Kenilworth - Maplton -25 Jan 2014

Today I caught up ith Mark, who teaches at the same school as my wife Karen. This is a good opportunity to note how small your world can be but first a bit about the ride. Unfortunately no pictures this time and no videos (thank goodnes I hear you say).

We set off from home at 9:00 am. Mark had arrived 10 minutes early and so none of that normal procrastination often associated with motorcycling, already a good sign. We headed out through Narangba, the back of Burpengary, Rocksberg and the Wamuran, Woodford, Maleny and Kenilworth. With light but constant rain, there was no temparature in the rosd surface or our tyres. Mark was on new tyres and I was on Mitas E07 dualsport tyres, so there wasn't anyreal chance to open up the throttles. This gave us more time to take in the smells, sights and sounds; this is one ofthe real benefitd of riding over driving, the more complete immersing in the environment as you travel. When going through a pine forest in Autumn you can almost taste the pine and the smell can stay on you for a day or so.

The final stage into Kenilworth was even more slow due to traffic andsowe pulled into the Bellbird Cafe. As usual, great coffee and it gave me a chance to day hello to Pete, the owner and leave some brochures on the next Horizons Unlimited meetings. From there Mark led the way via the Obi Obi road. A great track that comes out the back of the Mapleton pub. Lunch was served. I ordered a small garden salad and potato wedges. I have no idea what a large serving would be because I ended up giving away my wedges to a group of dirt bike riders also stopped in for lunch.

After a fine lunch and chat, we headed home via Montville, Maleny, Landsborough, Beerwah, Glasshouse, Beerburrum, Elimbah and Caboolture. Here Mark headed back to Brisbane and me back home. An excellent ride. The light rain kept things cool and breezy, the roads were not too busy and the views along the ranges as fantastic as ever, especially along the Obi Obi Road which was new to me.

Now about that small world business. As I said, Mark teaches at the same school as Karen. The same school that I went to as a child. Mark also went to the same high school as me, he was a few years behind me. Mark also had the same unusual surname as one of my cousin's husband although we haven't found a close family tie there. Nonetheless, as Mark once commented, if you are from Toowoomba, you will be related!

Crows Nest via D'Aguilar Highway - 14 Dec 2013

We loaded up at our usual staring point in Redcliffe with a view to a full day's ride. Lunch was at the Crows Nest Pistol Club and then the homeward stretch TBC, depending on time, traffic and weather. Brenda and Michael were on the mightly CL1200, a BMW flat twin cruiser sometimes also referred to as the "Mothership". Peter was on his Harley and Trevor on his BMW GTL1600. On this trip I was on the Rainmaker, the old V-Star 650.

The first stage was out to Kilcoy where we stopped at Yowie Park. A nice leisurely run without too much traffic at all. The markets were on and so we stopped for a stickybeak and a chat. Here we are, inspecting the mothership.

After a good look around, we road up through Blackbutt, Yarraman and then turned left down through Cooyar and eventually to the Crows Nest Pistol Club. About 4.5 kilometres of gravel but not too bad of the main road and we were greeted by a great bunch of enthusiastic shooters. Unfortunately I had my helmet cam set up incorrectly and the video feed didn't work out.

It was the pistol club's Christmas shoot and so after some burgers, Peter and I just had to try out a few pistols. Peter is ex-US Navy and I'm ex RAAF, so a little bit of interservice rivalry sparked up. I've not shot a pistol since 1996 myself and that was a nine millimetre Browning. I'm getting old as well and have struggled to be consistent with larger calibre rifles so I wasn't too confident. Peter can't recall when he last shot a pistol and his usual service pistol was a .45. Nonetheless it wasn't too long before the inter-service rivalry sparked up and with both did fairly well on the Ruger .22 pistols. Later came out the .357 magnum ( with .38 ammunition ). Peter clearly aced this one.

Anyhow, back on the bikes, down through Corws Nest, Carbarlah, Highfields, Murphy's Creek and then onto the Warrego Highway. We pulled into the BP at Blacksoil and said our goodbyes as we split into different directions shortly thereafter.

Our next ride will be in mid January 2014. On the 8 February 2014 I'm off to the 2014 Adventure Travel Film Festival. My route will be down the Pacific Highway to Gippsland and then inland to Bright. After that I hope to ride to South Australia again and this time go as far as Port Lincoln to check out the Tuna fishing. That will depend on my university studies etc, so fingers crossed it will all work out. I'm determined to camp as much as possible this time and have changed a lot of my kit and the way it is packed to be more convenient and lighter as well.

Bellbird Creek Cafe, Kenilworth & return via Maleny - 23 October 2013

The word had gone out Facebook
Come up on Wednesday to Bellbird Creek Cafe for a look
Channel 7 will there to film a piece
And we need some people for background, for the show the Great South East

So I went.

The Rainmaker didn't make it rain, much
I coooled me down, just a touch 
Just a drizzle as I turn off the highway
And made it an even more pleasant day

So if you have an afternoon to while away
Here's a tip, head off to the Bellbird Cafe
Whilst there check out the frill-neck lizard
And have some great coffeee to full your gizzard.

