BMWMCQ JOURNAL DECEMBER 2018 AMENDED

DECEMBER 2018

www.bmwmcq.org

OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE BMW MOTORCYCLE CLUB OF QUEENSLAND INC.

Established 1958

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OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE BMW MOTORCYCLE CLUB OF QUEENSLAND INC.

The Committee President- Paul Hughes Ph: 0409 814 633 President@bmwmcq.org.au 1200 GS / 700 GS

Vice President - Richard Maher Ph: 0415 111 454 vpres@bmwmcq.org.au R 1150 R

Secretary - Duncan Bennett Ph: 0458 293 569 secretary@bmwmcq.org.au R 850 R

This Issue - DECEMBER 2018 Contents:Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Committee Reports . . . . . . . . . . 5 CHRISTMAS IN TIN CAN BAY. . . . . . 6 TREASURERS REPORT . . . . . . . . . . 7 General Meeting Minutes. . . . . 11 WARREGO RIDERS V THE REST. . . . 12 TURNING FOR HOME TONY-JANE. . . 14 LONG WHITEBAIT LUNCH NZ . . . . . 23 FOR THE AIRHEADS . . . . . . . . . . . 25

BMWMCQ Supports. . . . . . . . . . . 28 ADVERTISING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 BMWMCQ Events Calendar 2018. 30 Cupla Adverts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 FROM THE PEN OF JANE GRAY . . . . . 33 LONG WHITEBAIT LUNCH Continues. 33

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TeamMoto FRONT- Cover

Please note that photos from the Christmas Function at Tin Can Bay feature throughout the Journal.....Ed

Treasurer - John Eacott

Ph: 0428 383 826 treasurer@bmwmcq.org.au 2017 K1600GT 2016 R1200GS Tripple Black

Editor - Dave Hepburn

Ph: 0422 080 524 editor@bmwmcq.org.au R 1200 RT

Records- Greg Gaffney Ph: 0411424 219 records@bmwmcq.org.au R 1200 RT & R 90 S Events -Anita Wyndham Ph: 0414 431 751 events@bmwmcq.org.au F 650 GS

Regalia - Cindy Bennett

Ph: 0401 610 671 regalia@bmwmcq.org.au F 700 GS

Tools/Spares - Bill Luyten Ph: 0438 123 747 tools@bmwmcq.org.au R1150 Rockstar - R1200 GS LC

Caloundra Motorcycles Cafe2U - P.28 Good Wool Store - P.32 Munich Motorcycles - P.32 Northside Motorcycles - P.34 Morgan and Wacker- BACK Cover

O

n The Cover...

Late in the year Paul Hughes and Mark Mustchin umdertook a Tour that other than it being a Tour nothing else was planned. They decided at night or the next morning which direction they would travel... following them on Face Book was great...the cover shot is the Crowdy Head Lighthouse.

Sub Committee

• Dealer Liaison / Advertising - Don Grimes Ph: 0411 601 372 • Forum Moderator - Garry Hilton

Club Details BMW Motorcycle Club of Queensland Inc.

2. Improving the service and availability of spare parts for BMWs in Queensland using the advantage of a united effort.

Address all correspondence to: The Secretary PO Box 3669 South Brisbane QLD 4101

4. Organising day trips, tours and outings.

ABN 30 351 243 651

Monthly meetings are held on the first Thursday of the month at the:

Geebung RSL Club

323 Newman Road Geebung A Club Ride is usually held on the first Sunday after the monthly meeting.

BMWMCQ AIMS The objectives of the BMWMCQ are to increase the enjoyment of motorcycling by: 1. Improving the opinion of the public towards motorcycling in general and associated members particularly, by careful, courteous, considerate riding, especially when riding with the Club, and rendering assistance to all road users in difficulty.

3. Decreasing maintenance and running costs by mutual assistance on mechanical problems.

5. Encourage and support Regional Ride Groups 6. Affiliation with other clubs/associations where such affiliation would be of mutual benefit.

DISCLAIMER The views and opinions expressed in this Journal are those of each contributor and are not necessarily shared by the Editor, management, and / or membership of the BMWMCQ. The Editor reserves the right to refuse any advertising or delete any material which could be considered or interpreted as questionable, libellous or offensive, without consultation.

WEB SITE Visit: www.bmwmcq.org.au

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Editorial

DECEMBER 2018

Dave Hepburn

Editor’s Report

A

nother year draws to a close and for the BMWMCQ members I think generally it has been a great year. There are a few who have had to deal with personal issues of a medical nature and I have watched in admiration and awe as they manage their situations with great courage and style. Please remember that our thoughts and good wishes are with you all the time and you are not alone.

My heart goes out to all this Christmas who have had perhaps a not so nice a year and I sincerely hope that the New Year will be a better year for all club mem-

bers.

The Club arranged for the BMWMCQ members to partake of a Christmas Dinner at Tin Can Bay 1 December 2018 and the function was well attended. I know all members had a great time. Photos of the evening are scattered throughout the Journal.

Thank you to all the committee and members who helped to make it a great night with a special thank you to Judy Mortimer who went to lengths extraordinary to provide lovely table settings.

I am spending Christmas with family in NZ this year wand will not be back till the end of January 2019 so there will be a few days delay in the production of the February magazine. Contributors please note.

Merry Christmas to you all and may you all enjoy a very very happy New Year.

Bugger!!!! Just checked the photos and there are a significant number that are not the least bit flattering...so if your photo is not in the magazine please accept my apology...need a new camera or photographer.

BMW Motorcycle Club of New Zealand Newsletter Dec 2018 - Jan 2019

This is your monthly Club Newsletter.

Click HERE to open your copy of the November 2018 Newsletter and it will load automatically. To access our club’s Facebook page - Click HERE.

VENUE FOR BMWMCQ GENERAL MEETINGS GEEBUNG RSL CLUB 323 NEWMAN ROAD GEEBUNG MEALS OPEN AT 6.00 PM MEETING STARTS 7.30 PM

NEXT MONTH : 7.30PM 10 JANUARY 2019

Committee Reports Paul Hughes

DECEMBER 2018

5

President’s Report

November turned out to be a busy month. Mark Mustchin and I completed a near 3-week 7000 km ride through NSW and Victoria in weather that varied at times from super-hot (38 degree at Jervis Bay) and awfully miserable (Mt Hotham and Snowy high country).

We had a fabulous time and rode some really great roads. I personally wish it had never finished.

I want to thank Duncan and Greg for looking after the General meeting in my absence.

Well done guys, muchly appreciated.

I believe we had another great Service Day during my absence: Many thanks to Bill who puts these highly organised events on for us. Thanks to Rob for the use of his premises and his great hospitality.

Everyone who attended really enjoyed themselves.

The Christmas Party has just been this last weekend and a great turn out in an awesome location, resulted in a huge success. Thanks to all the staff at Tin Can Bay Marina Villas and Café for some really great hospitality and also the numerous other accommodation providers in town. We were made very welcome in deed. The annual BMW Motorrad prize draw for all current members was a success and a list of the lucky winners is in the journal. Many thanks to: BMW Motorrad, for such generous support and also to Morgan and Wacker, for administering the prize pool and also providing a supplemental prize of their own.

The decorations were once again expertly handled by Judy Mortimer and David Whale and I thank them for their great effort on behalf of all who attended; Greatly appreciated. There will be lots of photos posted here in the journal this month of the party. People from as far as Port Macquarie attended and had a ball.

We collected $460 odd dollars for our charity of choice the RFDS. I am sure they will appreciate the money and we certainly appreciate their coverage and great work.

