Border Ranges Ride

 So with the Ducati finally all set up (well, pretty much) with accessories and having had it’s first service I took the opportunity to get her out on a multi surface spin. I planned a quick 300 odd kilometre loop through the border ranges on Gaia GPS, despite rain being predicted for the afternoon.

I wanted to be able to explore any other roads while down there, on a whim, so I topped up with fuel at Tamborine. Probably not strictly necessary but better to be safe, eh?

Out through Beaudesert and on to Rathdowny for a coffee. Another cracking morning in south east Queensland!

I took the Lions Road south out of Rathdowny. Clearly they have had plenty of rain in this part of the world as it was bright green grass everywhere I looked. Cloud wrapped over some of the hills that flanked the road making for spectacular scenery.

Some sections were more spectacular than others.

Climbing up to the border crossing I was soon in the bottom of the cloud and getting covered in dewy, misty precipitation. The road gets very twisty here and I was interested to see how the Pirelli Scorpions would feel in the wet. Now, while it wasn’t driving rain, the road was thoroughly wet and I am pleased to say the tyres gripped exceptionally well. I pushed it a bit hard just to be sure and apart from some rear abs activation while braking hard into some corners they were absolutely rock solid.

I turned up Simes road at Grady’s Creek to begin the climb to Tweed Range road but after a few kilometres it became obvious that it was going to be very wet up there. Having a brand new bike that was shod with road oriented rubber, it wasn’t a situation that I wanted to be in. With the escarpment located inside a cloud this morning there would be absolutely no view and I was intending to ride up there as much for the view as for the ride.

So, I backtracked and got onto Forest Road, then Lynch’s Creek road to head back out to the Summerland Way at Wiangaree and on to Kyogle. The rain soon stopped and the road dried up as I descended so I was happy with my choice.

I rode straight through Kyogle and out the Uki road. The road was dry and I enjoyed hooking through the traffic free twisties. I was impressed with how well my Africa Twin handled on the winding roads but this Ducati is next level on the black stuff. The highly muffled exhaust note belies how wickedly fast the engine pushes you from bend to bend!

I turned left into Link road at Wadeville to enjoy some quiet dirt across to Tweed Range road. Yep, I wasn’t giving up on the dream of taking in that view just yet!

The road was damp here but that just made for great traction. In fact, these tyres were proving to be pretty damn good. That was until I started hitting patches of wet clay. They weren’t super-slimy but I could feel the bike moving around a bit now. Stopping at the location below for a “comfort stop” a car coming the other way wound it’s window down and said in a slightly pissed off tone “the roads closed up there”. Hmmm, interesting. 🤔 So I wouldn’t have got through from the other end and I won’t go much further from here anyway. So, I turned around and enjoyed the ride down the hill to the Uki road again. This is why I wanted a full tank of fuel because you never know where you might have to go.

I wasn’t on the black stuff for long though as I soon turned off at Mt Burrell onto Cadel road. This took me through Mebbin National Park which is on the western side of Mt Warning. I have done some mountain bike races here in the past and I did feel some familiarity with bits of the forest. Of course, on the mtb you can duck past the gates that block many an interesting fire trail. Today I contented myself with cruising through and getting to know my bike/tyre combination with nary a soul to disturb me.

Cutters Campground was very familiar. Many a muddy mtb race was started from this point!🙄

I cruised into Tyalgum for lunch at the General store - even though I am only a lowly captain 😜.

They do great fresh food here and I enjoyed a simple, fresh sandwich and an iced coffee milk while swinging my legs like an 8 year old.

Things went a bit south from here as I noticed a number of missed calls from the neighbours who live either side of Dad, my wife and my little bro. 

Shit.

This can’t be good.

Returning the first neighbours call I found that Dad had had a little lie down on the carpet - for about 30 hours. Luckily we (Dad) have good neighbours who regularly check on each other. They called the ambulance and he was on his way to hospital at that very moment. Seems I had only missed those calls by about 5 minutes or so. 

I think I need a Cardo in both helmets.🤔

So, here I was, only 100ish kilometres from home but about 1000 bends in between. I jumped on the bike and hooked it for home. Once I got onto the Advancetown road things slowed up a bit as it had rained and the road was thoroughly wet. Riding into Nerang I began to become concerned as lightning bolts began to rain down. Needing fuel I ducked into the 7-11 at Nerang to top up and wait the storm out.

This is what the radar looked like….

