Wing Notes

Newsletter of the

June 2006

Checking out an AGM venue

What’s Inside?

 

 

The Editor Writes

The President Speaks

The Secretary’s Desk

Binna Burra Ride Report

Melbourne to Hasting Point

Jayne’s Trivia Quiz

Bear’s Necessities…..

The Rust Report

Bunya Mountains Ride

Not a good day out of the office

Qld Ride Calendar

Vic Ride Calendar

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www.auswingriders.com

Australian Wing Riders Association (Qld) Inc

PO Box 719

Ashgrove    Qld     4060


 

Wing Notes

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE AUSTRALIAN WING RIDERS ASSOCIATION QLD INCORPORATED

 

 

EDITOR:.............Bevan Bradford

Phone:  07 3822 3512

Mobile 0408 714 000

E-Mail:     mail @ auswingriders.com

 

Wing Notes is produced with the object of keeping members informed about matters of interest to AWRA members.  A electronic copy of each issue is available to every financial member of the AWRA.  Copies are also distributed to selected motorcycle dealers in the greater Brisbane area

Submissions for inclusion in Wing Notes should be with the Editor no later than the Friday following the monthly meeting, i.e.: Friday after the 1st Monday of the month.

DISCLAIMER:  Although Wing Notes will endeavour to reproduce submissions in their original form it reserves the right to edit submissions as it sees fit.  Views expressed in contributed articles in Wing Notes are not necessarily those of the AWRA or the Editor.  Wing Notes is produced with care, in good faith and from sources believed to be accurate at the time of writing.

 

 

Management Committee:

Meetings:

President

Clint Lovell (07) 3398 3437

E-mail: clinton @ lovell.com.au

Meetings are held on the

1st Monday of every month

Vice President

Rob (Bear) Harriss 0409 052 218

E-mail: RHMRS @ bigpond.com.au

Next meeting:     3rd July 2006

7:30 pm

Secretary

Val Thomas (07) 3848 0498

E-mail: secretary @ auswingriders.com

Pineapple Hotel
706 Main Street, Kangaroo Point, Brisbane

Treasurer

Geoff Mead  (07) 5529 5034

E-mail: meady @ auswingriders.com

Check the web site for a possible July meeting venue change

 

 

Safer Work Places

Upcoming activities:

 

 

18th June                Queen Mary Falls Ride

24th June                Social Ten Pin Bowling at Capalaba

3rd July                   Next General Meeting – watch the web site for venue details

22nd – 24th Sept      Biker’s Dream weekend

Cna yuo raed tihs? fi yuo cna, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too.

 

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mind.  Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres are in a wrod, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!


 

The Editor Writes…..

The President Speaks….

The Secretary’s Desk….

G’day everyone

 

Here is the June magazine.  There are plenty of stories and even an activity to keep you amused on these cold winter nights.  I guess our Victorian members might question what I call cold but there you go.

 

Not everything in the magazine this month is good news however.  Unfortunately while out riding last weekend, Thommo and Val took a fall and Val has a seriously injured shoulder.  It will require surgery to fix the problem but the bright side of that is that Val will get a short but painful holiday.  I hope Thommo can look after himself.

 

It was a sobering moment for all of us present.  One moment a ride full of the usual joking and laughter, the next a rider down call.  Just takes a moment and everything changes.

 

It was terrific to see everyone swing into emergency mode and secure the site, attend to the injured, manage the passing traffic and get the bike back up on its wheels and checked over.

 

Having just got off the phone to Val, it was great to hear her sounding her usual happy self in spite of the pain she must have been in.

 

Hang in there Val and get well as soon as you can

 

‘Till next month,

Happy reading.

Bevan

Hi all,

 

Well, what a meeting we had last Monday night.  The Pineapple Hotel is undergoing renovations so we were relegated to the restaurant.  Much too much noise to hold a meeting so I tried to keep it as short as possible.  Not something I like to do as everyone should always get their chance to air their views on club workings.  However I managed to keep this one at around half an hour.  Quite a few never heard a word anyway.