Please don’t forget to check December and January events lists. The famous Jolly’s lookout Breakfast and lunch ride are on again. It is important that you indicate your attendance to these events. Numbers are needed to book venues and it is very hard for the event organisers if you don’t indicate you are attending to cater appropriately.

Finally, I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New year. I hope to catch up with everyone during this period at our various events.

Ride safe and enjoy.

Note: A raffle was held at the Christmas Dinner in which all current BMWMCQ members were represented. The following members were successful in scoring a M&W gift card and will be notified how to access them in the near future: WAYNE ANDERSON, RICK BURNS, ROBERT STEER, JILL BANKS AND PETER FANNING

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DECEMBER 2018

Richard Maher

Committee Reports Vice President’s Report

Committee Reports John Eacott

O

DECEMBER 2018

7

Treasurer’s Report

ur finances remain solid with some $21,300 in the bank plus assets (computers, service day items, etc). I’m pleased to say we have few un-named membership renewals made into our bank account but nonetheless I’ll remind you to add your name to ANY payment please to avoid the effort taken to find the owner of anonymous donations to club funds!

Our financial year rolls over in a couple of months and to comply with Queensland laws we need an Audit Verification, which should be cheaper than a full audit.

Before I commit club funds to this can I ask any member who has either a good auditor they can recommend OR have business contacts that will look after us, contact me ASAP? Thanks.

See you at Tin Can Bay for the Christmas Dinner, John Eacott Treasurer

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DECEMBER 2018

Anita Wyndham

Committee Reports Events Coords Report

There is no report from the Events Coordinater for this months magazine.

However, Anitia did manage to provide me with the calendars for December and January which I consider ti be prettyb bloody awesome. Thanks Anita..

Much appreciated....Ed.

Greg Gaffney

Records Officers Report

W

hat makes our club work is associating with other like-minded people who share our love for motorcycle riding, restoring, exploring and drinking.

It’s good to know which members live in our area. This is especially useful for our regional members.

When we carried out our major website upgrade last year, our old map of all members could no longer be used. We have now installed a new updated version of our members’ location map which, like the old one, shows the suburb only of members.

Please check out this feature on the website and let me know what you think.

Cheers Greg

Submissions for the Next Journal (FEBRUARY 2019 Editio

Committee Reports Bill Luyten

Service Day

T

he Club held a Service Day recently at Rob Wynne’s place. Most of the bikes had the GS-911 connected for a check and clear the odd random fault code as well as resetting a service reminder.

Rob has a very roomy workshop area so there was plenty of space. Even Charlie did an oil change on his not so bike looking Ford Territory using Rob’s hoist.

Thanks again to Rob for providing the workshop and BBQ. (Nice property Rob!) The usual Sausage Sizzle and drinks were provided for lunch ($30.40 was collected and will go to the RFDS).

Last of the Spares for sale at under Half Price (bargain) Filters - Air R1100s (LX628) x2 @ $5.00ea Brake Pads 520HF (front)- R60, R75, R80, R100 x1 @ $10.00 Tools for loan There are special tools available including the GS-911WiFi and 3 pin diagnostic tools.

Special Tools Twinmax electronic carburetor balancer (Twin BMW engines) Vacuumate (electronic synchronization of throttle valves up to 4 cylinders) Clutch alignment shafts (3 sizes) Compression gauge (cylinder pressure) Steering head bearing puller and seating tool Gearbox output flange puller GS-911 Wi-Fi Diagnostic tool (Wi-Fi and USB Version) GS-911 3 pin interface Tyre Pressure Monitor Sensor (TPMS) tool Enduralast hall sensor tester

Club Tool Loan $50 deposit (refundable) for GS911: Tools and spares can be picked up or brought along to the next meeting or Club ride.

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DECEMBER 2018

on) closes on 15 JANUARY 2019 - Just soes y’all know!!!!!!

Tool’s Report

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Committee Reports

DECEMBER 2018

Cindy Bennett

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Regalia Officer’s Report

Ho Ho Ho,

hat better gift for your BMW loving partner/friend/neighbour than some club regalia. We have caps from $15, polo shirts $38 and badges, pins and stickers for those stocking stuffers! Email me at regalia@bmwmcq.org.au to place your order or see me at the December monthly meeting on the 13th.

The below picture is of a recent ride we did re-visiting the wonderful Scenic Rim easy dirt roads (in fact, so easy you can see Duncan yawning in this pic…) This one was taken on Cannon Creek Road which runs parallel to the Boonah/Rathdowney Road and well worth doing even if you are a novice to dirt.

Cindy Bennett Regalia Officer

Committee Reports

DECEMBER 2018

Duncan Bennett

11

Secretary’s Report

BMWMCQ Meeting Minutes 1 November 2018 Venue: Geebung RSL Meeting Opened: Apologies: Minutes of Previous General Meeting:

7:35pm Paul Hughes, Richard Maher, Jim Borman, Mark Mustchin, Peter and Sue Ferguson, Derek Morwood, Rob Wynne, Darryl Gowlett, Mal Cremer, Don Grimes.

Accepted: Dave Hepburn

Past Events

Seconded: Charlie Brown 23 Alan Bell from Carindale, riding R1200RT Nil Nil Cash in bank $21,695. Currently 43 people for Xmas party Outgoings; ISSUE hosting $770, and a great deal on a notebook computer for the GS911 for $350.

Dave H requested an email be sent to all members notifying the date for the December’s meeting is 13th Dec. This was incorrectly stated in his journal editorial but was correct in the events section.

Service day at Ron Wynn’s 3 Nov, BBQ and come early if you wish.

Cindy displayed a good selection of regalia, if sizes not there it is quick and easy to get some made.

Current members 245, with 5 new members in October.

Some changes to club and lunch rides. Check club website home page or Facebook.

17th November cut-off for Xmas party. December’s club General meeting 13th Dec. German club on Dec 18th not Hamilton hotel.

Nothing to report.

Not in attendance Not in attendance Not in attendance Harrigan’s Irish Pub, Calypso Bay Jacobs Well.

Led ride likely for 18th November Nanango Go-Kart challenge with Warrego Riders, details to be finalised.

Nil Garry Bennett would like to find the club photo album. Email to be sent out to ask if anyone knows where it is.

Lunch ride to Cooyar Hotel on 28 October.

Closed:

7:56pm

Number of Attendees: New Members (Name & MC): Visitors: Returning Members: Treasurer Report: Editor Report: Tools Report: Regalia Report: Records Report: Events Report:

Secretary Report: Dealer Liaison Report: Vice President Report: President Report: Month Ride: Harrigan’s Leader: Nil TEC: Nil Other Events/Buy/Sell/Swap: General Business

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DECEMBER 2018

WARREGO RIDERS Versus the Rest

Editor’s Note: The club ride as advertised was changed to incorporate the Nanango Go-Kart Annual Challenge against the Warrego Riders. Harrigan’s Irish Pub was to be inundated by a very large contingent of 4 wheel enthusiasts and they had the good sense to let us know. So the ride on the 4th of November was changed to our Lunch day ride but I didn’t get much correspondence on that.

Last Sunday’s WR run had it all.

S

unday 18 November 2018: My day started slightly eventfully with a flat battery on the 690. Think I had a fuel issue of some sort as well – it wasn’t going anywhere. So, dusted off the 1190. Knew I should have changed that rear tyre a while ago, maybe 10%. While it proved a little heavy on the day, it is an awesome bike – need to ride it more.

A good sized group left Toowoomba on time.

