A GLANCE BACK - 20 years By Gary Bennett, Member #509
Mount Warning Weekender - October 2001 Following is a ride report on what was my first attempt at organising a weekender back in 2001, almost 20 years ago. For our new members, if you want to organise a weekend ride it’s not much harder than organising a “Day Ride”.
OCTOBER 2021
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the fantastic fast bends and straights that led us to Natural Arch. It is a great stretch of road and Charlie’s Zebra looked a bit like a red-back most of the way as Al Hore’s red 1100GS was right up his klacker (handles pretty good for a chooky). We stopped for about half an hour to check out Natural Arch, which basically is a stream that empties into a cave through a large hole in its roof. At night, glowworms can be seen in the cave.
After departing Natural Arch we rode through the Border Gates and down into the Tweed Valley of NSW and stopped for lunch at Chillingham general store. Bob, - First find an interesting destination with some the owner of the business laid out the welcome mat for accommodation or campground or both and us. He has a liquor licence, good food and a great front somewhere to eat that night or BYO if camping. veranda overlooking the main road through town. After - Check with the venue if the weekend that you want to a hearty lunch we bid farewell to those who were making stage the event is good for them. a day trip out of the ride as the rest of us proceeded on to Mt. Warning via Tyalgum. The adventure riders took - Find an interesting route to get there. a dirt road around the southern side of Mt. Warning, - Let the “Event Coordinator” know what weekend you while the road bikes stayed on the bitumen on a road around the north side of the mountain. We all arrived at plan to stage the event so it can be entered into the Club Calendar. That’s about it. around early to mid afternoon giving us plenty of time to relax before the sun went down. It’s not hard to organise and will leave you with a big Relaxing was not what some members had in mind as sense of achievement after the event. There are many members in the club (including myself) that would offer they elected to miss Natural Arch and continue on to Mt. Warning arriving early enough to enable them to assistance or advice to anyone wanting to organise climb up the mountain in the afternoon before the sun their first ride for the club. went down. Some of us took advantage of the electric On the weekend of the 20th and 21st of October 2001, the BBQ’s for dinner, while others used their own cooking weekender to Mt. Warning was held. Seventeen bikes facilities or the campfire, but we all got together after gathered at the BP Stapylton Service Centre eagerly dinner around the campfire. awaiting our departure. 2.15am, my alarm goes off. It’s time to climb the It was a cloudy day with a mild breeze, which was good mountain. We all met, with torches in the carpark at the because it kept the temperature to a comfortable level. base of the track leading up the mountain and for the We made our way through Tamborine Village and record the participants were:- me (with a back-pack of Canungra to the old Tram Tunnel, where we had our first Champagne and plastic flutes) and my son, Matthew, stop. The tunnel was built almost 100 years ago to allow Tad and Kim Kaszycki, Graham and Liz Healey and Greg a tram track (used for carrying timber) to pass through a Dunne. I managed to get an ingrown toe nail in the week large hill. During the years of WW2 it was used to store leading up to the weekend, but it didn’t stop me or slow ammunition. After a walk through the tunnel and then me down and we made it up the mountain in two hours, a short chat in the carpark, we continued on our way about 20 minutes before sunrise. We didn’t actually see via the always popular twisty road through Beechmont the sunrise because the clouds moved in just before to the Hinze Dam. While passing through Beechmont dawn, but we popped the top off the champagne we witnessed what appeared to be an attempt to break anyway and enjoyed what view we did have before the some world record for how many hang gliders could be descent back down the mountain. parked on the side of the road, they were packed in like sardines, it was a spectacular sight with just as many Upon arrival back at the campground we lit up the BBQ again and had breakfast before departing for flying overhead. home. Now, my intentions were to travel home via We stopped for a short bum break at the kiosk at Hinze Murwillumbah, Tomewin and the Currumbin Valley, but Dam, which was where I noticed that Charlie Brown’s I had such a great ride on the way down, I changed my tyres were very sticky and actually had rubber balling mind and went back the same way past the Hinze Dam. up on the outsides of the front tyre. Now, remembering back to my speedway days, I know that tyres that are Thirty people did the two-day event (excluding the day that soft don’t last very long and I was surprised to trippers) and I am sure they look back with enjoyment learn that he actually got 15,000 K’s out of a set. After on this weekend as I do. being entertained by Charlie doing about a dozen laps around a small round-a-bout we departed south along