 

Next month the renovations will be still on so we will most likely be meeting at another place.  Rob Steer has offered a conference room at the Gabba.  Only drawback will be that it has no eatery.  Sacrifices! Sacrifices!

 

Keep an eye on the website and your email for more information as it comes to hand.

 

 On a sad note, Thommo had a small “off” on Sunday, but unfortunately Valerie was ejected from the bike and landed hard on her right shoulder.  The injury will probably have her off the bikes for a while.  Get better soon Val.

 

Cheers

 

Clint

Hello everyone,

 

Bevan is writing this message for me.  As you probably know, Thommo and I had a bit of a spill last weekend and as a result the keyboard skills are a bit lacking at the moment.  As The Secretary’s Desk notes were not ready before the ride, these are being prepared without my input so I will not be held responsible for anything Bevan says.

 

I might also add that for the same reason, this month’s general meeting minutes will also not appear in the magazine.

 

Once prepared, Bevan will make them available on the website for all.

 

Thanks Bevan (until she reads what I‘ve written, Editor)

 

Safe riding everyone.

 

Valerie & Thommo

Things to remember.

 

§         Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

§         Never pass up an opportunity to go to the bathroom.

§         If you woke up breathing, congratulations! You get another chance; and finally

§         Be really nice to your family and friends; you never know when you might need them to empty your bedpan


BINNA BURRA RIDE REPORT MAY 2006

Well it almost didn’t happen. We had a ride scheduled for the ride day. Yea!! Ride Coordinator happy & relieved. Oops. The ride captain had to pull out a couple of weeks short of the ride. Woe^%$# Ride Coordinator sad. No problemo. In rides Larry on his white red stallion and offers to organise a ride. Yea!! Ride Coordinator happy & relieved. Oops. Larry not well and has to pull out. Woe^%$# Ride Coordinator sad, (for unwell Larry), and perplexed about ride. No problemo. Ride Coordinator gets out map and looks at ride possibilities. Ride Coordinator sees some potential but only one week before ride is scheduled and with Mothers Day on Sunday will have no time to scout ride and look for lunch venue. Woe^%$# Ride Coordinator sad. Ride Coordinator has, (rare), idea (*)!!**%%@@## . Take children’s mother for a country drive and picnic on Mothers Day. Yea!! Ride Coordinator wife happy. Lo and behold we find great lunch venue at Binna Burra Lodge. Sensational views, great meal, reasonable price and top drive ride to get there. Yea!! Ride Coordinator happy. Only one thing left to do. Change to start time from sparra fart to a more respectable 9.00 am. Yea!! Ride Coordinator & wife happy.

As we rode into the servo we realised that word had got out what a great ride had been organised by the Ride Coordinator because there were thousands of bikes there at the start point ready to leave. I was surprised at how many non-wings were there and thought that our club members must have wanted to share this great experience and invited their friends. As I was going around all of these people introducing myself as the leader of this wondrous trek, some clown that I had never met called out for everyone to saddle up and most of them left without

me. Ingrates. Not to worry, there were a dozen wings left. I was secretly happy all of those other ingrates left anyway as I hadn’t reserved enough seats at the restaurant. Anyway, the 12 or 13 bikes in the group that were left were quality and that’s the main thing.

After an inspiring ride briefing we headed out as scheduled at 9.00am for Christmas Creek through Stapleton and on to the Beenleigh – Tamborine road and headed towards Tamborine. Ray and Val brought up the rear and did such a great job as Tail End Charlie I am going to nominate them to do it every time. Thanks Ray.

