An Old Favourite!

I got out on Sunday morning for a ride with the mob from the Ozbikers forum into northern NSW - all up 11 bikes of various sorts left from Yatala at 8am and took advantage of some great riding weather. It was fantastic to see a lot of other riders out on the road doing the same thing.

Our route took us out to Canungra, Caligraba Road and then along the Numinbah where we re-grouped at Chillingham - this is one of my favourite stretches of bitumen, especially those sweepers alongside the Hinze Dam. As I was new to riding with these guys, I took it relatively easy on the way out, but even so, we were hooking along - most of these guys ride sporties/performance bikes and like to have a go when they can. This was just what I and the B-King needed!

The road surface was in pretty good condition considering what our weather has been like - there were a few potholes but most of those were off the riding line. We did have to make one water crossing on the way into Chillingham, but it was only a couple of inches deep and posed no problems. After a brief stop in Chillinghsm to re-group, we continued on to Murwillumbah and then followed the Old Pacific Hwy over the Burringbar Range.

The road over the Burringbar Range is another favourite of mine - great surface and lots of corners which can really test your riding skills. It is fast and testing and the bike responded to my every demand. This was where I could really get a feel for my new B-King, and I did so - I carved a track up and over and then back - I was on rails. Perhaps the best two features on the bike that I really came to appreciate were the grip from the tyres and the power of the brakes - I was able to really fling the bike around with no doubt that if I needed to slow or stop in a hurry, I could do so. To me this bike is far superior to the GSX1400 in those two areas as well as on take-off - although it is around the same weight, it feels so much lighter when on the gas. You are also in a far more aggressive stance when seated on it with very little between you and the road ahead. Anyway, we rode it a couple of times and then headed back to Murwillumbah for fuel.

After re-fuelling the group headed back towards Canungra for lunch. A couple of us followed Ozzy's lead leaving Murwillumbah but he eventually flagged us past. Up and over the border and back into the Numinbah Valley - this is when the fun began!! I chased a fella in the group on his Busa all the way back to Canungra and gee we had fun in those Hinze sweepers. He would slowly pull away from me on the straights but I would then reel him in on the corners - a real game of cat & mouse!! This continued onto Caligraba Road where he and then I overshot a corner onto the other side of the road. Nothing major and nothing coming the other way, but proves that I was too busy watching him instead of the road. Lesson learnt!

I rode into Canungra with the biggest of grins on my face, having had a fantastic time getting to know my new bike a little better and cannot wait to get out again with these guys.

Re-grouping at Chillingham

Stokers Siding at the bottom of the Burringbar

Cindy's Ankle

Been a while hasn’t it!! I have been riding a bit, just nothing that I have found exciting enough to write about. The daily commute and a few short stints on the odd weekend have been the extent of my riding since getting my license back. That changed a little over the weekend.

I recently changed jobs – at my previous job I worked with Cindy, a lady whom owns a Triumph Daytona 675. She really didn’t seem to ride it that much and I was always on at her about coming out for a day on the road. After much harassment on my part, we finally arranged to do so last Saturday.

I was up early and headed cross-town to Cindy’s place at Springfield. The morning was overcast but the forecast was for a warm sunny day. I got there in just over 45 minutes and shared a coffee with her before heading off for a trip up to Tamborine and Eagle Heights for lunch. Always find it refreshing riding up in the mountains on a warm day.

We took the road from Springfield to the Mt Lindsay Hwy at a steady pace, allowing Cindy to find her feet again. Was a bit slow, but didn't really worry me that much. Onto the highway and then turning off not too far down to head towards Tamborine. Was great to get away from the traffic. The roads were good, the day was nice - not much more you could ask for. We reached the Logan to Tamborine strip and picked the pace up a little, finally pulling up for a break out the front of the Bearded Dragon. I let Cindy know that I would probably take off a bit from here but meet her at the top again.

