22 April 2015
Master Map
The following morning, with some regret on my part, we took to the highway to get some quick kilometres under our belts. That way Pterodactyl had a chance of reaching his planned destination that evening.
Last Blast, ready for action, poses in front of a banana tree
My bike’s magnificent and well-worn headers
On the highway — it was a really beautiful day
Finally! I manage to capture a picture of something in the rear-view mirror. Pterodactyl on the road to Australia Zoo
Crikey! There he is again
Leaving the highway near Landsborough, we followed the Steve Irwin Way before turning left at Beerwah. There’s a lovely climb to Peachester and then to the junction of the Maleny-Stanley River Road (E). After a short and agreeable section to the bottom of the hill, the road to Kilcoy is not all that interesting. But, then, sometimes you have to ride less interesting roads to get to the good stuff.
Coffee and an Australian meat pie at Kilcoy which also provided this glimpse of a couple of English gems out for a run.
It’s a good ride around the ridge beside the Somerset Dam and then a quick and peaceful run through the countryside around the top of Lake Wivenhoe. There was next to no traffic and I spent a little time trying to get a photo of Pterodactyl underway, without the success I would have liked. In my defence it’s hard to frame a shot when you’ve no real idea where the camera’s really pointing.
From Esk we rode to Gatton along a road I’ve not ridden before. It was pretty enough, but not very challenging. Most of it was like this:
At Gatton we refuelled and said farewell. I’m curious to read Pterodactyl’s report on the road to Warwick as it looked interesting on the map.
Gatton lies at the foot of the Great Dividing Range and I spent a little time poring over a map wondering whether to ride up the range to Toowoomba and then back down a very pretty road into Esk. Sadly, time was against me.
I mostly retraced my route home, except I stayed inland and avoided the highway.
