Well, what a day!
The rain had stopped for a few hours after dawn so I was able to pack up easily, and then put my soggy m/c gear back on. The helmet has developed a smell not unlike a fermenting durian. It was especially unpleasant putting it on when also cold and damp from the rain yesterday. I can’t wait to replace it when I get home.
First off – Esk Bakery. This place has been a sponsor of OzSToc for some time and is often a place for an RTE (ride to eat) for those in the club in southern QLD. So, I had to pay them a visit for breaky. Nice coffee, nice bacon/egg roll, nice scones. I have to say – Esk is a real gem. It’s a lovely little town.
The ride from Esk to Toowoomba was amazing – a brilliant twisty through the hills of the Deongwar State Forest up and down to Toowoomba. There was also low cloud/fog so at some places visibility was down to less than 50m. Needless to say, I took it slowly.
In Toowoomba, I made the obligatory stop to see Streak in Hip Pocket Workwear – and for the obligatory selfie. I’ll be seeing him in Wooli next week.
I then headed through The Falls and The Head of the Koreelah National Park towards the QLD/NSW border. The roads were very minor – sometimes barely wider enough for a car – lots of twisties, steep drop-offs, and absolutely spectacular views. I thought I might have got myself into trouble but it was worth it – again nice and slow and just soaked it up.
Up to that point there was only a little bit of drizzle – enough to wet the roads to increase the care factor. I had originally planned on camping at Ghinni Ghi to the south, but a warning sign of a bridge closed on the NSW side had me change my plans and head due east. Because of the weather, I wasn’t sure if I’d camp at Ghinni Ghi, but the bridge forced my hand and I headed to Byron Bay as my alternative… until the GPS started sending me to on to all sorts of back roads (I was already at my limit with the bike and trailer).
The weather also turned foul again – lots of wind and rain – and with the steep drop-offs and sloping shoulders I couldn’t tighten my sphincter any more so I decided to play for safety and just headed to the Gold Coast with the aim to turn south as I got closer. This plan was sound at first, but I ended up in GC peak hour. This didn’t last too long but I’d given up on Byron by this stage and just found a simple motel in Tweed Heads (much cheaper than a cabin at Byron). This has given me an opportunity to stay out of the wind and rain for the night, dry out all of the gear, and rest easy – it was a great day, but a struggle in the end.
If the weather is OK tomorrow, I’ll probably just stay in the tent in Byron. If not – we’ll see.