Twice delayed, our ‘Spring’ Run to Truffleduck in Fyansford finally happened on a pleasant Sunday morning commencing at our meeting point - the BP service station at Rockbank. It was only four months late, due of course to delays caused by Covid. As they say, all things come to those who wait, and this particular run, expertly organised by David and Jennie Turner, together with Alvaro and Maria Del Gallo was well worth the wait.
As for the lunch venue, Truffleduck, just outside Geelong in Fyansford, was superb, an ideal setting for our group. A great place to catch up outside in the well-established gardens to enjoy canapes and drinks, stretch our legs and chat before heading indoors to the recently (very nicely) refurbished restaurant space, with its delightful indoor/outdoor set up that was simply perfect on this fine, warm summer day.
Attracting around 90 eager members, including five new members, we enjoyed a fairly seamless run through attractive countryside, on mainly excellent roads through the Pentland Hills to Ballan, onto Mount Egerton where we were shadowed by a seemingly endless number of large, looming wind turbines. From there we headed south towards Meredith before heading south east to Maude, which provided a very attractive valley vista. Our conga line of very diverse, pristine Porsches weaved through many hitherto unknown parts of the region, and despite a couple of jiggly stretches of road and the odd depression (i.e pothole) it was a very rewarding drive.
In keeping with the very appealing surrounds we enjoyed a delicious meal and terrific service from the friendly Truffleduck team. Thank you. As is usual, bottles of wine were raffled, with four lucky winners, including new member Tracey Watson. Nice one Tracey, we hope this completed a very enjoyable first PCV run for you.
Most of us managed to follow the clear run notes and we were largely untroubled by other vehicles, a particularly refreshing change from those runs where, through no fault of the organisers, our groups are spread out amongst a cavalcade of utes, passenger cars, trucks and various slow moving traffic. That we were able to stick together for almost the entirety of the 170 kilometre run was really appreciated by all, and allowed us to coordinate our arrival at the designated car park. The drive course gave us all the opportunity to really enjoy a sense of a shared experience, with a long line of Porsches up front and behind, as we put our prized sports cars through their paces.
Congratulations again to Maria, Alvaro, Jennie and David - this drive day was a winner!
After enjoying a laughter-filled lunch, catching up with old friends after so many delays, and meeting new members, we filtered out of the venue and most of us endured the joyless and monotonous M1 journey back to Melbourne, a stark contrast to the joyful drive day we had experienced only a few short hours earlier.
Of course, no PCV run is complete without a couple of missed turns, especially within such a big group, but the nature of the run meant that those who missed a turn could easily reattach to the main group without much trouble. Although late summer was quite dry, and the countryside was less verdant than earlier in the year, it was still easy to appreciate the charm of rolling countryside around the Brisbane Ranges, Barrabool Hills, Ceres, Bannockburn and the like. The golden plains and undulating landscapes were a delight. A big thumbs up to the organisers, for this was a very well designed run.
Past PCV Treasurers Roger Randle and Roger Holding with Past President Tony Carolan 38
PORSCHE PARADE
June Oldham, Harriet Anson & Sue Baty
Event organiser David Turner
