Kyogle - Rathdowney - Boonah - Beaudesert - Kyogle
5 October 2014
Master Map
I woke to the sound of rain on my tent. It stopped. Whew, I thought. It started again, but gently, so I pulled on my jacket, went outside, sat under a tree and made a cup of tea while I contemplated what the day might hold.
In the background to the photo above you can see a structure with cars and tents underneath it. On the first two nights, Tony and I parked our bikes there. Irritatingly, it quickly filled up with tents—apparently some tents in Australia work only if erected under a more substantial roof.
Luckily it didn't look like the rain would last too long as a rip along a wet Lions Road was not really appealing. I engaged in a lugubrious discussion with the bloke in a tent nearby. He was dead serious about riding as quickly as he could and wasn't at all interested if it was going to be wet.
The rain duly cleared and we had another great ride to Rathdowney—that stretch of the Mt Lindesay Highway is really a great ride—arriving in time to hear the end of the morning briefing. In time, the first batch of riders set out towards the start and then, for a very long time, nothing much happened at all.
Eventually we were asked to convene for another briefing. We learned that a rider had left the road after a minor turn breaking an arm or a leg. They were waiting for the ambulance to get there before getting things underway again.
We waited some more. Then we learned the Queensland Police were investigating the accident—why, when it occurred in NSW, I still haven't figured—and had recommended to the organisers that they cancel the rest of the event. We were told we were welcome to hang around so we could ride back over the Lions Road later in the day.
Much later, in the pub, we learned that a bloke on an MV Augusta was going like a bat out of hell, misjudged a 'slight' corner and hit a fence. He totalled the bike—bringing to three the number of expensive bikes he'd totalled in the past 12 months or so—and ended up in a paddock with a broken limb. Fortunately he was not badly hurt. I still can't quite figure why the Queensland Police would make a 'strong' recommendation to the organisers to cancel the rest of the day. However, I think the organisers made a difficult and wise tactical decision in what will be an ongoing argument about the future of the event.
We also learned that two groups of riders had got through. A savvy bunch got up very early and rode to the border up the Lions Rd before it closed. They'd got in an excellent (and rapid) ride before the rider in the second group brought the whole thing to an end.
Waiting …
That 250 again …
Meanwhile, back to the starting point, Tony and I decided to clear out and do something else with the afternoon.
So off we set to Boonah where we ate before riding back to Kyogle via Beaudesert, the Mt Lindesay Highway and the Summerland Way. Again. But, hey, it's a fantastic road. So, too is the Rathdowney-Boonah Road and the faster but mildly entertaining stretch from Boonah to Beaudesert.
By the time we got home it was pretty much time to change and head out to the Commercial Hotel for dinner, a catch up with fellow riders. But, even more important than that, we had to watch the Rugby League grand final on the TV. Luckily for us, pretty much everyone else in the place was going for Pterodactyl's team, the Rabbitohs. Mercifully, they won.
