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.
the magical experience of riding through cloud on the Mountain rd to Queen Mary falls
With weather forecast of colder weather and rain for our first ride of the year I was surprised when around 20 people and 15 bikes arrived for our longish ride via Queen Mary Falls. We had a number of news faces which was great, our first 3 wheel Spyder and motorcycling dog.
even Jesus got a ride on Paulette's new Harley
Our route took us firstly to an amazing breakfast at Woodhill thanks to our great mate Murray..sitting on a great Queensland veranda enjoying food and fabulous community...doesn't get any better than this.
Our route from Woodhill saw us head via Boonah to the great roads around lake Moogerah and Mt Alford then up to Queen Mary Falls before a great run down through the wheat fields and sweeping corners to Cunningham gap.
Despite the infrequent drops of rain it was the twisty country roads leading to the base of the mountain was fun....but as we moved into the mountain, through the varied Landscape reminding us of the "Lord of the Rings", across a couple of streams and up through the towering gum trees we could see the cloud covered top of the mountain ahead of us.
and so we made our way up to the beautiful rolling green plateau, like riding on a carpet....
then into the cloud as we drew close to Queen Mary Falls
So we finally made it to lunch at Queen Mary Falls carpark and enjoyed some great community, food,Rosemary tried the view from an FJR and Peter got friendly with a visitor
With the drizzle returning we made our way just 8km down the road to Dag Falls (just love that name) and got some good pics for heading off down the mountain through Killarney and the other soldier settlements too Cunningham's gap to our refueling stop at Aratuela
We awoke to another great day for riding ...sad to think a short road-trip was going to come to an end but we squeezed every last minute out of the 422km
So from Gayndar the road got a little more exciting with actual corners ...love the detour on the old Murgon-Gayndah rd..awesome road for bikes and little traffic....but you have to watch the corners Dave
So it was on to Nanago Bakery for morning tea and a fuel stop...they had their walls adorned with Biker paraphernalia... btw the adornment on my head is a tubsock I wear to soak the sweat up :)
Had a chance to get some thoughts from Dave (one last road trip) Bates the elder statesman and one of the original 3 omigo's who started the Band of Bikers.
So it was then onto Crows Nest and a lovely diversion to Perseverance, home of Daves Boar War military service he keeps telling us :)
We pulled in for some pics and a story or two ...that support vehicle was getting a little dirty wasn't it.
Lets absorb a little more of the Lake perseverance experience
From Perseverance we enjoyed one our most favourate runs down the mountain to Esk ...a quick change of plans saw us keep rolling through to the Fernvale Bakery for lunch and a final good bye..
what an amazing few days we had on this roadtrip.... so many adventures experiences and got to do it on our favourate steeds and with some of our favourate people...luv it.,
enjoying a final lunch together at the Fernvale Bakery
So off we went , our different ways to our different places but with a full heart and memories of an amazing road-trip made all the more special by these amazing people......
...and of course the amazing iron steeds that carried us 1,700kms through storms, rain, lighting over dirt and on long...long straight roads and got us home safely. Can't wait till next years road-trips.
After the magnificent Day 2, walking in Canarvon Gorge and enjoying the wildlife and lots of fun together, we were a little sad to be leaving....the "trauma" of the 13km of dirt road was also in the back of our minds. Took a last video of the site and its creatures just to remind me of the great memories
But on the way out we just had to get some silly pics in those head hole boards...a few of the boys look really cute :)
So off we headed for another reasonable long day of 540km to our overnight stop at Gayndar...but first the obligatory group shot for our "club house" wall.
hmm...a front and back version :) So off we charged leaving clouds of dust and flying rocks...heading to a rendezvous at the highway ( I think the boys enjoyed a little dirt)....little did we know of the fund that lie ahead on this 565 km leg.
The views were as we road out of the park were spectacular...a beautiful Aussie landscape with the Canarvon Bluff in the background.... but the dust got covered everything.
The cattle were a little more well behaved on the way out and everyone stayed upright...but I gotta say I was glad to see the blacktop as the following picture clearly illustrates (doing an impression of the pope).
Just a small footnote ...we had been discussing the problem of feral pigs in the park causing significant damaged and wondered if there were any pig shooters ..low and behold along the way what should we come upon but a ute laidened down with dead pigs draped all over it..pig dogs..guns etc, we didn't stop for a chat :)
So once we all accumulated again at the highway the bikes roared off first for the 70km run to Rollenston for a fill up and cold drink...little did we know about the drama that unfolded behind us as it was noticed that Leigh's FJR had a flat back tyre and thankfully the support vehicle were on hand to rescue a biker. The solution involved using the Mx5's puncture repair kit ( thanks Tim...see you now reall have a purpose) and Danny Bakker to closely read the instructions...please note the modification to the recommended speed post repair sticker from 80 km/hr to 180!! Hmmm..wonder who did that.
So an anxious group of bikers were waiting at the Rolleston General store and fuel stop contemplating a ride back to see what had happened given that we had no phone coverage when the mighty FJR arrived with rear wheel still inflated ...we were assure that they never exceeded the recommended speed limit :)) After lots of recounting the story, tanks and bellies filled we headed off the 214 km to Biloela..a relatively easy ride out here as the road is straight and flat....but you got to watch out for the cattle on the "long paddock" .
These cattle and horses were in very poor condition and had already been moved over 600 km at 4km a day...that's a long time on the road. As we headed for Biloela we were pleasantly surprise to come across the Dawson River full to the brim and with a water skiing competition underway. This was a perfect spot for a bikers picnic!
We were surprised by just how green it was around Biloela and as we turned Monto and our overnight stay at Gayndar the road became more interesting ie. corners where the boys were able to give it a real "squirt".
So we covered some old ground as we traveled from Monto to Gayndar...a trip we have done on two previous road-trips. So with another storm brewing we made it to Country Roads motor Inn and chilled out ...faith just couldn't be bothered getting changed ,,, the old boys just played with their phones and had some refreshments and almost everyone jumped in the pool to cool off....:)
It was great last night on the road ...a stroll down to the Grand Hotel for a great dinner and with a light show display outside we enjoyed lots of laughs with the help of our french waitress...who new that a public bar would have a lazy boy chair for Dave...and some of the lads looked a little tired too :)
A nice stroll back to our accommodation and aircon turned up we enjoyed a restful last night on the road .... really getting into the trip and it was going to end all too soon...but what an amazing time it has been with some amazing people.