We had 8 off-road riders and 3 on-road, led and recce’d by Reg, Matt and Mark. We were expecting a dozen or so from Brisbane, however their numbers ended up being very modest for various reasons. Thanks for joining us Frank and the rest of the crew.

A nice run up the 15 Mile and a really good blatt along the back of the Peachy State Forest: – lovely rolling views and smooth roads down into Crows Nest.

A quick stop to top up one of the little bikes, saw Robyn have a very unfortunate mishap moving her DR. It fell over and somehow she managed to have her hand in the wrong spot at the wrong time and broke a finger, stripping the flesh completely off the bone in the process. She has a very impressive pain threshold but, unfortunately, that was the end of the day for both Robyn and Luke. Such a shame: Surgery that night to reattach everything which was very successful. She’s quite sore now but will make a full recovery. Another war wound and story to tell, eh Rob!

Numbers slightly depleted, we headed up to Cooyar via Stockroute Rd. Such a sweet track, albeit a little sticky in places due to overnight rain. One off for Jan Bakker (I think it was) - a perfect 360 in a black soil gully. Thank goodness the bike started again – had been having some starter motor issues and it could have been pretty awkward trying to clutch start it down there! Fanged it through the Mt Binga State Forest picking up a few trails we missed last ride. It was nice to get on some new roads for the morning.

Smoko (a quick one) was at Gary McCoy’s CafÊ at Cooyar – he is setting it up well. They have confirmed that they won’t be selling fuel again. The coffee and tucker make up for that though.

We’d lost a little time by this stage, but decided to stick to the route, knowing we’d be an hour late to Nanango and the Go Karts. We were foiled by a road

that didn’t exist at the back of the Cooyar Range, but found our way through the Tarong National Park to arrive at the track just before noon.

The boys and girls had got a few hot laps in before we got there, so it was sleeves rolled up and race time. As always, plenty or argy-bargy with a few minor and good natured arguments over who had what kart number and the corresponding times. Lots of sweat and plenty of arm pump, with Jim Peters taking the day for the Warrego Riders. An enviable time of 56.009 seconds. Woohoooo – the Warrego Riders record is unblemished. Well done mate. I’ll give myself the most improved for the day. Picked up appx 3.5 seconds between my fastest lap in the first round and the second.

Was still a good 2 seconds behind Jim though. An honourable mention to Howard Cox as runner up (I think – am sure I’ll be corrected if I’m wrong). For those that are wondering, it wasn’t the slightest bit competitive.

The roadies headed for Toowoomba and Brisbane about 2.00 pm, with the balance of the group diving into the East Nanango State Forest. Lovely tracks through heavy timber: elevated in places and then down into creeks. Unfortunately we hit a locked gate (unauthorised of course) and virtually had to go all the way back to Nanango.

We found our way down to what I now know is the Old Coach Track between Nanango and Blackbutt.

It was closed due to damage done by 4WD’s, but what the hell, we took a punt and headed down. Very (very) rutted – lots of boulders and huge washouts (as always, the photo’s don’t do it justice). Got to the bottom and, following a creek, we ended up facing Mt Everest.

No chance of riding out and we couldn’t get across the creek. Seems there may have been a crossing that we missed – the obvious ones were ‘possibly’ doable, but would have taken a lot of time that we didn’t have by this stage. Also, no tracks were showing on maps (although we knew they were there) and wouldn’t have wanted another turnaround. Back tracked (nearly to Nanango – AGAIN) before heading down the Old Yarraman Rd, which turned into Din Din, another awesome stock route. Fast, tight riding, through some great country.

The group split, with some having work commitments and slabbing it back to Toowoomba via Yarraman. The other half nicked off to Blackbutt and the planned route down through Nukinenda and Anduramba. A great end to a good days riding: home to a beer at about 6.30 pm with around 400 km under the belt.

Thanks to all that made it and, as always, to Izak for his sweeping – another great day doing what we all love. You were missed Bec Fox. Commiserations to the Brisbane Ride Group – better luck next year people đ&#x;˜‰ See you in December everyone

WARREGO RIDERS Versus the Rest

DECEMBER 2018

Four Photos from Frank Hills

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14

DECEMBER 2018

TURNING FOR HOME - Tony and Jane

TURNING FOR HOME

“If you have a story that seems worth telling, and you think you can tell it worthily, then the thing for you to do is to tell it, regardless of whether it has to do with sex, sailors or mounted policemen.”

Dashiell Hammett ell I am sorry to inform you good reader that this, the sixth and final part of the Gray Ghosts 2018 European adventure, has nothing to do with sex, sailors or mounted policeman. It does have a lot to do with motorcycling and the adventure of travel so hopefully this will keep you entertained.

We finished the last episode crossing the Adriatic Sea from Dubrovnik to Bari after a great time in Croatia. We were about to come back to earth with a thud. Welcome to Italy. Now don’t get me wrong we love Italy especially that part along the northern border called the Dolomite Mountains and the beautiful Tuscan Hills south of the mountains. The south of the country was new territory for us and we were not prepared for the filthy rotting garbage that hit us as soon as we left the sea port at Bari. Escaping the city it only got worse with bags of garbage lining the highway with lay-bys’ in particular becoming community dumping grounds. It really is disgusting and needs to be addressed. This is after-all a first world country not some impoverished third world backwater.

The second shock to our system was the traffic, in density, poorly planned road works and flagrant disregard for basic road rules. The first two of these struck us early as we covered some quick miles to get across the country in a day using our ‘no toll road’ self-imposed policy. The traffic was reasonably heavy on the SS96 national highway when it slowed before coming to a complete stop. Now the Gray Ghost isn’t the slimmest of creatures when carrying a full touring load but we managed to creep and crawl our way along the snarled traffic for mile after mile expecting to reach some catastrophic disaster at the head of the ‘carpark’.

W

No it was just some poorly managed roadworks with witches’ hats pushing traffic into one lane then onto the other side of the road. There wasn’t a workman or police officer in sight - it was the middle of the day after all and long lunch time. The lost work time for those caught up in the mess must have been enormous.

The last 30 km of the journey from Salerno to Pompei took an hour during which we witnessed every road rule abused and broken with gay abandon.

The only place I have seen traffic that bad was on the sub-continent. Mobile phone use while driving is a national sport while the hordes of ‘scooteristi’ ride with the straps of their mandatory helmets flailing in the breeze while splitting traffic at speed with nary an inch to spare.

If the traffic doesn’t kill you then the smoking surely will. We are unused to the practice of ‘vaping’ in Australia and long may it remain a banned practice. It is not a pleasant experience to be following a car when the driver (or passenger) expels two lungs worth of vaping fumes into your face. It first appears that the car has self-ignited but alas NO it is just toxic vaping gases.

We are not negative people however and look to the positives of which there are many.

TURNING FOR HOME - Tony and Jane

DECEMBER 2018

15

We had a great B&B in Pompei with friendly hosts, the trip up Mt Vesuvius in a mini bus was err ‘exciting’ and the Pompeii ruins well worth a visit. We ran into another Aussie couple and had a good chat in ‘strine’ over dinner. This is always a delight after so long dealing with foreign languages and accents.

Lulled into this false sense of bonhomie I foolishly suggested to Jane that as we were so close to the Amalfi Coast we should go for a ride and enjoy its pleasures.

BIG MISTAKE! I cannot remember a more harrowing day on the bike and no amount of beautiful scenery can make up for the risks involved.

