Thursday, March 24, 2016

March Sunshine coast hinterland ride to Pelican Waters


Band of Bikers at the Pitstop Cafe on Mt Mee....with some artistic effects
The weather for the ride quickly improved to beautiful blue sky's in the morning though thunderstorms were threatening for late in the day. We met up again with our 4WD group so it was all gathered to depart on our fun for the day...plenty of banter as usual :) 

always wanted to know what the view was like from a Goldwing...thanks Geoff...note artistic treatment :)
The ride was a little over 300km and covered some new roads in the Mooloola Valley which was awesome. After ending the ride at Pelican Waters some made their way back down the more picturesque Steve Irwin Way.

When I saw Des and Dave today I was reminded off those old men in the Muppets throwing cheap shots from the bleaches ..a good laugh to start riding

About 15 bikes left Gateway to meet up with another 10 up at Kallangur Macca's and our fearless leader for today's ride....leaping leprechaun ,Leigh McQueeney....though he was not thrilled with the yellow safety vest :)
As we headed off and navigated some traffic out of Petrie to Dayboro and Mt Mee we were wondering if the rumours of large police presence enforcing the new 60km speed limit on Mt Mee were correct ...but fortunately they weren't
So we wound our way up Mt Mee and its windy roads and beautiful vista's to morning tea at "the Pitstop cafe"



As usual we enjoyed some great community and food ....It was one of the clearest times we have had on Mt Mee and we could see the City from the Pitstop.
most of the Band of bikers enjoying a family pic before heading off
So with our coffee hit well and truly running through our veins we headed across the top of Mt Mee with its awesome views of the Sunshine coast and down the tight bends to the Dáguliar highway, through Woodford thwn back up the moutain towards Maleny before rolling down into Peachester and off to some awesome roads in the Mooloola Valley.
had Sean chasing my rear camera all day ...this vintage treatment give the Honda R1 a new perspective
with the drift camera's playing up I missed most of those amazing Mooloola Valley rides ...but trust me, we will do the run again!
So we made our way back down the highway to Caloundra and some hectic Saturday lunchtime traffic heading to Pelican Waters Tavern for a very nice lunch and more of that amazing Band of Bikers community.
Leigh was happy with his days riding
So as this was the end of the formal ride everyone found their own way home...I took the opportunity to get off the highway and head down Steve Irwin Way ....with obligatory Australia Zoo photo opportunity.
So with the storm clouds brewing it was a little extra  gas to get back to our clubhouse...to watch the show.

Check out more of our ride on the video below


Friday, March 4, 2016

It's a Mouthful of a ride- Numinbah,Tyalgum,Tumbulgum


Another magic day in the great south-east , 30 deg, windy roads and beautiful vista's ... a great day for a ride. With around 20 bikers and a few more to be picked up on the road we also welcomed a few new riders...couldn't be more contrasting bikes..a Ducati 999 Testretta and a Honda Goldwing

The boy's we giving me the hurry up to get going ...too much technology on my behalf




checkout our route here....on the way back we got off the freeway for a detour through Canungra and home
So off we headed picking a number of extra riders as we headed to Numinbah Valley

Pete on his last ride on the Custom 900 :(
Magic Numinbah...watch those tight bridges though
With everyone hanging out for a cup of coffee we headed off doe MK cafe in Numinbah Valley enjoying the initial twisties then lust landscape of the Valley.
Hugh and his big Goldwing bearing down on me
 Alas  when we arrived at the cafe was closed as were the other cafe in Numinbah Valley....bikers..I mean Brenton not happy :) ..so it was off to Tyalgum and Flutterbies Cafe for brunch.
We were warned about some police hanging around outside of the township but didn't seem to be interested in us..we gave them a nice wave :) 
We then enjoyed climbing out of the Valley then navigating our way over the border then down through Chillingham and the beautiful rolling landscape to Tyalgum

By the time we made it to Tyalgum we could eat a horse but had to settle for some coffee and pancakes and great community as usual...the temp was hot down in the Valley.
nothing like sharing great food with friends...whats with the phone Paulette?
Little did we know that the engine red light that appeared on the ducatti when he pulled up was to present us with some issue on leaving....some 4o minutes later after attempting push starts...ringing mechanic friends etc it was decided to leave the bike at the post-office and get it picked up ...thanks to a BMW100RT and Honda Goldwing the stranded bikers were given a different but comfortable ride home.
waiting and sorting strategies to help that beautiful Ducati 999
So with everything sorted we headed off for our lunch stop at Tumbulgum Pub ...I always forget the daylight saving time but got in before closing.... we had a great lunch and views right on the river...jet ski's...houseboats lovely
It was then a great back through the cane fields and along the ridge toward Tullebudgerra creek connection road and our end point at the West Burleigh Caltex ...unfortunately due to some communication issues our group got split so not everyone got to ride this last stage but all was good and everyone enjoy a fabulous day of riding food and friends!!!
amazing vistas through the cane fields where we came across a cycling event...ohhh, so much lycra :)

so... check out our longer than normal video , appologies for the over dubbing narration..trying something new.