It had been a few weeks since we had ridden some of the great roads north of Brisbane so Kat & I, on a child free weekend, decided to head up that way on Saturday. We met up with Koff (yeah we were a bit late!!) at the toll plaza of the Gateway Bridge and then headed for a fuel stop at Nudgee. After fueling both the bikes and us we took off bound for Maleny. The weather was overcast and the clouds looked very dark to the north so we expected to get a little wet.
We headed north along the motorway and copped a sprinkle of rain along the way. Traffic was pretty full on and we were slowed right up as we made our way through the roadworks. Finally got up to the Landsborough exit and followed the soon-to-be Steve Irwin Way through Glass House Mtns and onto Beerwah. Just north of Beerwah we decided to pull into Australia Zoo to check out the tributes to Steve Irwin. Didn't even need to get off the bikes - just rode up and had a look at the pictures, flowers, flags, etc on the footpath adjacent to the zoo entrance. Lots of tributes to the man and still some people leaving their thoughts in a book that had been set up. Says a lot about the bloke. Anyway, we got back onto the road and headed up the mountains towards Maleny.
The views of the Sunshine Coast and out to sea as you reach the top are impressive, although it was very hazy and you could feel the temperature drop the higher we got. Finally rode into Maleny and after riding the length of the main street, decided to stop for a drink at the pub. It was here that I suggested we go back and see if we can find somewhere to take some pics of the bikes. After finishing our drinks we headed out to the bikes and headed back a few kms to find a decent vista for a few pictures. We did find a couple of spots and took some pics, but had more fun getting in and out of these places. There was a lot of haze around so nothing spectacular to look at unfortunately.
We then dropped in to some relatives of Koff's who live in Maleny in a great location and with the best garage ever!! Everything including the kitchen sink - my dream garage with enough room to house 4 cars comfortably, huge benches a seperate brewing room and a deck!! You wouldn't see much of me if I lived there. Anyway, we shared a drink with them and then after the tour of that garage, headed off.
The road from Maleny down to the Kilcoy-Beerwah Rd is a great road on a bike, passing through some sweeping sections of road and then into a dense forest bordering some nice tight corners - only about 6 or 7 kms but demanding enough to test your skills. Really enjoy this road everytime I ride it, which is not often enough! Once at the tee intersection, we turned right heading towards Woodford, and the country opens up with long straight sections of road, and nice long sweeping corners - good for a real decent blat. Again, not a lot of traffic which was surprising considering it was a Saturday afternoon. We reached the Daguilar Hwy and rode into Woodford where we stopped for lunch.
After filling up on burgers and fish we re-mounted and rode the short distance to Daguilar, turning right onto Mt Mee Rd. From here the road took us through many varied landscapes and varying degrees of road conditions. The road itself really needs resurfacing in a lot of areas - it is a pitty because it does detract a little from what would be an otherwise excellent ride. Through Dayboro and past the old Crown Hotel, then on to Samford. Very few vehicles again - and I think we passed less than five bikes heading in the opposite direction, which is not many for a popular bike route.
We pulled into the servo on the roundabout at Samford to fuel up and then headed into the city and the traffic. The ride through Brisbane Forest Park was busy with a lot of cars heading towards the city. Onto the ICB and Riverside Expressway and that's where we waved off Koff who still had another 80 kms to home. We got back to my place at about 5:30 after just less than 300kms. Another day spent doing what we love - in the saddle and riding!!
The route we took can be viewed here.
We headed north along the motorway and copped a sprinkle of rain along the way. Traffic was pretty full on and we were slowed right up as we made our way through the roadworks. Finally got up to the Landsborough exit and followed the soon-to-be Steve Irwin Way through Glass House Mtns and onto Beerwah. Just north of Beerwah we decided to pull into Australia Zoo to check out the tributes to Steve Irwin. Didn't even need to get off the bikes - just rode up and had a look at the pictures, flowers, flags, etc on the footpath adjacent to the zoo entrance. Lots of tributes to the man and still some people leaving their thoughts in a book that had been set up. Says a lot about the bloke. Anyway, we got back onto the road and headed up the mountains towards Maleny.
The views of the Sunshine Coast and out to sea as you reach the top are impressive, although it was very hazy and you could feel the temperature drop the higher we got. Finally rode into Maleny and after riding the length of the main street, decided to stop for a drink at the pub. It was here that I suggested we go back and see if we can find somewhere to take some pics of the bikes. After finishing our drinks we headed out to the bikes and headed back a few kms to find a decent vista for a few pictures. We did find a couple of spots and took some pics, but had more fun getting in and out of these places. There was a lot of haze around so nothing spectacular to look at unfortunately.
We then dropped in to some relatives of Koff's who live in Maleny in a great location and with the best garage ever!! Everything including the kitchen sink - my dream garage with enough room to house 4 cars comfortably, huge benches a seperate brewing room and a deck!! You wouldn't see much of me if I lived there. Anyway, we shared a drink with them and then after the tour of that garage, headed off.
The road from Maleny down to the Kilcoy-Beerwah Rd is a great road on a bike, passing through some sweeping sections of road and then into a dense forest bordering some nice tight corners - only about 6 or 7 kms but demanding enough to test your skills. Really enjoy this road everytime I ride it, which is not often enough! Once at the tee intersection, we turned right heading towards Woodford, and the country opens up with long straight sections of road, and nice long sweeping corners - good for a real decent blat. Again, not a lot of traffic which was surprising considering it was a Saturday afternoon. We reached the Daguilar Hwy and rode into Woodford where we stopped for lunch.
After filling up on burgers and fish we re-mounted and rode the short distance to Daguilar, turning right onto Mt Mee Rd. From here the road took us through many varied landscapes and varying degrees of road conditions. The road itself really needs resurfacing in a lot of areas - it is a pitty because it does detract a little from what would be an otherwise excellent ride. Through Dayboro and past the old Crown Hotel, then on to Samford. Very few vehicles again - and I think we passed less than five bikes heading in the opposite direction, which is not many for a popular bike route.
We pulled into the servo on the roundabout at Samford to fuel up and then headed into the city and the traffic. The ride through Brisbane Forest Park was busy with a lot of cars heading towards the city. Onto the ICB and Riverside Expressway and that's where we waved off Koff who still had another 80 kms to home. We got back to my place at about 5:30 after just less than 300kms. Another day spent doing what we love - in the saddle and riding!!
The route we took can be viewed here.
Labels: On the road
posted by Beaker at 8:48 AM
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