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Riding the Lions Road
The Lions Road—Part 1
The Australian States of Queensland and New South Wales are divided by the World Heritage listed Border Ranges. The interstate rail line crosses the range between Kyogle in NSW and Rathdowney in Queensland at Richmond Gap—at 1,250 ft the lowest geographical point in the range. The railway was completed in the 1930s and includes the interesting spiral loop at Cougal. In 1913 a clever surveyor figured out that by sending the line around in a circle he could gain 20 metres in elevation, thereby reducing the distance required to tunnel under the ranges.
From the 1930s, locals lobbied for a road to parallel the railway track. In the 1960s they thought they’d succeed, but the NSW government reneged on the deal in 1969. Undaunted, the Lions Club of Kyogle set about raising money to build the road as a community project and, by the end of 1971, what became known as the Lions Road was completed. These facts are from [url=http://www.visitkyogle.com.au/index.php/things_to_do_details/the_lions_road/]a brief history of the road, “11km of road over the rugged McPherson Range, 56 sets of pipes, 3 bridges and 12 cattle grids.” That, I think, is just the NSW section.
The Lions Club at Beaudesert in Queensland then came to the party and set about completing the road to the north of the border. Nowadays, 100,000 vehicles a year or more use this popular tourist route and, although it is rough in places, it is now completely sealed.
You can see [url=https://maps.google.com.au/maps?saddr=Rathdowney+QLD&daddr=gradys+creek+road+corner+summerland+way+nsw&hl=en&sll=-28.460844,152.929173&sspn=0.086323,0.169086&geocode=FUqFUf4dKIIcCSn7TA51Xi2XazEQ3SB_8e4ABA%3BFXlUTf4dcIcdCSm93yc4UrGQazHA2qmFTmvjmw&mra=ls&t=m&z=11]a map of the road here. By zooming in you can see the spiral loop of the train track near Cougal. You will also see the twists and turns in sections of the road that might, just might, make it an attractive route for chaps on bikes.
Flash forward to 2014 and a group of motorcycle enthusiasts hits on the idea of closing the road over a long weekend in October and using it for time trials. They establish the [url=http://lionstt.com/]LionsTT and call for founding members. I signed up, partly because a Founders Ride, organised for Sunday 6 July would give me an opportunity and excuse to ride the road. So, at 0700 on 6 July, I pointed the CB1100 south for Rathdowney. I had contemplated joining a group ride travelling along a back route, but that would have required my leaving home at 0515 in the dark and cold and then riding pretty flat strp for 4 to 4.5 hours. I couldn’t be naffed.
A map of the first part of the day’s ride is [url=https://maps.google.com.au/maps/ms?msid=201247423130042081552.0004fda4157e2afd835b0&msa=0]here. I’ll say almost nothing about the trip to Rathdowney except that, having hit the highway some 3 kms from home, I didn’t change out of top gear for at least 195 kms—and then only because a pesky traffic light got in the way—and, by the time I stopped to refuel at Beaudesert, I was frozen to the pips. I have not yet figured that mornings in Queensland, particularly on the bike, are damnably cold and I failed to dress properly. Cold is pernicious. I read in a motorcycle magazine recently that getting really cold is equivalent to drinking a skinful of alcohol with all the ensuing dangers and none of the dubious pleasures of getting it. At Beaudesert certainly felt like it. Manfully, though, I filled up and pressed on to Rathdowney where I had an hour to stand in the glorious winter sun and have hot coffee. Two hundred and ten bikes turned up, well exceeding the organisers’ expectations. Interestingly very few of them were Harleys or other cruisers which has not been my experience on other group rides. There were lots of chaps with powerful looking sports bikes and full racing leathers; many hoping to take part in the trials in October.
There was some tough competition.
We got a scary briefing on the terrors of the road: rotten surface, sudden sharp corners, camber in places that goes all the wrong way, bolts sticking out of wooden bridges, cars and other forms of cage coming the other way (although, mercifully trucks and caravans and other such WMDs are not allowed on the road for reasons of weight), cattle and kangaroos wandering the road and the odd long drop off the side.
I decided the back of the pack was the best place for me, so I waited and watched as others streamed out ahead. Sensibly, the organisers took a car ahead to try to make sure there weren’t too many cows on the road. They also divided us into 8 or so groups, each with a leader who knew the road.
Eventually I set out, following a BMW and being followed by a quick looking Aprilla.
There are no photos of the trip to Kyogle. I hung on, focussed on keeping up and, when I could, enjoying the spectacular road. There was no way I was going to do my impersonation of the Ferret taking one-handed shots on this trip! There was certainly no stopping!
The Queensland part starts quickly through cleared farm land, but soon becomes hilly. One stretch we travelled felt a bit like a roller coaster at the speed we took it. There are plenty of corners and concrete bridges crossing pretty creeks. Soon you cross a grid and the paddocks are unfenced. There were places where cows watched us in their bovine way from the side of the road. You wind up to the saddle right on the Queensland/NSW border where there is a collection box which raises money for the road and which we had been instructed to ignore this day. There are also two things that look exactly like speed cameras, but it is said they monitor the movement of cattle. They’d be unrewarding as speed cameras as you’d have to be mad to travel at anything like the speed limit. It’s also highly unlikely you’d be around to pay the fine.
After that you’re into NSW and the bush of the McPherson ranges. In some ways, it’s my favourite kind of road, up a bit from the sea, twisting through ancient Australian bush. Normally the sound of bellbirds might entertain you, but they didn’t stand a chance against the noise of 210 motorbikes. It went down and then up and then down again, following the railway line. There were the promised creek crossings—one-way bridges with wooden planks and, in some cases, bolts that had worked loose sticking up high enough to make a tyre very unhappy. There was always enough time to get a decent line through.
Too soon we were on the Summerland Way and some of the sports bike riders showed off their overtaking prowess (not the Aquilla) as we made our way along the Summerland Way to Kyogle.
At Kyogle
The local Lions Club had organised a sausage sizzle (for which we paid because the fund raising has to continue), we collected our ‘merch’ (aaaaaaargh! I hate the modern tendency to shorten every possible word), had a cup of tea and took part in a team photo. By 1400 the place was largely deserted.
At my wife’s urging I had decided to stay overnight in Kyogle rather than riding straight home. It was a beautiful day, and I seriously considered cancelling my hotel booking and heading home, but it was a 4-hour trip, much of it on the freeway again, and I wouldn’t be back until after dark. So I didn’t.
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Great read! Some pretty nifty bikes, too. I've been a member the Lions Club since 1988. I'm impressed that your local clubs were able to accomplish something of this scale. I may have to make the trek down there for the next Lions TT. 