If you haven't ridden it lately, the road up the mountain is currently being resurfaced. Up to about the half way mark the black stuff is new and smooth as, but then reverts back to the original crap that used to cover this climb all the way from the bottom - filled potholes and really bad camber in a lot of spots have long been it's weakness. It will be a fantastic bit of road once they finish the resurfacing and you pick your times to ride it. Traffic was quite heavy when we rode it so I was forced to use all of the road, but gees, the new bit is good.

I reached the top, pulled up and waited for a short while until Cindy was in my mirrors again. We then continued through Tamborine Village and pulled into the Eagle Heights pub for a few drinks. After a couple of hours we headed off again, this time heading towards the St Bernards pub to check out that huge dog!! We stopped at the info centre so Cindy could grab a few brochures about accomodation up on top of the mountain. Once done we mounted up and were about to hit the road when Cindy dropped her Daytona!

We had parked the bikes on a bit of a hill and as she was just about to take off she went to put her foot down but picked the wrong side. She overbalanaced and the bike went down, trapping her right leg underneath. I got off mine and lifted the bike off her but she was in pain, serious pain. An older couple who witnessed the fall rang an ambulance and stayed with us until it arrived - we sat and waited, watching a lot of other bikes just ride on past. I was pissed off that no other biker pulled up to see if all was ok - I would have for sure. Anyway, the ambos arrived and had a look at what had happened. They decided to cut her boot off and man, I was amazed at how swollen her ankle had become. She had obviously broken it after taking the full weight of her bike as it fell.

The ambos carted Cindy off to Logan Hospital and I found a place to store her bike. I then headed down (whoa, it was a great ride down!!!) to see how things turned out. On arriving at the hospital I was amazed to see how big her ankle had become. I didn't stay too long as she had a friend with her, but rang her later on and she confirmed that it was smashed. She is still in hospital and has already had one operation, with another on the cards once the swelling goes down.

Her bike was not damaged too much with just a couple of scratches on the fairing. Her ankle actually saved the bike, however, it bore the full weight. I felt so bad afterwards, but I do understand I wasn't responsible for what happened. It is just such a pity that we parked on that hill. Fortunately it was a zero speed accident and she will recover eventually, although with some inconvenience.

Take it easy out there people - something this simple can be very painful and very inconvenient.

Under (re)construction!!

Being Prepared...

Was out on the roads south of Brisbane again yesterday after spending the previous weekend down there to celebrate my license return. Rode with a mate of mine and we put quite a few more miles on the bikes. Over Tamborine, down the Numinbah, Burringbar to Brunwick Heads for a fantastic feed, then headed back via Tomewin Road and up the drag strip they call the M1. Weather was perfect with not too much traffic and not one candy car in sight all day. Dropped into my mates place for him to unload some gear and we then both headed back to my place.

We were on the downhill stretch coming up to a set of traffic lights, and then IT happened. A young girl driving a Hyundai decides to turn across in front of me. My first thought was 'Oh shit, I AM GONE'. I deliberately kept away from the front brakes as there were too many white lines and I would prefer to go into rather than under her car, if I had a choice. Locked up the rear brake - it slowed me just enough and as the rear end started to fishtail it pointed the bike in the right direction and I somehow managed to clear the rear of her car by no more than six inches. Scared the crap out of me. I pulled up a little further down the road with my mate and he told me that I did a good job - I really didn't care if I did a shit job, as long as I missed her. I was doing the speed limit, it was starting to get dark and I thought I was visible, but some people just seem to have no speed/distance perception. I was really pissed off at this young chick, but after thinking about it, I am just glad that she didn't decide to yank the brakes on in the middle of the intersection, otherwise I would either be in a hospital bed or the morgue now. I really don't know how I didn't hit her.

