R
roarin
Guest
Part1:
http://www.austouring.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=96
Well then -where was I? Thats right, still in Brisbane.
Is it only me or does this affect other riders as well? Every time I go near the bike with the key in my hand my mouth goes a little bit dry, the hands tremble just a tiny bit & the heart rate steps up a peg or 2. And this is after 23 years of road riding. Anyone else suffer similar symptoms?
Sorry about that -back to the story. In all my time I have never seen a road system like Brisbanes. It has to be the easiest place to get lost within 3 blocks of leaving your start point. Fair dinkum.
I made myself a little bit of a mud map, stuck it to the tank with some sticky tape & off I went. For about 2 & a half blocks. After which I was lost. So I headed towards the river & headed south. Don't ask me what roads I went on 'cause I couldn't tell you. And would have to make up outrageous lies about how good I was at finding my way out of the city.
Eventually I found myself on the Gateway freeway & was surprisingly still headed south. Great. Untill a toll booth appeared. Have you ever tried finding a dollar something in change in your leathers with gloves & helmet on with a dozen cars behind you waiting to get going again? If I were you I would start practising now if you intend on heading up that way. Seriously.
So with that out of the way I'm off again. Only about an hour later than I had intended. And then another toll booth appeared. Well at least I had had some practise. Fumble, swear, swear a bit more & off we go again. At least I got to ask the lady in the toll booth for some directions. Which actually were not too bad. Surprisingly.
Turned west onto the Logan motorway until I hit the Mt. Lindesay Highway, turned south again & headed for Beaudesert. Which is the exact spot I started to feel peckish & spotted that universally recognised symbol for the hungry traveller -the golden arches.
Suitably refreshed I headed off towards Rathdowney. All of a sudden the road turns into tightish sweeping corners with short straights connecting them. That giggling starts in my helmet again. This continues for kilometer after kilometer. Heaven. Bliss. Can it get any better than this? And strike me pink it does.
As I start the climb round the back of Mt Lindesay the road turns into an endless snake of 35km/hr marked corners. One after the other. For about 40 odd kilometers.
A word of warning -for some reason the big semi trucks (which from this point on will be referred to as FBT's -Farking Big Trucks) use this road. A lot. So keep your eyes peeled for them. And the pot holes & corrigations that accompany them. And stay on your side of the road. Cause they're not going to get out of your way.
A couple of kays after crossing the border into NSW I turned east, off the Mt Lindesay highway onto the Summerland Way. The road starts to unfold into long sweeping downhill corners with a few tighter ones sprinkled in between. Which the 400 takes to like a fish to water. Bouncing off the speed limiter in top gear on a couple of occasions.
With the smell of woodsmoke from the locals burning off tingling my nostrils. Damn this is fun. Fill up with fuel just out of Kyogle. Cruise mode on I head for Casino.
Stop for a drink & a splash & dash. Start yarning to the servo pump operator. "Whats the road like down through Coraki?" I ask "Not bad" says he. "Where you headed?" "Down to Grafton" "But if you go that way then you have to double back & it will take you much longer" "Great" I say. Then a smile starts to slowly spread accross his face as the realisation comes to him. "You're going to give it a bit aren't you. Pretty quiet out there"
And he was right. It was quite. Untill the 400 came howling along down the straights, tipping into these long, long corners. I can still smell the cane fields to either side, bright green with the blue sky above, and the Richmond river off to my left.
And then I got to the Pacific Highway. Headed down to Grafton. Whose stupid idea was it to bring the 400? Stretch one leg, then the other. Stand up on the pegs for a bit. Lay on the tank for a bit. 100 odd kays & we're there.
Fuelled up & turned west towards Glen Innes along the Gwydir highway. The first 35 odd kays are a mix of sweeping corners & a few tighter ones. Up & down gentle hills following the ridges & valleys. Then the fun starts. I start to climb up the Gibraltar range. More corners. Left right left right. Climbing the whole way. 35, 40 & 50km/hr marked corners. For about 40 odd kays. Who was the genius that thought of bringing the 400?
Crikey its starting to get cold. Made the summit & started the run down to Glen Innes. Road opens out into straights & sweepers for the last few kays.
Decide its time to stop for the night. Look for a pub. Spot one. How much for a single room? $30. Done. Got anywhere to park a bike? Yeah, says the female publican. Just round through the side gate & beside the shed under the veranda. I parked my Harley there for ages & it was fine. Coooool.
Dumped my gear in the room & wandered back down to the bike. Now what would any self respecting motorcyclist who had just done 550 odd kays of twisties that day do next? I'm surprised I have to ask. Go for a ride. Naturally. Check out the local scenery.
What I can tell you is that there is not a lot to see. Of local scenery that is. Well not that I saw anyway.
Headed back to the pub. Do you have meals? I ask. Not tonight, but if you wander accross the road that pub over there, they will look after you. Excellent.
So in the publics best interest I decided to check the quality of the beer at the pub I was staying at to the one I was going to have tea at. I can honestly report that they were both excellent. As far as I could tell anyway. Not that I'm an expert or anything. And the steak was truly magnificent. Medium Scotch fillet with mushroom sauce, chips & veges. Tender & juicy. Mmmmm.
And on that note I'm going to have to leave you & go & cook myself some tea. Cause if I don't then there is a very real chance I may starve to death & then who would be able to tell the rest of my adventure? Cheers, Andrew
The ride continues:
http://www.austouring.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=180#180
http://www.austouring.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=96
Well then -where was I? Thats right, still in Brisbane.
