed work through the alpine tundra has us travelling at speeds that test the purpose of design of each of our machines. The telling thing is that everyone is chuffed with their bike, whether on tourers, sports-tourers or race replicas. The capability of any machine is totally rider subjective. Even Neil and Rick, two-up on a ZZR600, are happily carving the laden bike through the curves - albeit near the back of the group.

On the Monaro Hwy we endure convoy duty thanks to the suspected presence of plod. We stop at Collector, just north of Lake George, for a late lunch at the classic old Collector pub. Why stop at Maccas when you can soak up the atmosphere & local history of a country pub like this?

The group now splits and heads home in different directions - depending on what part of greater Sydney they come from.

We'd successfully completed a real-world tour of the alpine country - and proved that a large group can compress 2,500 kms into just 4 days - and still enjoy every exhausting second of it. All credit to Laurie Williams (ZZR1100) who shed blood, sweat and tears to make it happen.

Now what will the next adventure bring.......