After further reflection today, I realised that I was more at fault. I was very, very lucky and I reckon when you are forced into survival mode, you do what comes naturally. Doesn't matter how good you think you are or what you have been taught, the brain just takes over - instinct kicks in. The bottom line is I was not riding defensively, not even thinking this kind of thing would happen to me, when in reality, that is what we should all be doing - my own fault more so than hers. The one thing I have learnt is that when coming up to lights just be prepared for this kind action from the car waiting to turn.

A very good lesson for me, and one I will not forget in a hurry.

My Little Holiday....

Finally received my Notice to Choose from Queensland Transport - not much of a choice though!! Looks like I will be taking a 3 month hiatus starting in two weeks (my chosen date) mainly due to the fact that I cannot see myself being able to go a full 12 months on 2 points, and I really don't want to take the chance at 6 months off the bike. Bit of a bugger coz I will get 3 points back in early July - oh well, I deserved it I suppose.

The joys of public transport, being packed into a tin can with lots of other strangers every morning and afternoon for 50 minutes - oh great. Will NEVER provide the same buzz that riding to and from work does!!! Roll on July - and roll on quick, please.

Ride To Bathurst - Part 1

Gees I am a slacker, BUT I have finally gotten round to documenting the 5 day ride I did back in early December. So here is the first day on the road....

Brisbane To Bendemeer
Thursday morning was dull and overcast - you knew it was going to rain but it was just a matter of when. I readied the bike and fitted the panniers but made the decision not to wear my wets as the day was already quite warm and I usually end up wetter on the inside. Leaving home at 5:30am I made my way to the planned meeting point at Springwood contemplating the day ahead - a 600km ride to Bendemeer, which was just over half way to our destination of Bathurst for the first official get together of Oz GSX1400 owners. I arrived at Maccas and watched the rain begin to fall lightly as the others slowly rolled in.

All up there were seven bikes riding down from Brisbane - five GSX's, Keith on his Beemer and Nev who had flown over from New Zealand on his rented Beemer. We hit the road just after 6:30 - our planned route was to follow the motorway down to Bangalow where we would turn inland and follow the Bruxner Hwy to Casino then cruising the Summerland Way into Grafton. We had been riding the M1 for only fifteen minutes when the rain started - quite heavy in some patches and not my idea of fun when riding on concrete, but we persisted. Not long after crossing the border it subsided - I was drenched, however I didn't mind too much as it was not cold and I would be dry within the hour - something that I much prefer to sweating it out inside a plastic suit.

We reached the exit for Bangalow and began the ride inland. The single carriageway roads were very busy and this made it a bit of a slog, but we knew it wouldn't be long until the roads were ours again. A couple of the guys needed fuel so we stopped in Lismore to do that and then continued the 30 odd kms westward to Casino. Once there, we took the turn south and the roads were finally ours to ride as we pleased. We followed the Summerland Way into Grafton and in those 100kms I reckon you could have counted the cars we passed on both hands - it felt so good to be out on the bike with minimal traffic. We did pass one cop heading in the opposite direction but we had been given a bit of notice, so luckily nothing came of it. A couple of us would make a break every now and then for a bit of a squirt, but we would then back off to allow the others to catch us. There are no real twisty sections on this road but the big plus is that very few trucks use it and it is hardly ever busy.

We rolled into a sunny Grafton and pulled up to refuel and grab a bite to eat. It was from here that the real fun started. The road running from Grafton to Ebor is I believe one of the great Aussie bike roads, however you rarely see much written about it. We headed off along this road and after a rather mundane 20 minutes or so, Keith made a break on his Beemer. Now, as you may know, I am not the type to watch something like this and not react, so I took off after him. For the next 45 minutes we both experienced what I would describe as two wheeled heaven - the thrill of riding a great road with long straights followed by lots of tight mountainous twisties and then back onto another straight only to do it again and again and again whilst close to your limit. It really was magic being able to test myself and the GSX to the fullest. For most of this stretch, the road surface was good and the traffic was sparse, adding to the thrill. We continued this all the way into Ebor (about half way to Armidale) on dry roads, however, just as we got there the rain returned. The weather was on our side at last!! Whilst waiting for the others to arrive I reckon Keith and I talked about every little bit of that road - what a high.