Is it only me or does this affect other riders as well? Every time I go near the bike with the key in my hand my mouth goes a little bit dry, the hands tremble just a tiny bit & the heart rate steps up a peg or 2. And this is after 23 years of road riding. Anyone else suffer similar symptoms?
Sorry about that -back to the story. In all my time I have never seen a road system like Brisbanes. It has to be the easiest place to get lost within 3 blocks of leaving your start point. Fair dinkum.
I made myself a little bit of a mud map, stuck it to the tank with some sticky tape & off I went. For about 2 & a half blocks. After which I was lost. So I headed towards the river & headed south. Don't ask me what roads I went on 'cause I couldn't tell you. And would have to make up outrageous lies about how good I was at finding my way out of the city.
Eventually I found myself on the Gateway freeway & was surprisingly still headed south. Great. Untill a toll booth appeared. Have you ever tried finding a dollar something in change in your leathers with gloves & helmet on with a dozen cars behind you waiting to get going again? If I were you I would start practising now if you intend on heading up that way. Seriously.
So with that out of the way I'm off again. Only about an hour later than I had intended. And then another toll booth appeared. Well at least I had had some practise. Fumble, swear, swear a bit more & off we go again. At least I got to ask the lady in the toll booth for some directions. Which actually were not too bad. Surprisingly.
Turned west onto the Logan motorway until I hit the Mt. Lindesay Highway, turned south again & headed for Beaudesert. Which is the exact spot I started to feel peckish & spotted that universally recognised symbol for the hungry traveller -the golden arches.
Suitably refreshed I headed off towards Rathdowney. All of a sudden the road turns into tightish sweeping corners with short straights connecting them. That giggling starts in my helmet again. This continues for kilometer after kilometer. Heaven. Bliss. Can it get any better than this? And strike me pink it does.
As I start the climb round the back of Mt Lindesay the road turns into an endless snake of 35km/hr marked corners. One after the other. For about 40 odd kilometers.
A word of warning -for some reason the big semi trucks (which from this point on will be referred to as FBT's -Farking Big Trucks) use this road. A lot. So keep your eyes peeled for them. And the pot holes & corrigations that accompany them. And stay on your side of the road. Cause they're not going to get out of your way.
A couple of kays after crossing the border into NSW I turned east, off the Mt Lindesay highway onto the Summerland Way. The road starts to unfold into long sweeping downhill corners with a few tighter ones sprinkled in between. Which the 400 takes to like a fish to water. Bouncing off the speed limiter in top gear on a couple of occasions.
With the smell of woodsmoke from the locals burning off tingling my nostrils. Damn this is fun. Fill up with fuel just out of Kyogle. Cruise mode on I head for Casino.
Stop for a drink & a splash & dash. Start yarning to the servo pump operator. "Whats the road like down through Coraki?" I ask "Not bad" says he. "Where you headed?" "Down to Grafton" "But if you go that way then you have to double back & it will take you much longer" "Great" I say. Then a smile starts to slowly spread accross his face as the realisation comes to him. "You're going to give it a bit aren't you. Pretty quiet out there"
And he was right. It was quite. Untill the 400 came howling along down the straights, tipping into these long, long corners. I can still smell the cane fields to either side, bright green with the blue sky above, and the Richmond river off to my left.
And then I got to the Pacific Highway. Headed down to Grafton. Whose stupid idea was it to bring the 400? Stretch one leg, then the other. Stand up on the pegs for a bit. Lay on the tank for a bit. 100 odd kays & we're there.
Fuelled up & turned west towards Glen Innes along the Gwydir highway. The first 35 odd kays are a mix of sweeping corners & a few tighter ones. Up & down gentle hills following the ridges & valleys. Then the fun starts. I start to climb up the Gibraltar range. More corners. Left right left right. Climbing the whole way. 35, 40 & 50km/hr marked corners. For about 40 odd kays. Who was the genius that thought of bringing the 400?
Crikey its starting to get cold. Made the summit & started the run down to Glen Innes. Road opens out into straights & sweepers for the last few kays.
Decide its time to stop for the night. Look for a pub. Spot one. How much for a single room? $30. Done. Got anywhere to park a bike? Yeah, says the female publican. Just round through the side gate & beside the shed under the veranda. I parked my Harley there for ages & it was fine. Coooool.
Dumped my gear in the room & wandered back down to the bike. Now what would any self respecting motorcyclist who had just done 550 odd kays of twisties that day do next? I'm surprised I have to ask. Go for a ride. Naturally. Check out the local scenery.
What I can tell you is that there is not a lot to see. Of local scenery that is. Well not that I saw anyway.
Headed back to the pub. Do you have meals? I ask. Not tonight, but if you wander accross the road that pub over there, they will look after you. Excellent.
So in the publics best interest I decided to check the quality of the beer at the pub I was staying at to the one I was going to have tea at. I can honestly report that they were both excellent. As far as I could tell anyway. Not that I'm an expert or anything. And the steak was truly magnificent. Medium Scotch fillet with mushroom sauce, chips & veges. Tender & juicy. Mmmmm.
And on that note I'm going to have to leave you & go & cook myself some tea. Cause if I don't then there is a very real chance I may starve to death & then who would be able to tell the rest of my adventure? Cheers, Andrew
The ride continues:
http://www.austouring.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=180#180
