Kat And I woke early on Saturday and thought we would do a bit of a pre-ride ride out to the Port before heading across the city to the Mt Cootha mustering point for the God Squad run. Cruised along the waterfront at Manly and Wynnum in the warm morning sun - beautiful - the water was like glass and the view out to Moreton Island was sensational. We eventually made our way onto the motorway heading out to the Port. Always something happening out there and we both find it really interesting. Did the circuit around the wharves watching all the cranes loading containers onto trucks and then headed inland towards the city.
Finally made it to the carpark at Mt Cootha, paid our ride fee then rode in and met up with all the others from the Village. Did the usual walk around checking all the other bikes out and caught up with a few people I hadn't seen for a while. One bike that I thought looked really good was Alleys V-Star - Spokes gave it a birthday with new paint, solo seat, various bits of bling and some 14 inch apes. These are what really caught my eye and I am now keener than ever to put a set on the VTX - anyway, I need a new clutch cable. Another stand out was the Road King with a gazillion lights on its rear end - dunno what purpose they served but man it looked freaky.
Anyway, we finally headed off around 11am - reckon there would have been about 300 bikes all up. Headed down the Centenery Mwy and at a few points you could see the bikes stretch off into the distance - looked and sounded great. Turned onto the Ipswich Mwy and then onto the Logan Mwy. We left the Logan Mwy and then followed the pack down the Mt Lindsay Hwy - Eddie pulled off to the side and Dodge pulled up to help him. Found out that he lost pressure in his hydraulic clutch and ended up on the trailer of the support vehicle.
After turning off the highway for the road to Tamborine a few of us pulled up - Grizz told us that it would be better to let the group head up the mountain and then we would follow on the empty road - that was a good call. After about 20 minutes we re-mounted and took the road through Tamborine and then up the mountain - was a really good ride with no-one to bother you and we all rode at our own pace. It did start to rain a bit as we neared Mt Tamborine but that only lasted a few minutes. We finally reached the Eagle Heights Pub not long after the main group.
Now the Eagle Heights is a great pub - it has a beer garden with the best view, spanning from the top end of the Gold Coast all the way down to the border. I was told that Mel Gibson had the place built but never moved in and so the buyers converted it to a pub and built the motel part of it - good move I say - that way we all get to appreciate the view. We lined up for the BBQ lunch and then sat and ate in the sun - beautiful.
We decided to leave the pub whilst they were giving out all the gear, again to avoid the riding in the large group along the not so great roads. Only one problem with that plan - Eddies Drifter was still on the support trailer. A couple of the guys went out and fixed the clutch problem - dunno what they did - think they bled the reservoir and adjusted the lever. Anyway, we ended up having to move the trailer sideways a few feet so we could get the ramp out of the trailer - it was stored on the back end of the trailer, pushed in from one side and this side was up against a stone wall. After a bit of jiggling and lifting, we managed move the trailer, remove the ramp, get the bike off the trailer and back on the road.
Did the ride down to M1 then rode further down to Nerang and took the turn off for the Carrara Sports Complex. Bike Week was happening!! We rode in and parked in amongst a sea of bikes - wish it was like this all the time. Flashed our cards from the God Squad run, passed the metal detector (why is it that only the guys were scanned??) and we were in.
The first thing you noticed was the mud - it had been raining pretty heavy a couple of days before and with all the foot traffic, the once grassy park had been turned into a stinking muddy bog. There were some stalls that looked as it they had been literally dropped into the middle of the mud. Had to feel sorry for some of these guys coz the conditions stopped a lot of people from wandering around - a lot of people stuck to the sealed access road and higher parts. There were a lot of camp sights off to one side - dunno how they coped with all the mud. There also seemed to be heaps of cops there just watching everyone enjoying themselves - I think they must have been a bit worried that something similar to the Angels / Finks showdown from a few months back might occur. I reckon they went a bit overboard.
Anyway, we spent a couple of hours wandering around admiring the choppers and checking out some parts - didn't find the bling I was looking for but did find a place to buy some ape hangers (my next project)!! These guys also had a couple of their choppers entered in the comp and I think they ended up winning "Best Chopper". We also managed to catch up with a few people throughout the day - Pheonix and Benita from VTXOA and a couple of other guys I know.
Later on in the arvo we managed to get hold of a couple of drinks and sit down - the band was playing off in the distance to our left, bikes reving madly on the dyno to our right and a steady stream of people passing. Every now and then you would hear a something start - a chopper or the rocket powered ute - and people would move in the general direction. It was good just to sit there and watch it all after walking around for so long.