We all lunched at the cafe at Ebor and once the rain had stopped, continued the ride. In my opinion, this part of the road is not quite as exhilarating as the first half because it opens up with more straights and not as many twisty sections. For this part we stuck together, enjoying the expansive plains and rocky terrain bordering the road heading to Armidale. Once there, we refuelled and then continued, following the busy New England Hwy south to our destinations for the evening. There were plenty of trucks and cars on this final 60kms, so it was a very easy going stretch, trying to maintain concentration and all the while wary of our friends in the candy cars bearing radars. We pulled into the carpark of the Bendemeer Hotel at around 4pm.

The Bendemeer Hotel is a fantastic place if you are ever out this way. It is a very biker friendly place and even provides you with an undercover lockup park for your bike, as long as you let em know your coming. We finally managed to sort our rooms (which were fantastic for the price), put our bikes to bed, feed ourselves and then indulge in a few drinks on the wide open verandahs overlooking the creek just as a thunderstorm rolled on in. Tomorrow is another day on the road, but I was still buzzing from today - life doesn't get much better than this does it?

A wet start

Lunch at Ebor

Group shot in Armidale

The room I had...fantastic!

Lock up parking for the bikes

Bendemeer Hotel

Been Out Riding...

Well I just returned from a 2630km five day adventure and it was sooo, sooo good - cannot describe how it felt to be riding some serious distances again (...for me anyway). Spent Thursday and Friday riding down to Bathurst for the GSX1400.org's first annual get together here in Oz - OzMCR 1, then Saturday at the Mount Panorama circuit (did lots of laps) and museum and then Sunday and Monday riding home.

At the moment I am a bit too busy to do a write up, but will post something once I get back in the groove.

The bikes lined up along the start of the straight at Bathurst

Paradise...the top of the Oxley before the sweepers and twisties!

Minyon Falls

Left home early on Sunday morning to get out on the good roads before the traffic. Picked up Dodge at 8am and then Johnno a little later and then set course southwards with our destination being Minyon Falls, just north of Lismore in northern New South Wales. John and Dodge had ridden there a week or so back and recommended it as a must do camping spot, so we thought we would go check it out.

Headed along the motorway to Exit 38 and then across to Canungra. The day was typical for Queensland at this time of year - warmish, blue skies - although there was a fairly strong wind blowing, which was very noticable along the motorway. We pulled up for a break not far along the road to Tamborine and contacted Grizz who had tried ringing us along the way, and arranged to meet up with his group at the Advancetown Pub. The ride via Canungra and Caligraba Rd to Advancetown was uneventful and not busy at all, which allowed for a bit of sightseeing on this beautiful Spring morning.

We got to the pub just on 10am and were greeted by one of the barmaids informing us that they had just opened for business. We snuck inside and waited for the others whilst having a drink - about 40 minutes later, they arrived. Was great to see Tracey on her new bike with Jim, Grizz, Panda, Grasshoopper and a few other guys on cruisers and sporties that I did not know. We sat around for a bit longer discussing how we would get down there and then set off planning to re-group at Murwillumbah.

Once out on the road I decided to take off ahead of the group to enjoy the corners, after not being able to ride for a few weeks. Ooowee, was it fun - continued down the Numinbah Valley, over the border and down to the re-group point just outside Murwillumbah. Whilst waiting for the others, I was passed by a lot of other bikes out taking advantage of the fantastic weather - was great to see so many people with smiles on their faces after the crappy conditions we have experienced over the last few weeks.

The group slowly rolled in - once all there we did a quick fuel stop and then pushed on to Brunswick via the Burringbar, another fantastic bit of black stuff. This stretch was taken at a steady pace, quite a bit slower than usual due to the amount of leaf debris over the road from the wind - this made some of the corners a little hairy, but no less enjoyable than usual. We passed through Mooball, over the motorway then alongside it for a stretch and pulled into the marina at Brunswick Heads for a feed of fish & chips. Great tucker!! A couple of the others headed to the pub for a meal, but because it was so busy, were left waiting long after we had finished.

