....the state of being without a drug on which one is dependent.
Got out on the road with a few of the guys whilst back home on my leave break - after 6 weeks without my daily fix of riding the Zook, it was an awesome experience. I only managed to get out twice due to my workload around the new house, but both times were really enjoyable and a great release for me.
On the Sunday of my only full weekend at home, a few of us met at Exit 38. Eddie was on his new 3 wheeled Spyder which drew a lot of attention, along with Dodge, Grasshopper, Johno and Lizzy and Mike on the MT-01. We rode the short distance out to Jacobs Well for a beer, then inland towards Canungra for lunch and then home via Grasshoppers new place. It was only a relatively short ride, but was good to be back in motorcycle paradise under clear blue skies and riding with my mates.
On the holiday Monday, we again met at Exit 38 but this time decided to put some real miles on the bikes. Grasshopper and Johno couldn't make it this time, but Connie showed up in their place on my old VTX. We took off towards Tamborine and then decided to climb the mountain - who hoo, this was fun. The road running from Tamborine up to Eagle Heights is not in the best condition and gets rough in some spots but it is tight with lots of switchbacks and makes for a great warm up. I took off from the others with Dodge on my tail and we really pushed our bikes hard, enjoying every inch of the bitumen.
We re-grouped up top and then followed the road through Mt Tamborine and down the other side towards Canungra. There was a fair bit of traffic across the top, especially where the hang gliders take off from, but it thinned once we reached the decent. The road on this side of the mountain is in much better condition and we again pushed hard all the way down. Gees it felt great. We re-grouped at the bottom and then took off towards Numinbah. Mike and Lizzy led the way and took us for a great little diversion via Clagiraba Rd where we came out on the Nerang - Murwillumbah Rd.
From here, the road opened up offering some nice long straights, sweepers and a few tighter corners, all the while riding alongside the Hinze Dam - some of the best riding in this part of the world!! Once again, we spread out and took it at our own pace - I opened the Zook up a bit but was wary that this road is usually pretty heavilly patrolled. We finally pulled up on a straight section of road not too far from the border and waited for the tailenders. It was great to watch some of the other bikes pass us, clearly enjoying the road as much as we were.
After a bit of a break, we took off towards Chillingham over the border for a fuel stop. The view of the range on crossing in to New South Wales was spectacular, and the ride into Chillingham was equally enjoyable. We stopped here for a short break whilst Mike refuelled the MT-01 and then decided to leg it to the Tyalgum pub for lunch. It was along this road that a cattle dog decided to have a go at my front tyre - this scared the absolute crap out of me as I only saw it just before it stoopped short of my front wheel!! Nothing like a four legged heart starter to keep you on your toes! We arrived at the pub and waited for the others - when they pulled up Connie mentioned that the dog also had a go at her with the same result. Both of us were very lucky! We headed in for lunch but found that the kitchen was closed on a Monday, so headed to Uki.
We had a fantastic feed and a few beers whilst sitting out in the shaded beer garden at the Mount Warning Hotel watching the bikes pass - talk about paradise. This really is a great part of our country, and the weather was making it all the more enjoyable. These are the things that I have really been missing and am looking forward to doing more of once my assignment in Kazakhstan has finished.
From Uki we decided to head back to Brisbane via the motorway. We passed through Murwillumbah and then joined the traffic heading north. This part of the road is currently undergoing a lot of roadworks and so the traffic was backed up quite a way. Mike and Lizzy, Dodge and myself decided to make our way through the traffic riding along the emergency lane and we were glad we did as traffic was almost at a standstill. This is where we lost Eddie and Connie. We waited for a while once through Tugun, but then decided to continue without them as the backup of traffic meant we would have been there for a long time.
We continued up the M1 and then took the Logan Motorway out to see Grizz and Panda. We had heard that Grizz had come off his bike the day before after some young dickhead drifter had crossed onto his side of the road near Springbrook. Luckily he was not injured and there was not much damage done to his bike. The young guy told Grizz that he will pay cash for any damage, obviously not wanting to wear an increase in his insurance premiums. We only stayed for a while, but it was great to see them both.
I arrived home just before 6 after one fabulous day on the bike. Now....only one more 6 week block of abstinence and then I am home to ride again...and again...and again!!
Got out on the road with a few of the guys whilst back home on my leave break - after 6 weeks without my daily fix of riding the Zook, it was an awesome experience. I only managed to get out twice due to my workload around the new house, but both times were really enjoyable and a great release for me.
