O'Reillys - 22 June 2008 |
| Submitted by Ashley (Lone A Ranger) |
The day dawned clear and cold, but nevertheless a fairly sizable group of some 14 bikes gathered to take a trip to O'Reillys Guest House in the ranges behind the Gold Coast. Ashley was to lead the ride, though freely admitting in the ride report that he had never been there. However, he had googled it…
So, at 9 am, the group left the BP Blacksoil and headed out along the Warrego. A quick dash through Walloon and on to the Cunningham Highway, where we proceeded at highway speed to the Harrisville turnoff. The group then proceeded through Harrisville (having a close encounter of the bicycle kind with a large group of bicycle riders who obviously were not phased by the cold) and turned toward Kalbar. A nice ride in the country was in order as the sun began to warm the day, then a turn toward Boonah as 10 am approached. Ashley then pulled in to the little park just outside Boonah, where it was discovered that 3 bikes were missing. Sheriff Ado headed off on his new VTX1800 to see where they might have stopped, but a short time later they all arrived - one of the bikes had lost a saddle bag at Kalbar and stopped to make roadside repairs. It was at this point that another of the group announced that the rear brake on his Virago had stopped working, and so could not continue up into the mountains. Artie and Stella left the ride at this point also, as Stella had to work, and Amanda too headed home as she had people arriving from overseas. The smaller group headed to the Beaudesert turnoff and headed for the hills in the now bright sunshine.
A fuel stop in Beaudesert saw our group swapping tales for 15 minutes or so, before mounting up and heading for Canungra. At Canungra, Ashley missed the turnoff and had to double back, at which point several of the group stopped on the main street. Gary and Betty then led the group up the mountains, with 30 or so km of narrow, winding mountain roads and switchback turns to make everyone feel alive. The air temperature continued to drop as we climbed higher, and eventually the scrubby bush gave way to real rainforest. The views on the ascent were spectacular, and the hairpins challenging, but the entire group made it safely to O'Reillys just after 12.30 pm. A hearty lunch was enjoyed by all, before a quick photo shoot of the group and mount up for the ride home (except for Ashley and Hilda, who decided to stay on for a bit to look around, neither having ever been there before).
A good size group, some challenging roads, some truly spectacular scenery and glorious fine weather - what better way to enjoy a winter Sunday!
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Motorcycles In The Media
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Source:
couriermail.com.au
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Source: townsvillebulletin.com.au
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Source:
couriermail.com.au
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Source:
goldcoast.com.au
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Source:
couriermail.com.au
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Source:
goldcoast.com.au
Stoner endorses rider gear
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Source:
couriermail.com.au
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