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Wing Notes |
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Newsletter
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August
2008 |
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Dinner in
Townsville |
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www.auswingriders.com |
Australian Wing Riders Association (Qld) Inc |
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Wing Notes |
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OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE AUSTRALIAN WING RIDERS ASSOCIATION QLD INCORPORATED |
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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 |
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. |
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Management
Committee: |
Meetings: |
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President Bill Carter (07) 5564 8996 E-mail: carterbm @
bigpond.net.au |
Secretary Val Thomas (07) 3848 0498 E-mail: secretary @ auswingriders.com |
Meetings are held on the 1st Monday of every month |
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Vice President Rob (Bear) Harriss 0409 052 218 E-mail: RHMRS @
iinet.com.au |
Treasurer Geoff Mead (07) 5529 5034 E-mail: meady @ auswingriders.com |
Next
meeting: New Farm Bowls Club, |
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Phil
and Vicki enjoying the Ulysses AGM |
Upcoming activities: |
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17th August Ride to Natural Arch 23rd August Pot Luck Social Dinner 12th – 14th Sept 21st September Victorian ride to Echuca 19th October Victorian ride to Warragul 12th – 14th Dec Qld Christmas Party |
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An Amish boy and his father were in a mall. They were amazed by almost everything they saw, but especially by two shiny, silver walls that could move apart and then slide back together again. The boy asked, "What is this, Father?" The father (never having seen a lift – or in the North American dialect an elevator) responded, "Son, I have never seen anything like this in my life. I don't know what it is". While the boy and his father were watching with amazement, a fat old lady in a wheel chair moved up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The walls opened and the lady rolled between them into a small room. The walls closed and the boy and his father watched the small circular numbers above the walls light up sequentially. They continued to watch until it reached the last number and then the numbers began to light in the reverse order. Finally the walls opened up again and a gorgeous 24-year-old blonde stepped out. The
father said quietly to his son ....."Go get your mother." |
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The President Speaks…. |
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The Secretary’s Desk…. |
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Gidday
all, Welcome to the August
magazine. While it may be a bit light on
for the number of contributors, the quantity and quality is surely here
thanks to Bill and John. Next month, those
contributing will have to get their articles in quickly as we have Goomburra
on the second weekend then Therese and I head off for two weeks the following
weekend. That means, if I am to
publish I will publish with what I have before Goomburra. Hasn’t it been a great month
for rides. Beautiful, crisp and fresh
mornings then warming up into brilliant fine days. Absolutely made for riding GoldWings. Don’t forget to get your
details to me if you are coming to Goomburra this year. Should be a great weekend as this year we
should not have to worry about disturbing so many as we will be outside
school holidays. While I’m in reminder mode,
if you haven’t already arranged your accommodation for the Christmas party,
you should do so soon. See the website
or the ride calendar for details. Ride safe and don’t become a
statistic. Bevan |
Hi everyone, This is a time that we Queenslanders should reflect on the
different conditions that we enjoy to those of our southern AWRA friends. I
am not sure about global warming because I have found that this winter has
been cold for me, maybe I am just getting older. When the Victorian members
read this they will probably laugh their frocks off. Cold in This is actually a great time to ride. The days are clear, no rain, and plenty of good roads to explore. We should be doing more of it. This brings me to the subject of club rides. Mary and I love to ride on our own and in small groups, but we also look forward to the club rides. That is why we belong to a club of like minded people. We share the experience, we get to make new friends, and we get to talk about our bikes. Because we take turns in organising the rides and socials, we get to go places and see things that we wouldn’t otherwise get to visit and see. It always amazes me how often we go somewhere completely new on club rides. I often wonder how the ride leader found that place. A couple of rides ago, Phil & Vicki took us up to places in Springbrook that is less than 100klms from my home, and along great motorcycle roads that I had never been to. When was the last time you volunteered to organise a club ride? It is not hard. All you have to do is pick a starting place and time, get a map and pick a destination, use the same map to select a route of about 300 to 500 klms round trip, then decide on the meals, usually bring smoko and buy lunch at a pub or elsewhere. You can even decide to bring lunch and have a picnic in the park. We have had some great ones of those. It does help if you ride the route beforehand, and you can always get volunteers to go with you to do that and have another fun day on your bike. You’ll enjoy the experience, we will enjoy the ride, and you have become an active member rather than an inactive member and that has to be a good thing. Just contact Phil and let him know when and where. We’ll see you on the next ride. Keep it up Bill Carter |