Continued page 16

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DECEMBER 2018

TURNING FOR HOME - Tony and Jane

The road is narrow and dangerous in places but the volume of traffic was several times the capacity of the road. In addition most riders/drivers on the road with the exception of us had suicidal thoughts.

Remember that this was during their `off season’.

Riding this in summer with greater traffic volumes and the heat WOULD be suicidal. It was interesting to read comments from friends after we put out a general post on Facebook.

My personal favourite was from a female friend of Janes’ who did the coast road in a tour bus and spent the time mostly with her eyes shut and praying with the rosary that her life would be spared.

Several times I thought about abandoning the ride and getting off the road but that is akin to getting a quick exit out of Ikea.

All 3 of us were glad to get back to our B&B unscathed especially the GG as her temperature went up quite high (as did ours) on a 28C day. A cold beer had never tasted so good.

We bade farewell to Pompei and pushed onto Rome where we had three days `off bike’ to explore the delights of the Eternal City. It is our case with big cities to find accommodation on a public transport route with safe and secure parking for the GG and then mingle with the local commuters. In Rome’s case we used the Tram/Light Rail to commute and the rolling stock looked like it had survived the Second World War We had one breakdown mid route as also happened with a metro train. The infrastructure of the city is antiquated and poorly maintained. The garbage has to be seen to be believed. We never saw a dumpster bin that was not overflowing with as much garbage on the street as was in the bin. During our time we never saw one of these bins on our `commuter route’ get emptied. The place is not only filthy with rotting garbage but there is graffiti everywhere and public toilets are as common as Christmas snow in Queensland. We were told by someone with knowledge of these things that the City luminaries had decreed that all hotels/restaurants must make their toilets available to the public thus

making provision of public toilets unnecessary. If that is the case then the rule/law is ignored (like all traffic laws) so buy a drink or do it in the street (as we saw happening). There may be light at the end of the tunnel however as in the weeks following our visit there was a huge protest demanding action over the appalling state of this once great city. To add to our delights the long summer drought broke bringing sometimes heavy rain during our first 2 days in Rome. The rain highlighted that all of the drains are blocked as well so the streets flood. It is however a city with a lot to offer for those willing to battle the crowds at the popular tourist attractions.

We came away with a much greater knowledge of the achievements of the Roman designers and builders but pleased that we had persevered to get around and enjoy as much as we could. It is doubtful however that we will return.

We were pleased to get back on the GG and head north following the coast (although it is not a true coast road) with a visit to that funny tower in Pisa (another box ticked) and a delightful ride over the Passo del Bracco behind the tourist magnet that is Cinque Terre.

TURNING FOR HOME - Tony and Jane

Fortunately the garbage disappeared as we got to the north of the country and the sun was once again shining. Our intention was to follow the coastline around the beautiful Italian and French Riviera through Monaco all in bright sunshine with the idyllic blue waters of the Mediterranean to delight us as we breezed through light traffic on serpentine roads on our way to Barcelona. Sometimes reality comes as a shock.

The road is not a true coast road for the most part, traffic was heavy especially so when trying to get through major towns like Genoa, the weather for the most part was very wet and when we saw the Med it was dark and brooding. We went through Monaco in a wet blur with the only memory being of Casino signs.

One of our most ‘interesting’ experiences along this road was posted to Facebook and I repeat it here for the benefit of the majority of readers not used to that tool of technology.

DECEMBER 2018

17

We had been following the main coast road from Rome, the SS1. For reasons only known to the Italian road workers they decided to close this major road about 80km into our journey. No warning, no detour directions just a road closed. There was a minor road adjacent to the blockage which led straight up the mountain with the only other options being the ocean or a turnaround which I hate. So up the mountain we went for about 3km on tight switchbacks where the road abruptly ended.

Return to blockage where we decided to take on the closed road to see if we could pass on the bike. What followed was about 10km of beautiful riding on a coast ride devoid of traffic until we came to a tunnel which was completely blocked. 17 Return to blockage where we found a French couple mounted on a Yamaha in full touring mode just like us. The road is closed my new French friend asked, sounding very much like Inspector Clouseau. Yes. Where are you going he asked. NICE, Nice? Nice, Nice? Nice, Nice? Ah NICE. YES NICE. Admittedly we were talking through helmets but Nice in an Australian accent must sound different to a Frenchman. Looking at his map he gleefully proclaimed - there is an alternative!

My judgment was obviously eroded from 2 weeks riding in Italy as I said - ah we will follow you. It was very obvious after a few Km that Inspector Clouseau did not have a clue and when he went the wrong way down a one way street I decided to leave him to his fate. An Italian road worker jumped out of his little bongo van yelling after the Frenchman then turned to us - where are you going? Nice.

Ah! there is an alternative: follow me in arm waving Italian speak. He took us to an on ramp to the Autostrada toll road and said something like 18km or 80 km to get past the blockage.

So onto the toll road we went determined not to pay a toll even though we had to take a ticket to open the gate.

Continued on page 18

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DECEMBER 2018

TURNING FOR HOME - Tony and Jane

Sailing along at 130kph when the heavens opened and I mean in Biblical proportions - I could definitely hear Ark building in the background. The road quickly flooded - Italian roads do not drain well. - So when we started to aquaplane I looked for an escape route. We presented at the manned toll booth in pouring rain with my visor slightly open and the toll attendant window similar. Ticket? NO. You speak English? NO. Road closed. Police said use this road NO TOLL (I lied). Ticket? NO. He obviously got sick of this charade and waved us forward to the closed gate to allow the car behind to pay and when the gate opened we escaped in the best Mr Bean fashion. The roads well and truly flooded but we made our way to Nice just before 6.30pm a trip of 250km in 8.5 hours with just 2 short stops for fuel and a coffee.

We spent a nice night in Nice and then both agreed (we also consulted the GG who said YES) that we should abandon the coast and head into the mountains. It was the right decision.

Just south of Nice the Route Napoleon starts.

This road follows the 100 day march path that Napoleon and his Grande Armee took to engage the English at Waterloo. History tells that he should have stayed on the coast. The road however is a delightful biker’s road that climbs past the historical town of Grasse famous for its perfume production on its way into the Maritime Alps.

The weather was fine and the riding delightful after what we had endured along the Coast.

We diverted off the Route Napoleon at Castellane into the Canyons du Verdon which is a great challenging ride through stark but beautiful canyons along the Verdon River.

We had ridden this region back in 2010 but some rides like this just demand to be ridden at any opportunity. The GG certainly enjoyed the change of terrain and traffic. We emerged out of the canyons into Provence another beautiful region of France but alas at this late stage of the year the lavender plantations for which the region is famous were not in flower. We stayed in Aix de Provence in order to visit the World Heritage site at the Pont du Gard a three tier Roman aqueduct spanning the Gardon River dating from the first century. As we meandered our way along back country lanes toward our goal we chanced upon a much more impressive looking and intact three tiered aqueduct without any fanfare but merely a simple sign - Rochefort Aqueduct.

A google search that night confirmed that this one was not of Roman origin having been constructed in the 19th century.

TURNING FOR HOME - Tony and Jane

DECEMBER 2018

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It was impressive however at 83 metres in height and 393 in length. This 3 tiered stone structure is as impressive today as it must have been when it was conceived and built in the 1830’s. The designer drew inspiration from its famous neighbour the Pont du Gard. At 49 metres in height it is the tallest of all Roman aqueducts and the only remaining example of one with three tiers.

How the Romans conceived and built this structure 2,000 years ago is almost beyond understanding. The construction tolerances and calculated water flow rates would be testing today using computer and GPS technology and built from reinforced concrete. The Romans worked with stones and arches - 6 at the bottom, 11 in the middle and 35 at the top.

