Mulgowie Via Esk - April 26, 2009 - by Michael Ross

The Sun, Moon and other Celestial Bodies were in alignment. And with no work Sunday night I was able to once again go for a Ulysses ride. A ride which, while technically beginning at the BP Blacksoil actually begins at my place when I open the garage door, warm up the bike, put it in gear and let out the clutch. And part of that beginning includes making sure I have the correct tyre pressure and enough go-go juice for the day. And so on the way to the BP I tank up at a servo just up the road - where I can double check tyre pressure while they're still cold.

With a full tank of juice and correctly pressurized tyres I pull into the BP wondering how many would join us post Anzac day as we head into the cooler months. Would there be a good showing of hardy souls wearing an extra layer or two? Or would the previous day's festivities and cooler mornings see a reduced turn out? Arriving half hour-ish early there were 6 bikes already lined up and waiting to go. I parked my bike and made my greetings of new-to-me as well as familiar faces. And chatted as we waited for the numbers to grow and for the instructions to be given.

Spook was the ride leader and he called us all to gather around for the pre-ride briefing. We'd be heading to Esk for Smoko then to Mulgowie for lunch. And we'd be doing it a round about way. Down through Walloon, Jeebropilly & Rosewood. Then back up through Marburg on the way to Coominya then Esk. Then down through Laidley - via a quick pitstop at Lake Dyre - along the Back Road to the Mulgowie pub - so going home would be a straight zip up the road from the pub and thus we wouldn't cover the same road twice. This would be the Scenic Route. And a nice run for the 27-ish bikes and one trike which was the final total of machines to leave the BP.

Overall, the ride to Coominya was at a good speed - not too fast nor too slow - and the scenery and twistiness of the road was also pleasant. I traveled on roads through places where I didn't even know there were places. We went through a few stop signs - we all stopped, of course. And there was the Road Works Traffic Lights which also slowed our progress and which changed from Green to Amber way too soon. But otherwise, Coominya was made in good time. Almost good enough time to catch a train the rest of the way. The only problem being, there are no rail tracks at Coominya Station - which would probably seem quite odd about anywhere else in the world but not so odd in Queensland.

Barry, it seems, started to levitate or fly away or something and had to hold on to the Railway Crossing sign else he'd float away. But shortly after, the gravity in his area rose back to normal and his feet once again landed on the ground. Although, Ado's proximity to the anti-gravity vortex must have effected his brain he as tried to ride one of the playground horses off into the sunset - at least I think that's what he was doing. It did buck him off - is there a fine for falling off your ride - but he gritted his teeth and tamed that wild springing beast.

Setting off from the Coominya Station car park most of us made sure to travel the 30 odd meters up the road to do a U-Turn where the double lines ended. Not so for Sheriff Marmite. Maybe, like the Qld State Police, he felt he could transgress the law to apprehend an offender? I don't know 'bout that. But I do know we drew a few looks as we entered Esk for smoko. And as we parked our bikes and were figuring out where to have a snack, word came through the ether that the Enigma Cafe was a Ulysses supporter/member and he displayed a Ulysses flag behind the counter next to his menu. So naturally, he got some of our business.

Having had our cuppas and icecreams and whatnot, it was time to make the journey south to the pub at Mulgowie. Where there were lines waiting to be waited in. And so it was we bid farewell to Esk and headed south to Gatton. A run which was must faster than the Coominya-to-Esk run where we sometimes were going a sleepy 60kph. The run to Gatton was pretty well all 100kph - unless signposted otherwise. And we crossed the Warrego highway and made our way through the Gatton countryside with ease on to Laidley. And it's at our side trip to see Lake Dyre that Spook's bike had a dizzy spell and tried to take a nap - not that anyone noticed or anything.

Following our Lake Dyre pitstop we did a go-go-juice tank up and then hightailed it down to the Mulgowie pub. Where our arrival saw the leaving of some people (the two cars on the left) whose quiet peaceful country-pub meal had been disturbed by some Motley Ulysses Crew. The lines that had been eagerly awaiting our presence now materialized at the bar and the food counter. And despite Ado's "don't corner mark so you can be near the front and get served quicker" comment, after corner marking the first turn and arriving near on last at the pub my food arrived before his did. Which is what happens when you order the simplest thing to prepare - Squid and Chips. HA!

Having fed and watered and rested and chatted, it was time to make a move. I had no idea how to get back home - or to a sign which pointed the way home. So waited for someone else who - I Hoped - did know where they were going. And that was Barry on his trike. Wait for me, I mentally said, has he rode/drove off. But I caught him with ease and the ride back into Ipswich was without drama. Little did I realize the ride itself still had some Drama to come. And it came when I arrived home...

Deciding the chain was due for a bit of a lube I figured now, while it's hot and I won't be going anywhere else on the bike today, would be a good time. I parked the bike in its usual lubing position. Grabbed the rear lift device thing and set about placing the holders under the bike's swing arm. At this point the bike started to move. I thought it was odd and before I knew it, it had rolled forward off the stand and then just fell to the ground on its side. "Hey" I said, picked it up, repositioned it and lubed the chain without any further problems. No broken anythings. No paint off. No visible evidence it happened at all. I'll have to double check with Marmite to see if that classifies as Fine Worthy seeing as the bike hadn't yet been put away from the ride. If it is, maybe we'll call it even - I won't tell anyone of his double line crossing and he can forget my sleepy bike.

Other Pics from the Day...

Coominya Car Park	Waiting at Coominya train station	Lake Dyre
Lake Dyre	Waiting in line	Feeding Time