Hello
everyone, All is quiet at my desk, lucky for me as it rather
cold in the office! Very sad to hear of
the passing of our Victorian sponsor Reg Jeffrey, we send our condolences to
his family. Meanwhile, another reminder for those who have not
booked in for our Christmas week-end, please do so as soon as possible. The Waterways Motel, 155 Welsby Parade, Special reminders – Secret Santa Gift – boy/girl to
the value of $10.00 and a donation for our Christmas Hamper. Announcement – we are proud grandparents (again) our
daughter Tory, husband Darrin and Kirrily have a new son/brother – Noah John
Allan Jackson born Apologies to Bevan for my late contribution, see you
all soon and ride safely. Valerie and Thommo |
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Why do We go (to Ulysses AGMs) Just reading last months great
magazine made me reflect on our clubs relationship with the Ulysses Club,
(they don’t know it but there is one). Our mag was filled with stories of
travels to a Ulysses event, and the wonderful things that people did before
and after that event. We have sent our story in for this edition. Isn’t it funny, a few years
ago Mary and I had never been to a Ulysses AGM, and didn’t see the need. We had even been to Shell Gailes, (when it
was there), at 5am to wave off our fellow AWRA members as they left for |
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Nuriootpa and other locations at different times. We
did attend the Gold Coast AGM on a day pass and I have the badge to say I was
there. We joined the Ulysses Club not long after we bought our first Wing because
our AWRA mates were members, but we have been to a total of two meetings
since then. I am always embarrassed when other Ulyssians ask me what club I
belong to. My standard answer is there
is only one Ulysses club, but I quickly add that I live on the Gold
Coast. This usually urges a request if
I know a particular person from that branch to which I have to sheepishly
reply that I don’t, as I haven’t been their meetings, yet. |
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From what I understand they
are nice people. They even called me and asked if they could include me in
their group emails, which I accepted with sincere gratitude. I like to be included, and I will go to
their meetings, I promise. It is pretty obvious that we are not what you would
call staunch Ulyssians - yet. A few years ago, we decided
to attend the Geelong AGM. Did I want to go to the Geelong AGM? Not really.
Did I want to go to I also thought it would be a
great opportunity to ride some of the great motorcycle roads in |
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others, and of course with Townsville on the agenda,
it was a great opportunity to take Mary to see some places that I have been
to and share those experiences together. As everyone was trying to explain to
us, it is not about the destination, it is not about the journey, and the
people that you share it with. This is not an ad for the
Ulysses Club as they do a great job without my help. I have always argued
that the AWRA is a stand alone club and that we shouldn’t plan our calendar
around the Ulysses calendar even though many of our members belong to both
clubs. This is just a reflection on how we have grown to enjoy the activities
of both clubs for different reasons, and will continue to do so in the future. Bill & Mary |
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Ferntree Gully Honda
Melbourne On a cloudy and cold Thursday
morning most of the Victorian members were able to take the day off to say a sad
farewell to a great supporter of the Association, Reg Jeffrey. Reg passed
away from a short illness and will be sadly missed by all who went to the
shop in Ferntree Gully. He was always up for a chat and for those of us on
the 1500 was always looking for ways to get you onto an 1800. |
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Reg was always happy to
discuss the association and was always interested in the rides we are doing
and if he could help in any way. Reg supported
us with prizes for our annual AGM and through Chris that support still
continues today. To service was conducted at
the St Joseph Church, Boronia with a line of Goldwings escorting Reg to his
final resting place in Lillydale Lawn Cemetery. The Chris and the Jeffrey
family and all staff at the shop we extend our deepest sympathy and we are glad
we got to know a fine man and a true friend of the association. |
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Good men must die, but death cannot kill their names. (Proverb) |
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It all started when my mate
Ian told me he had his eye on a bike (a BMW, but no-one is perfect) that he
had spotted on the internet. This was a
Saturday in late July and someone was due to look at it at lunch time. When he heard that they were just tyre
kickers and had not bought it, he decided he just had to go and buy it
himself. That’s where I came in – the
bike was in The going was good but cold,
albeit with clouds threatening us most of the way. My usual route when I’m in a hurry is
Warwick, Goondiwindi, We actually had a good run,
and phenomenal luck, since the highway just seemed to head for the gaps in
the cloud banks whenever they became really threatening. We often rode over wet roads (and a couple
of wet and very muddy bits of road work), but only got sprinkled with rain
once. The only real downer was an hour
spent battling very strong side winds – not too bad on their own, but
potentially |
lethal when large trucks went
the other way and shut them off for a moment! We overnighted in We were in He actually did quite well as
I took him on a tour of The next morning it was all
of two degrees and sunny, with the frost slowly melting off my bike