On the Sunday of my only full weekend at home, a few of us met at Exit 38. Eddie was on his new 3 wheeled Spyder which drew a lot of attention, along with Dodge, Grasshopper, Johno and Lizzy and Mike on the MT-01. We rode the short distance out to Jacobs Well for a beer, then inland towards Canungra for lunch and then home via Grasshoppers new place. It was only a relatively short ride, but was good to be back in motorcycle paradise under clear blue skies and riding with my mates.
On the holiday Monday, we again met at Exit 38 but this time decided to put some real miles on the bikes. Grasshopper and Johno couldn't make it this time, but Connie showed up in their place on my old VTX. We took off towards Tamborine and then decided to climb the mountain - who hoo, this was fun. The road running from Tamborine up to Eagle Heights is not in the best condition and gets rough in some spots but it is tight with lots of switchbacks and makes for a great warm up. I took off from the others with Dodge on my tail and we really pushed our bikes hard, enjoying every inch of the bitumen.
We re-grouped up top and then followed the road through Mt Tamborine and down the other side towards Canungra. There was a fair bit of traffic across the top, especially where the hang gliders take off from, but it thinned once we reached the decent. The road on this side of the mountain is in much better condition and we again pushed hard all the way down. Gees it felt great. We re-grouped at the bottom and then took off towards Numinbah. Mike and Lizzy led the way and took us for a great little diversion via Clagiraba Rd where we came out on the Nerang - Murwillumbah Rd.
From here, the road opened up offering some nice long straights, sweepers and a few tighter corners, all the while riding alongside the Hinze Dam - some of the best riding in this part of the world!! Once again, we spread out and took it at our own pace - I opened the Zook up a bit but was wary that this road is usually pretty heavilly patrolled. We finally pulled up on a straight section of road not too far from the border and waited for the tailenders. It was great to watch some of the other bikes pass us, clearly enjoying the road as much as we were.
After a bit of a break, we took off towards Chillingham over the border for a fuel stop. The view of the range on crossing in to New South Wales was spectacular, and the ride into Chillingham was equally enjoyable. We stopped here for a short break whilst Mike refuelled the MT-01 and then decided to leg it to the Tyalgum pub for lunch. It was along this road that a cattle dog decided to have a go at my front tyre - this scared the absolute crap out of me as I only saw it just before it stoopped short of my front wheel!! Nothing like a four legged heart starter to keep you on your toes! We arrived at the pub and waited for the others - when they pulled up Connie mentioned that the dog also had a go at her with the same result. Both of us were very lucky! We headed in for lunch but found that the kitchen was closed on a Monday, so headed to Uki.
We had a fantastic feed and a few beers whilst sitting out in the shaded beer garden at the Mount Warning Hotel watching the bikes pass - talk about paradise. This really is a great part of our country, and the weather was making it all the more enjoyable. These are the things that I have really been missing and am looking forward to doing more of once my assignment in Kazakhstan has finished.
From Uki we decided to head back to Brisbane via the motorway. We passed through Murwillumbah and then joined the traffic heading north. This part of the road is currently undergoing a lot of roadworks and so the traffic was backed up quite a way. Mike and Lizzy, Dodge and myself decided to make our way through the traffic riding along the emergency lane and we were glad we did as traffic was almost at a standstill. This is where we lost Eddie and Connie. We waited for a while once through Tugun, but then decided to continue without them as the backup of traffic meant we would have been there for a long time.
We continued up the M1 and then took the Logan Motorway out to see Grizz and Panda. We had heard that Grizz had come off his bike the day before after some young dickhead drifter had crossed onto his side of the road near Springbrook. Luckily he was not injured and there was not much damage done to his bike. The young guy told Grizz that he will pay cash for any damage, obviously not wanting to wear an increase in his insurance premiums. We only stayed for a while, but it was great to see them both.
I arrived home just before 6 after one fabulous day on the bike. Now....only one more 6 week block of abstinence and then I am home to ride again...and again...and again!!
Spyder, VTX1300, MT-01, GSX1400, America
A few of the other bikes out on the road
Low down shot
Deciding where to head for lunch
The pub at Uki where we lunched
Labels: On the road
posted by Beaker at 11:20 AM
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2 Comments:
Its sounds like you had a great day! I test rode a Spyder and it was soooo fun! Question: In California we can "split" lanes, that is, to ride between cars, you speak of an "emergency bike" lane? What is that? Is that a whole seperate lane? It would be nice to have something like that here in America.
Hi KT,
It is actually just an emergency stopping lane on the kerb side of the road - I'm sure you would have something similar over there. Too many idiots on the road to split, plus it is not legal here unfortunately.
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