Astounding! Quite properly this site is included on the UNESCO World Heritage Register. We could have spent a day here but had to push on to our last stop in France at Beziers where the North African influence was very strong.

Just on the edge of Beziers is the Forserannes lochs canal where the canal boats are raised/lowered a height of 21.5M in 300metres through a series of 8 loch chambers. Very impressive: but a tedious and time consuming exercise for the responsible crew member.

As we dressed to mount the GG, members of a tour party were partaking of a tipple from the Chateau de Cardboard at the side of their coach - at 10.30 on a Sunday morning: A very different way to travel to our chosen path.

Next stop Barcelona as we seamlessly crossed into Spain along the med coast past tacky ‘resorts’ of the Costa Brava so popular among the sun seeking Poms. For us Barcelona was all about Architecture and in particular that created by its most famous Architectural genius, Antonio Gaudi. Love or hate his work (it is challenging and polarising) there is no doubt that he really draws the crowds to Barcelona.

For our part we loved it and the city in general.

It is an impressive place. We headed to the hills after Barcelona with a stop in the tax free ‘Country’ of Andorra where we were able to replace some worn bike gear at the cheap prices on offer at the many bike shops. It is a motorcycle shop junkie paradise with more shops in a given area than any other place we have visited.

Weather for us in the Pyrenees after leaving Andorra was good with mild dry conditions for mid-autumn. The passes in the Pyrenees are not as high as the Alps or generally those in the Dolomites and they tend to run north-south between Spain and France, the old trading routes.

Continued on page 20

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TURNING FOR HOME - Tony and Jane

As such it is harder to string together a few passes and stay in Spain which was our preference.

Spain is much cheaper than its western European neighbours with fuel, accommodation and food all cheaper. Language was harder however with little to no English spoken in the more remote areas in which we were traveling. We were moving east to west along the line of the Pyrenees to the Picos de Europa Mountains to the west of the country.

This area was our highlight with great variety of roads in valleys and on passes with some picture postcard villages along the way. Stock and in more particular their droppings required constant vigilance.

TURNING FOR HOME - Tony and Jane

DECEMBER 2018

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Our ferry booking out of Bilbao was fixed and time was running out fast as we entered Portugal realising that we would have to leave Lisbon and the south until another time. Porto was very impressive if not a bit too touristy but beautiful nevertheless.

Traffic in Portugal, if avoiding the toll roads as we were, is very slow and congested. That is understandable as its 5 million people are squeezed into an area not much bigger than Tasmania. Another downer with Portugal was the extreme smoke levels. The cause was clearly evident and it was not from the traffic. Favourite pastime for the locals is to sweep up the leaves, and there are a lot in autumn, and then set fire to the pile. It really is horrendous and choking. What makes it more surprising is that Portugal suffered major loss of life and property in devastating bush-fires only last year and yet they still have this collective pyromania.

We achieved our goal when we got to ride the Douro River Valley inland from Porto as it wended its way along steeply graded hillsides laden with vineyards. It was such a nice ride that when we got to Pinhao we turned around and did the road in reverse.

We had only spent five days in Portugal and knew that we had only touched the surface. It is a place that we hope to revisit.

We got as far south as the holy city of Fatima and then turned north determined to at least ride one good bike road in Portugal. Time limits determined that to achieve this goal we had to abandon our ‘no toll’ policy for one day. What we discovered was these magnificent highways funded by the EU with 130kph speed limits that were almost devoid of traffic. Unbelievable: given what we had seen with the locals in their trucks and cars stuck in traffic congestion on the secondary network.

Back into Spain and destination Bilbao where not only a ferry awaited but a visit to the world famous Guggenheim Museum on the banks of the Nervion River.

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TURNING FOR HOME - Tony and Jane

To get there we had to cross the Pyrenees for the last time in late autumn and it was not going to let us escape lightly. The weather turned cold and windy as we climbed the mountains at passes over 1,000 metres. We could see dark brooding clouds ahead as we pulled into a servo to suit up and fortify ourselves with a stiff coffee. Now there were 2 other bikes at the servo. An Irishman from Cork: heading home after a trip to Morocco and a couple from outside London who had been enjoying Portugal. Now there was an Englishman, an Irishman and an Australian in this pub … sorry I digress. My point is that these northern hemisphere bikers were shivering and saying how cold it was so it wasn’t just our warm blooded selves who were feeling the cold. No sooner had we bade our farewells and set forth than the rain started and then got heavier and then started to splosh against the visor - at 130kph. I backed off the speed expecting that the rain that had turned to sleet may soon turn to hail. Fortunately it didn’t so the faithful GG just pushed on to Santander where we took shelter for the night before cruising into Bilbao next day.

The Guggenheim was a magnificent building as were many of the older parts of Bilbao. It was a fitting way to end our European adventure on the GG.

An overnight ferry crossing of the Bay of Biscay: a quick run up to London before washing the GG thoroughly: repacking our bags and bidding farewell to our good and faithful servant, the Gray Ghost. She had covered 16,641km on this trip and she was showing 175,326km on her life meter.

At time of writing we are back in England having spent a week in France for the Armistice Centenary celebrations driving a Fiat 500 but as they say in the classics - that is another story.

Tony and Jane Gray

Long Whitebait Lunch - Duncan Bennett Land of the Long White Bait Lunch – New Zealand Part 2

A

fter two nights in Te Anau, we backed up our tourism frenzy with two nights in Queenstown. As ex-west coasters in Tasmania, the differences between Queenstown and Queenstown could not be more absolute to us; one a famous mining town that rose and slowly fell, the other a famous mining town that rose and now has an international airport and a Louis Vuitton.

Dressing for success; adventure tourism on the Shotover and Arrow Rivers near Queenstown

The tourism included a bit of jet boating which is actually very good, and a sight-seeing/winery tour that took in the famous Skippers Road, some Lord of the Rings scenery, Arrowtown, a couple of wineries on the road out toward Cromwell, and a bit of panning for gold on the Arrow River. If we’d been seeking iron ore rather than gold the panning would have been a resounding success, but a couple of decent wines made up for mining failure. A special and delicious dinner at the Botswana Butchery in Queenstown rounded off the tourist capital of the southern hemisphere experience, although the dozen oysters wasn’t taken up as at least 4 pearls would be required to make the NZ$82 worthwhile.

Crown Saddle - Land of the Short White Jessica

DECEMBER 2018

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Day 8 we were back on the road heading to the west coast. Firstly, we had some fun motorcycling to do up the Crown Range Road switchbacks, before reaching the highest sealed pass at 1076m in the Crown Saddle for a quick pinkie flexing. We slipped off the other side into the narrow gullies where the temperature dropped to a challenging 2°C and brutally reminded us of the frozen pinkie traumas on the Milford Sound road. A chance to thaw with a coffee was taken at Cardrona; however, we had a big day ahead of us so pushed on before full thaw was achieved.

Through Wanaka, the only town in New Zealand starting with Wa and not Wai, then nek minnit (go on, Google it) we’d ridden through The Neck between Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka on the way up to Haast Pass.

Had worse motorcycling days

The day was warming up a little bit, but a stop to really warm up with a short hike was taken at the Blue Pools on the Makarora River. The pools are so clear that the depth is impossible to judge, until a girl decided that she’d jump in to the damn-near freezing water from the bridge and show us it was actually quite deep.

