Saturday 24 May 2008 dawned to clear and sunny skies, and our small group from Lockyer branch (myself, Al Gray, Les Wiggins and Sandy Parsons) joined Al's friend Peter for the trip to Townsville. Al had mapped the route via the inland road, and we all met at the Haigslea Hotel at 8.30 am for the trip. I was riding my trusty white steed Moby, Kiwi and Sandy were on Kiwi's trike, and Al was riding pillion with Peter on his Yamaha Royal Star, towing a trailer. The little convoy headed down the Warrego bound for Toowoomba. The kilometres rolled by quickly, and in a short time we climbed up the Toowoomba range and headed for our first fuel stop in Dalby.

From Dalby, we continued via the inland roads, stopping only for fuel as we made our way north. We passed through a number of small towns as the day wore on, and by early afternoon we were fuelling up in Moura. From there we headed into darkening skies bound for Rolleston, which was to be our overnight stop. However, upon reaching Rolleston right on dark, we found that there was no accommodation available in the town, leaving us no alternative but to press on to Springsure. We spread out three abreast on the road to give maximum light ahead, and about half way to Springsure encountered a mob of roos on the road. Peter and Kiwi avoided the group of hoppers, while I clipped one with the footboard of my cruiser. We continued on at reduced pace, reaching the safety of Springsure at approximately 7.30 pm. The hotel motel was most welcoming, and we all booked in for the night and went into the pub for dinner and a few cleansing ales. We swapped stories for a while, before retiring for the night as the cold swept in.

Early morning in Springsure was cold but pretty, and we were on the road before 7.30 am. We bowled along in the chilly air, fuelling up some 90 kilometres away at Emerald, along with a large group of Ulyssians also bound for Townsville. A quick breakfast at the local bakery was delicious and welcome, before we hit the road again headed north. This section was well graded and consisted of several long sections of straight and almost deserted road, ideal for opening up the taps a little and gobbling up the distance as the sun rose overhead. At 170 kilometres, we took on fuel at the small wayside servo at Belyando Crossing, the only place to fuel up before tackling the remaining 200 kilometre stretch to Charters Towers. We arrived in Charters Towers at around 2.30 pm, fuelling our machines in town before looking for lodgings for the night. We found a great old private hotel which had obviously seen better days, but was quite comfortable for our overnight stay. It was easy to see how magnificent this once opulent building would have been in its glory days during the gold rush, and after checking in we all trooped across the road to the local watering hole to lay the dust of our trip. The thunder of many bikes punctuated the afternoon as we downed many beers (in Al's case guiness) and ate delicious pizza from the local pizza place. The publican came in to talk to our little group, and before long the laughter was ringing out. The publican locked his doors at around 6 pm, and we stayed for quite some time inside swapping more stories and laughter.

The next morning dawned bright and clear, and our small group met up with Good Sir and a few other fellow Ulyssians on the outskirts of Charters Towers for the final 130 kilometre ride to Townsville. We made good time, arriving in Townsville at around 9.30 am and headed straight to the registration point. There we found a huge crowd of fellow riders all eager to register and head to the AGM grounds. After registration, we climbed aboard our respective vehicles for the final 10 kilometre ride to the Townsville showgrounds, where the huge tent city made a welcome sight after our 1,500 kilometre odyssey. There was great fellowship in evidence, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Set up was still in progress as we arrived, and more bikes continued to thunder in all day.