wordsmith Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 My planned very short midwinter break and three-day trip over 854km has come and gone, and not without a little drama. I left home around 9am and had an entirely uneventful run north along the Bruce Hwy to Gympie, about halfway to my destination of Bargara, a very pleasant small seaside village on the edge of the Coral Sea just east of Bundaberg. The sun was shining its head off, continuing what can only be described as an Indian winter, as I made good time in temperatures up to 26ºC (79ºF). At Gympie a well-known café/ bakery beckoned. Inside, the very pleasant young girl asked where I was heading: being told to Bundaberg she advised me that there had been a major traffic incident further north, near Childers. Apparently a tanker had overturned and the highway was cut. A bit perplexed as to what to do, I asked her if any detours were in-place, at which she whipped out her smart-phone and quickly called-up the GPS, showing me a possible detour I could take. Decision time! Shakespeare put it well - "whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" and have to stand by the roadside possibly for hours, "or by opposing, end it" with a detour. It looked as if it would be quite some distance out of my way (it turned out to have added only about 24km to the overall ride), but as I didn’t fancy a delay for an unknown time waiting for progress to be restored I decided to take that detour. The incident made TV news later, as a massive fuel spill of some 20,000L from the overturned tanker had the highway cut for over ten hours. Turning off the highway, then, to start my detour inland – to the west – I was quite cheered to see the new chosen road was signed as the Bunya Scenic Tourist Drive, so it promised to be a little more interesting than the boring Bruce Hwy. I turned off onto another rural road at the suggested point, and rounding a bend at a fair pace my heart leapt into my mouth at the sight of a large sign warning ‘gravel road ahead for 12km’. Now that would have been OK on my GS, but the Tracer had a full tank of fuel and the panniers were full too, and it would have been a handful had the wheels decided to go in different directions! But they didn’t, and in fact the road was chiefly smooth hard-packed clay, which would have been very slippery in the wet! A very steep camber to both sides did make things a little tentative where there was some light gravel about, but overall it was not too bad as I kept the bike in fourth gear at about 60 – 65kph. Several narrow bridges were signed ‘no overtaking on bridge’, which was not an issue as there were as no other vehicles about – these bridges were typical country fare, made of railway sleepers lightly dusted with tar, which gave the suspension a bit of a workout. After much research and tweaking I have got the suspension on this bike pretty much worked out now, and with the addition on this ride of the 17.7kg panniers (including contents) any minor residual rear-spring harshness disappeared altogether. The ride, if not exactly 'plush', was certainly very acceptable. Eventually I was finished with the gravel section, which as always seemed to last for longer than it had, and was back onto tarmac, albeit now on a very narrow poorly-maintained road. A pair of small white-painted crosses beside a very large tree suggested recent fatalities at that spot and lead to a bit of caution and reflection as I proceeded. Then another sign – ‘warning – unfenced road next 24km - cattle ahead’. This is not uncommon in country Australia, and I have faced this at other times – the trick is to proceed very slowly and carefully, hand well away from the horn button and with no sudden movements, as even the largest and heaviest beasts can become very skittish and can move erratically and quite quickly if spooked. But all was well, and I stopped after riding through the herd to take a pic of the animals milling about. I was happy finally to join the Isis Hwy, which then took me back onto the Bruce, past the traffic incident, and I made good time to my destination after legs of 203km and 238km respectively from home and a total of 5 hours 31 minutes in the saddle, the longest unbroken saddle-time being a whisker under three hours at 2 hours 58 minutes. Long enough... The Bundaberg area is a prolific sugar-cane growing region, and it was horizon-to-horizon cane along the latter part of the ride. It was also the natural place to build a distillery way back, and Bundaberg is now home to the iconic Bundy rum brand. I enjoyed a full day off the bike at Bargara, and strolled around in the sunshine, enjoying the sea views and fresh air. Balmy! The ride home back down the highway was uneventful, except that although still very bright and sunny it had turned very cold, starting out at only 15ºC (59ºF). Further south the cold snap had brought snow to the Southern Alps, which would no doubt have pleased holidaying skiers there, but for me it was case of layering-up, even to the extent of donning a silk balaclava to keep ears and face warm under the helmet. It was also extremely windy, and the southerly gale was right in my face as I proceeded, and at time the gusts were so fierce that it felt as if I’d run into an arrestor-wire on an aircraft carrier landing deck! The first longish return leg was a sedate 217km and with 2 hours 49 minutes in the saddle, leaving only 207km to go, and some heavy traffic on the highway as I neared Brisbane. I had zeroed the fuel consumption trip before departing, and the overall figure for the 864km was a satisfying 3.9L/ 100km. The Tracer is now pretty grubby from the ride, and thick with dust from its foray into the bush, so its first good bath is in order! Some pix follow: • along the way – a typical country homestead • along the way – a very old railway bridge now long disused • herd of cattle wandering along with not a care in the world • bike at Bargara • beach scene at Bargara • horizon to horizon sugar-cane around Bundaberg. (In the bike pix the painted panniers appear very silvery, probably because of the white primer I used; in the flesh the colour-match with the darker gunmetal grey tank is very much closer). Happy days! Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted July 20, 2017 Supporting Member Share Posted July 20, 2017 Great trip report. Sometimes the unforeseen events make for the most memorable part of the trip. So, the verdict everyone is waiting for... how was the new seat? I got mine delivered last night and it will be a few days before I can get it fitted and able to evaluate properly. ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member 2and3cylinders Posted July 21, 2017 Premium Member Share Posted July 21, 2017 I've read and seen videos of down under but was surprised by your pics as to how green and relatively similar the vegetation appeared to coastal parts here in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suncoaster Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 Nice pics Lawrence! I found that California looks similar to OZ due to the Eucalyptus which were exported from Australia to Cali in the 1850s. Quite surprising going East to West in USA, arriving in LA is like coming home, the gum trees are really characteristic. Burn well too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted July 22, 2017 Author Share Posted July 22, 2017 Nice pics Lawrence! I found that California looks similar to OZ due to the Eucalyptus which were exported from Australia to Cali in the 1850s. Quite surprising going East to West in USA, arriving in LA is like coming home, the gum trees are really characteristic. Burn well too Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted July 22, 2017 Author Share Posted July 22, 2017 Nice pics Lawrence! I found that California looks similar to OZ due to the Eucalyptus which were exported from Australia to Cali in the 1850s. Quite surprising going East to West in USA, arriving in LA is like coming home, the gum trees are really characteristic. Burn well too Should read "burn too well"! 8-| Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimmie Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 Sounds like you had a great time! Nothing beats catching up with people. Gotta love the pics of Oz away from the cities...there's so much nothingness but with so much to see. I know a contradiction in terms but not..... Glad you enjoyed the time out. Kimmie......the lady who likes to take little detours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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