Bikes: Another happy weekend behind bars!

As the title says.. another happy weekend behind bars. The bars of my Yamaha XT1200Z Super Tenere. Does that machine bring a smile to my face?

Well, yes it does.

A bloody huge childish grin in fact.

This weekend past found me, Ian & Gregor on a two day ride around some of our favourite haunts. Up to Mt Glorious for a latish breakfast on Saturday, then down the other side and onwards to Linville for a country pub lunch. We were the only ones there at noon!

Wonderful spot.

Once refreshed we headed up to the headwaters of the Brisbane River. The Western Branch actually. Normally really pretty country and a magic place to ride along and clear all of the crap out of your head... my spiritual recharge in action again. One rides up and down hills, in and out of water crossings; but this time all 30 crossings were bone dry.

As was the grass in the fields. A very sad sight.

Also we note what appear to be early sign of a Triffid invasion!

Note the Triffids on the sign.. an advance party?

And dust! talk about dust! Poor old Maximus Obesus was covered in it. As was I!

At the end of Western Branch road; about to hit the tar again!

From the end of the dirt of Western Branch Road, we headed along the bitumen to Nanango, an old town that has some shared history with me back in the seventies. Standing there looking at one old house in particular, my mind went back some 38 years in a flash.  Instantly I could see a much younger and very much thinner me saying goodbye on the door step late one day. Sliding doors! A decision I made at 15:00 hours on XMAS eve in 1975 very much changed the direction of my life.. and led to where my life has taken me! It makes one wonder.. what might have been!

I am soon brought back to the here and now back at the motel as the guys give me grief because my bike is dirty! Very dirty!

Like the fireman at Penny Lane I do prefer a clean machine!

Dr Karcher can clean this mess!

So after we check into our rooms we go for a bit of a look/see of the back roads around the area. We pass the local cop who is hiding behind a sign on the outskirts of town with his speed gun thing. He is waiting for speeding motorists to exceed the 80 km/h limit as they see the open highway in front of them. Sorry officer.. with Gregor (AKA Captain Slow) in front we are zooming along at a break neck 68 km/h as we fly past him. I watched him in the mirror as he got back into his car and retreated to the sanctity of his Police Station. Bikers: 1, Cops: 0 at close of play.

So.. dinner time in Nanango. Where does one go? Believe it or not they have the most modern RSL and that is where we ended up listening to a couple doing covers of 70s & 80s music as we washed down our meals with some Jim Beam and Coke. A great night!

Sunup on Sunday and we pack up and head to the Bunya Mountains.. a magic place! Although there is evidence of the Triffids really getting a stranglehold on the place. Where next?

The Triffids really have taken ov er the Bunya Mountains!

It's cool up here and totally relaxing as we drink coffee and look at all the pretty face wallabies that abound. Shame we have to leave!

You just have to love this place!

Now, every time I have been to the Bunyas I have always photographed my car (or bike) in this exact same spot!  So why break with tradition?

Must keep up the tradition!

Debra's 318i in 2003. Grass was longer.

Before we leave Ian is reading a local tourist information sheet and discovers a tunnel down the road a bit. Well.. actually a fair way down the road a bit. It is a disused railway tunnel that is the longest of its type in Australia. Located near Cooyar, we head off to have a gander. Once down off the mountain range Gregor and I discover our GPS units have different ideas about how to get to this tunnel near Cooyar. Long story short.. despite lowering fuel levels in Gregor's KTM 990 Adventure, we find the place easily and go for a walk to check it out. (Note to self: Don't try bushwalking in ADV boots again. Oh, the corns!)

Gregor sizing up the situation while Ian rushes in!

You cannot walk right through as a bat colony lives here and
a "cage" has been built to keep humans out!

 After leaving this tunnel we head to Oakey for lunch. As we sit in the heat eating our sandwiches we watch tomorrow's leaders eating their lunch in a small Kia hatchback and throw their fish and chip wrappings out the window. Amazing. Though I guess from their perspective, it is a hot day and the bin is at least 10 metres away! Gregor decides to photograph them  and place the image on Face Book. As soon as he does the driver (a girl) gets out of the car. I thought .. here we go! But she picks all the papers up and puts them in the bin! Perhaps his rally suit makes him look like a Ranger.

Back to Toowoomba and down to Gatton via Flagstone Creek. Another twisty road.

"A curve; the loveliest distance between two points!"

Once down the bottom of the range we stop for a quick leg stretch and a final chat! I then set my GPS to "Home: Quickest Time" and stab the starter button with my thumb. I set the engine management computer to sports mode. Fat Max settles into a throaty idle. I snick him into gear, twist the throttle and slowly ride the clutch out!

Wow! "Houston we have lift off!" says I, the big twin's Staintune exhaust barks in anger and I ride the surge of pure grunt through each gear as I power along the back roads until I rejoin the highway.

It doesn't get any better than this! God I love this bike!

A great weekend away with two good mates. Feet are as sore as.. must visit the podiatrist and then get some thicker socks for my  Setup Boots.

Another happy weekend behind bars draws to a close.. but here's to more adventures to come!