Mount Mee - Glasshouse Mountains - 7 September 2013

How do you blow off the headaches of all those worries of a federal election? Go for a ride of course. So Trevor, Val, Noel, Ian and myself jumped on the bikes after voting and rode up over Mount Mee, down through Peachester and ended up at the Glasshouse Coffee and Tea Merchants for lunch. Very nice.

A short coffee run: Kingaroy and back. Saturday 3 August 2013.

Some of the guys from Grace Lutheran Church and myself rode out to Kingaroy for a nice cup of organic coffee at Glendon Street Cafe.

Pictured here is Trevor, who at 79 just completed a lap of Australia on his BMW K series at our first stop at Zillman's Waterhole near Wamuran. Trevor's brother Noel joined us as far as Kilcoy on his new Suzuki Burgman. Overall a great trip with only a few holdups due to caravans.

We did kick it a little bit at times and the DR800 worked very well. Here are some of the videos:


Kingaroy for coffee Part 1.


Kingaroy for coffee Part 2.


Kingaroy for coffee Part 3.


Kingaroy for coffee Part 4.

Kingaroy for coffee Part 5.

Mount Mee in reverse - 19 April 2013

Today I dropped in and say John at the Pit Stop Cafe on the top of Mount Mee about the upcoming Horizons Unlimited meeting in September at Dayboro. I rode up through Caboolture - Wamuram and then in from the D'Aguilar side, which is the opposite way to how I normally go and so the helmet camera videos should look a little bit different.

Here are pictures of the back wall of the Pit Stop Cafe and the view facing west:

Here are the helmet camera videos:


Wamuran to Petrie Part 1.

Wamuran to Petrie Part 2.

Wamuran to Petrie Part 3.

Wamuran to Petrie Part 4.

Wamuran to Petrie Part 5.

Wamuran to Petrie Part 6.

Ramblings across Lockyer Valley - 15 April 2013

Today I headed off with two great guys from Grace Lutheran Church, Richard and Trevor. Richard has a very nice Harley and Trevor a BMW K1600GTL. I showed up on the Widowmaker; the Suzuki DR800.

We travelled across to Woodford, Somerset, Gatton and back through Esk, Toogoolowah, Kilcoy, Woodford and them home. The roads were very clear, the temparature mild, probably about 21 degrees most of the day and hardly any traffic. What a blast.

I didn't take any photos but did get a few helmet camera videos after lunch. Bit of a pity I didn't plug in before lunch as the road from Somerset to just south of Wivenhoe Dam and then back over the dam wall, left through Coominya and down to Gatton was just brilliant.

Here are the videos from the afternoon ride. I had a few battery problems as well, so the last video is in bits and pieces.

Gatton to Kilcoy Part 1

Gatton to Kilcoy Part 2

Gatton to Kilcoy Part 3

April Fools Day Ride - Monday 1 April 2013

Working away in the garden - always a favourite of the biker - when Kerri called. "Well Shane, you are always asking me when we are up for a ride, so what a you doing now?".

"Obviously riding up to met you and Peter I guess!".

Just to fill you in, Peter is my cousin and Kerri is married to Janet, Peter's younger sister. They both live about 2 to 3 hours away from home.

So we agree to meet up in Allora, a small country town between Warwick and Toowoomba. I did underestimate the amount of time it takes to get there, as it took about 2 hours and 20 minutes. I was on the Suzuki DR800, which is now running very well. Kerri suggested I take the Gatton-Clifton road and it was a great suggestion. I've driven this road many times to visit both family and client out this way and also ridden it on the V-Star a few times as well. However it is much more rewarding on a bike that turns in well and can accelerate hard out of the corners. I recommend it to any sports or sports tourer rider any day.

Unfortunately I rushed out without even thing of the helmet camera. This is a real shame as the ride is that good. I'll just have to do it again real soon.

On the way into Allora and whilst waiting to the guys to arrive, I noticed a number of MG cars travelling through town. Later that day after afternoon tea at MacDonalds we learnt that there was a MG day at Morgan Park Raceway at Warwick. The cars passing through Allora were just amazing and ranged from old T-series MGs through to the most recent MG four-door sedans. The vast majority though were MGBs and I managed a snap of the following:

It was a timely event for I can accept that I may not be able to get Karen to sit on a bike for hours with me; its not for everyone. However the MG represents to me everything that recreational motoring should be: a sprightly and fun motor, no unnecessary driver aids such as ABS or traction control adding weight to the car. Besides, my ABS and traction control are all where God intended them to be, in my right foot. Enough space for a set of tools, a couple changes of clothes, a thermos of coffee and some delights from the bakery. What more do you need? I've been thinking of this for some time and when I get back to work ... well lets just see.

Anyhow, back to the ride. After Peter and Kerri arrived at Allora, we rode the short hop into Warwick and then out to Morgan Park Raceway to watch the MG owners all packing up. Still got to see some more great cars though. After that, up and over Cunningham's Gap, back via Aratula, a stop at Willowbank and Queensland Motorsport Complex and a final stop at Amberley. Kerri and Peter then headed back west for home and I back through Brisbane to home as well.

The rides through this area are great and well worth the trip. Also the amenities along teh way and the various views and places to stop and have a look; especially if you are interested in Australian pioneer history. As the Terminator once said "Just Do It" - but don't wear Nike joggers on your bike.