Hypothermia by proxy is a real condition

After that visual trauma, we rolled over the Pass and down onto the Haast River, noting the white bait fishing was underway with nets positioned on the banks of the river and streams, and a white bait festival was happening in Haast, making it the non-negotiable stopping point for luncheon. After some mucking about trying to find the festival in a town with a population of about 3 people, we hit the jackpot at the Frontier Café and tucked into a few cracking white bait fritters with chips. After the fuelling with white bait we did likewise with the bikes as the availability of fuel and whitebait further north was uncertain.

While we’re discussing fuel, New Zealand has brutal pricing which was a real shock to the system whenever we pulled in to a servo. Our first fuelling was in Lake Tekapo on Day 1, and the $2.60 per litre translated into about $66, certainly a long way north of anything we’d ever paid since the US$1.36 in Zimbabwe in 2017.

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DECEMBER 2018

Long Whitebait Lunch - Duncan Bennett soothing as he went off about fuel prices.

Pushing My Luck

Cindy had managed to get a Mobil card which gave us about 4 cents a litre off and it is lucky New Zealand South Island distances are quite small, however the locals were het up about it and it was always a topic of conversation led by the stunningly handsome host Duncan on breakfast television.

Went too far with this one

We pushed up the west coast, which was a mix of small farm areas and mountain spurs pushing into the Tasman Sea, the latter creating more motorcycling fun than the former. We had a wander down the beach at Bruce Bay, just so we could touch the water which had the recognisable taste of Australian saltiness. Vowing never to drink salt water to cure homesickness again, we continued slightly more inland through Fox Glacier, before the rain started while traversing the spurs running down from the Mt Cook – Minarets range that separates the famous glacial valleys.

Some concentration on riding was required due to the very winding and wet roads, so with some relief we reached the Wai-something (Waiho….Ed)River Bridge and rolled into Franz Josef Glacier, which fortunately turned out to be a town with accommodation and amenities rather than literally a glacier. Strangely for a place which has 582 rain days per year, the Rainforest Retreat had neither undercover parking nor any form of patio outside the room, so dripping bodies carting wet gear were forced to march straight into the small deluxe bedroom.

The bathroom was double the size of the bedroom, and for reasons probably unknown to the builder, the developer, or the architects, the bedroom TV audio was piped in and volume could be controlled from a remote on the wall in the shower. Not the picture though, why this was done remained a total mystery until the following morning when the dulcet tones of breakfast TV Duncan made our toilette

Sunbathing west coast New Zealand style, except gloves are normally worn Distracted by something that looked like a white bait fritter the moment the photo was taken

Day 9 was the biggie.

Officially 488km, the route would take us almost back to our starting point of Christchurch. We made it worse by starting with a back-track to get to the Franz Josef glacier lookout point, which put the day over 500km. Finally heading the right direction, we rolled up the coast famous for gold mining which became slightly more agricultural as the river valleys between spurs opened up. We decided our brief walk at Franz Josef deserved a coffee at a likely looking place in Harihari, mainly because the village deserved our custom for having a name that was easy to remember and didn’t start with Wai. A nice little shop was located that would once have been called a Milk Bar in Australia, but is called a Dairy in New Zealand, which had the added service of buying possum fur. Duncan the breakfast TV host’s biggest complaint after fuel is Australian possums which destroy native vegetation. Originally brought out in the 1850’s for fur but quickly running amok due to no predators like pythons, it is fabulous that the possum fur industry is finally taking off.

FOR THE AIRHEADS - and there are many

DECEMBER 2018

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MMM BOXERWORKS AIRHEADS GROUP PAGE Each month Mark will endeavor to provide a couple of links to his instructional videos on dealing with all matters pertaining to BMW Airhead Motor Cycles.

These are the three links this month to Facebook Video’s: https://www.facebook.com/Boxerworks/videos/547176309077113/

https://www.facebook.com/Boxerworks/videos/571279833308549/

https://www.facebook.com/Boxerworks/videos/729109397466574/

Long Whitebait Lunch - Duncan Bennett

Top prices paid for cash in Harihari, but not much paid for possum fur Almost within sight of Greymouth, which at that point we weren’t sure was pronounced Grey Mouth or Grumath; It’s Greymouth and I should know…..Ed. The right turn was taken to Arthur’s Pass. The road initially follows the Wai-something river, before scooting up the Otira River.

There was a bit of an engineering challenge before reaching Arthur’s Pass; a failing mountain spur has created a huge scree slope, while the other side looks even less stable so the only way around it appeared to be by going straight up the river on a viaduct, imaginatively named the Otira Viaduct. It was well worth a stop for photos because we’d forgotten what having warm fingers was like by then.

The Otira Viaduct, so called because it is a viaduct over the Otira River

Once over Arthur’s Pass, the drop down into the very wide Waimakariri River is quite sudden, and the ring of mountains and the increase in warmth inspired a lunch stop at the railway bridge over the river, which required some off-road riding skills to be dredged up from past memory files while getting down a steep gravelly road. Old concrete blocks on the bank of the river made the perfect location for the best scenic lunch of the trip, if we’d had white bait fritters then we’d still be there.

The perfect NZ romance; a man and a woman and 2 motorbikes at some place starting with Wai Then came a fabulous bit of riding down through the dry western side of the mountains and down onto the plains, with fast sweeping bends down through some rock formations and remnant mountains into Springfield. We decided that a coffee was required at a café with motorcycles parked outside, as our destination of Hanmer Springs was still a fair way off so a recharge was necessary. Things were going well as we suddenly found ourselves back on roads previously travelled on day 1, until we hit Oxford, when the GPS seemed to get a waypoint for its home at South Pacific Motorcycle Tours

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DECEMBER 2018

Land of The Long Whitebait Lunch NZ Pt 2

mixed into the route. Fortunately, Cindy’s GPS knew better so the gravel roads heading into wilderness were avoided, and eventually we popped out onto Highway 1 at Amberley.

Giant donut selfie at Springfield once we’d figured out why it was there The end was almost in sight now, and with a few more towns starting with Wai behind us, we pulled into Hanmer Springs at about 5pm, disgorging ourselves and luggage into Cheltenham House, a very fine B&B right in the action and only a short walk from the springs. We decided on a private room at the springs, and even though this wasn’t fair dinkum hot sulphurous waters, the aching muscles from 500km of riding in some spectacular country deserved the best. A few complimentary wines with our hosts and other guests, and an excellent dinner at Monteith’s Brewery Bar got us through the evening.

The famed consulting Procto-arborist Dr Bennett seeing a patient at Hanmer Springs Day 10 was a much-anticipated ride to the west coast of New Zealand, where we hadn’t been for almost a whole day. The reason for the insane navigation was to ride both Arthur’s Pass and Lewis Pass, although the mountains are a lot flatter in the north, so Lewis Pass wasn’t quite so cold that chilblains were a major risk. Eventually bursting forth from mountainous country, we found ourselves in the mining town of Reefton, notable as the first town in NZ to have electric light. I was going to say in 2006 but decided breakfast TV’s Duncan might be offended so decided against it. After a lunch next to what must be the world’s largest skate park, indicating that youth have little to do in Reefton, we kicked onto toward the coast. A brief stop was made at the coal mining town of Blackball to check that we hadn’t been blackballed from the west coast club, and we rolled into Greymouth (by now realising that it is pronounced grey mouth) to check it out rather than head nine miles north to the B&B at Nine Mile. Everyone had dissed Greymouth as having nothing to offer, but the history of the proud gold, coal, and timber town presented on the flood wall along the river is very well done.