I had several chats with bike owners (who were in their cars) about the weather with one guy showing me a photo a friend had just sent him from Beaudesert showing a massive cell that was green looking!

 Shit!

Checking the radar again and events were evolving rapidly! 45 minutes had elapsed and checking the radar it looked even worse! (Yes, I was under that big red bit under “Nerang”)

I was stuck at the servo until the weather cleared but the silver lining here was I got to make a stack of phone calls to Steve, my wife, the neighbours to generally sort some shit out. 

I eventually decided “fcuk it” and rode out into the weather. I got absolutely soaked by a massive downpour and can safely say that the Pirelli Scorpion tyres on the Duke can walk on water!

313km for the day through some magic countryside proved that this bike was the right choice. I am trying not to be a “fan boy” but can I just say that I am quietly impressed. 😎

Thankfully, I have an awesome brother who also cares about our parents too and he dropped everything to head straight out to see Dad. I organised to drive the 1000km a few days later with Lucy and we are spending some important time with Dad. He isn’t out of the woods yet and at 82 and some change he might never be but at least we are here for him. 🤗

Despite planning with Gaia GPS maps I find Ride With GPS the perfect interactive mapping tool to post to the blog.

Cheers.

I needed a beer after today…….

Breaking In A New Bike

Today dawned crisp and clear - and bloody cold! I know that cold is a relative term but when it gets below 10 Celcius, it is cold here in the sub tropics! 

Anyway, it was a great day for a good mate of mine to start his journey down the Adventure Bike route. He had just purchased a brand new KTM 1090 Adventure and was itching to get it dirty. How could I not help?

Beautiful One Day, Perfect The Next

That line - beautiful one day, perfect the next - has been the tag line for Queensland tourism for as long as I can remember. I recall it as a boy, growing up in country New South Wales so it goes back at least as far as the early '80s. While it might not be strictly correct every day of the year, it certainly describes Autumn here in South East Queensland. We have cool mornings, in the region of 13C(55F) and getting up to a very pleasant 25C(77F) during the day. What makes it especially pleasant is that the humidity is gone, making it feel 5 degrees cooler. 

Perfect riding weather!

So, after an early start where a mate and I bashed out 60km on our road bikes (bicycles), I came home and wheeled the R1 out of the shed. It had been (quite) a few years (5+!!) since I had rolled down to Tyalgum in northern NSW for a coffee and today was too good of a day not to ride.

I had a quick faff around with my new GoPro 6. I took it off charge and it decided that it wanted to keep turning itself on after about 10 seconds! After 30-45 minutes of searching the interwebs for a fix and some swearing at it, the little bugger was sorted! Bloody half baked technology.....

I would be taking the Advancetown road from Nerang as it is a sweet, if heavily policed, slice of motorcycling heaven. I planned on just tootling along so the prescence of mobile revenue collectors didn't worry me too much.

Once off the motorway and through Nerang it was a pleasure to tip into the never-ending corners that weave their way around the western side of Hinze dam. The surface is mostly good and while I was a little rusty, skills wise, I wasn't anywhere near boy-racer mode so really enjoyed the cruise.

I stopped in Numinbah for a quick photo outside the local hall and noticed that the cafe' seems to be operational again. A good reason to come back.

Crossing the border into NSW, the little parking area at the viewpoint was chockas with bikes and cars so I continued on down the mountainside. This section of road is narrow and bumpy and it was still wet (as usual) after overnight showers. This section of NSW gets the highest rainfall with 2300mm (92inches) per annum on average. Hence, the strip of green moss in the centre of the lane....... I was being extra careful !!

After a bumpy but fun ride I rolled into Tyalgum. There seemed to be more options for food than 5 years ago (was it really that long since I had been here?!!) but it was still too early for the pub (I don't drink when riding-hard and fast rule) and the "mumsy" cafe' didn't appeal. The general store looked very inviting so I decided to check it out.

It was a good choice as inside there was a little bit of everything from groceries to a cafe'! I grabbed a chicken salad roll and a coffee, then retired to the bench out the front to soak up the glorious morning and read the local newsletter.

I was having such a nice time on the bike I decided to extend the ride over to Murwillumbah, then loop around through Chillingham and then back over Natural Bridge and the Advancetown Rd to home. More glorious miles ensued.

Climbing back up to the border crossing and the little viewing area was clear, so I stopped in for an overview of northern NSW. It is a cracking view! (not really relayed in a photo)



Looking from QLD across the border into NSW, this is the view.