We re-grouped at the pub and once everyone was ready, headed across the motorway and into Mullumbimby, a busy little place due to their weekly markets. We passed through town and then onto Coolamon Scenic Drive - this road takes you up into the hills a few km's inland from Byron - the views out to the beach are spectacular, when you have the time to stop and admire them. We made it to the turn-off towards Minyon Falls and let loose a little - nice tight sweepers with some curly stuff thrown in. Only problem was there were a lot of leaves on the road, making it slippery for the not so attentive. We backed off a little, arrived at another turn and waited for the rest.

After a regroup we continued up to the National Park - once inside the park boundary the roads turned to dirt/gravel so it was a bit of a rough ride for a couple of kms to the carpark. We parked beneath the tall, straight eucalypts and waited for everyone to roll in. Poor old Tracey pulled her front brakes on a bit too hard after spotting us all and the Hyosung kissed the ground, but she was ok. In fact it almost looked as if she just threw it down while remaining on her feet - quite funny to watch in a way! Once all there, we took the 50 metre walk out to the falls. Not too bad, although I had expected something a little more spectacular.

Dodge, Johnno and myself then let everyone know that we were heading deeper into the park to check out the camping area. The rest decided to head back and not join in, so we took off. After a short ride on fairly good dirt, we arrived at the camping ground. What a beautiful little spot - a smallish grassed area surrounded by bunya pines with a small tree lined creek running through the middle. There were concreted areas for open fires along with a central timber supply for all to use as well as coin operated gas bbq's, bush toilets and an undercover common area. All up a great little spot for a weekend away. We stood there for around 20 minutes taking it all in - absolutely fantastic. Also watched as a goanna decided to raid one of the fires for food - must have been something in it coz he took off with a mouthful! We will be planning a trip back there in the near future.

Back on the bikes and headed out of the park - we passed the Minyon Falls car park and all the others had taken off. Returned along the route we had followed in and eventually made it out to the highway near Mullumbimby and then headed north to Brissy and home. Was a good little ride, although a little hard to keep the group together at times.

Dodge, Johno and bikes

The road to Tamborine

Meeting point - Advancetown Pub

Near Murwillumbah....waiting....

....nearly everyone....

....and finally the stragglers!

Tracey and her new bike alongside Jimbo

Fish & chips at Brunswick

The lookout at the falls

A long way down

Top of the falls

Tall timber

Camping area

Kept a little bit of space between us and this local goanna

Creek that borders the camping area

Nice place - we will be back

Hinterland Run

Had a call during last week from Darren, a guy that I met whilst on holidays in Phuket. He wanted to know if I was up for a ride sometime over the weekend just gone. For one reason or another, I have been unable to get out on the bike for the last few weekends, so I was very, very keen for a fix. We agreed to meet up not far from his place, and do a short squirt on some of the more popular roads in the area.

Sunday morning could not come quick enough for me - I was up early and readied the bike. I had a look outside, but there was no way I was going to let some cloud cover or a bit of rain put me off. I did however stow the wet weather gear under the seat just in case. I grabbed a bite to eat and then took off at about 7:30am for the ride to our meeting point. The ride down through Mount Cotton and onto the M1 was pretty uneventful - I stopped along the way and fuelled up and was surprised at how quiet the roads were. I assume a lot of people would have taken a look out their window, seen the clouds and decided to go back to bed. My preference is to ride early because the air is cooler and the roads are clearer.

