Stanthorpe - 8th June 2008 |
| Submitted by Ashley (Lone A Ranger) |
Barely back from the Townsville AGM and already taking another longish ride - must be a sucker for punishment! The day dawned overcast but not raining, and another Stanthorpe trip planned. Unfortunately, this gazetted ride had the misfortune to be timetabled to take place on the same day as both the Daniel Morecombe ride and the Southern Cross Poker Run, so it was anticipated that I might be once again riding solo to Stanthorpe. Indeed, a number of fellow Lockyer Ulyssians did ride into the BP Blacksoil on the morning, but with intentions of joining the poker run. In the end, only two other bikes came on the run to Stanthorpe - John Hadfield on his Triumph, and Sue Hadfield on her Virago. So the little group of four (my partner Hilda riding pillion on the back of Moby) left the servo at 9 am for the trip up to Stanthorpe. The skies looked threatening, but only a few misty showers marred the trip up. We cut through Walloon and Amberley to meet the Cunningham Highway, then proceeded directly to Warwick where we fuelled up at the Caltex just out of town. The air temperature was considerably colder up there, a taste of what was to come. We also encountered a number of Ulyssians returning from the AGM.
We arrived at our first winery, the Caves, at just on midday, with light rain starting to fall. It was wet and it was cold, but the wine was good and the warmth of the winery even better. A few bottles were purchased, before we saddled up again and headed past Stanthorpe town for a trip to the next winery - the Captain Thunderbolt Farm where it was planned we would lunch and sample some of the varied wines they had to offer. Unfortunately, the meal dragged on for quite a bit - normally the service there is pretty good, but a bus load of tourists with finicky tastes in food who arrived shortly before us saw the meal take seemingly forever to hit the table. Keith and Claudia, our hosts, did their best to apologise for the delay, but the meal was not served until 2.20 and the delay didn't allow much time to go elsewhere as John and Sue had to return home that afternoon. John and Sue followed us to the highway, then made for home, leaving Hilda and I to investigate the delights of the Castle Glen winery at The Summit. The place was full of amazing bottles filled with all sorts of coloured concoctions, and we bought a few bottles to bring back. The greeter at the Castle Glen was a very friendly labrador wearing a jacket advertising the place, and a number of fellow motorcycle riders joined us for the tasting.
However, by the time we left the Castle Glen it was after 4.30 pm, so we made for Stanthorpe and our booked accommodation for the night at the Granite Court Motel. It was warm and cozy, and a hearty meal at O'Mearas Hotel in town warmed us both considerably.
Monday morning saw the misty rain Stanthorpe is famous for, and we headed straight to McDonalds for a feed in the freezing cold. We then headed to the Granite Maze, an intriguing place with a genuine hedge maze to keep us occupied. We finally hit the road again in the middle of the day, bound for Ipswich. The police almost outnumbered the travellers on the road, and there were radars and motorcycle cops everywhere. The obligatory fuel stop at Warwick saw the ambient temperature a little warmer than it had been in Stanthorpe, and the trip down Cunninghams Gap saw us overtaken by three motorcycle policemen all doing a bit more than the posted limit on their police issue beemers. Luckily they didn't have to contend with the radar trap halfway down.
The rain set in just past Aratula, and a lot of Brisbane bound traffic returning from the long weekend saw an average speed well under the posted limit. Nevertheless, it was a good trip despite the cold, and there was a 400% greater attendance than last year's Stanthorpe trip - who knows how many might come in 2009!
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