Well I’m here in Grafton and so much has happened since I last posted. Let’s try and summarise.
The MotoStars meeting was a great success. The weather was beautiful and the company the best. Thanks to Stuart and Donna Brown from Elite Motorcycles in Toowoomba, I had a comfortable bed in their little caravan and slept like a top both nights. On the Friday night I slept for over 12 hours, boy was I tired.
I’m looking forward to the next round which will be held in Albury, a much more accessible venue for me.
I packed up after the meeting and headed east to an appointment with one of the subscribers on this site, a former racer and journalist who had suggested I drop into his place for a cuppa. Martin lives just outside Gatton so it was only a half hour ride into the evening from Greer Park. Our cup of tea stretched out into dinner and, finally, an offer of a bed for the night. I must say how grateful I was because it was totally dark by then and I was not looking forward to playing chicken with the wildlife on the Warrego Highway.
As always when motorcyclists get together, the night went quite late as we swapped stories and yarns and reminisces of mutual friends and acquaintances. After breakfast we sat around some more because, frankly I was in no hurry to leave and the company of Martin and his wife, Chris, was much too pleasant.
Mid morning, Martin said, “Would you like to have a bit of a fly?” I already knew he had two planes in the hangar behind the house because we had stashed Rhonnda there the night before. Martin lives on an air estate and the runway is just next to his house.
Less than 15 minutes later we were airborne in his RV8 two seater, admiring the gorgeous Lockyer Valley from around 5000 feet. Am I lucky or what?? I wasn’t prepared when Martin decided to do some aerobatics, however, so he had to do it twice so I could get a video as proof. What a buzz!
After lunch I saddled up and headed further east. Thanks to the power of social media and the wonderful friends I have there, there was dinner and a bed waiting for me at Jimboomba, just near Canungra. Of course, I had to have a coffee at my favourite cafe, the Hub, in Canungra’s Main Street.
Louisa was the perfect hostess, turning on a great dinner followed by more bench racing and a long jam session with her son, Will, who is learning to play the guitar. Oh dear, another late night. They’ve just bought a baby parrot so needless to say, we had to have some Jimmy Buffett songs.
This morning it was back on the road and, without any help from the GPS, I found my way up and down the switchback that is the Beechmont Road and onto the road to Natural Bridge. Pretty pleased with that. A pause for the obligatory photo at the border and then the plunge down the range to Murwillmbah. What a sensational road it is.
I determined before I left on this trip that I wasn’t going to plan too much, just let things flow and, so far, the plan is working. I easily found the Uki road to Kyogle and had the thrill of riding this sensational 70 odd kilometre run. Yes, the road IS a little rougher than when I rode it last time, but, if you can get to ride it, it is a MUST RIDE ROAD.
Not long after passing through Uki I was starting to need a coffee and, just before desperation set in, I rolled into the little village of Burrell Creek. A bottle shop and a cafe called the Sphinx Rock Cafe, is all there is there.
While I was ordering I heard the sound of Bluegrass music coming from the verandah. I peeked around the corner only to see a group of 10 or so musicians jamming it out. Apparently they jam at the Sphinx Rock every Tuesday. Wow. I would so much liked to have joined them and I said so to the lady who runs the cafe. “Well, there’s the shop guitar there, you can use that if you want to,” she said, “I’m not sure if it’s in tune, though.” It was! “Do you think they’d mind?” I asked. Apparently not was the opinion.
So, for the next hour I sat in with the band and did my best to keep up. Fortunately most of the songs were pretty predictable and I could figure out the chords real quickly. What a hoot. I do have a video of the group which I will upload when I get home. Like I said, the wonders of the road.
I would have love to have stays longer but the road was calling. Down the Summerland Way from Casino to Grafton, I broke my rule and booked into a motel. Very comfy it is, too.
That’s it for this entry. Tomorrow it’s the Nymboida and the Dorrigo. So far everything is going according to plan.
sulli says
Well done Phil congratulations on finding some of the best motorcycling roads in se Qld hope you enjoyed the stay
Phil Hall says
Oooh, yeah, thank you. What a buzz this ride was, and so many great surprises along the way as well.