After seeing everything we wanted, we decided it was time to head home. Managed to catcht up with everyone else and decided to leave with them - fueled up and then headed up the M1 to Brisbane. Was a good day.
Finally made it to the carpark at Mt Cootha, paid our ride fee then rode in and met up with all the others from the Village. Did the usual walk around checking all the other bikes out and caught up with a few people I hadn't seen for a while. One bike that I thought looked really good was Alleys V-Star - Spokes gave it a birthday with new paint, solo seat, various bits of bling and some 14 inch apes. These are what really caught my eye and I am now keener than ever to put a set on the VTX - anyway, I need a new clutch cable. Another stand out was the Road King with a gazillion lights on its rear end - dunno what purpose they served but man it looked freaky.
Anyway, we finally headed off around 11am - reckon there would have been about 300 bikes all up. Headed down the Centenery Mwy and at a few points you could see the bikes stretch off into the distance - looked and sounded great. Turned onto the Ipswich Mwy and then onto the Logan Mwy. We left the Logan Mwy and then followed the pack down the Mt Lindsay Hwy - Eddie pulled off to the side and Dodge pulled up to help him. Found out that he lost pressure in his hydraulic clutch and ended up on the trailer of the support vehicle.
After turning off the highway for the road to Tamborine a few of us pulled up - Grizz told us that it would be better to let the group head up the mountain and then we would follow on the empty road - that was a good call. After about 20 minutes we re-mounted and took the road through Tamborine and then up the mountain - was a really good ride with no-one to bother you and we all rode at our own pace. It did start to rain a bit as we neared Mt Tamborine but that only lasted a few minutes. We finally reached the Eagle Heights Pub not long after the main group.
Now the Eagle Heights is a great pub - it has a beer garden with the best view, spanning from the top end of the Gold Coast all the way down to the border. I was told that Mel Gibson had the place built but never moved in and so the buyers converted it to a pub and built the motel part of it - good move I say - that way we all get to appreciate the view. We lined up for the BBQ lunch and then sat and ate in the sun - beautiful.
We decided to leave the pub whilst they were giving out all the gear, again to avoid the riding in the large group along the not so great roads. Only one problem with that plan - Eddies Drifter was still on the support trailer. A couple of the guys went out and fixed the clutch problem - dunno what they did - think they bled the reservoir and adjusted the lever. Anyway, we ended up having to move the trailer sideways a few feet so we could get the ramp out of the trailer - it was stored on the back end of the trailer, pushed in from one side and this side was up against a stone wall. After a bit of jiggling and lifting, we managed move the trailer, remove the ramp, get the bike off the trailer and back on the road.
Did the ride down to M1 then rode further down to Nerang and took the turn off for the Carrara Sports Complex. Bike Week was happening!! We rode in and parked in amongst a sea of bikes - wish it was like this all the time. Flashed our cards from the God Squad run, passed the metal detector (why is it that only the guys were scanned??) and we were in.
The first thing you noticed was the mud - it had been raining pretty heavy a couple of days before and with all the foot traffic, the once grassy park had been turned into a stinking muddy bog. There were some stalls that looked as it they had been literally dropped into the middle of the mud. Had to feel sorry for some of these guys coz the conditions stopped a lot of people from wandering around - a lot of people stuck to the sealed access road and higher parts. There were a lot of camp sights off to one side - dunno how they coped with all the mud. There also seemed to be heaps of cops there just watching everyone enjoying themselves - I think they must have been a bit worried that something similar to the Angels / Finks showdown from a few months back might occur. I reckon they went a bit overboard.
Anyway, we spent a couple of hours wandering around admiring the choppers and checking out some parts - didn't find the bling I was looking for but did find a place to buy some ape hangers (my next project)!! These guys also had a couple of their choppers entered in the comp and I think they ended up winning "Best Chopper". We also managed to catch up with a few people throughout the day - Pheonix and Benita from VTXOA and a couple of other guys I know.
Later on in the arvo we managed to get hold of a couple of drinks and sit down - the band was playing off in the distance to our left, bikes reving madly on the dyno to our right and a steady stream of people passing. Every now and then you would hear a something start - a chopper or the rocket powered ute - and people would move in the general direction. It was good just to sit there and watch it all after walking around for so long.
After seeing everything we wanted, we decided it was time to head home. Managed to catcht up with everyone else and decided to leave with them - fueled up and then headed up the M1 to Brisbane. Was a good day.
Labels: Bike Show, On the road, Poker Run
posted by Beaker at 8:02 AM
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2 Comments:
Those are some pretty awesome bikes. Was that Lord of the Rings pictures painted on one?
Yes Betty it was - the detail in the paint was incredible and the characters were almost photo like. The pictures do it no justice.
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