cover. The road north through Sofala
to Mudgee beckoned, so off |
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we went – luckily on dry roads, since ice was a real
possibility in the hills. What we
found, apart from superb scenery, was a rabid local in a ute who came over a
hill very fast and partly on my side of the road, got a fright and nearly
lost it. Just as well he didn’t lose
it, as he would have wiped Ian out. As
it was, he just managed to keep some sort of control, and the only damage was
to Ian’s laundry! As we went over the hill
north of Sofala, I was very careful to lead us across the driest patches of
road I could find, since I knew that the temperature had dropped to zero – I
didn’t tell Ian until we were having a cup of tea in Mudgee (at a positively
balmy eight degrees), and his face was interesting to watch. We had also been hassled by a truck driver
who was convinced that 100 kph was the |
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minimum respectable speed through the hills and
round the bends south of Mudgee, and wanted to push us along – we pulled over
and let him go past us! His rig must
have been either very powerful or very empty, but we had to push it to keep
up with him, even up some of the hills. After a morning spent riding
through wonderful scenery on roads crafted especially for bikes, we joined
the New England Highway at Scone and headed north, with the intention of putting
in a very long day and getting back to Brisbane by about ten o’clock. Alas, the gremlins heard us
and Ian’s new (to him) bike developed some problems. His tail light blew and we couldn’t find a
replacement bulb (turned out to be a fuse problem) and then he found that the
BMW was well down on power. We had
spent the night in Glen Innes and ridden for a very cold couple of hours
before we worked out what the problem was – Ian’s throttle had lost some of
its travel and was not opening fully!
Easily fixed once we worked it out, but on a bike you don’t yet know,
difficult to diagnose. So we rode into |
with the ride.
I enjoy a longish trip on the ’Wing, and most of the scenery was quite
new to Ian, who doesn’t go south by road very often. Both bikes performed well for most of the
time, and the ‘Wing performed extremely well all the time – heaven. We also missed the worst of the weather, in
spite of the TV and everyone else we talked to assuring us that we were
headed for storms, terrible winds, ice and possibly snow. We actually found sunshine most of the way
– perhaps God is a motorcyclist? An interesting footnote – for
some reason, my ‘Wing seems to have become more frugal with the
go-juice. Perhaps it has something to
do with staying at or below the speed limit (most of the time), but on the
return trip I was suddenly getting nearly 100 km more than normal from a full
tank. I am used to the fuel warning
light coming on at just over 300km of highway travel and then finding that
she will take around 20 litres to fill.
The last few times I have filled, the light was coming on at 380 or
more km, and she was still only taking 20 litres to refill. Any feedback from the rest of you? Keep the shiny side up, John Reid. |
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Top Ten Reasons Why Gold Wing Riders Don't Wave Back 10. Wasn't sure whether other
rider was waving or making an obscene gesture. 9. Afraid might get frostbite
if hand is removed from heated grip. 8. Has arthritis and the past
400 miles have made it difficult to raise arm. 7. Reflection from etched
windshield momentarily blinded him. 6. The espresso machine just
finished. 5. Was actually asleep when
other rider waved. |
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4. Was in a three-way conference
call with stockbroker and accessories dealer. 3. Was distracted by odd
shaped blip on radar screen. 2. Was simultaneously
adjusting the air suspension, seat height, programmable CD player, seat
temperature, and satellite navigation system. 1. Couldn't find the
"auto wave back" button on dashboard. |
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We set out on the first day
for We stayed with Mary’s Brother
who lives just outside of |
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The next day we headed off with really no idea where
we would stay. Sometimes I wish I was as adventurous and courageous as Clint
& Charleen, (great story in last months mag), but we don’t like to travel
too far away from good coffee, and we have found that McCafe’s aren’t too
bad. We were travelling along the |
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The back of my helmet wasn’t too badly damaged and
it is amazing what Valium and a scotch will do to calm the nerves. We made good time and decided
to stay in Proserpine after a quick look around Mackay. The first motel that
we saw looked to be a bit too far from the centre of town, so we went
searching for closer digs. That was a lot of fun, and after coming up empty
handed we went back to said motel and stayed the night where we met some
other motorcycle travellers towing identical Elite camper trailers. We had a
pleasant walk into town to get a meal, and after some searching, (not a lot
open in Proserpine on Sunday night), we |
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found a great
pub with great beer, and a fantastic meal. The next day we had a look around |
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The AGM was good fun for most of us. Rusty had some alternator
trouble and there was entertaining light banter as we watched the master
mechanic at work. After careful diagnosis it was decided that the battery was
the offender and not wishing to have any further trouble a new $200.00
battery was installed. When that didn’t fix the problem the ever resourceful
Rusty decided to clean around the armatures with outstanding results. I was
impressed as I get shaky hands whenever I think about picking up a spanner.