Retracing my steps from here I had a pretty good run with almost no traffic until I got to the sweet section of bends on the western side of Hinze dam, where I got stuck behind a caravan and several cars. Oh, well, it had been a mostly traffic free day, with zero mobile revenue collectors spotted, so I couldn't complain.

The 50km of motorway was over fairly quickly and painlessly and I was home about four hours after setting out. Another 260km (161mi) was on the odometer.
Funnily enough, it had been 2 years and 2 months since I was sitting at that border crossing lookout with my brother and his mates and come to the realisation that my suspension was shot and needed rebuilding. That process took about 6 months (long story) but the funny (sad) thing is that this is the first real ride I have taken the bike on since that rebuild! I have been worried, thinking I would need to set it up for me but I guess Teknic set it to my weight and specs when they rebuilt it because it handled really well today. I don't ride enough to know where it needs tweaking but for now it is good enough.
Good enough will do.........






Cheers.

Mountainbiking With A MotoGP World Champion

I had a rather interesting phone call a few months back.
A mate had broken his elbow and so was unable to ride. He asked me if I wouldn't mind showing one of the SRAM and Rockshox sponsored ambassadors around the trails here in Cornubia for him while [R]evolution mountain bike magazine did a photo shoot? Sure! Why not? I am always happy to show new people around our little forest and to get to gatecrash a mag photo shoot would be pretty cool too.

Anyway, the morning rolled around and I was told to be ready to rock at 9am (pro hours!). I met up with my mate and he introduced me to the Rockshox techs and the [R]evolution guys. We talked some shit before the ambassador and his manager arrived. His manager? Who the fuck brings a manager to a mountain bike ride? Shit, I have never even met someone who has a manager. This was getting interesting!

Anyway, they finally roll around the corner into my mate's backyard and it is none other than Casey Stoner!! Turns out he is living here in South East Queensland these days and loving his mountain biking so SRAM and Rockshox, as well as Specialized bikes have gotten behind his habit and he is now spruiking for them.

So, Casey and I headed out the back gate and started up the hill where the others would meet us for the shoot. I pedalled my backside off and Casey was right on my back wheel the whole way. At the first intersection I asked if he would like to lead, which he did, so I got to follow. It was a 2 kilometre climb and I am happy to say that I kept on his wheel the whole way to the top - even if I couldn't have blown out a candle by the time we reached the top - with Casey barely breaking a sweat!

Dave sneaky shot. 

We reached the lads who were setting up and then just goofed around for an hour or so. I tried not to be a fan-boy and didn't mention that I was a rabid 500GP/MotoGP fan back in the day when he was coming through the ranks and had followed his career closely until about 2005 when I lost interest in the scene. I chatted to his manager for quite some time while photos were taken and discovered that they are still super busy with Casey being a test rider for Ducati (still fastest at the season opening tests!) as well as a brand ambassador for many companies which sees him still travelling extensively.

With a magazine photo shoot happening I was extremely aware of their sensitivity to anyone else taking photos (thanks to Gaz dragging me on plenty of shoots over the years) so was VERY circumspect in how I sneakily took some photos. There was no way I was going to post anything until well after [R]evolution Magazine hit the news stands.

After the guys worked on his bike and many photos were taken it was time to hit some more trail to find that "rad" shot. I was on again!!

Dave sneaky shot.

We headed down Resurrection trail then onto Stupidly happy trail with the photographer (Tim Bardsley-Smith) madly running after us. If we (Casey) thought a place looked good we waited until Tim caught up to us, caught his breath, then shot some action.

Dave sneaky shot of Tim and Casey.

This was interesting for a few reasons. Firstly, the composure of the shots. As an amateur photog it was great to get the scoop on lighting and angles. Secondly, it was amazing to watch Casey slide it into a corner time and time again, feet up drifting and basically meeting Tim's requests first go. He has clearly done photo shoots before!! Also it was evident how deeply he understood his suspension setup and knew what affected what. Me? I know it is the squishy thing on the front and back of the bike that makes the ride nicer........

When asked to run back up the hill and "do it again" he joked how much he enjoyed this shit. We asked why, as it must be much easier on a motorcycle to which he replied no, those things just hurt you. It hurts you every time you get on a MotoGP bike. 

Wow! Thinking about it though, those bikes are beasts and I guess you can't just coast around on them. The racers are there to ride them hard. Period.