I am not sure if there were 12 or 13 bikes as every time I tried to count them in the rear view mirror we would go around a bend and I’d lose count. Mary made me give up when I was looking in the mirror, counting on my fingers, and missed a bend in the road. I don’t know what she was complaining about, we didn’t go far off the road, the tree wasn’t that big and I thought I did a good job of tuning a Gold Wing into a scramble bike. I managed to get the front wheel back down after we go back on the bitumen.

The ride went smoothly until we got to Tamborine Village and a SOC, (Stupid Old Coot), who thought that he was the only one on the road that day tried to take me out. If it weren’t for my new found dirt scrambling skills and a keen desire to reach retirement age he would have succeeded.

We headed back towards Logan Village and turned off on Camp Cable Road until we met the Mt Lindsay Highway. From there we took another road behind Jimboomba rejoining the Beaudesert Road until we reached Beaudesert. That’s when I decided to throw in the obligatory U turn.


 

I pretended that I didn’t know where I was going and proceeded up a very nice road that led to a place that I knew I could very capably carry out the U turn. It was a disused airfield, and I knew I could get the Wing around in that space without laying the bike in its side.

 I was particularly disappointed that there were some show-offs among us that doubted my navigational ability and decided to turn around in a place not of my choosing. One inconsiderate club member even made his loving wife get off the bike and steady him so he didn’t drop it in the gravel. No chivalry.

With that out of the way we headed off to Christmas Creek to have smoko in Stinson’s Park where they brought out the survivors of the Stinson plane crash all those years ago. Approaching the turnoff into the park, I decided to demonstrate to the group the correct technique for emergency braking. Cunningly, I waited until the last second, slammed on both brakes, and slid into the park in a controlled slide.

Phil Wicks who was following me, and Phil Merlo who was following him were so impressed with this stylish manoeuvre that they wanted to see it from another angle. They knew there wasn’t much time so they shot past me like Barros chasing Rossi, with Phil Merlo deciding to ride over the grassy bank in a very sly move to get to smoko first. Phil Wicks was completely dazzled by this display of skilful riding and tried to regain some pride by throwing in another quadruple foot down, (passenger’s feet were down too), U turn.

With me watching on drinking green tea and filling up on a look around, the group ate enough cakes to fatten every player in the World Cup before we headed off for Binna Burra Lodge. We rode back through Beaudesert, and on to Canungra where we did the Queen’s wave at the usual café group in Canungra. I don’t think our group really appreciated how much of Mothers Day I spent looking for the couple of kilometres of gravel that we would need on the ride to Binna

Burra, but at least I know they all enjoyed it because everyone was talking about it. Some were positively ecstatic about it as I overheard them using sexual terms and me in the same sentence when relating their experiences with it.

We arrived at the Lodge and everyone commented on the spectacular views. Some had decided that this location was


 

too good to eat inside and decided not to partake of the buffet with the sweeping scenery through the 12-foot high picture windows, and opted to eat soggy sandwiches on the grass. The selection and variety of the food on the buffet were first class and everyone raved about their meal, especially those that brought their own.

We drew the raffle with Therese winning first prize and she wasn’t even there. Great move Therese. Bevan said later that she would be beside herself with excitement when she got the gambling kit which was first prize. Valerie won the second prize of a travel manicure set, and said she couldn’t wait to get home to clean her nails.

After lunch I got the great idea for a group bike photo shoot in front of the Lodge. After evicting a couple that were trying to book into the Lodge, it only took an hour and a half to get all the bikes

lined up. They looked so spectacular in that setting it’s a shame we couldn’t get all of them into the photo. Because of the positioning, we had to take the photos while facing the sun. This gave them a wonderfully flared look in the finished print. You can’t make out much detail in the group shot because of the flare, but those of us that were there will cherish the memories these photos will bring back.

After we untangled the bikes we headed off back down the mountain, and travelled through the outskirts of Nerang, Mt Nathan, and Maudsland and arrived in the back way to the BP Coomera for hugs and congratulations.

We had a great time and we hope everyone else did too. Mary can’t wait for next Mothers Day to see what that brings.