Having flooded over twenty times since the town was founded, two floods in 1988 prompted building the wall which hasn’t gone under since.

The pub formally known as The Blackball Hilton borrows the Prince naming convention

With coffee and petrol ingested, we did the nine miles to the B&B which has fabulous views of the Tasman Sea from the rooms. We decided on a wander down to the beach and came across a seal which wasn’t very keen on us and bolted when we got close. We tried not to disturb it, and in so doing a big wave got me from the knees down and so the traditional drying of gear continued, but this time of the evening wear rather than the bike wear. A great ploughman’s platter accompanied by a sunset, and our welcome back to the west coast was complete.

West coast trifecta; seal, ploughman’s, sunset

Superb B&B breakfast dispensed with, Day 11 was looking a bit iffy in regard to weather, but a GPS tour stops for no rider so we hit the road heading north once more. Through the edgy sounding Barrytown, we stopped to check out the amazing pancake rocks at Punakaiki, and then stopped for a lengthy coffee at a van on the side of the Fox River. After throwing the ball for the van owner’s dog Peanut about 100,000 times, we kept going on for the next mini-break at Mitchell’s Gully Gold Mine. The gold mine is owned by the self-proclaimed world’s laziest miner, whose great-grandfather started it in the layers of ancient sands that were deposited from the ocean currents that sweep up from south of Greymouth. The gold is very fine and grades aren’t fabulous, but the Mitchell in charge makes a living creating bespoke wedding rings, for which he just goes out and

Land of The Long Whitebait Lunch NZ Pt 2

DECEMBER 2018

27

produces enough gold from the mine as is required. Next stop after a wonderful unsupervised poke around in tunnels in the compacted sand cliffs and a look at the old crushing batteries and mercury amalgam tables was a detour to Cape Foulwind to see a seal colony, although we weren’t sure whether the five or so seals present officially makes it a colony.

Like being encouraged to juggle chainsaws during your first ice skating lesson

As we didn’t know to bring any children, we were forced to borrow one from an unlocked car

It was heading on to lunch time, so we decided a detour into the town of Westport, famous as the only town in the South Island with a name starting with W that has a following vowel that isn’t an A. We found a likely lunch place after a bit of cruising of the main street, and were excited to find that whitebait sandwiches were on the specials menu.

The whitebait fritters were spectacular and combined with some of the freshest white bread possible, this lunch will live on in our memories for a very long time, it was really that good.

Another day in New Zealand, another cockfight

Having driven around Westport 12 times and using $10 of fuel looking for a Mobil to get our 4₵ per litre discount, we recognised that the Mobil was a GPS imaginary destination so gave up and filled up at a non-discounting servo before heading east on the Buller Gorge Road.

This is a great motorcycling road that follows the Buller River to Murchison, and we were enjoying the winding track and riding under the Hawk’s Crag overhang when we decided a refreshment stop was required at the Buller Gorge Swing Bridge.

The swing bridge had a fee to cross which seemed a bit rich, but the bloke in the office was so convincing that we decided we’d better do it. A look at the bridge and we realised our money wasn’t wasted, it looked really long and really flimsy. At 110m it is really long, and out in the middle the thing is bouncing and wobbling like an ADHD 3-year-old on double-shot Robusta espressos.

Helpful sign in case anyone forgets the word for a large volume of flowing water Having completed our fourth walk for the day, we’d had enough of that and as we were on a motorcycling holiday we needed to re-focus and just ride. It was a fair old slog heading into Nelson which seemed to be the size of New York, coming from the south-west requires first passing through the towns of Richmond and Stoke which are basically attached. The B&B was right on the edge of town, which turned out to be only 4 blocks big. Nelson was our final twonight stay, which meant we could enjoy our winery/brewery tour the next day in an unconstrained fashion. Nelson wines aren’t as popular or well known as the Marlborough wines, but after a couple of dozen wine tastings and six different beers at lunch no-one was able to make any fine distinctions on nose or palate, nor cared.

Continued Page 34

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DECEMBER 2018

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30

DECEMBER 2018

Date

Time

Sat 1-2

6:30 PM

BMWMCQ 2018 Events Calendar

BMWMCQ Club Events Schedule December 2018 Event

BMWMCQ Christmas Party

Details

Coordinator

BMWMCQ CHRISTMAS PARTY Tin Can Bay Marina Bar & Grill Cnr of Oyster Pde and Emperor St, Tin Can Bay, Queensland 4580.

Paul Hughes president@bmwmcq.org.au

Refer to the Club web calendar for booking details.

Thur 13

7:30 PM

Club General Meeting

Mon 10

7.00 pm

Committee Meeting

6.00 pm

German Club in Lieu Hamilton Hotel on Wednesday

Sat 15

Tue 18

Sun 23 Sat 29

Paul Hughes president@bmwmcq.org.au

As there will be no lunch run this month we will head out of town for a brunch. Details will be published once the booking with the venue has been confirmed.

Anita Wyndham events@bmwmcq.org.au

No ride will be organised for December

Anita Wyndham events@bmwmcq.org.au

Coorparoo RSL 45 Holdsworth St

10:00 AM Coffee Run

11:00 AM Sunday Lunch Ride TBA

Geebung RSL Club. Meals from 6:00pm with meeting commencing at 7.30pm. ALL WELCOME! Come and meet people who share a common interest. Geebung RSL Club, 323 Newman Road, Geebung Qld

The Last Ride (for 2018)

Paul Hughes president@bmwmcq.org.au

Brisbane German Club, 416 Vulture Street, East Dave Hepburn Brisbane: Come along and enjoy the company of your fellow Club members. A limited amount of parking is available in the club carpark however, if this is full, parking is available on Duke and Linton Streets. Arrive any time after 6:00pm.

A ride for those who are at a loose end over the break.

This day has been flagged as the last ride for 2018. At the time of printing no firm plans have been made so if you would like to lead a casual ride let me know.

DATE Fri Sat Sun 1719 May 2019

EXTRAORDINARY EVENTS CALENDAR TIME

All Weekend

EVENT

DETAILS

BMW OWNERS CLUB SOUTH AUSTRALIA

PELICAN RALLY 2019 BIENNAL Rally which will be held at CAMP KEDRON on the Banks of Lake Bonney riday to Sunday 17th to 19th May 2019… more details will be posted closer to the event

CONTACT

BMW OWNERS CLIUB SA PO BOX 193 NTH ADELAIDE SA 5006

DECEMBER 2018 BMWMCQ 2018 Events Calendar BMWMCQ Club Events Schedule January 2019 Date

Tue 01

Time

Event

Details

Coordinator

Public Holiday 7:00 PM Committee Meeting

New Year’s Day

Paul Hughes president@bmwmcq.org.au

Thu 10

7:30 PM Club General Meeting

Meals from 6:00pm with meeting commencing at 7.30pm. ALL WELCOME! Come and meet people who share a common interest.

Paul Hughes president@bmwmcq.org.au

Sun 13

7:00 AM Club Ride

Jolly’s Lookout Annual breakfast ride to Jollys Lookout. Bring your own tea/coffee and food for an early BBQ breakfast then ride out to Farmers Arms Hotel on the New England Hightway near Highfields.

Anita Wyndham events@bmwmcq.org.au

Wed 16

6:00 PM Hamilton Hotel Social Dinner

Anita Wyndham events@bmwmcq.org.au

Sat 19

9:00 AM Coffee Ride

Hamilton Hotel, 442 Kingsford Smith Drive, Hamilton Come and enjoy a social night in the company of fellow club members and share a tale or two.

