Great Roads: Toolangi (Chum Creek Road)

The road through Toolangi State Forest has everything that a motorcyclist could ever dream of: breathtaking beauty, plenty of twists and turns, enough challenge to keep you focused and on your toes, and minimal traffic to come at you on the wrong side of the road.

From its high point up at Kinglake, this road descends down through the forest and open countryside until you arrive at the hamlet of Chum Creek, just a short burst away from Healesville.  In fact I have never taken the road south to north but I intend to do so at the next opportunity; I prefer travelling uphill to going down.

This road is seared into my memory for another reason also.  It was travelling down through the forest back on my Kawasaki Z750 that I felt I was coming into a left hander too hot, and applied enough rear brake to lock the back wheel.  Needless to say this did nothing to assist me in slowing down and making a more dignified turn, and though there were no serious consequences other than slightly shaken nerves and bruised pride, it was the one definitive moment that convinced me of the value of ABS brakes.  As a result I traded in my faithful Z750 on my beloved Ninja 1000, whose power, agility, and ABS brakes I have come to adore and be most grateful for over the last year of riding.  I find it difficult to overstate the confidence it engenders in the rider to be able to apply rear brake to tighten up a turn without fear of a rear end lock up.  So Toolangi has a very special place in my rider's heart for this as well.

Oh and did I mention how absolutely, awe inspiringly beautiful it is?