Sunday 1st June 2008 and all good things must come to an end. So Kiwi, Sandy and I departed from our idyllic paradise and hit the road at around 10.30 am, bound for Charters Towers. Many departing Ulyssians were already on the road, and there were quite a few bikes at the servo at Charters Towers when we stopped to fuel up in the drizzling rain. We had a brief bite, and then headed off for the big 200 km leg to Belyando Crossing. About half way there, on a dismal and narrow section of the track in the middle of nowhere, we came across a small group of bikes on the side of the road, so we pulled over to see if we could assist. All were Ulysses members bound for Brisbane, and one of the bikes (a Yamaha 1100 Virago) had died with a suspected collapsed battery cell. With only my mobile having signal, we tried to contact the RACQ, but were unable to make the operator understand our location. Back of beyond didn't seem to register! With road trains periodically thundering past and drizzling rain starting to fall, we looked set for a long stop until a passing local in a Nissan Patrol Ute was flagged down. He offered to take the stricken bike to Belyando Crossing, so we heaved the bike into the tray and headed off.

We fuelled up at Belyando Crossing, and then set off for the next leg to Claremont. We arrived a little after 4.30 pm, added fuel again and then decided to make for Emerald, where it was likely we would find accommodation for the night. Unfortunately, barely 5 km out of Claremont it started raining - heavily, and darkness was falling. We pressed on in the wet gloom, arriving in Emerald shortly after 6 pm, all wet and cold. A warm meal in the motel restaurant and hot showers revived us, and we retired in excellent comfort in a very well appointed motel suite.

Dawn saw us in the restaurant again for a hearty buffet breakfast and small birthday celebration (I had just turn 44 that morning), before we climbed on our bike and trike and departed. We took on fuel at the edge of town, and then hit the road for Springsure. The weather was overcast but not raining, and we made good time to roll through Springsure at 8.30 am. A number of fellow Ulyssians were evident in the town, and we continued through and made for Rolleston. There we took on fuel again, along with a large collection of fellow Ulyssians bound for NSW. We then headed off bound for Moura, another 160 km stretch. We grabbed some fuel and lunch there, then hit the back road to make for Taroom. Some very pretty scenery made the ride enjoyable, and a brief fuel stop at Taroom was made. We then headed for Miles, another 120 km away. About half way, more rain, and we fuelled up at Miles in steady showers. A bit of food and we again hit the track, now looking to make our last stop in Dalby. We arrived there a little after 4.30, got fuel and then made for Toowoomba, with iron grey skies ahead and the light fading. The rain started to come down as we passed Oakey, and it was pouring by the time we reached the outskirts of Toowoomba. At this point Kiwi pulled over with headlight problems, but I didn't notice immediately as I was riding almost standing up with my visor open - Moby's screen is a little too big, and the humidity caused the helmet visor to keep fogging up. I was in the middle of Toowoomba in pouring rain when I could again see twin headlights behind me, so I kept going and started down the Toowoomba range with barely any forward vision at all. I pulled over at the servo at the bottom of the range to clean the mud and mist off my windshield, to find that the twin headlights behind belonged to a Rocket 3 and not Kiwi's trike!

Attempts to reach Sandy by phone were unsuccessful, so I decided to keep going to home in the torrential rain. This continued for the entire way back, but by sitting on the pillion seat and keeping the visor cracked I could see well enough to keep to the speed limit. Many car drivers I passed must have wondered at the idiot on the big white cruiser riding that way, but by then the cold wet and aching butt made powerful persuaders to press on - food and a hot shower were strong motivators! I got home at about 7.10 pm, with Sandy ringing me just as I got to Jindalee with the welcome news that she and Kiwi had made it home safely and were hitting a hot shower themselves.

Over 3,400 km were put on the bike during the trip, and the AGM event itself was fantastic. Sheriff Ado made the Townsville papers and ensured all the Lockyer group had a great time at the dinners, and much hilarity was had during the event. My partner Hilda flew up on the Thursday to see the event, and had a great time also before she flew back on Sunday morning laden with souvenirs of the event. We spent the Saturday on Magnetic Island, and she took some great action shots from the pillion seat of my bike from Castle Hill and Magnetic Island. All in all, much fun seemed to have been had by all - roll on Penrith 2009!

A big thank you should go to Ado and Amanda for organizing the dinners and events, to Lubo and Kath for making sure everyone had a great time for get togethers during the week, and to Al for ensuring the navigation went smoothly on the trip up. A big thumbs up also for all the Lockyer people who attended - it was a great AGM.