Bill & Mary Carter

I saw you hug your purse closer to you in the grocery store line.  But you didn't see me put an extra $10.00 in the collection plate last Sunday.

I saw you pull your child closer when we passed each other on the sidewalk.  But you didn't see me playing Santa at the local mall.

I saw you change your mind about going into the restaurant. But you didn't see me attending a meeting to raise more money for the hurricane relief.

I saw you roll up your window and shake your head when I drove by.   But you didn't see me riding behind you when you flicked your cigarette butt out the car window.

I saw you frown at me when I smiled at your children. But you didn't see me when I took time off from work to run toys to the homeless.

I saw you stare at my long hair. But you didn't see me and my friends cut ten inches off for Locks of Love.

I saw you roll your eyes at our leather coats and gloves. But you didn't see me and my brothers donate our old coats and gloves to those that had none.

I saw you look in fright at my tattoos. But you didn't see me cry as my children were born and have their names written over my arm and in my heart.

I saw you change lanes while rushing off to go somewhere. But you didn't see me going home to be with my family.

I saw you complain about how loud and noisy our bikes can be. But you didn't see me when you were changing the CD and drifted into my lane.

I saw you yelling at your kids in the car. But you didn't see me pat my child's hands, knowing he was safe behind me.

I saw you reading the map as you drove down the road. But you didn't see me squeeze my wife's leg when she told me to take the next turn.

I saw you race down the road in the rain. But you didn't see me get soaked to the skin so my son could have the car to go on his date.

I saw you run the yellow light just to save a few minutes of time. But you didn't see me trying to turn right.

I saw you cut me off because you needed to be in the lane I was in. But you didn't see me leave the road.

I saw you waiting impatiently for my friends to pass. But you didn't see me… I wasn't there.

I saw you go home to your family. But, you didn't see me….. Because I died that day you cut me off.

I was just a biker, a person with friends and a family.

But, you didn't see me.


Ride from Melbourne to Hasting Point for AGM

The AGM for the AWRA was held in Hastings Point this year and myself and two of the club members rode up for the meeting, John Brak and Steve O'Neil. We left on the Wed with a little rain as we made our way out of Melbourne thru Yea and on up to Howlong, the road we thought was tar turned out to be dirt so a little detour found our way over to the Newell Hwy and on into Narrrandra the detour added about 50 kms to the trip and we then headed on up to Dubbo arriving on dusk/dark much to Steve's disappointment something about Kangaroos and bikes. After Dubbo we headed towards Tamworth and Armidale and then down over the mountain thru Ebor, the ride over the mountain was a great ride for the bikes and on into Grafton where we stayed for the night, this left a short leg to Hasting Point the next day.

The ride up to Hasting Point was a short ride getting us there just after lunch with the temperature noticeably hotter we peeled off some gear and found the caravan park where the AGM was to be held. After settling in Steve had to go and see some friends in Brisbane and John and I

decided to go up and meet to rest of the club at the Shell servo on the Hwy out of Brisbane with John's new GPS in action he took the lead and having only been to the servo once before we put our trust in the GPS technology, and got lost ,after some good old asking where the hell is the servo we found it. John assures me that it appears we have to have the exact address to put in the GPS and we would have found it. After meeting up with the rest of the club we rode back down to Hastings Point with them for a night ride. After the rest got settled in we then caught up for some drinks and to catch up 12 months of news. The next day saw us go for a ride in the local area and it was apparent that some had had a heavy night as the ride was light on for riders. Sunday saw us say our good byes and all three of us heading off in different directions, I went to see our house in Brisbane and Steve headed back to Melbourne and JohnB headed off to see his family with John indicating that we might catch up in Moree on the way back.

Having seen my house and catching up with some old friends I started to head back to Melbourne the first stop was John from Big Bike bits to pick up some needed accessories and then onto Armidale were my sister lives and having just

 


 

left Brisbane on