JUNE 2017
www.bmwmcq.org.au
OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE BMW MOTORCYCLE CLUB OF QUEENSLAND INC. Established 1958
The Ultimate Riding Machine
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OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE BMW MOTORCYCLE CLUB OF QUEENSLAND INC.
The Committee President - Richard Maher Ph: 0415 111 454 president@bmwmcq.org.au R 1150 R
Vice President - Les Fitzpatrick Ph: 0418 197 709 vpres@bmwmcq.org.au R 1200 GSA and a few more
Secretary - Greg Gaffney Ph: 0411 424 219 secretary@bmwmcq.org.au R 1200 RT & R 90 S
Treasurer - Tony Gray Ph: 0409 493 605 treasurer@bmwmcq.org.au R 1200 GS (The Grey Ghost)
Editor - Dave Hepburn
This Issue - JUNE 2017 Contents:Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Committee Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Club Venue & GM. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 General Meeting Minutes . . . . . . . . 11 Monthly Ride Report . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Egypt and Sudan Cindy’s Africa. . . . 16 Pursuing the Celtic . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 B 2 B KINGAROY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 The Royals and GS Europe. . . . . . . 23 Charlie Browns USA Trip 2014. . . . 25 BMWMCQ Supports . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 BMWMCQ Events Calendar 2017. . . 30
Ph: 0422 080 524 editor@bmwmcq.org.au R 1200 RT
Advertisers
Records Officer - Craig Brennan
Cafe2U - P.9 Good Wool Store - P.32 HydroTac(R) Lenses - P.28 Motorcycle Adventure Products P.28 Munich Motorcycles - P.32
Ph: 0422 907 934 regalia@bmwmcq.org.au R 100 RT
Regalia - Kellie Wicks regalia@bmwmcq.org.au F 650 GS
Tools/Spares - Geoff Hodge
Ph: 0413 180 101 tools@bmwmcq.org.au F 800 GT + R 51/3
Tools/Spares - Bill Luyten Ph: 0438 123 747 tools@bmwmcq.org.au R1150 Rockstar - R1200 GS LC
Cupla Adverts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Shannons Insurance - P.34 Northside Motorcycles - P.34 Morgan and Wacker- Front &Rear Cover
O
n The Cover...
Back to the Bush Kingaroy was not without unwanted attention but it was all good and nobody had transgressed...anybody guess who the rider was...he was one of several who were required to breath into the officer’s evil device!!!!!!
Events - David Whale
Ph: 0407123483 events@bmwmcq.org.au R1200RT
Sub Committee • Dealer Liaison / Advertising - Don Grimes Ph: 0411 601 372 • Forum Moderator - Garry Hilton
Club Details BMW Motorcycle Club of Queensland Inc.
ABN 30 351 243 651
Address all correspondence to: The Secretary PO Box 3669 South Brisbane QLD 4101 Monthly meetings are held on the first Thursday of the month at the:
Moreton Bay Sports Club, 175 Boundary St., Tingalpa
A Club Ride is usually held on the first Sunday after the monthly meeting. BMWMCQ AIMS The objectives of the BMWMCQ are to increase the enjoyment of motorcycling by: 1. Improving the opinion of the public towards motorcycling in general and associated members particularly, by careful, courteous, considerate riding, especially when riding with the Club, and rendering assistance to all road users in difficulty.
2. Improving the service and availability of spare parts for BMWs in Queensland using the advantage of a united effort. 3. Decreasing maintenance and running costs by mutual assistance on mechanical problems. 4. Organising day trips, tours and outings. 5. Encourage and support Regional Ride Groups 6. Affiliation with other clubs/associations where such affiliation would be of mutual benefit. DISCLAIMER The views and opinions expressed in this Journal are those of each contributor and are not necessarily shared by the Editor, management, and / or membership of the BMWMCQ. The Editor reserves the right to refuse any advertising or delete any material which could be considered or interpreted as questionable, libellous or offensive, without consultation. WEB SITE Visit: www.bmwmcq.org.au
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Editorial
JUNE 2017
Dave Hepburn
Editor’s Report
Damn! Just when I thought I had completed the journal for June I realised that I still had the editorial to go. First I must apologise for the late edition of the Journal. One should not combine house renovations with Journal deadlines and certainly not when there are electricians involved. It is the first time in 13 months that the journal has been published late. The month of May was very entertaining with many functions and events to attend, so many in fact that I am beginning to become weary of things BMW. There was a period in the last two weeks where I was meeting BMW commitments every two days. Not that I am complaining mind you. The Back to the Bush weekend was well put together by Maggie and George; Tracy and I enjoyed the ride, the dinner and the company: the forecasted wet weather event of a lifetime was a washout and no one got wet. The coffee runs and Lunches are in the main successful and I am looking forward to many more. I was contemplating organising a weekend run in late august to Agnes Waters; however, the events calendar seems somewhat full for that month so I will look for a work around …watch this space. As always I am seeking articles for the July Journal; in particular the June months ride to Rudd’s Pub, see publishing late does have its advantages. I have published below a link, courtesy of Phil Gresham to Motorcycle Rallies Australia which takes you to the calendar for Motorcycling rally events around Australia which may have some value for some of the members. http://www.motorcycleralliesaustralia.com/ Ok that should do it... hope you all have a great month and stay shiny side up
Dave Hepburn editor@bmwmcq.org.au
Merv Bone - Old Mates and Motorcycles
A
Old Mates and Motorbikes
follow on from last month Tamworth VJMC National Rally saw me back down that way. Back in 1969 a motor cycle club was formed called the “Gunnedah Black Lions Motorcycle Touring” club. A group of young folks who had all sorts of bikes, who just wanted to ride and have fun, sound familiar. We rode these 250cc bikes hundreds of miles in a weekend and thought nothing of it. A 650cc Triumph was a “Big” bike then. In that period I had a 250cc Suzuki, 450cc Honda, a 750cc Honda/4. I moved to Armidale to work in the Kawasaki M/C dealership but still kept in contact with the guys, oh and upgraded to a Z1 900. We had 2 girls in the club who rode 350/4 and 500/4 Honda’s. In 2015 we had our first reunion with about 12 members being tracked down and attending. In April more planning (by the girls this time) saw 23 members meet in Gunnedah to swap stories and have a few beers.
I rode down with Geoff on his 2017 Harley Street Guide on the Friday to Tamworth. The New England at this time of year is fantastic, the flame trees are in full colour and the Poplar trees a golden yellow and about to loose their leaves. All the rain made the fields green and the clear blue skies, just lovely. We left Qld in 26c temps but by Glen Innes it had dropped to 16c and I hadn’t put in the winter liner. Lunch, fuel for the bikes and put in the liner was performed then onto Tamworth. Guyra was 14c and my R1200GS was clicking over the Ks, 22,000 popped up in fact. I stayed the night at Al’s (The Rickman owner) in last month’s story. Saturday 2pm, start time at the Gunnedah Hotel. It has changed its name from when we had our meeting there, formerly “The Regal Hotel”. As the members came in you would look at them and think “who’s that” or “gee life has not been kind to him”. I still look pretty good. By the end of the night we were all 18 again and the bikes were going faster than ever with many a story told.
Continued on page 13
Committee Reports Richard Maher
H
ello readers. Glad you could join me for a chat. A month or so into the Presidents role and I’m beginning to wonder what has hit me. I’m just as busy as I was when I was working full time only now I don’t get paid as much or paid anything in fact, although I get to work at home. This has its advantages. The wearing of pants is not frowned on here neither is the drinking of gin and tonics in the morning hours. Still, must not complain. I have been to Melbourne to visit the wonderful people at BMW Head Office as well as all the other BMW car and motorcycle clubs in OZ. This is always interesting and for the most part reassuring. Reassuring in the sense that we are going through with our day to day issues is the same as the other motorcycle clubs are going through. The delegates are allowed ample time to discuss these issues throughout the two days we are together. The BMW PR and Marketing team are very keen to listen to the clubs and understand what area BMW can assist us in the running and promoting our Club. BMW Motorrad has had a few personnel changes in recent times and we, the clubs, get direct access to these staffers and the facility at Mulgrave in Melbourne. The highlight for me this year was meeting the current batch of trainees in BMW’s state of the art teaching workshop. We had a chance to chat with the students and teacher and bring these relationships back home via our local dealers. While we are on the topic of our Local Dealers; as I write this, we have lost a dealer in Brisbane metro area. I have spoken to the new incumbent today and will have an email to read out at the next General meeting and publish in the Journal for those members outside the metro area. There have been some rumours floating around about the reasons for the demise. Hopefully publishing the facts clears up any tittle tattle you may have heard. You may be aware BMWMCQ is hosting the 2018 Motorrad Rally. Part of the trip to BMW in Melbourne was to promote this event to the Australian BMW Motorcycles Clubs. I did this via my first ever PowerPoint presentation and it was a knockout if I do say so myself. If I can figure out how to get it online or in the journal that would be truly exceptional. I may have to leave that to others as I have a fractious relationship with computers at the best of times. As for the 2018 Motorrad Rally; we have a location: Stanthorpe. A venue: at the Stanthorpe Show-
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JUNE 2017
President’s Report grounds. We have a date: 29-30th September 2018. And support from the local council and their Economic Development Officer. We arranged for a posse to head to Stanthorpe to start negotiations a few weeks ago and were impressed by the support and services offered by the region. The purpose of the event is to bring BMW motorcyclists together from around Australia and NZ and we have chosen activities and interests that will appeal to all riders from Cruisers to Classics. Yes, Yes Yes and GS’s and Tourers as well… One final story on the BMW trip: I was chauffeured back to Melbourne CBD in an BMW M5. This is an impressive car and it had an equally impressive driver who shall remain anonymous. We pulled up at a set of traffic lights next to a new Porsche. After a few shifty glances from driver to driver the lights went green the testosterone rose and the action started. The chap in the Porsche was about 80 and fluffed the start as he appeared to be fumbling with the launch control settings. The BMW’s taillights disappeared into the afternoon traffic. The GPS started yodeling that we were heading in the wrong direction and we made a hastily “U” turn and headed back towards the pensioner, all four of us waving at him happily. The poor chap. I hope he hadn’t just picked the car up from the dealer. If you see an advert for a white GT3 only driven once on Wellington Rd, you need to buy it as it hasn’t been thrashed. I can vouch for that! I’ll leave you with a few pictures taken while wandering around the Mulgrave facility. They have lots of wonderful motorcycle things to play with there. Cheers: Richard Maher
President: and part time Hoon.