I took the Nerang exit and followed the road out to the Advancetown Pub turn-off where Darren was waiting on his Ducati 900SS. Because he forgot to bring his wets, we followed Beechmont Road for a short distance up to his place, picked them up and then continued up the mountain. I was more than happy for Darren to lead us for the ride, as his knowledge of these roads was superior to mine and in these conditions this would be an advantage. As we climbed, the roads got damper and the clouds got closer, but still no rain. We took this section of switchbacks at a moderate pace due to the slippery conditions, but once up on top, the roads dried out and we let the bikes do their ‘thing’. After passing through Beechmont we headed down the other side towards Canungra. Again, the roads were damp, mainly due to the overnight rain and roadside tree coverage, so back to a moderate pace. We rode into Canungra and headed for the Outpost Café for a coffee and one of their beautiful chunky steak pies. It surprised me to see so few bikes parked at this café – usually they are lined up on both sides of the road and it is hard to get a table.

We departed Canungra along the road back towards Nerang, and turned right onto Clagiraba Road. This is supposed to be the road that has claimed the most motorcyclists in the Gold Coast region – I was surprised when told that by a SMART instructor after completing the rider training course last year, mainly because it is not what I would call a fast road. You travel past semi-rural type properties bordering the road and although it does have some pretty tight corners and sharp crests, I would never have picked that road. In hindsight however, it can lull you into a false sense of security if you are not familiar with it – it can also get busy as a lot of people use it as a short cut and if it is not ridden a little on the conservative side, it can surprise you. Anyway, we reached the other end, turned back onto the Nerang-Murwillumbah Road and not long after passed the spot at Advancetown where we initially met earlier that morning.

The short section of road from this point heading south for about 13kms to the Springbrook Road turn-off is one of my favourite stretches of bitumen – long straights and numerous fast right hand sweepers heading up and over a crest and downhill into a left hander which switches back quite tightly - a real buzz to ride. You can get over a long way on the lefties and not have too much of a worry, because the surface in the turns is good - its then power on and up the hill to the next sweeper. The great thing about this stretch is that it can be enjoyed at a reasonable speed – you don’t need to be doing ridiculous speeds to enjoy the flowing sweep-corner-climb effect. The road on Sunday was mostly dry through here and whilst running slower than I usual, I still had a lot of fun following Darren – one minor incident did occur when my rear wheel drifted a little on the exit of the last tight left hander, probably due to some debris or a small damp patch and my PR2’s not being as grippy as they should be.

We reached the Springbrook turn and continued onwards, climbing up through Pindari Hills for the ride through the Springbrook National Park. Again, the higher we climbed the damper the roads became, so it was easy-does-it from here onwards. From the Springbrook turn-off, our decent was taken slowly – this road is not in the best condition in the dry let alone the damp conditions we were riding. A lot of wet corners and a little bit of traffic slowed our decent further. The two or three one lane timber bridges on this road were very slippery and I actually felt my front drift a little whilst negotiating one of these. The other point about this road is that there is nowhere for you to go should you hit the road except into the rocky wall on your left or over the edge and down a rather steep embankment on the other side – all the more reason to take it easy and stay switched on. Aside from all this, our decent was still a really enjoyable ride and incident free with the added bonus that it had not yet rained. When we reached the end of the tight stuff, we were able to open the bikes up a little for the final run into Mudgeeraba.

We reached the Woodchoppers Inn at Mudgeeraba just before 11am and after parking our bikes, went in and downed a couple of well deserved beers. That ride was fantastic – a great ride to do if you don’t want to spend all day on the road but still want a bit of a challenge. It certainly got me hyped and I plan to do it again, when dry, real soon.

You can check out the route we followed here.

Kyogle

Another weekend and this time Kat & I did a ride with the fellas from the GSX1400.org. We all met at Exit 38 early on Saturday morning - the count was 9 GSX's and a single BMW. We had decided to head to Kyogle and the Commercial Hotel for lunch - check the route here.

