Day 1: Brisbane to Casino
20 June 2022
Master Map
Master Map
It’s been a while. Over a year in fact. It was exciting to have a plan to chuck a bag on the CB for a couple of day’s riding out of the state. Even better, I’d get to meet up with Pterodactyl, NoRoomtoMove and Jalalski, a Triumph-riding companion from other adventures. NoRoomtoMove would return to Brisbane with me to get the CB1100 Forum calendar he had insisted on collecting in person.
It came to pass that I set off from home in the late morning and made my way gently down the motorway to Nerang, where I parted company from traffic and set out on the back roads to the border. Knowing I was not at all “riding fit” and recognising that it was winter and would get colder as I headed south and up, I planned two shorter than normal days.
This freeway is a familiar sight at the start of any ride, although I didn’t quite like the look of the vehicle to my left. I was worried it might be proactive in drumming up business
It was good to be off the highway and into the country
My route took me through the Numinbah Valley to the border.
A minor border crossing from Queensland to New South Wales
Soon after I stopped for the first time at the Chillingham store for coffee and a sausage roll. The weather was looking more and more ominous.
From Chillingham, I rode the short distance to Murwillumbah with the sky darkening. As I turned west towards Kyogle, the first drops of rain landed, but soon stopped. I hoped it would continue to be the odd sprinkle.
Welcome back to life on the road, Cormanus. Within 10 kilometres, I was under a tree, hopping from one foot to another, as I pulled on the flouro, onesie waterproof to keep the rain out. It continued intermittently from there to Kyogle, putting a bit of a damper on a usually very enjoyable romp through a pleasantly winding road. More of a damper was added by the consequences of the massive rains that hit this part of the world earlier in the year: road damage here and lots of road works.
By the time I reached Casino, it was getting towards dusk so I found a billet in the Commercial Hotel.