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JUNE 2017
Les Fitzpatrick
Committee Reports Vice President’s Report
BMW NATIONALS 2018 Work is proceeding on the 2018 BMW Nationals, President Richard, Treasurer Tony and I travelled down to Stanthorpe during the month to meet with the Council Business development officer to discuss our plans for the Nationals. The Southern Downs Regional Council is very supportive of any opportunities to bring tourism into the local district and will assist us with the event where ever they can. The Stanthorpe tourist centre will also help us by providing kits for our guests, containing maps and other relevant local information. We inspected the Showgrounds buildings and amenities and spoke with the co-ordinator about catering and camping facilities. There are powered camp sites available and the ablutions blocks while showing their age are serviceable and close to the camping area. We still have a way to go with the planning for this event and there are still plenty of options up in the air, however I am pleased with the progress to date. Watch this space. MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS I have been reading the club constitution in my spare time (I can hear you thinking that I need to get a life) and I realized that we have been a bit lax in our application of the rules around membership applications. As our constitution stands at the moment each new membership application must be considered by the membership at the next general meeting after the application, when the membership shall determine upon the admission or rejection of the applicant. This is a powerful tool to ensure that the people who join our club are of good character. I know that we haven’t done this for a long time now but I would suggest that we start again. MORGAN AND WACKER 100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS I went along to the street party in Ross Street to see what happens on the dark side and found that my R1200RT LC looked a bit out of place parked amongst so many VEE twins. The Harley boys were in a good mood and spending up big on all things Harley. The fanboys really enjoyed the show and when Bill Davidson came out to talk to them they were quick to line up for his autograph on their new Tee shirts. I did meet Tim Russom, the Dealer Principle of Harley-Davidson of Montgomery, Alabama. Tim is also the president of his local bike club. He asked me about our membership base and was amazed to hear that we had 300 members here in Queensland. Tim’s club had over 200 members but they are dying out and they are now down to about 100 souls. It seems obvious to me that unless a club works hard at renewal, it is only a matter of time before it ceases to exist. More food for thought and action; It’s time we tracked down and enlisted a few more Fan boys and girls of our own. SHED STUFF There has been a bit of activity around the shed lately. Trent rebuilt the front brakes on his R100GSPD and Scott Foote went over the electrical system on Ingrid’s R1200GS before they head off on their around Australia trip in June. My Brother Terry has joined the club after buying a R1150GSA from the BM workshop and we have been getting him up to speed with all things BMW. Terry and I started riding together in our teens and toured a lot in the late seventies on our Honda 750 fours. It’s good to have him back. I haven’t had much spare time over the last month to attend club events as Kelly and I have been helping with preparations for Kelly’s daughter Cindy’s wedding at the end of May. I have also been busy going over our bikes prior to a short tour of North Queensland early in June so we won’t be at the next general meeting, so please pass on our apologies.
Committee Reports
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JUNE 2017
Tony Gray
Treasurer’s Report
Treasurers Report BMWMCQ– as at 30 April 2017
Funds Available Business Cheque Account 10243020: $3,576.05 Funds Transferred from PayPal Account (not yet available): $ 643.45 Funds Available Premier Investment Account 2249 3654: $14,727.17 PayPal Account: $ 0 Total Cash Assets as at 30 April 2017: $18,946.67 Payments Out: -Register Name – Canetoad Rally $ 199 -Clubs Australia Annual Membership Fee (PH) $ 294 -Flowers Geoff Hodge’s wife Ellen (GG) $ 119.35 -Software to upgrade drivers (Magazine Hardware) $ 58 -Float for regalia sales at General Meetings $ 50 -EnDuraLast - Hall Sensor Tester and Ignition Timing Trigger with adapters for airheads, R1100 and 1150 oil heads $ 239 -Atel Maxi TPMS Scanner (Tyre Pressure Monitoring and resetting tool) $ 198.90 -Service Day Food, sauces, ice, soft drinks and utensils. Stock held of non-perishable items $ 81.49 -Firewood Camping Weekend $ 50 -Lodge Accounts Dept Fair Trading (Cheque issued) $ 51.70 Expenses April:
Income April:
-Audit Fee (residual due) Regalia Regalia Regalia
Memberships Cheque Account Total Income April:
Membership Fees from Paypal Account Interest
Payments Approved: Adaptors for GS911 tool for earlier oilheads Regalia – Printed Tees & Women’s singlets
$30.00
$1371.44 $ 25
$110 $115 $125
$643.45 $ 0.44
$1018.89
$217.90 $169.95
Comment: If you are paying your membership dues on-line via PayPal or direct debit to the club cheque account then please ensure you include your name in the description field. The last three online payments via PayPal have had no identifying name. If you have paid your membership this way and have not yet received your new membership card then this may be the reason. Please contact Craig Brennan or me for confirmation. This past month payments have been made to maintain the club for the next 12 months as a Registered organisation and as a member of Clubs Australia. Substantial investment has been made to expand and enhance the club’s specialised tools inventory which is available at club service days and for loan to club members.
Submissions for the next journal (JULY2017 Edition) close on the 15th
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JUNE 2017
David Whale
Committee Reports Events Officer’s Report
A
nother month gone and more fun events attended. Although I couldn’t attend the monthly club ride to Canungra I understand from all those that did a good time was had by all. As they say the best laid plans of mice and men an events coordinator. Our Picnic ride idea in the polls was supported by about 25 people over a pub lunch and they great number of 2 put their hands up as definite to go. Somehow, I didn’t think it was worth it for that number with only a few maybes. We’ll have another shot at a picnic run in the spring. Many thanks to Tony Grey for stepping in and organising an unofficial ride through the scenic rim. Some wonderful back roads and great company. June’s ride sees us heading to Rudd’s pub on the 4th and again this ride is being led by Tony. From the 9th June, I shall be heading away for 10 or so weeks and due back early to mid-August. Cindy Bennet has kindly offered (With only a minimal bribe) to look after events whilst I’m away. I’m sure there will be a lot to look forward to in the cooler riding weather. Don’t forget to look up accommodation for the Christmas party! Santa will be here before you know it! Ride well, Stay safe. David Whale events@bmwmcq.org.au
Tool’s Report
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9
Spares Sale at Cost Price
The Committee has decided to not continue selling spares so when our existing spares are gone they will not be replaced. Spares still available Filters - Air K Series K1200 (LX628) x2 $16.00ea Filter - Fuel K & R Series in line (KL145) x1 $20.00ea Brake Pads 520HF - R60, R75, R80, R100 x1 $27.00ea G391ST - K1/100RS/1100LT, RS/1200RS, LT R80R, C/850/100/1100/1150 x6 $43.00ea Spark Plugs XR5DC (K/R1100) B o s c h Super x2 $10.00ea Tools Oil filter removing tool - (OCS 1) K/R4V x5 $13.0
From the pen of Geoff Hodges
W
ell Hi all I know that my fingers have been lazy to write lately but with Ellen in and out of the Cancer ward then me; last Tuesday, 16 May 2017, I ended up in hospital after a get off at Bald Hills, on the way home from work. Two nights in hospital and found out the bike is not economical to repair. Well that’s the last six weeks for me. Thanks Geoff
Geoff please accept the copious well wishes from the BMWMCQ Committee and all members. We are all devastated by your extraordinary run of bad luck and wish you, your lovely lady and your bike a speedy and full recovery. Fondest regards Dave....Ed.
