As ‘Tiki’ set out for a cruise with a mate on a sunny spring day, a killer pothole loomed

A retired spray painter and avid motorcyclist went for a weekend ride with a mate. He hit a pothole and never returned.

Peter Mason, 71, known as ‘Tiki’ was riding along a stretch of road on the Western Highway near Trawalla when his motorcycle struck a pothole at speed, causing him to lose control and fall over his handlebars.

He had been riding with a fellow member of the Eureka Social Riders Club, a motorcycle group based in Ballarat, of which he had been the inaugural president since 2019.

The long stretch of highway, located west of Ballarat, has been described as being in a constant state of disrepair, with motorists who are wary of potholes frequently avoiding the area.

Now, the much-maligned road has become a flashpoint of grief and confusion for a local community who have been left shocked following Mason’s unexpected death.

“As the club is still coming to terms with this tragedy, his wife is waiting for family members to arrive from interstate and New Zealand, they are asking for some time before making a statement, hopefully later today,” Eureka Social Riders Club spokesperson David Turner said.

“All I can say is that we are all grieving and at a loss for words about a man who commanded so much respect from his peers.”

Police investigators left the crash scene along the westbound lanes on the Beaufort side of the Trawalla overpass at about 10am on Monday.

The first is in the left lane, just before the overpass guardrail ends, and near where small yellow markings on the side of the road begin.

The second is 100 metres further along the road in the right-hand lane. It is rougher than the first, and police closely inspected it on Monday morning.

An apparent past attempt to repair it has been unsuccessful, with a patch of newer bitumen only loosely connected to the road’s surface, rising slightly when vehicles drive over it and crumbling away when tested by a slight pull of hand.

Meanwhile, the northern side of the road near Trawalla is much better and appears to have been resurfaced recently.

The fresh white lines and dark bitumen on the road to Ballarat stand out in overcast skies.

Jimmy Mat Elkan, a local motorcyclist of more than 20 years, said he almost came off his own motorcycle riding along the freeway near Ballarat last week.