The ride from Yatala through Beaudesert and then Lions Road to Kyogle was excellent. Got tailed by a cop for a fair bit of the Beauy to Lions Road turn-off so it was at a slower than usual pace, but once onto Lions Road we were into it. We pulled up just after crossing the border for a break at the Loop Lookout for about half an hour and after sharing our versions of the ride so far, got back into it. Everytime I ride this stretch of road I really do appreciate it - it does take a hell of a lot out of you with all the up and down hill slow corners and cattle grids, but it is just so enjoyable. The lack of any real 4 wheeled traffic makes the tight twisty sections that much better.

We reached Summerland Way at the end of Lions Road as a group and then headed into Kyogle, albeit spread out along the highway a little. Pulled up at the Commercial Hotel and caught up with Ant, another GSXer from Grafton who had ridden up to meet with us - turns out he had to head straight back to get to work, but it was good of him to travel the 130kms to say g'day. Once Ant had left, we lunched and chatted about the ride down to Bathurst for the annual GSX1400.org get together happening at the end of November.

We left Kyogle just after 1pm on Saturday arvo and started the ride back up to Brisbane. We had decided to take the Murwillumbah Road, but turn off before Uki and cut through to Tyalgum and then Chillingham on the Numinbah Valley Road. The road to Murwillumbah used to be a great road to ride BUT it is currently in a pretty bad way with a lot of potholes and grooves in the bitumen on the switchbacks just out of Kyogle. A lot more trucks seem to be using this road and they are just chewing it up, which is a real pity. Anyway, we followed this road until not too far out of Uki, where we took a left turn onto Byrrill Creek Road, a route that none of us had ever ridden. This started out as a not too bad stretch of bitumen, but soon turned to gravel - a few of the guys turned back and decided to follow the main road into Murwillumbah and up the motorway, but 6 of the bikes continued through to Tyalgum, of which about 7 to 10kms was unpaved. I half expected the road to have some rough spots after planning this route by looking at maps only, but it was not too bad in the end, and anyway, ebing able to explore the roads is what makes riding these parts so good.

After re-grouping in Tyalgum, we took the road through to Chillingham where we stopped for fuel and said our goodbyes. From here, we headed back towards Nerang via Numinbah. I have written lots about this bit of road and so won't go on, but the last stretch through Advancetown along side the Hinze Dam was fantastic fun. Those corners are so enjoyable on a bike like the GSX - leaning right over and hugging the road, what a buzz. We continued on towards Nerang where Kat and I stopped for fuel, leaving the others to continue on home. Once we fueld up we hit the motorway and headed home.

Was a great days riding, and man it is good to be home!

MRAQ Mid Winter Rally

If you are looking for something to do this coming weekend and don't mind the cooler weather, then get along to the MRAQ Mid Winter Rally being held at the Dayboro Showgrounds. There will be live music, hot showers, raffles, bar, silly games and rally awards. The rally will be fully catered and the venue has a HUGE undercover eating and entertainment area to escape the cool.

Sounds like it will be a good weekend and it will provide an opportunity to mix with and discuss issues with some of the people who are helping to shape government attitudes/policies for motorcyclists here in Queensland. Get along and show your support to the MRAQ!!

Thanks to Cobb for the heads up!

Abstinence....

....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!!

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

Koff & Trishes Easter

I received an email from Koff about his and Trishes visit to the Gold Coast, so I thought I would post it.