Dave sneaky photo of Tim and Casey

Tim's angle on the above photo [R]evolution Magazine

Following down the hill he had a small spill. Drifting into a tight right, tightening corner, feet up, the front just gave out and he fell off while almost stationary. I'm not sure if he noticed it from the ground but he jumped up saying this would be a great spot to stop for some more shots with the following awesome shot the result. Casey had a great eye for what would make a good shot.

Tim Bardsely-Smith/[R]evolution Magazine

Dave sneaky shot of Casey finishing the slide above (with Tim's feet in the bottom corner)

Then it was time for the guys to head to Nerang for some more photos. Nerang is Casey's home turf and will be the site of the Commonwealth Games mountain bike racing in April 2018. Quite a few of the riding photos in the Revolution article are from Nerang. The wider, more open trails making for better lighting I am guessing.

Anyway, that was my morning. It took a some self control not to carry on like a giddy schoolgirl and I think I might have played it a bit too cool but Casey turned out to be a really nice, down to earth guy. Just another guy, a new Dad with another on the way, that loves his riding. I got the impression this is what he liked about mountain biking so much - the fact that he could get out and have fun, stay fit and all in a chilled, relaxing environment.

He capped my impression off when, as they were leaving, he learned that I wasn't going to Nerang with them and leapt out of his car, running around the house to where I was chatting to the guys and thanking me for the ride! Now that is the mark of a true gentleman!

Tim Bardsley-Smith/[R]evolution Magazine

If you want to read the full article I think you can download it from [R]evolution Magazine here. It is an extremely in depth interview that will be of interest to mountainbikers AND motorcycle aficionados. If you have any problem finding it please leave a comment for me below and I will scan the article in and post it up for you.

And no, I didn't ask for a selfie with him! He has however, inspired me to get more out of my bike and myself. His life goal to constantly be better was very infectious.

Tim Bardsley-Smith/[R]evolution mag

Cheers and thanks for reading.

Photo credits are either mine(Dave) or Tim Bardsley-Smith and [R]evolution Magazine whom I hope don't sue my arse for putting them up here.......

Motor Bicycling

With my little bro bailing on me to go ride a "duck", I suddenly had a clear morning before heading back to the salt mines.

Too late to organise a MTB ride, I had to come up with a plan C. It was a nice day, being not too hot or too humid and I did have a jacket to wear now. Must be time to get the R1 out of the shed then!

Dragging all of my gear together and checking tyre pressures took about thirty minutes. Thirty minutes to let the butterflies grow. How would it go? Will I remember how to make the bike go around a corner? Will I have fun or was this going to be a big mistake?

As I sat on the bike to ride away, I was struck by how "in the bike" you feel when compared with riding a bicycle, where you are sitting waaay up high. Feeling awkward right away can't be good. I gave myself an uppercut and calmed down to concentrate on the basics of smoothness and throttle control. It is amazing how rusty you become with throttle control and sobering to realise how important it is to riding a motorcycle with the direct response that the R1 has to said throttle!

I rolled on to the Motorway heading south. The plan was to take in a pleasant loop up over Mt Tamborine to Canungra, the return home via Nerang. This route would necessitate riding some narrow, twisting roads. A sure fire way to focus my attention on the issues of the moment, namely throttle control and cornering ability.


View Larger Map

Shortly after getting off the motorway, I noted another large jap road bike following me. Great. A witness to my ineptitude! Stuck behind slow moving cars I concentrated on road position and where to look in the corners. One of the first things I noticed was how wide the road was. I had plenty of tarmac to select a line from, unlike in a car. This immediately made me feel more at ease and when the slow cars finally turned up a side road, I was able to up the pace gently and work on my lines. Funnily enough, looking in the rear view mirror I saw the following rider wobbling and running a bit wide on corners. Maybe I wasn't the only newbie out there this morning!

This part of South East Queensland is always picturesque and today was no exception. With thunderstorms scrubbing the sky clear the previous day, the colours of the mountain were particularly vivid, as if someone had upped the colour saturation on the entire world. I was starting to relax now and enjoy being out on the bike.

Riding over Tamborine, I dropped down the narrow, winding road into Canungra. Following a bogan in a huge four wheel drive helped me keep my pace under control, if not my frustration. This idiot was using both sides of the road to maximise his corner speed. Too bad if another road user was comimg the other way. As soon as I could, I safely dispatched this menace, not wanting to be witness to a head on collision.