Committee Reports Bill Luyten & Geoff Hodge
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JUNE 2017
Tool’s Report
New Tools The Club has purchased some new tools to test and setup various BMW models. The first is the GS-911 3 pin interface for scanning older model bike systems.
Contact Tools Officers: Bill Luyten 0438 123 747 (wluyten@bigpond .net .au) or
The next is the GS-911 to OBD adapter for connecting our scan tool to the latest model Bikes.
Geoff Hodge 0413 180 101 (ggilps2@optusnet .com .au)
Club email:spares@bmwmcq.org.au
TOOLS HIRE SPARES AND SALES
There are special tools available:
Special Tools
The last is the Enduralast device for hall sensor testing and adjustment of all BMW 2-Valve Airheads with electronic ignitions (1981 & On) as well as BMW 4-V Oilhead engines.
Twinmax electronic carburetor balancer (Twin BMW engines) Vacuumate (electronic synchronization of throttle valves up to 4 cylinders) Clutch alignment shafts (3 sizes) Compression gauge (cylinder pressure) Steering head bearing puller and seating tool Gearbox output flange puller GS-911 Wi-Fi Diagnostic tool (Wi-Fi and USB Version) GS-911 3 pin interface Tyre Pressure Monitor Sensor (TPMS) tool Enduralast hall sensor tester
Club Tool Loan:
$100 deposit (refundable) for GS911. Tools and spare can be picked up or brought along to the next meeting or Club ride.
continued page 8
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JUNE 2017
Kelly Wicks
B
rrrrr…..How chilly have the mornings gotten! As the Regalia officer have I got a great deal for you. Check out the fabulous beanies for those chilly mornings and cold nights. Just the thing for keeping your head warm. The beanie is embroidered with the club logo and has an extra thermal band on the inside for extra warmth. How much did I hear you ask? I can sell you one for the very low cost of $20.00 or for those of you who like a bargain….2 beanies for the cost of $40.00. Please come and see me at the next club meeting or for those who can’t wait please email me at; regalia@ bmwmcq>org.au. On other regalia matters, I will have a clearance table set up at the meeting in July please come
T
Craig Brennan
Committee Reports Regalia Officer’s Report and check it out and get yourself a bargain. Kelly Kelly was not available to provide a report this month as she has been engrossed in very important family matters which I understand went well... Ed.
Records Officers Report
hings are going along quite smoothly. A couple of hiccups with some of the computer generated reports, but they appear to have been sorted out. We have signed up 8 new members this month and I would very much like to welcome them to our club and hope to see you at as many gatherings as possible. We are a very active group, with at least one activity a week. Bike wise, the Yellow Peril is behaving herself and is looking forward to the cooler months that are upon us. Hope to see you all around.
Craig Brennan records@bmwmcq.org.au
Minutes of April General meeting 04/05/2017 continued
General Business: Mark Gilbert has donated a projector screen and projector platform to the club. Charlie suggested we have a trial movie night. BMW Australia has decided they will support the prostate cancer charity as it is something which affects the whole family. They have a number of stickers, t-shirt and other items which they are going to roll out at several upcoming events. One if these events will be at Lakeside on the 11th June. This will be a BMW only event for the car club and we have been invited as well to ride our bikes on the track. There will be a small fee which will go to the charity. Cost $35 including breakfast. Raffle: 1st – Chuck Davies, 2nd – Dave Whale, 3rd – Mark Gilbert, 4th – Bill, 5th Peter Todd Closed: 8.35pm
Greg Gaffney secretary@bmwmcq.org.au
Committee Reports Greg Gaffney
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JUNE 2017
Secretary’s Report
MINUTES OF THE MAY GENERAL MEETING 04/05/2017
Opened: 7.35 pm Visitors: Mike and Michelle have the following eclectic array of bikes 1951 Norton International, 1976 900cc SS Ducati, Triumph Thruxton, Honda 1000 RR, 2 X dirt bikes, Yamaha XT250 and a BMW R1200R. Terry Fitzpatrick with an R1150GS Adventure and Darryl Kent from Newcastle with an R1200RT and a posti-bike which he intends to ride to London! Apologies: Darryl Gowlett and Bill Luyten. Minutes: Read by Dave Hepburn and Second by Geoff Hodge. President: A letter has been written to go out to all members clarifying recent issues. This is being reviewed by the committee and will soon be sent to members. There will also be a separate letter to all our journal advertisers which will endeavour to provide statistics on the electronic journal’s coverage. A committee has been setup to organise the Nationals in Stanthorpe. This same committee will also manage the 60th anniversary next year. Richard has been to speaking to BMW Clubs Australia discussing their commitment to the event and how they can assist. A power point presentation has also been created with information about our club. We have been advised we can take over the event website used by Bright last year. This saves us developing a new website from scratch It will be passed on the next holders of the Nationals in 2020. This website will be a great template for our event and will be available from July. Clubs Australia will assist us with funding and are happy to take a loss. However if we make a profit it will need to be shared with them. Treasurer: Tony outlined some details on the clubs bank accounts. We have an investment account which matures in July worth $14,727 which can draw on with 30 days notice. The operating account which comprises mostly membership fees is about $4,000. Tony asked all members to make sure if they are making payments by money order or by PayPal to ensure they specify their name so we know who it is from. Editor: Dave said he was only able to publish the first two pages if the Financial Report and would email the complete seven pages, which includes additional notes, to anyone who was interested. Richard said John Allen expressed he wished to be sent all seven pages. Dave thanked Duncan and Cindy for their Africa adventure articles and also Charlie for his contributions. Regalia: Kelly brought everybody’s attention to a number of clearance items available and the newly available beanies. There is also now a large range of key rings crafted by Kelly. Records: Active members are still in the 290 plus range and we had two new members on the evening of the meeting. Tools: Geoff remaindered everyone of the new monitoring equipment purchased by the club which can now monitor older bikes model as well. The next service day will be at Charlie’s place at Bundamba on a day yet to be nominated. It was also great to see Ellen who came along with Geoff to the meeting. Events: The Somerset dam picnic event was cancelled due to seeming lack of interest. Only two people said they were going. Tony subsequently organised an unofficial club ride to the Harrisville pub on that day. Dave made note of the upcoming rides to Canungra and the cafe at Brookfield. A ride may be organised to the scenic rim brewery. They will put on special meat and cheese platters but we must specify numbers and we need to send them a deposit. Dave will be away for 10 weeks over Jun, Jul and Aug and Cindy has kindly agreed to assist with organising rides over this time. Jun 4 ride will be to Rudd’s Pub lead by Tony Gray. Dave will be back in August for our overseas breakfast to Coochiemudlo. The Ferry cost will be paid by the club. Dave will have a wagon for members to leave their helmets and jackets in. Maggie spoke about the accommodation and meals at Kingaroy for the B2B on the weekend of 21 and 22nd. Dave remaindered everyone about booking accommodation early for the Evans Head Xmas party.
