A New Year Ride

[Cormanus]

[url=https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z5L5SB6CRw2M.kvQ9iZni8mz8&usp=sharing]Link to map. Total trip: 408 kms.

On 17 December the Virgin bird took us from the Solomon Islands to Brisbane, Australia. On 18 December the CB took Mrs Cormanus and me south an hour or so to Tugun where we spent a glorious week by the Pacific Ocean with some friends.


The dreary view from our Tugun apartment

The CB then took us home uneventfully on 24 December—although there was a moment when a chap shot across my lane and onto an exit. In fairness, I think he’d seen me and he indicated just in time for me to slow.

All we did was hurtle down and up the freeway so I won’t say any more about it. The bike did seem to use a lot of fuel on the way down and I wondered whether it had to do with the stabiliser I put in the tank in November.

A day or so after Christmas it was back on the CB for another trip north to our home turf—the Sunshine Coast and hinterland. Again, the trip was pretty much highway except for a couple of tiny stretches of twisties which Mrs Cormanus said she enjoyed. I did.

For reference, the bike goes very well with two people and my 60-litre waterproof duffel aboard. I really only notice the weight when stopping and at very low speeds.

There’s plenty to do on home visits and it was Christmas to boot so it wasn’t until 2 January that I managed a clear day to head for the hills, as it were. As you can see, it was a lousy day in Brisbane.





Soon I was through The Gap and into the foothills of Mt Nebo, a favourite ride.


This chap kindly pulled over soon after this was taken



Along the Mt Nebo road and onto Mt Glorious where I stopped at the Mt Glorious Café for a plate of fried eggs and bacon, a cappuccino and a look at a couple of bikes.




It’s really just as well I like worn-looking headers; they don’t sell Optiglanz down under


Wouldn’t mind one of these in the garage


Yes, folks, you read it here first: Movistar has transferred its sponsorship to Honda

Then it was back on the road for the magnificent ride down the hill to the Wivenhoe dam. There have been lots of accidents there and the traffic Nazis have predictably responded by reducing the speed limit to a point where it’s barely fun in a car and more than a little too low for a motorcycle. As I signed a petition calling for a review, I wondered whether it wold be possible to contemplate differential speed limits from cards and bikes. After all, there are places in Australia where buses and trucks have different speed limits.



It’s pretty enough country and, when you get to the bottom of the hill the road is in good condition and a quick ride. After a bit, though, the landscape opens up and one is in the flatlands. It’s not really the country I prefer to ride in; but, so often in life, one has to cross the flat to get to the hill.



Eventually, this road led me to the Esk to Gatton road which I’d last travelled with Pterodactyl on a Queensland visit. (For tall tales and true about that trip see [url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=5686]here and [url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=5796]here.) I was quite pleased, really, as this was exactly where I’d wanted to end up. I wanted to ride the road south of Gatton that I’d sent Pterodactyl along.

Having refuelled at Gatton, I was soon back into the flatlands but not on the road I meant to be. Luckily I figured it out in time to make a quick adjustment and was soon enjoying the cuttings and turns in the pleasant road south of Ma Ma Creek.




Of course fun things always end—often way too quickly—but I knew it would happen and anyway it was so good to be back on the bike and out in the country that I’d have been happy riding in circles.



After an unmemorable lunch at Allora I was soon at the point where I turned east for home. I passed a number of these 34-wheeled brutes.


For the benefit of my American and European friends, we drive on the left in Australia so the truck is NOT overtaking me!

In the background you can see the Main Range where the road passes through Cunningham’s Gap. It’s a spectacular pass with the mountains rising steeply either side of it. This was the first time I’d ridden through it and, like every time I’ve driven through in a car, I promised myself I’d stop for a look around. One day. I must have had the music on as I missed hearing the usual tinkling of the bellbirds.


I think Cunningham’s Gap is near to the twin peaks you can see in this photograph. Of course my camera’s battery died shortly after I took this shot. I was free to ride with both hands on the bars and there are no photos of Cunningham’s Gap.

Approaching Cunningham’s Gap from the west, the road is essentially flat and straight. It’s only when you get to the final kilometre or three that you find yourself embraced by the forest. After you’re through the pass you have a wonderful ride down from the plateau; at first with the mountain soaring up on your right and a glorious view of the valley. This is another road where the traffic authorities have responded to poor driving on a difficult road with speed limits set for the lowest possible common denominator of car driver. It’s still a lovely trip.

There are no photos as my camera battery had called time out.

After passing through Aratula, a town I’ve always really liked for no reason I can think of, I soon took a familiar turn to the right to head to Boonah which I visited on the CB when I rode to meet Enzo (see [url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=2378]here and [url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=3809]here for a report on a meeting with Pterodactyl and Enzo in this same part of the world. Aside: Enzo where are you? How are you? Is the CB still lurking in Queensland waiting for you?)

I really like the ride through to Boonah and then on to Beaudesert. It’s pretty country; the road is good and you can get along at a reasonable sort of pace most of the time.

I refuelled again at Beaudesert and headed across to Tamborine and, eventually, Beenleigh. I’d not ridden the stretch from just west of Tamborine to Beenleigh before and it, too, was surprisingly pleasant; reminiscent of some of the Sunshine Coast hinterland where I ride much of the time.

From Beenleigh it was a straight blast up the freeway to Brisbane. I stopped to buy some fuel stabiliser and an allen key to tighten my helmet visor and was home way too quickly. Actually that’s not quite how it ended. I didn’t go straight home. I paused to meet the family at the Southbank Parkland in Brisbane—a fabulous public park created on the site of Expo88. That turned into a splendid dinner at a Spanish restaurant where we had some excellent salmon and an exquisite shoulder of lamb. I would have liked a glass of wine to help it along, but I abstained as I had to ride the CB home. Which I did. In the night, when there’s something magical about the glow of the CB’s gauges.

The next day, I put some stabiliser in the tank, topped it off, oiked the bike onto the centre stand, connected the battery tender, over-pumped the front tyre, put the loose vented cover on it, sniffed quietly, wiped my eyes and said ‘farewell until next time’.