Sunshine Butterflies Ride

[Cormanus]

The Sunshine Butterflies is a Sunshine Coast not-for-profit that provides services to people with disabilities. Every year they have a ride to raise money. I went on it two years ago on my Shadow but managed to miss last year’s ride for some reason.

It was glorious day on Sunday for this year’s event, but I hadn’t been feeling particularly well and my heart wasn’t quite in it. I set off anyway and found the start of the ride at Noosa, one of Australia’s premier tourist destinations. There was a good number of bikes there. I was late but registered and grabbed a coffee which I drank quickly while wandering back to my bike for the start of the event. Here’s some photos.























By the time I got myself organised, I was racing hard to be last out of the park and I brought up the rear for the first leg of the ride. That was kind of fun as there was a wonderful old banger in front of me for a bit. I marvelled at the rider’s ability to change gears with his right foot.





The other side of the Pacific Ocean.


A bit down the coast the old banger dropped off and I was following an ST1100 with side car. I’ve seen it about before and it’s clearly been a hard working bike.



We stopped at scenic Eumundi, home of a very famous market every Wednesday and Saturday. [url=https://goo.gl/maps/NlNH1]Here’s a map of the route we followed.

Here’s a couple of shots in Eumundi.




This was the lead bike fitted out to carry a bloke in a wheelchair.









I bought a cup of coffee and an apple and rhubarb friand and realised I knew only three people vaguely and in my mildly grumpy state I didn’t want to talk to them. Nor did I want to sit around waiting to get going while people yabbered happily to one another. So I hit on a truly brilliant plan: I knew where the ride was going do I’d take my anti-social self along the road a bit, find a corner and be ready to take some photos. So I rode to about [url=https://goo.gl/maps/QZL7e]here and set up by the side of the road with my camera.

I took this photograph of a bike not on the ride.


I’d been waiting for a bit and I was really very grumpy. Then, slowly, it dawned on me that, if I’d been organising the ride, there was a much better road I’d have sent them along. I’d have sent them to the end of the ride [url=https://goo.gl/maps/PKSkQ]this way, which is of course was what the organisers had done.

Ah, well, I thought, home for me, so I went [url=https://goo.gl/maps/5DYVg]this way which was nearly, but not quite as, good. I was lucky in the end. I missed a crash. I saw the ambulance, the police and a bike on a trailer as I finished a pathetic last.

The pharmacist in my town is a great guy and rides this.


I was chatting to him the day afterwards and he told me the ride had been going too quickly and people were too close to one another. As they approached one of the final turns one bike had rear ended another and both riders had come off. I don’t think anyone was too badly hurt, but it mars the day.

Of course, I eschewed the festivities and crawled, like Oscar the Grouch, back into my can. It was a good ride though. Particularly when I realised I was happier doing it on my own.

[Randy B]

The Sunshine Butterflies is a Sunshine Coast not-for-profit that provides services to people with disabilities. Every year they have a ride to raise money. I went on it two years ago on my Shadow but managed to miss last year’s ride for some reason.

It was glorious day on Sunday for this year’s event, but I hadn’t been feeling particularly well and my heart wasn’t quite in it. I set off anyway and found the start of the ride at Noosa, one of Australia’s premier tourist destinations. There was a good number of bikes there. I was late but registered and grabbed a coffee which I drank quickly while wandering back to my bike for the start of the event. Here’s some photos.























By the time I got myself organised, I was racing hard to be last out of the park and I brought up the rear for the first leg of the ride. That was kind of fun as there was a wonderful old banger in front of me for a bit. I marvelled at the rider’s ability to change gears with his right foot.





The other side of the Pacific Ocean.


A bit down the coast the old banger dropped off and I was following an ST1100 with side car. I’ve seen it about before and it’s clearly been a hard working bike.



We stopped at scenic Eumundi, home of a very famous market every Wednesday and Saturday. [url=https://goo.gl/maps/NlNH1]Here’s a map of the route we followed.

Here’s a couple of shots in Eumundi.




This was the lead bike fitted out to carry a bloke in a wheelchair.









I bought a cup of coffee and an apple and rhubarb friand and realised I knew only three people vaguely and in my mildly grumpy state I didn’t want to talk to them. Nor did I want to sit around waiting to get going while people yabbered happily to one another. So I hit on a truly brilliant plan: I knew where the ride was going do I’d take my anti-social self along the road a bit, find a corner and be ready to take some photos. So I rode to about [url=https://goo.gl/maps/QZL7e]here and set up by the side of the road with my camera.

I took this photograph of a bike not on the ride.


I’d been waiting for a bit and I was really very grumpy. Then, slowly, it dawned on me that, if I’d been organising the ride, there was a much better road I’d have sent them along. I’d have sent them to the end of the ride [url=https://goo.gl/maps/PKSkQ]this way, which is of course was what the organisers had done.

Ah, well, I thought, home for me, so I went [url=https://goo.gl/maps/5DYVg]this way which was nearly, but not quite as, good. I was lucky in the end. I missed a crash. I saw the ambulance, the police and a bike on a trailer as I finished a pathetic last.

The pharmacist in my town is a great guy and rides this.


I was chatting to him the day afterwards and he told me the ride had been going too quickly and people were too close to one another. As they approached one of the final turns one bike had rear ended another and both riders had come off. I don’t think anyone was too badly hurt, but it mars the day.

Of course, I eschewed the festivities and crawled, like Oscar the Grouch, back into my can. It was a good ride though. Particularly when I realised I was happier doing it on my own.

I know Ducatis have a following, but my god that is U G L Y!

[redbirds_imp]

What a cool ride and many fine bikes to ogle.

Where're the butterflies?

[emptysea]

Great pictures. Great narrative. Life's pretty good if your "grumpy"" days include a motorcycle ride along the ocean, I'd say.

[Rocky_imp]

Great pics and narrative "Oscar"

[the Ferret]

Nice pics.

personally, I just can't get into these big group rides. Even if they are for a good cause, Id rather hand someone my donation and head the other way. I do like looking at the variety of bikes though.

Really like the pic of the new triumph sitting beside the old triumph.

[Henrik_imp]

Why so grumpy?

About the Multistrada, I have to agree that it is not particularly beautiful, but it really is a great bike to ride and tour with. I often thought of getting one, would have a go on it and love it. But then it would never fail, when I looked at it I just couldn't bring myself to owning one.

A good friend of mine who has done a fair bit of riding and racing (and actually had a Ducati named after him) swears by it though.

[the Ferret]

was his name Diana? (which was actually a pretty cool motorcycle)

[Henrik_imp]

LOL! No, much more recent than the Diana, which I agree as well was actually a very nice bike.