continued bottom of page 10
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MY FIRST BMWMCQ MONHTLY RIDE We all need to remember that as motorcycle riders we to had to start at the begining........Ed
H
aving successfully passed my Q-Ride test for my motorcycle licence on 25 February I was keen to get out riding to get some experience and build on my skills learnt in my lessons. Both Paul and Frank kindly offered to take me out on short rides not too far from home and before too long I was confident enough to take the big step and join the group on a club ride. The first club ride I joined was to Ravensbourne on ANZAC Day, followed by the lunch ride to Harrisville the following weekend. Having lived in the Locker Valley for nine years the roads were quite familiar so I only had to focus on riding the bike and not what was around the next corner. After both rides I was keen to get out again and made tentative arrangements to do the lunch ride to Canungra the following weekend. I didn’t think much about the pending ride throughout the week as it had been very busy at work but then Friday rocked up and I started to have second thoughts. From the days of my misspent youth I remember the roads around Tambourine to be steep, have tight bends and narrow, with barely enough room for two cars to pass. Roads I would be comfortable to be on if there were no cars coming from the other direction. However, in more recent times, I had been around the Canungra area where the roads were wider and had sweeping bends. After a few phone calls I was able to get the route and with the aide of virtual reality (thanks to my son who had only spent vast amounts of money the week prior buying a virtual reality console) I was able to do the run in VR and make a decision as to whether to participate in real time or not. The decision was made; the next day I met Greg Gaffney at the designated service station at Geebung and I followed him across to Yatala where the ride was to start and I was to meet up with Frank who would look after me throughout the ride. The group headed out at the designated time and it wasn’t long before I settled in. Although being a little slower than the rest of the group, particularly going around all of those roundabouts, I felt I was not going too bad for someone who had only got their motorcycle licence just ten weeks earlier. Next thing we turned into Whiting’s Road. I knew the next turn was into Mystery Road. This was it ... this is the only road which looked like a challenge for me when I went over the route the night before. My pulse started to quicken at the anticipation of what was to come. We kept going up and around and the road become slightly steeper and the corners became
Monthly Ride Report May 2016 tighter and tighter; but nothing that I thought was too difficult. Frank had got a little way ahead and disappeared around a bend and then next thing I heard through the communications system was that everyone had pulled over to the side. This was really it.... my last chance to chance to bail out. I had got this far, there was only another 30 meters or so.... how hard could it be? After a very quick briefing the riders moved off one-by-one until it was only Frank and I and tail-endCharlie. Frank and I had arranged that I follow fairly closely so that he could advise what to expect around the next corner and if there were any cars coming from the other direction. We headed off, I got the bike into second gear but as I didn’t keep the revs up I found myself change up and down a few times before I got settled into the rhythm of using the back brakes and keeping the revs up. We progressed, a few cars passed, I got through the first really tight turn without an issue. Then, I got the message ... “this is the last tight turn, it turns to the left ... keep it tight ... stay on your side of the road”. The one thing I didn’t want to hear at this corner ... “car coming!” I was two-thirds of the way through the bend and was starting to get a little wide when the car passed me. There was a moment of panic, my life flashed before me. I had to act fast. I really don’t know what I did but I tighten the turn and safely made it past the car. From my virtual reality run of the trip the night before I knew that the worse was over. From there it was an easy run to the Canungra Hotel for lunch. On the same day the Ray Owen Classic Bike Show and Swap Meet, presented by the Historical Motorcycle Club of QLD Tamborine Mountain Area was being held at the Canungra Showgrounds. The photos printed with this article are not from me - I was too exhausted, both physically and mentally to do anything other than to have lunch and head home. Anita Wyndham
MRR- Photos - Ray Owen Classic Bike Show
JUNE 2017
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Merv Bone - Old Mates continued A good time was had by all I feel. The bond formed all those years ago from one interest, Motor Bikes, saw the club president coming from Cairns Qld, several from Brisbane, Casino, Sydney, Raymond Terrace just to name a few places. Col Small and Al had to take out 2 hours to go put on a demonstration of short circuit sidecar racing for the Gunnedah show that was also on that weekend. Whilst chatting with Strop, (Graham Lawman who has raced several time at Bathurst) , informed me that he has now been able to get 47 miles per gallon out of his 1997 R1100R BMW. We rode to the super bike racing a few years ago and he complained the fuel economy was very poor, about 35 mpg. He told me that he took the oil coolers off and fitted injectors from a Commodore to the bike. He is almost happy; he wants to achieve 50 mpg. I told him to loose 25kgs and lay down over the tank. We had a laugh and had another beer. :) :) Sunday, Al and I went and saw Ricco’s collection of toys, MG TD car, WLA Harley sidecar, seven Trumpy’s , a Melvin Star wardens bike, an oversized bicycle with a Villiers motor in it. Over 25 vehicles worth a bucket load, a life time of collecting and building. In 1977 Ricco and another club member, Trevor King won the NSW State titles for sidecar racing. Back to Al’s place Sunday night and then Monday headed north for Brisbane back up the New England at the speed limit as it was school Continued page 15
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The Woolshed at JONDARYAN
Frigid Digit 20 - 30 July 2017
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th
29 ~ 30 July 2017
BMWMCQ Presents The 18th FRIGID DIGIT
The Tradition: A Mystery Weekender on the last weekend in July, travelling on great motorcycling roads to within 2 hours from Brisbane and guaranteed to be cold. Each year it alternates between full accommodation and camping and this year it will be full accommodation and camping. Enjoy each others company at a social gathering on the Saturday night and cap the night off with some warming liquids telling yarns around a campfire. Some previous destinations have included, Queen Mary Falls, Esk, Binna Burra, Bunya Mtns, Jondaryan and Stanthorpe.
This Year: It’s on again (27~28th July), break out the beanies, long johns, winter woollies and tune up your heated grips, because it’s going to be cold. There’s a lot to see and do on our journey to the mystery destination. We will
be stopping for Morning Tea and Lunch.
Accomodation: Cabins cost from $68 to $77 per double, Camping costs $27 per double per tent with good amenities nearby including hot showers. A two course Dinner including entertainment costs $35 per person. An optional Breakfast is available on Sunday morning. There will be the usual fire for keeping warm at the end of the day. If you are interested in attending and want to know more about the weekend (except where it is), please contact me. Bookings with full payment must be made as soon as possible to secure your place in this legendary event. Numbers are limited. Last bookings taken at the July General Meeting (6th July 2017).
Organisers: Gary Bennett and Graham Healey Ph. 3849 4563 or 0411 78GARY The FRIGID DIGIT winner of 3 “Best Organised Ride” Awards (1995, 2000, 2002).
Merv Bone - Old Mates continued holidays and double demerit points and the boy in blue were out and about. A bit over 1200 ks in 4 days; perfect weather, and some ever lasting memories of times gone by. Merv Bone 3663.
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JUNE 2017
Egypt and Sudan....Cindy’s Africa Part 2
Africa Part 2 – Ethiopia and Kenya
don’t know about you but my impressions of Ethiopia were shaped by disturbing news footage in the 1970’s and 80’s and my mother’s dire warnings at dinner time; “eat up, don’t you know there are starving children in Ethiopia?” Suffice to say I didn’t have high expectations of it being a place that I would enjoy riding through.
On the downside, there are lots of people and livestock on the road with disturbing instances of rocks and other items being thrown – generally by teenage boys - in response to our failure to stop and give them handouts. Sadly it seems to come from the culture of foreign aid handouts of food and other items, so they see westerners as a potential source of bounty. Interestingly a lot of young people who are tending their flocks on the side of the road ask for pens, which is a little puzzling as they don’t seem to have any stationery with which to utilise the requested gift.
Some local young Ethiopian future BMW riders showing their curiosity
While there is still a lot of poverty in the country the scenery is very spectacular with almost no other road users except for ubiquitous white taxi vans and heavily laden trucks. There has been a lot of foreign aid to improve the roads, and some sweeping curves and twisties make it a rider’s paradise; except for the gravel bits and road works.
The bikes at the Simien Mountain Lodge – highest lodge in Africa at 3,200m
Up close and personal with the Gelada Baboons of the Simien Mountains
Gravel and Cattle combo on way to Simien Mountains
Egypt and Sudan....Cindy’s Africa Part 2
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After discussing all the options plans were made with the Compass ride leaders to keep my bike on the back of the support vehicle and I would ride in the vehicle to Addis Ababa (3 days away) for more x-rays and a visit to the Orthopaedic Hospital, to reassess whether a trip home was needed or just a couple of weeks off the bike.
Crutches before modification
Not the 2 wheels I was hoping to be taking in Africa! Some nice sweeping curves devoid of traffic in Northern Ethiopia However, Ethiopia will live on infamy for me as on Day 20 of our trip, not even 3 weeks into the C2C; I had a fall off my trusty “Blue Betty” on a washed out gravel area heading into the town of Lalibela. Fearing the worst, I went to the local hospital which had an x-ray machine (which was actually working) and 11 white coated medical professionals surrounded us in the room to provide the bad news that it was a fracture of the right fibula. Being injured in a third world country is pretty confronting, however, the hospital staff were caring and attentive even though they had very little in the way of modern technology at their disposal. I got set up in a rather rudimentary plaster cast, which was interestingly above my knee (for an ankle fracture). No crutches were available at the hospital, so Duncan did his MacGyver best and brought some wooden sticks with arm rests that the locals use to rest on in church – he cut these down and made hand grips with the hip protectors from my riding pants – rough but better than nothing.
Luckily the second lot of x-rays seemed to reveal a simple type of fracture, and it was decided that I would stay put in Addis Ababa for the week then fly to rejoin the group in Nairobi. There was an option to ship my bike back to Oz from Kenya if I was not healing well enough, but this was considered as absolutely worse case by Compass who were very supportive. My disabled suite at the Radisson was very comfy and I spent the days reading, being waited on hand and foot and chatting with the local staff, a lot of them riders (although on the small 125cc “Boxer” bikes) who were very keen to assist me with wheeling me around in the wheelchair and insisting on saying prayers for the injured leg.
Blue Nile Gorge on way to Addis Ababa
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Egypt and Sudan....Cindy’s Africa Part 2
Heading out on an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Nairobi, I reflected on the positives of this country including getting up close to the baboons at the Simien Mountains, the apparent harmony in which Christians and Muslims live, and fantastic natural beauty including the surprising Blue Nile Gorge. Arriving into Nairobi took very little time as a wheelchair bound flyer, I had my own escort through immigration bureaucracy making it by far the speediest border crossing of the C2C – although I wasn’t travelling with the bike which helps! I caught up with Duncan and the groups highlights of the past week, they had been on a safari and crossed the Equator (three times) and had a camping night (must say I wasn’t too distressed to miss out on that). My Blue Betty had been of use to Kathy who had a radiator leak, and needed a ride from Marsabit to Nairobi.
He crossed the Equator without me!
