A GlANCE BACK

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”. - First find an interesting destination with some accommodation or campground or both and somewhere to eat that night or BYO if camping. - Check with the venue if the weekend that you want to stage the event is good for them. - Find an interesting route to get there. - Let the “Event Coordinator” know what weekend you plan to stage the event so it can be entered into the Club Calendar. That’s about it.

It’s not hard to organise and will leave you with a big sense of achievement after the event. There are many members in the club (including myself) that would offer assistance or advice to anyone wanting to organise their first ride for the club. On the weekend of the 20th and 21st of October 2001, the weekender to Mt. Warning was held. Seventeen bikes gathered at the BP Stapylton Service Centre eagerly awaiting our departure. It was a cloudy day with a mild breeze, which was good because it kept the temperature to a comfortable level. We made our way through Tamborine Village and Canungra to the old Tram Tunnel, where we had our first stop. The tunnel was built almost 100 years ago to allow a tram track (used for carrying timber) to pass through a large hill. During the years of WW2 it was used to store ammunition. After a walk through the tunnel and then a short chat in the carpark, we continued on our way via the always popular twisty road through Beechmont to the Hinze Dam. While passing through Beechmont we witnessed what appeared to be an attempt to break some world record for how many hang gliders could be parked on the side of the road, they were packed in like sardines, it was a spectacular sight with just as many flying overhead. We stopped for a short bum break at the kiosk at Hinze Dam, which was where I noticed that Charlie Brown’s tyres were very sticky and actually had rubber balling up on the outsides of the front tyre. Now, remembering back to my speedway days, I know that tyres that are that soft don’t last very long and I was surprised to learn that he actually got 15,000 K’s out of a set. After being entertained by Charlie doing about a dozen laps around a small round-a-bout we departed south along 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, the owner of the business laid out the welcome mat for us. He has a liquor licence, good food and a great front veranda overlooking the main road through town. After a hearty lunch we bid farewell to those who were making a day trip out of the ride as the rest of us proceeded on to Mt. Warning via Tyalgum. The adventure riders took a dirt road around the southern side of Mt. Warning, while the road bikes stayed on the bitumen on a road around the north side of the mountain. We all arrived at around early to mid afternoon giving us plenty of time to relax before the sun went down.

Relaxing was not what some members had in mind as they elected to miss Natural Arch and continue on to Mt. Warning arriving early enough to enable them to climb up the mountain in the afternoon before the sun went down. Some of us took advantage of the electric BBQ’s for dinner, while others used their own cooking facilities or the campfire, but we all got together after dinner around the campfire. 2.15am, my alarm goes off. It’s time to climb the mountain. We all met, with torches in the carpark at the base of the track leading up the mountain and for the record the participants were:- me (with a back-pack of Champagne and plastic flutes) and my son, Matthew, Tad and Kim Kaszycki, Graham and Liz Healey and Greg Dunne. I managed to get an ingrown toe nail in the week leading up to the weekend, but it didn’t stop me or slow me down and we made it up the mountain in two hours, about 20 minutes before sunrise. We didn’t actually see the sunrise because the clouds moved in just before dawn, but we popped the top off the champagne anyway and enjoyed what view we did have before the descent back down the mountain. Upon arrival back at the campground we lit up the BBQ again and had breakfast before departing for home. Now, my intentions were to travel home via Murwillumbah, Tomewin and the Currumbin Valley, but I had such a great ride on the way down, I changed my mind and went back the same way past the Hinze Dam. Thirty people did the two-day event (excluding the day trippers) and I am sure they look back with enjoyment on this weekend as I do.

A glance back 10 years to October 2011 and the below cover shot of Mark Loring’s K1200GT at Mulgowie is a top one. I am sure you will agree it deserves to grace the pages of the Journal again!