Pulling into Canungra, I stopped for a coffee and bite to eat at a cafe' frequented by bikers.

Relaxing under the cooling mist of water that the fans were blowing around, I took a moment to reflect on how much fun I was having....and how damn hot that bike looked!

I also noticed the perfect place to hang the GoPro for no vibration footage. Those rubber Oggy Knobs on either side of the bike are rock solid and would allow a forward or rearward shot. Hmmm....

Suiting up, it was time to head down to Nerang and ultimately home. This piece of road is relatively high speed with long sweepers and a few tight sections to catch out the unwary. By now, I had gone from individual riding actions, brake now-move your butt now-lean now-accelerate now all carried out oafishly and seperately, to smoothly doing all at once. Not having to think about each action separately freed up brain space to assess corner speeds and start braking later. Woo Hooo! It was starting to flow sweetly now.

Motoring along the freeway on the way home I also marvelled at how comfortable the bike was. Despite reading reviews on sports bikes for years and previous personal experience, lamenting the fact that they are painfully uncomfortable, I found the seat well padded and quite pleasant. I guess sitting on a narrow, hard bicycle seat for 4-8 hours at a time changes one's point of reference. So all of you that curse sports bike creature comforts, give yourselves an uppercut and "harden the f#*k up"!

 My concerns about the mustiness of my helmet were also a non event. At highway speeds I simply did not notice the smell and the helmet felt like the quality item that it always was, so I will persevere with my old lid and contemplate a replacement at a later date.

At home again, with the bike tucked away the shed, I had a grin on my face that even the thought of impending work couldn't remove.

No doubt, for some of you the content will be blocked in some countries. If you have AD/DC's Shoot to Thrill, play it in sequence with the video and you will have the full picture! If you feel the need to play "Barbie Girl" by Aqua, have a chuckle to yourself, but just don't tell me about it!

Now to plan the next ride and northern New South Wales is beckoning.

I think this is going to be fun!

Thunder and Monkey Butt

Today started badly with a massive thunderstorm waking me up at 4:17am. The crash of thunder overhead was so loud that I went from fast asleep to hanging off the ceiling fan in 0.02 of a second! Driving rain accompanied the light and sound show making me fearful of more flash flooding so soon after the horrible floods we have just endured. I noted later in the day that this was the case, thankfully though only minor in extent.

An early ride was planned for Nerang. I had organised to meet Steve at the velodrome for a 6:30am kick off. Accompanying the rain was some cooler weather which was appreciated as it has been very sticky here in Brisbane over the last week or so.

We set off for the upper trails and I noted right away that my saddle seemed "slippery" this morning. More on this later!

I was riding like I had two left hands again. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly you lose skills when you don't practice them regularly. Too much road riding lately has seen my MTB skills go the way of the Dodo. Steve not only led the way on the trails, he showed me how to tackle the obstacles.

We took in many trails that I still can't remember the name of despite numerous visits to Nerang. We did do Baily's, crossed Wimps and came home via Never Ending, Explosions and Pete's.

Steve ate them all up while I struggled along behind, with my behind getting more uncomfortable by the kilometre.

The bridges in Nerang are a mix of "too easy" to "you have got to be kidding!". This one is of the former variety. I mean, we both have jobs to go to tomorrow and families to buy Vegemite for.

A good day out despite the lack of skill and the increasingly painful rear end. In fact, the rear end is so sore that it is uncomfortable to sit on now. In three years or so of MTBing I have never had such a red butt! Not even after eight hours in the saddle. I am not sure what caused it. I had on my usual trusty shorts and my wife assures me that the washing powder hasn't been changed to a different brand, so I am at a loss to explain the monkey butt, apart from noticing that the saddle felt slippery at the start of the ride. I guess it is nothing that a bit of soothing cream and a rest day or two can't fix. Maybe some trail building tomorrow instead of riding?

For those that are not too squeamish, here is a photo of the offending monkey butt. View it at your own peril...............................................................................................................

                                                        You couldn't help yourself, could you?!!!

Life is for living part II

Work,weather and life in general have interfered with having fun until last week when Steve and I were finally able to sneak out for a ride at Nerang.

Maybe it is time to take some risks.

Ride Today

It was awesome to be back in the bush, on my bike chatting with a mate about "stuff". This is one of the reasons I ride..............................................

Heal tomorrow......................