I had sadly missed riding the best bits of Kenya including the Rift Valley, crossing the Equator and seeing the first lot of the Big 5. However, there was still plenty to see and Duncan has detailed the riding in his Blog at: https://travellingbennetts.wordpress. com/2017/03/09/ across-the-equatorkenya-believe-it/
Nairobi was the venue for tyre changing and servicing of the bikes, which was a little early in the trip to be ideal but there was no other BMW dealer until South Africa, so no choice really. My Heidenau K60 tyres were ‘almost’ brand new after only about 7500km so it seemed a real shame to have to leave them at the dealer as there was no room on the roof of the support vehicle for more tyres. The new tyres were Mitas E07’s which we were confident would get us the remaining 10,000km to Cape Town. A lasting memory of Nairobi is the very heavy traffic and it took around an hour to get the 7 or so kilometres for a follow up appointment with the Nairobi Orthopaedic and Spine Clinic. However it was a successful visit with my plaster cast being removed and an Air Walker Boot installed as the final phase in getting back in the saddle. My “back on the bike” plan was to ride after Arusha in Tanzania which was a week away, but for 6 of those days the entire group had a planned break from riding with a safari to the Serengeti and flying to the island of Zanzibar for a few days R & R.
Trying out the pillion seat on the Tiger
But first I had to maintain my riding record in every country, so pillioned with Duncan for about 100km out of Kenya and into Tanzania. The Triumph Tiger is not the most comfortable bike for pillions, with a hard and narrow seat and my restricted movement with the walker boot it seemed like 500km. Note from Duncan; ‘as they say in the army, a third class ride is better than a first class walk.’ So 4 countries down, 7 to go with high
hopes of being back on the bike in the not too distant future! Blue Betty happy to be off the truck and on the road again
Cindy Bennett
In the Pursuit of all things CELTIC IN PURSUIT OF KILTS, CRAIC AND AUTUM LEAVES
M
otorbike Trips may spring from a simple idea or evolve from years of dreaming and planning. Sometimes the best ‘just happen’ with a minimum of thought and planning. This is a story that more fits the latter style. Jane and I thought it a good idea to get up to the high country of the New England Tablelands to experiencethe change of seasons as the deciduous trees don their autumn clothes before disrobing as the cold windsof winter begin to bite. The green leaves of the myrtles, elms, oaks, poplars and maples are replaced withthe rich autumn colours from gold to blood red in one of natures enduring master-strokes. Like all thoughts this one floated around in its little bubble until a discussion at the Club’s Anzac Day lunch with fellow clubmembers Mandy & Steve Maney cemented it into a memorable bike ride. Steve and Mandy were heading down to the Celtic Festival in Glen Innes from 5 to 7 May. This fitted in to our target range to see the autumn leaves so why not combine the two - Glen Innes bound we were. The Celtic Festival was in its 23rd year and 2017 was the year of the Irish. The Festival is gaining in popularity and the Irish emphasis gave that a further lift as a lot of Aussies like us, with Irish roots jumped on board. Our fruitless 11th hour search for a room in Glen Innes on Friday or Saturday night showed this was going to be a bumper year. Not to be deterred we reworked our plans to travel to Uralla on Friday, play up and down the Oxley Highway on Saturday, back to Uralla for Saturday night then up to Glen Innes on Sunday, stay overnight and home on Monday. An added bonus of this arrangement was the chance to catch up with the Port Macquarie crew on Saturday. Now Paul Hughes carries an Irish Passport so there was no discussion required for him to dodge a couple of days at the office and join the tour. A new clutch in his GS1200wethead completed 24 hours before we were leaving was only a minor distraction. We got an early start out of Brisbane on a glorious autumn morning to our meeting point at Beaudesert. Coffee at Maccas will fortify the body for whatever the road ahead has to offer. The first leg took us up the Mt Lindesay Hwy to Woodenbong then down through Urbenville & Bonalbo to join the Bruxner Hwy at Tabulam before a great run on that twisting ribbon of road into Tenterfield. Most readers would know that the Lions Road is currently closed for much needed repairs to bridges on the NSW side of the border. The road through to Woodenbong is the alternative path south and isn’t in bad condition depending on your love/hate relationship with the dreaded tar snakes so beloved by the maintenance crews on this road. The
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road down from Woodenbong through Urbenville & Bonalbo seems to have missed the council road repair budget since the fall of the Iron Curtain and is soon to be listed on the NRMA maps of the area as a GS ONLY road. Another interesting aside on this route is to detour into the bohemian little village of Tabulam where the Post Office proudly flies the Southern Cross Flag rather than that one the other 4,391 Post Offices in Australia use. Popular belief is that the autumn foliage peaks during April then wanes about 2 weeks after Anzac day. We were on the outer edge of this time frame and with Global Warming having an affect on the weather everywhere except Donald’s USA we could not be confident on what would be on show. We were therefore very pleased to see Tenterfield in glorious colour as we entered the avenue of trees leading to the Historic Coach Inn on the cities eastern entrance. Tenterfield is a delightful town so proud of its most famous sons, Peter Allen and Henry Parkes with each vying for the naming rights on anything nailed down. I think Peter Allen had more number one hits so probably wins by a nose. Lunch was upon us so we dined in the very pleasant surrounds of the Courtyard Cafe housed in the restored School of Arts Building. The staff were pleasant as were the locals and the food was pleasant too so a pleasant time was had by us all. As highways go the New England Highway is far from the worst and at this time of year with the beautiful abundant foliage it makes for a pleasant enough scenic ride (I realise in saying this I have probably just been removed from Ian Sayce’s Christmas card list). We wanted to drop into Glen Innes to pick up tickets for the festival so ruled out the inland route through Ashford and Inverell into Uralla. As it was, the sun was dropping as fast as the temperature as we drew into Uralla after 500+ kms. Our home away from home in Uralla is The Top Pub where a comfortable bed, open fire, good food and liquid refreshment awaited. In an attempt to redeem ourselves in the eyes of Ian Sayce we set off from Uralla on Saturday morning after a very pleasant breakfast in ‘The Alternate Root’ cafe on the alternate route through Kentucky & Wollun to join the Walcha Road just after passing the aptly named Walcha Road Pub. Unfortunately (fortunately?) it was too early for a brew at this very isolated pub so it was into Walcha on the famous Oxley Highway so beloved by motorcyclists who enjoy the pleasures this road has to offer. The section from Walcha to the top of the range is fast and open with an experienced eye required for radar carrying predators that populate this road like flies on a cowpat. The excitement builds and adrenalin pumps as the corners tighten on the descent towards our meeting place with the Port
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In the Pursuit of all things CELTIC
crew at Gingers Creek Cafe. This was a beautiful cool Saturday morning so bikes were everywhere with some displaying an over abundance of commitment and an under supply of talent. Bikes; out of shape on my side of double lines, on blind corners, is not my idea of excitement. Always keep something in reserve. There is an old and wise biker saying - “there are old riders and there are bold riders, but there are no old bold riders”. We joined Meredith & Steve, Daryl & Tricia, Greg & Vanessa at Gingers for coffee then it was down the mountain for fuel at Wauchope and inland on a nice little back road to Beechwood for lunch. There is an alternate dirt option back to our meeting point at Long Flat Pub with some taking that route and others retracing the run in on the tar. Farewell to Meredith & Steve who were flying out to Barcelona in a few days time while we headed back to Uralla on the Oxley. Twice in one day, it doesn’t get much better than that. It was a repeat run into Uralla with failing light and falling temperatures but the drinks and feed were just as good after another great day on the bikes. We had looked at the festival program for Sunday and one of the acts we wanted to see, Murphy’s Pigs, were playing their last gig for the festival at 9am. An early start ensued for the ‘brisk’ 120km ride to Glen Innes so we were seated in the marquee just as the MC introduced the group. The early start was well justified as this Brisbane based 10 man Group comprised of several members of the QPS (Murphy’s Pigs, get it!) were excellent. Have a look at their gig guide and get out to see them, you won’t be disappointed. The rest of the day was filled with entertainment as varied as Jousting to Guinness so a great day all round. Congratulations to the people of Glen Innes for a well organised and run festival. At days end we headed into the Great Central Hotel where we were booked to find the Hotel closed. We have stayed there previously and headed around the back to where bikes are safely parked undercover. Tony the owner welcomed us and explained that the Pub had just completed its two biggest trading days (and nights) under his 20 month stewardship and his staff were exhausted (Guinness will do that to you). Tony said he has already started taking bookings for next year so the message is clear if you want to go to the festival next year. We headed to the Services Club for dinner and again caught up with Steve & Mandy. It was interesting to play ‘spot the performer’ as people we had seen earlier in the day looking like extras from ‘Braveheart’ were unwinding without their blue warpaint. It was another great night. The weather had been brilliant for the festival but turned a bit gloomy for our Monday departure down the Gwydir Highway to Grafton. It’s normally
a great ride down through the Gibraltar Range but light rain turned the roads greasy so caution was required. Coffee in Grafton then the back-road through Lawrence and into Casino for lunch as the rain held off but could be seen coming in from the coast. Our luck with the rain held as we passed through Kyogle onto the Mt Lindesay Hwy outside of Woodenbong then back through Rathdowney and Beaudesert on the run home. This was a great trip with good roads, good friends,nature’s beauty on display and cultural delights. Distance covered 1550 km.