There is plenty of parking available. Don’t forget to use your senior’s card for a great value meal.

Coffee Club Wynnum 70/80 Bay Terrace, Wynnum, QLD, Australia, 4178 Come and join us for great coffee, great food and great company.

Sun 27

12:30 PM Lunch Ride

Mon 07

Mon 28 Tue 29

Anita Wyndham events@bmwmcq.org.au

Killarney Hotel, Anita Wyndham 17 Willow Street, events@bmwmcq.org.au Killarney Qld Make your own way there or watch the Facebook event notice to see if there will be a group heading out.

Australia Day Holiday

Public Holiday 6:00 PM German Club Brisbane German Club, 416 Vulture Street, East Social Dinner Brisbane Come along and enjoy the company of your fellow Club members. A limited amount of parking is available in the club carpark however, if this is full, parking is available on Duke and Linton Streets. Arrive any time after 6:00pm.

events@bmwmcq.org.au

Whilst all details are correct at the time of printing, last minute changes may be required for reasons beyond our control. Please monitor the event details on the club webpage or Facebook for published changes.

You would like to organise a ride? Send the details to events@bmwmcq.org.au to have the details posted into the Club calendar.

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DECEMBER 2018

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Get your message out to people who own, ride and restore BMW motorcycles. Rates are below.

Phone your requests to Don Grimes - Ph: 0411 601 372 Good Wool Store Pty Ltd 49 Queen St BERRY 2535 P 02 4464 2081. F 02 4464 3344

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From the Pen of Jane Gray

DECEMBER 2018

WEST, OVEST, OESTE, OUEST 5 weeks in UK & Ireland & 2 on the Isle of Man 4 weeks heading East enjoying everything that we can Time was of the essence so we turned & headed West Could our days get any better? Should we stop & have a rest?

Across the Adriatic on a ferry to Bari A not so pretty city on the coast of Italy We didn’t hang around there, we rode over to Pompeii To see what Mt Vesuvius did on that fateful day Riding the Amalfi, our hearts were in our mouth Sheer cliffs & crazy traffic were part & parcel of the South Next stop The Eternal City with its ancient history Rome’s overflowing rubbish spoiling the mystery Don’t get us wrong, we saw its charm hidden in the grime But the Med & Riviera were beckoning for our time Popping into Pisa we saw the Leaning Tower Rappello & Genoa, before it began to shower That shower became a torrent, we were almost washed away So nice to get to Nice at the end of a tiring day We left the coast for Provence & the Canyons du Verdon We’d been before & savoured the breathtaking scenes to come Rugged rocky mountains split by gorges oh so deep Sitting on the back I sometimes tried hard not to peek Aqueducts & viaducts built 2000 years ago We had to cross the Pyrenees before it began to snow Through Beziers & Costa Bravo we rode to sunny Spain Arriving in Barcelona after heavy soaking rain Gaudi’s architecture is unique to say the least So much in Barcelona you could really have a feast Andorra is a tax haven principality So many motorcycle shops with every accessory Days of riding the Picos d’Europa & the Pyrenees Loved to have stayed longer but had a date with the Portuguese Porto with its famous bridge & blends of Port as well Fatima with its Holy Shrine, Amarente’s magic spell We would have ridden further south but our days were running short We high tailed it on the motorway to Bilbao, our ferry port The weather now was turning cold as it began to sleet Returning through the Pyrenees I couldn’t feel my feet!

Bilbao has its Guggenheim with lots of modern art Hail storms out of nowhere - time to go back to “Old Dart” We sailed the Bay of Biscay in conditions almost calm Rocking just enough at times to set off car alarms Portsmouth to Egham, London, to Motofreight depot Gray Ghost got a thorough scrubbing so she could sail back home Reluctantly we bid goodbye to our trusty, faithful girl We had more commitments while on this side of the world The Eurostar to Paris for a few days with good mates The Loire & the Somme where the 100th Armistice awaits Finally to finish off, a week with family A cottage in the Cotswolds will do just beautifully

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DECEMBER 2018

Land of The Long Whitebait Lunch NZ Pt 2

Cindy crossing the Blue Nile for the first time since Ethiopia Day 12 weather had moved beyond iffy and patchy into relentless. It was raining heavily when we got up and it rained heavily almost all day. Thank heaven for the BMW GS Dry suits which did a good job so long as zips were remembered to be zipped, but my water-proof boots were discovered early to have transformed into water-capturing and water-retaining boots at some point since early in the year. By Havelock, the allegedly fabulous motorcycling road of Queen Charlotte Drive around the water to Picton was very unattractive to all cold and sodden motorcyclists, so they took the shortcut straight to Blenheim. Fortunately, a downtown car park provided enough room under cover while also offering a certain uncaring attitude toward pant-and-sock-free display from passers-by who seemed more concerned with finding a park. A nearby restaurant was entered, and for the second day running a magnificent, although not quite as stunning as Westport’s, white bait fritter sandwich was hoovered up. With a change of smalls and the garments refreshed, we pushed on with improving weather down a nice road which runs alongside the South Pacific Ocean, all the way to our final tour stop in Kaikoura.

Snow seems to put the bathing crowds off at Kaikoura

Kaikoura was having a mini-boom due to the road works crews staying in the town to repair the massive damage to the highway and railway caused by the November 2016 earthquake. Every restaurant and bar was packed with road workers which added an odd aura into the atmosphere of what would likely be a hipster-friendly eco-touristy town under normal circumstances.

It looks unpleasant, but in fact was a lot worse in real life

Day 13 was the final day of riding with the plan simply to get back to SPMT. Having dried our gear to the point where moisture was only just discernible in most items worn against the skin, we were dismayed to see the weather appeared to be just like early Day 12. With little choice but to enjoy a breakfast with our hostess who was a serious touring rider and harden up and get on with it, the stuff was loaded on for the last time, the plastic shopping bags were wrapped around the feet before sliding them into the boots, and we headed off in the rain.

When it’s 5°C and raining, somehow these names don’t

help After a seriously tough slog, we made it to the Paddock Café in Cheviot which had a roaring fire and whose management team didn’t seem to care about our dripping. Once relatively dry and refreshed with a lamb and rosemary sausage roll, loins and everything else were girded and we forced ourselves back out into the freezing rain. This section took us from Cheviot to Amberley, and we later agreed was some of the hardest riding we’d ever done, even worse than the horrible sandy road heading into Aus in the heat in Namibia.

Fortunately, Amberley had a service station with a roaring fire and even a jigsaw puzzle set up on a table which took our minds off the wet. Having completed a fair amount of the puzzle to procrastinate, we re-installed wet gear and mounted up for the final leg back to SPMT.

Land of The Long Whitebait Lunch NZ Pt 2

Triumphant return to SPMT over a carpet of cherry blossoms laid just for us

The welcome from the SPMT team lifted the spirits tremendously, especially the hot cup of tea and the chance to get into some dry clothes. We gave a de-brief, but apart from some whinging about NZ fuel prices and weather which SPMT probably can’t do too much about, we could not fault the professionalism of the crew regarding the motorcycles or the accommodation or the GPS set-up and the list of attractions. Easy to give SPMT a very high recommendation.

After Mike had given us a lift into town, the evening was spent drying absolutely everything and having a last go at some excellent craft IPA’s and yet another excellent dinner, before stuffing everything back into bags for the short flight home to the warm and dry familiarity of SE QLD.

The end of NZ: Until next time.

The harsh reality of NZ motorcycle riding improved by a chandelier Duncan Bennett #4171

DECEMBER 2018

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