Easter Time, So I thought I would take Tiki down to the Gold Coast for some civilization and so contacted Steve and Denitta to see if anyone had a free bike I could ride as I could not take mine down due to all the stuff we had. I loath to borrow another mans bike but I was busting to ride with my friends on the Coast again A few days later Beaker emailed me and kindly offered his Suzuki GSX 1400, To say this monster bike is a freak-machine on steroid's is putting it nicely. It is super quick! and would easily put the wind up me if I so choose to open that throttle..... I didn't. Two reasons, first- it's not my bike, Second- I was just plain SCARED. I hit the 145kmh mark to overtake a couple of times but that was it as I have done that on mine plus more. We took off from Steve and Denitta's place to pick up Dodge who insisted the night before that he wanted to come, (I new he wouldn't) so off we went for a good lazy ride around the Redland bay and Cleveland area. A thirst was developing with us boys so we headed for the Wellington Point pub, I won't mention Steve's name but our ride leader got lost so although I was the "out of town guest" I had to hit the lead and head for the Cleveland Point pub, A beer to wash the spud wedges down and then home to watch the Rugby at five. A short ride but great to catch up with some good people and ride again, Shame my mate Beaker was over in Borat-land. I had to ride the bike back to my Mum's place and I sent Tikis blue Toyota outside for the night while the Suzuki got the carpeted garage to sleep in for the night, Priorities girl! Many thanks to Steve and Denitta for a great days ride and a beaut Dinner back at their place that night.Many thanks to the big fella Beaker for the loan of his rocket on wheels, what a bike! Thanks Mate. Koff. (keep it up.... the girls like it that way)








Well done guys - I am so envious!!

Back In The Saddle

Kat & I finally got back on the road whilst I was at home on my break, and boy was it good!!

Grizz had arranged a "mystery ride" and I was really looking forward to it. We headed to Eddie's place early on Sunday morning and met up with John, Grasshopper, Dodge and Eddie, as well as Lynne who was travelling by car. We rode together down to our meeting place, the Park Ridge Tavern carpark. A few new faces & bikes showed up along with the usual mob and it was great to see everyone together. We spent a while there catching up - I took particular interest in Mikes new toy, a very grunty looking silver MT-01.

After about 45 minutes we geared up and hit the black stuff, heading south along Mt Lindsay Hwy towards the Rathdowney Pub for our first stop. We rode as a group for the majority of the way until I decided to make a break and really feel the wind against my chest, something that I had missed so much over the previous 7 weeks. There was very little traffic on the road and the GSX did what it was built to do - go baby, go! I was surprised that no one followed. We arrived at the pub about 5 minutes before the others, and I could not wipe the cheesy grin off my face.

We had a couple of drinks and then set off as a group again, taking the right turn onto the road to Boonah. I took it easy from here and hung at the back of the group, prefering to watch the 12 or so bikes snake their way along this great piece of road. Couldn't help but notice how good the surrounding country is looking - a lot greener than the last time I was out this way, obviously benefiting from all the rain that had fallen whilst I was away. We turned off before Boonah and followed the road through Mt Alford and passing Lake Moogerah. One of the guys was very lucky not to be cleaned up by a bull that tried to cross the road and rejoin his mates - the hazards of unfenced sections of road.

We finally pulled into the Peakes Crossing pub around lunch time - those of you that have been there will know that while it is not much to look at from the road, they serve a fantastic pizza and plenty of it! Funnily enough, Kat & I decided on the steak sandwich instead, as we had eaten plenty of pizza the night before. We spent a while in the shade of the beer garden before deciding to fuel up and continue on to our last stop - the Walloon Pub.

A few of the others left the ride after fuelling up on the Cunningham Hwy - the rest of us continued on the short distance to Walloon. On arriving, I was starting to feel it a bit - although we had covered only a shortish distance, my butt and shoulders were getting sore! Not usual for me, but after so long off it I reckon a few longer rides and I would be back to normal. It was also quite warm and the beers were starting to taste real good so we didn't spend too long here - we said our goodbyes and geared up for the last time. We rode home with Dodge, Eddie, Grasshopper along the Ipswich and Logan Motorways.

Was a great day and we really enjoyed it - a big thankyou to everyone for coming along for the ride!!

The bikes...

Rathdowney Pub

Damage on Johno's bike after it fell off the stand - such a pity as it was looking sweet

The turn-off to Boonah

On the road

The bikes at Peakes Crossing

At the Peakes Crossing Pub

A couple of the new guys chatting with Eddie

Standing between Grasshopper & Grizz with that cheesy grin!!

Out front at Walloon

At the Walloon Pub

The route we followed