Tony Gray
CELTIC PHOTOS and B2B KINGAROY
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Tony & Jane PUMPKIN SCONES AND PEANUTS Pumpkin Scones and Peanuts – B2B Kingaroy
K
ingaroy, once famous (Infamous?) as the land of Jo and Flo, pumpkin scones and peanuts gave way to a louder entourage as the BMWMCQ descended on the otherwise quiet town for the 13th B2B (unlucky for some). The chosen weekend of 20/21 May looked like being very wet and very busy for club members with three different events competing for our attention, and BOM predicting a wet Armageddon for Eastern Australia.
The Moto Guzzi Club were staging their very popular Ruptured (Wet?) Budgie Rally and the Warrego Riders Group had a very interesting route planned for their monthly Sunday ride. Decisions, decisions!!!. Ebullient and very popular club members George & Maggie had arranged the B2B so there was more than a fair chance a sweet treat may be on offer so B2B bound we were. Reading reports from the other two events confirmed that everyone was happy regardless of their choice (unless you stayed home). The weather Gods also came to the party with the weather
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Tony & Jane Pumpkin Scones and Peanuts
front clearing from Brisbane a day early leaving a fine and clear weekend. Unfortunately that didn’t help our longest travelled attendees Paul & Leanne who had a very wet ride from their Taree home to Texas on the Friday. Other club members came from the Sunny Coast, Bribie Island and all parts of Brisbane with the main group of nine (7 bikes) meeting at Esk for coffee. Our route took us up the beautiful twisting Ravensbourne Range road to Hampton then cross country via Goombungee, Peranga, and Maclagen before ascending the Bunya Mountains. Now this is where the ride got interesting. I had plotted a route but my ‘old’ garmin mapping software would not allow me to include the last section from Maclagen up the mountain. I suspected dirt but an unnamed GS rider (OK it was Paul Hughes) assured me that his updated software said OK. Surprise, surprise there are still two dirt sections, albeit short, on this route. There were 2 K1300s, 2 RT1200s and 3GSs in the group so credit to the road bike warriors who managed the dirt with aplomb. Fortunately the road had dried out enough to remove the greasiness from the clay sections. The ride up made it all worthwhile with a dusting of cloud still hanging in the gullies and spectacular views. You will have to take my word for this as Jane’s camera memory card flashed FULL just as we reached the exciting bits; Strike #1 for unlucky 13. We stopped at Fishers Lookout where Jane’s camera managed to wipe its full memory card clean while trying to clear some space for more photos; Strike #2 for unlucky 13. Mark G regaled us with stories of work days past when he used to scale the adjacent communications tower and sleep rough in the equipment shed – no doubt saving money to invest in motorbikes. A pleasant lunch was had at ‘Poppies on the Hill’ Cafe amongst the day-trippers, bush-walkers and contented wallabies. The home-made pies in many guises were very popular. A short run down into Kingaroy to meet the others at The Oasis Motel was interrupted by members of the local constabulary who invited us to invest some oxygen in their little machines. No one had imbibed of a Guinness pie so we were all clear to go. Most of the 23 attendees were staying in rooms at The Oasis with a few taking cabins at the adjoining Caravan Park. I ventured into town to collect some refreshing ales and couldn’t believe how quiet (dead!) Kingaroy is on a Saturday afternoon. We all gathered around the Motel pool for refreshment and good cheer prior to dinner and were treated to scrumptious platters of hot and cold offerings – a portent of what was to come at dinner. The staff at The Oasis could not have been more welcoming or obliging. There was plenty of food at the dinner buffet, all very tasty and well prepared and the full bar kept everyone happy.
We had our own room away from the main body of the restaurant so could be large & loud without disturbing other patrons. The ‘tasty treats’ from Maggie came in the form of biscuits bearing the BMW roundel in edible rice paper. A collector’s item if you could resist the temptation. Those familiar with Maggie’s Biscuit Run (the best attended club ride of the year) would be aware that Maggie does not under-cater so there were some additional biscuit treats on offer. Various awards were made with Paul & Leanne winning longest distance for their trek from Taree. There is a photo included of Leanne on her beautiful brushed alloy tanked R9T to counterbalance the normal heavy reliance on GS photos on FB and in the magazine.
Jane collected the Hard Luck award for wiping the memory card but others I cannot remember but all were treated with good cheer & humour. There were also a few prizes on offer in a ‘hat draw’ donated by M&W (2 shirts) and (now defunct) Motorline voucher for a pair of gloves. Shirts went to Richard B (after David W donated back – something about shrinking in the wash?) and to Duncan and the gloves to Don. A great night was had by all. Finding a place for Sunday breakfast in Kingaroy was as hard as finding a drink on Saturday afternoon but we all eventually descended on the unsuspecting and overwhelmed staff of the ‘Glendon Street Cafe’. I think they did more trade on that morning than they do in a month. One of the joys of the B2B concept is to inject some $$$ and joy into country towns and they are always most appreciative.
Tony & Jane Pumpkin Scones and Peanuts Our group (with the exception of Mark G) stuck together for a return loop home via backroads to Goomeri then onto Kilkivan, Mary River Valley, Maleny, Mt Mee and back to Brisbane. Unfortunately for Jane and me the Final Drive on the Gray Ghost after 141,000 trouble free kms cried enough as we limped into Goomeri; Strike #3 and you’re OUT for unlucky 13. Our ride home was completed in the cabin of a tilt-tray tow truck courtesy of the RACQ. If you don’t have RACQ Ultra Care then please consider it. This is the second time we have had a bike fail well away from home and we have been delivered home to our door free of charge. The aftermath of that little episode in the life of the Gray Ghost deserves a story of its own. Fortunately everyone else arrived home safely. A BIG thanks go to George & Maggie for arranging this very successful B2B while also dealing with some major disruptions in their lives. They are a great example for us all.
Tony and Jane Gray
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B2B (13) May 2017 JEGMay2017
Forecasters had warned of flooding rain When B2B came around again But sunshine prevailed, oh what a joy! George & Maggie would be waiting in Kingaroy In groups and as solos we enjoyed our ride Through the Bunya Mts in the Great Divide Coffee stops & lunch are the Golden Rule Then we all met for drinks by the “Oasis” pool The food was great but the company was better As the sun went down we all grabbed a sweater Were Paul M & Carolyn the last to arrive? And did Maggie, George and Richard de G have to drive? Paul & Leanne rode all the way from Taree Great to see Dave bring along Tracy David, Greg, Paul H, Mal & the 2 Mark Gs Duncan with Cindy (on a Suzuki, if you please!) Richard & Linda and lovebirds Don & Kate Together with Jane & Tony we all partied late With BMW bikkies and prizes to be won Thanks George & Maggie for a weekend of fun
PS
Farewells after brekky, we wished each “Good Luck” But Tony & Jane got home with Gray Ghost on a truck!!!
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Michael and Ann (the royals) GS Road Trip Europe
GS Road Trip Europe-Spain-Italy-Balkans (15th May 2017)
F
riends, it’s now been a month on the roads since the last blog, three more months to go; Back from Africa, Morocco, we had a look at Gibraltar, unprepared by the number of Monkeys at GIB. Legend has it, as long as the monkeys are there, Gibraltar will remain British. With the current Brexit consequences, it may put the legend to a test. In Spain, Ronda is a place worth a visit. So also, Park Guell Barcelona. We managed to get a Paella; before leaving Spain for France and Colliure, the very quaint Town bottom right of France. In Monaco, all preparations were being made for the Formula 1. We got ourselves a drink at the Pit, and rode part of the track and took a quick look at the iconic Casino. We followed the coastline to Italy through hundreds of tunnels across the so many ravines to Rome, for a three-night stay in a cabin at Campo Roma.. We tried a courtesy bus to get in to town next day for a whole day of touristing. Next day, the BMW GS tourist ride was stressful, but got us around much faster and covering more attractions. Unlike 5 years ago, you now can’t ride all the way up to St Peters Square for photoshoot of the bike and the Pope’s “cabin” anymore For all its slow riding and sometimes heavy traffic, Amalfi coast is a must visit for its views. Having done Pompeii last time, we also had a close look at Naples instead this time, with traffic much like Rome. Across the Italian “Boot” to Bari; this proved to be quite a nice town to visit. We took passage for the Balkans, costing only about 155Euro, with a cabin for an overnight vehicle crossing was a bargain. Overall Albania and Macedonia were very cheap and good value. Like how’s 30 Euro for 4-star Grand Hotel stay on the beach with a break-
fast buffet for 2! Albania will be heard of more as a tourist destination for sure. We tried one of Europe’s best MC Roads over the Mountains on a winding 120 k ride, very high, with awesome curves (serpentine) and views, from Vlore to Sarande.
Our BMW Garmin GPS has been all but a total failure in so many ways and with change of direction advice in the last second sometimes, downright dangerous. Once we passed the SAME 7 Euro Toll booth 3 times, paying each time. The “latest” Europe maps I bought months before leaving were, sometimes terribly out of date. That’s disappointing (even coming up and complaining they were more than 12 months old! Maybe it’s just my device, which is all I can report on. It’s now deteriorated to not giving any direction advice or not even showing current location more than sporadically. (Others may have had a better experience?)
Michael and Ann (the royals) GS Road Trip Europe
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Our six year old TomTom Rider (I believe only uses 3 satellites) by comparison, with less fancy options, was a star performer 28,000 k Europe and 40,000 k USA. Navigation wise, lately we survive by Google Map saved jpg files and the starting advice on the GPS (only) when starting a destination (no progressive directional advice). Personally I think the newer technology needs more satellites than what’s available. It should be able to work with the minimum 3 and not freeze if it cannot connect to all four due to location (my theory). Next is Greece and then back to northern Italy and northward. Below the Travel Kilometres up to 15th May.
Michael and Ann (The Royals)
Charlie Brown’s USA Trip 2014 - Part 2 We continue with Charlies story from last months Journal and it is still a great read...Ed. Monday 22 Moab to Mancos………..234 miles arly start again; I rode up the Colorado River for a bit before swinging behind Moab and the loop road through the La Sal mountains which brought me to the highway just south of Moab. I took the road south past Hole in the Wall and turned onto the road to Colorado. At bedrock I hit the only rain of the trip. 10 minutes on the edge of a storm. I thought that I was going to miss it but the road turned toward the rain and took me into it. I was stopped by road works at a bridge, red light, in the poring rain. There was no work being done and no workers anywhere to be seen. I toyed with the idea of riding through but a car pulled up behind me so I thought better not. The car then came up beside me and it was a Colorado Highway parole car. He looked at me and waved me to follow him. A few minutes later he pulled over and waved me on. Thank you. A couple of minutes later I was back in
E
the sun and dry within another 10 minutes. The rest of the morning was pretty boring apart from the road at Slick Rock. I stopped at Dove Creek for lunch/fuel and had the WORST food of the trip. am sure that the hamburger meat was made of plastic and the bun was so sweet that I thought it was a jam donut. I rode on to Mancos and got a room. I had dinner at a place in town and the chicken Parma made up for the lunch. Tuesday 23 Mancos to Durango 83 Miles (via Mesa Verde) I got away at about 7.30 and rode up to Mesa Verde NP. The road up was very good as usual. At the top is the Far View Lodge where I had breakfast. The young guy on the skillet made me a mean omelette, probably the best breakfast of the trip. From the lodge it was down hill to the cliff dwellings. Again I had a preconceived idea of the park which turned out (as usual) to be totally different and much better than I thought.
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Continued on page 27
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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
NATONAL COURSE DATES COURSE PRICE $85 PER PERSON CONTACT # 0427 464 266 BOOK NOW QUEENSLAND 2017 Jun 3 Brisbane/Grange Brothers Leagues Club 10.45am - 3.30pm Jun 4 Brisbane/Ipswich Ipswich Golf Club 10.45am - 3.30pm Jun 10 Brisbane/Birkdale Redlands Multi Sports Club 10.45am - 3.30pm Jun 11 Gold Coast/Currimbin Palm Beach Currumbin Sporrts Club 10.45am - 3.30pm Aug 12 Mackay Oct 14 Bundaberg Sep 10 Cairns Oct 15 Rockhampton
Charlie Brown’s USA Trip 2014 I saw the main dwellings, Cliff House, but as there were 3 ladders to get down to it I gave it a miss. Very impressive though. I rode over to the museum at the Spruce House visitors centre. I walked down to Spruce House and spent a couple of hours exploring the ruins and talking to a ranger who was borne in Toronto NSW. I was pretty warm up on the Mesa but very cool at the dwellings. Below is a quote from the Mesa Verde website. “About 1,400 years ago, long before
Europeans explored North America, a group of people living in the Four Corners region chose Mesa Verde for their home. For more than 700 years they and their descendants lived and flourished here, eventually building elaborate stone communities in the sheltered alcoves of the canyon walls. Then, in the late A.D. 1200s, in the span of a generation or two, Puebloans of Mesa Verde left their homes and moved away”
I rode back up to the hotel and had lunch. Not as good as breakfast! Back down the mesa (the difference between a mesa and a butte, a mesa is wider than it is high and a butte higher than it is wide!) and over to Durango. Not a bad ride apart being stuck behind a “pickup” that was pumping out more smoke than the Dreadnoughts at the Battle of Jutland! I had booked a room in the Siesta motel, Durango, for two nights. Checked in and went to find the library. I checked the emails and funds then booked a trip on the Durango – Silverton railway.
SPRUCE HOUSE. MESA VERDE NP. COLORADO Wednesday 24 Durango – Silverton – Durango I caught the free bus into town and had breakfast at a greasy spoon diner on the main street. I had booked a ticket to get the bus up to Silverton and
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the train back. The bus ride up was very good and the driver a font of information i.e. Silverton at its height had more brothels per block than any other city/town in the US. The trees were in full autumn colours and very spectacular. The bus driver pointed out the old coach road up the mountain and I made a note to have a look the next day. Silverton is another tourist town but does have the highest Oily-Dogfish Shop in the world. Whoopee! I had lunch at Handlebars (10% discount if you have a decent moustache) of the usual burger and fries. I walked around the town for a bit (no brothels in sight, but it did have a lot of shops selling dried herbs), then got the train back to Durango. I bought a chook, some bagels and salad stuff for dinner. At the motel; a couple, on a 1200GSA were in the next room. We got to talking about Life, The Universe, and err, everything (42). I invited them for dinner (I had bought way too much food) and passed a very pleasant evening talking with them, and some others who rode in, under the trees in the courtyard garden. I got some very good pointers for places to go over the next few days. Thursday 25 Durango – Ridgway (with no “e”) 125 miles I started the day at the greasy spoon, also known as “The Chew and Spew”, with enough hash browns to make a good model of Devils Tower! Which I did, while muttering under my breath, “This means something!” The others in the diner weren’t getting it, so I paid the bill and split. I rode up the highway towards Silverton and turned off onto the old coach road. This was a great road to get warmed up on, with the trees in their autumn colours. Back onto the main road and down to Silverton. I had a quick ride around before heading up to ride over Ophir Pass. This was another road that I found on the advice riders site. The scenery around Silverton was awesome and I had to be careful as to where I was looking. A bit out of town on the “Million Dollar Highway” I turned onto the Ophir Road. I had fun on the ride up to the pass at 11798 ft. At the summit the road condition deteriorated badly. It was like trying to ride on railway ballast and shale (in fact it was shale). On the way down there were a couple of small rock steps in the road. I got over the first then broke my own rule of “when in doubt power out”. Just a slight touch of the front brake and Wheezy Bob got tired and “lay down”. I was only at walking pace, but still annoying. Continued on page29
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Charlie Brown’s USA Trip 2014 With the help of the 4x4 behind me I got Bob back the right way up and headed down the hill. I rode through the village of Ophir to the highway and on to Telluride and filled up. I wanted to ride the Imogene pass road and had to ride around Telluride for a bit before finding it. It was a hot day and about half way up the petrol in the tank started to boil so I pulled off the track to let it cool down. I didn’t get to go any further than the old mining site of Tomboy because the pass was closed due to rock slides. I took some photos and headed down the mountain. As I rounded the last hairpin I came face to face with a 4x4 on the wrong side of the track. Wheeze decided that this was a good time to have a another lie down, right in front of the 4x4. The passengers helped me get him back the right side up and I rode down off the track and on to Ridgway. I got a room and had a pizza from the place next door to the herb shop.
OPHIR PASS, 11798 ft
On the menu was a ‘Mary Jane’ pizza which had, quote “a variety of top class Herbs”. And, no I didn’t. I learned the hard way in Amsterdam years ago that a mushroom pizza isn’t the same as here! Anyhow lots of ice on the knees and a night in with Princess Endone (oxycodone).Hmmmmm, Endone, my own personal “Rocky Mountain High”!
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COTTONWOOD PASS 12,126ft
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Friday 26 Ridgway to Salida 180 miles I got away a bit later than usual this morning, about 0830. I rode north then east along the Gunnison river. I stopped at the Kawasaki dealer in Gunnison to get some oil for the Scott oiler. The owner of the shop filled up the oiler and wouldn’t take any payment. I spent an enjoyable hour there getting more tips for riding in the area. I gave them a little Koala and a couple of kangaroo tie pins (good things to take with you when you go to the states) and went is search of Cottonwood pass. The road on the western side is dirt for the last 15 miles but it was well maintained and very smooth. Wheezy Bob took another beating on this road. The pass is at 12,126 ft and has great views. The other side of the pass is paved all the way down to Buena Vista. I had lunch and went to the library and checked funds and emails. The rest of the day was the 50 or so miles down the highway to Salida, room and sleep. Saturday 27 Salida to Castle Rock 226 miles Another late start; I had arranged to meet up with Cal at a BMW weekend at Sargents, which was only 50 miles west of Salida. I powered the phone up and there was a message from Cal saying that he wouldn’t be at the BM weekend. So out with the maps. Pikes Peak was only 150 miles away and was on my bucket list so that was the day sorted. I rode east along Hwy 50 which follows the Arkansas River. As the waitress told me at breakfast “It aint AR-KinSas honey, its Ar-Kin-Saw!” Anyhow I rode along the highway and through another river canyon. Another bloody great road. Just before Canon City I rode over to have a look at the Royal Gorge Bridge. The bridge is 955 ft. above the Ar-Kin-Saw (just making sure you say it right) river. There had been a big fire earlier in the year and the park was being rebuilt. Back on the road to Canon City, which has 2 state prisons, and one federal “Super Max”
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BMWMCQ 2016 Events Calendar
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FRIGID DIGIT
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9:30am
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Ginger Beer - the Next Round Horizons Unlimited Meeting German Club Monthly club meeting Monthly Club Ride Laverda Concours Sat Coffee Run Hamilton Hotel dinner meet German Club Monthly club meeting Monthly Club Ride Sat Coffee Run Hamilton Hotel dinner meet German Club
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BMWMCQ 2016 Events Calendar
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DECEMBER Saturday 2 Christmas Party Thursday 7 7:30pm Monthly club meeting Italics font denotes event organised by other clubs
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Charlie Brown’s USA Trip 2014 prison. It even has a prison museum! I had been told of a road to Cripple Creek called The Shelf Road so I went in search of it. It turned out to be another cracker of a dirt road with rock walls on one side and nothing on the other. I got to Cripple Creek at lunch but it turned out to be another rustic, authentic, Oily-Dogfish and Toyota Prius infested ‘Pioneer Mining Town’, which is to say yuppified and expensive. The traffic was appallingly heavy on the way down the other side. I had lunch at the ‘Highway Junction BBQ’ where I tried the sample platter of 3 different meats, but couldn’t tell the difference. Pretty bland! So I rode down the road toward Colorado Springs, and onto Pikes Peak road. Many years after seeing the video of Ari Vatenen racing a Peugeot up the mountain, I was finally going to do it myself (minus the Peugeot of course). The toll was $12 and in my opinion very good value. It’s a great road to the top, apart for the traffic. There were a lot of cyclists, and people running up the road. About 4 miles on the road there was a sign that read “1 vertical mile to the summit”. Cool! Poor old Wheezy Bob had a hard time getting to the top, as did I. At 14,110 ft it is the highest I had ever been without wings, apart for the funny pizza I mistakenly had in Amsterdam! I took a few photos and walked around for a bit but I started to get a headache. The view was fantastic but I had to get back down to where there was some sort of breathable atmosphere.
I took my time going down the mountain so much so that I was overtaken by a peloton of about a dozen cycles. Back at the highway I rode down through Colorado Springs and up the freeway to Castle Rock. The room at the motel was the cheapest of the trip and reflected in the room. That’s the funny thing, with a very few exceptions all the televisions in the motels were the old CRT type. It didn’t matter much because crap looks the same on anything. At dinner I was talked into having desert of a Key Lime Pie. WOW. I have never tasted anything like it. Fantastic! Bed and zzzzzzzz!
WHEEZY BOB ON PIKES PEAK 14,110ft SEND OXYGEN! Continued on page 33
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Charlie Brown’s USA Trip 2014 Sunday 28 Castle Rock to Johnstown 216 miles Got away at about 7.30am; I was heading to Rocky Mountain NP. I had to go through Denver to get there so I jumped on to the freeway and blasted through to I -70 and headed west again. At Empire I jumped onto Route 40 and rode over Berthoud Pass (11307 ft). Bloody freezing! Two days later this pass was snowed in and closed. At Granby I filled the bike at the wonderfully named “Kum & Go” gas station. The Rocky Mountain National park was a bit of a letdown after all the parks I had been in over the last two weeks. The road up was good as usual but the traffic was terrible. Trail Ridge road is 12,183 ft at its highest. One of the rangers told me that this weekend could possibly be the last time the road would be open this season. He was right, two days later they had 6 inches of snow on the pass and the road was closed for the winter. Down the eastern side I stopped at the visitors centre to buy a badge, I have one for all the parks I visited. I rode down Fall River road past the entrance booths, (all US national parks have a fee for entry) and the line-up of cars and bikes stretched all the way into Estes Park, about 2.5 miles! I was looking for the wonderfully named Devils Gulch Road but missed it in the traffic. It took me nearly 30 minutes to get through 1 set of lights and I didn’t feel like battling through it again. So I took the also delightfully named Big Thompson Canyon Road which was another great bit of twisty fun. Must go back and ride these on a good road bike! The B.T.C.R. delivered me, to Loveland, and from there it was a short ride to Johnstown and Cal’s place. Monday 29 Today was clean-up day. Wheezy Bob got a good clean and touch up. Calvin had arranged for someone to buy Wheezy when I had finished the ride but the guy went out and bought a Ural instead! By the time I got back another friend from Calvin’s church was interested. Martin offered me $2000 and I said yes! I was honestly sorry to see Wheezy Bob go. He ran hot. He sounded like the top end was about to explode. He shook just about
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every nut and bolt loose. By the way, KLR stands for Keep Loctite Ready! He wheezed his way over 10,000 ft + passes. But he just ran and ran and ran!! So summing up Wheezy with tyres, oil, plus liability insurance, all up$2875. When I sold him I got $2000 back. So $875 for 2 and a half weeks riding some of the most breathtaking roads in the world. Better than hiring, but I must stress that I was lucky, very lucky. The next week saw me in a car driving north to Yellowstone. I was too close not to go and have a look. The Acme Factory On the way up through Wyoming there was a road sign that said Acme. Having grown up on Roadrunner cartoons I had to go and have a look. At the end of a bumpy dirt track was the Acme Factory! I got out of the car and started to look Wile Coyote (I always wanted him to get the roadrunner).
BEEP! BEEP! Little Big Horn Battlefield. Last Stand Hill was quite moving. I always imagined that the hill was some sort of fort, and the Little Big Horn was a mountain. But Last Stand Hill is just a grassy hill with no cover at all and the Little Big Horn is a river. Here on June 25 and 26 of 1876, 263 soldiers, including Lt. Col. George A. Custer and attached personnel of the U.S. Army, died fighting several thousand Lakota, and Cheyenne warriors. I liked the Indian markers that stated that “Open Hand”, a Cheyenne Warrior, fell at this spot, while defending the Cheyenne way of life. Yellowstone NP I drove into Yellowstone via Cody WY. The road in had snow on it and was a bit slippery. Just over the pass I found a huge Bison standing in the middle of the road. I drove past slowly and it didn’t bat an eyelid. Yellowstone falls and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone were superb.
Continued on page 35
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Charlie Brown’s USA Trip 2014 The visitors center and in fact the whole park, were in the process of shutting down for the winter. I drove to Old Faithful and watched it erupt. That night I stayed West Yellowstone. Grand Tetons NP I left West Yellowstone early. I was cold getting the bags and self into the car. No wonder the outside temp, according to the car dash, was -2 F, that’s about -18 C!!!! The Grand Tetons made up for it. Mind blowing views! The mountains had a dusting of snow on them and looked like the trademark for the Paramount Movie company.
GRAND TEATONS WYONMING Jackson was just south and was another tourist trap, however I did have lunch at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. About 100 miles further toward Salt Lake City I saw a sign that made me turn around and go back. It was, and I kid you not, the Dutch Oven Inn!
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jets on the apron of Aspen airport and could see the ‘T’ tails of more through the trees. Money, Money, Money.
MAROON BELLS near ASPEN COLORADO Wednesday 8 Oct Another never ending day! I left Denver at 6am and arrived at LAX (with the tine zone change) at 7am. I had booked a car and drove around L.A. for the day. I saw the La Brea tar pits (interesting) East LA when the GPS sent me to Santa Monica Close instead of Santa Monica Boulevard (very interesting, read scary), and finally Santa Monica Pier and the end of Route 66. I left LAX at 2300 Wed and got into Sinney 8.30 Friday. It was funny listening to some people who just didn’t ‘get’ the International Date Line! When I got off the 747 in Sinney I vowed never to get on another 747 in my life. Now after a few weeks at home I just can’t wait to get back to Utah. I love traveling and riding a new road, but it’s the people I have meet that makes a trip special. Here I have to thank, Calvin and Amy for their kindness to a stranger. It was a real joy staying with them, with a fantastic drive (passenger) in Calvin’s classic (60ies I think) Mustang convertible. And one of the most enjoyable and pleasant Birthday dinners I have had! Thanks to Bob for selling Wheezy Bob to me and letting me use his address for rego and insurance. Thanks to Martin for taking Wheezy Bob to a good home. I hope he serves you well. In Moab; thanks to Marcia for a cheap room, advice, friendship and a most enjoyable dinner with her and her photographer friend Vivien. “UTAH; LIFE ELEVATED” “COLORADO...ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH”
Charlie Brown
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