Anyway with that solved, Rusty & Maree had a trouble free holiday until
he ran out of fuel and trucked his bike home from Rocky. I suspected a problem with my
bike and took it to Rising Sun Honda. Grub, their chief mechanic, checked it
out and while doing so thought I had a completely unrelated problem with my
front end, (the bikes front end). He booked it in for the next day, even
though there was pandemonium as they were trying to look at 4 million bikes.
They pulled the front off the bike and everything was fine. They didn’t even
charge me for it. Go Grub and Rising Sun Honda yeah!!!! |
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The great personal triumph
from the Carter family was that Mary rediscovered her love of camping. We did
a lot of it when we were younger, but that stopped when Mary discovered motels.
For a while there she thought that four star rating was camping. We actually
sold all of our camping gear after a wonderful trip we had just over the
border at Wooyung. We had a great tent with three rooms that was totally
waterproof. It bucketed down rain on that trip and the tent completely filled
with water up to the floor seams and not one drop leaked out. We really loved
the adventure of sleeping in the back of our Datsun Sunny too. Several years
later I bought another tent and we went camping at Easter. What a wonderful |
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experience that was, standing in a force nine gale
with the rain coming sideways trying to hold the tent down. At least it
didn’t blow away like the other ones in the park The only downside to the AGM
was on the last Sunday and Monday. They removed all of the toilets and
showers and the several hundred people still there had to use the Showground
facilities that were half a kilometre away, not fit to wash a dog in, and the
toilets were worse. We have since been advised that this will not happen at
Penrith next year. The upside of that Monday was that there were quite a few
people that did what Clint & Charleen did, and left their newly bought,
and temporarily used camping gear behind. Those that had the room to pack a
bit more did all right for themselves. While in Townsville we took
the opportunity to take our bike to We also took a day trip up to
We left Townsville on Monday
and went to Hughenden via |
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I have never been into dead
animals, but this was very interesting. With some difficulty we found a motel
and enjoyed a couple of beers in a pub with a round pool table. That’s right,
a round pool table. We didn’t try it, but I reckon it would be an interesting
game. Hughenden has modern art displays of dinosaurs throughout the town that
make it very interesting to walk around there. There is also a Rock ‘n Roll
café in Hughenden that serves nice coffee and is interesting to reminisce in.
We thought the best actual display of dinosaur fossils was in Cloncurry was the next place we stayed, and were
very lucky to get a room. We got the last cabin in a |
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van park only because a motel owner kept ringing
everyone she knew until she found a bed for us. She also called Mt Isa and
did the same as everything was booked out there too. Fantastic service. The next morning I noticed
that the rack on my trailer had broken so I went to the hardware to buy some
brackets and bolts to fix it, all I needed was a drill. Mary had noticed
someone putting up a sign outside a church in the main street so back we
went. The man fixing the sign agreed to drill the holes for me, and even
suggested that we go and have a coffee while he did it. I stayed with him and
when he’d finished he didn’t want any money. I insisted that he take $20.00
and he said that he would donate it to the church. Great hospitality in the
country. On arrival in the Isa we
didn’t like the look of the hotel we had booked in to as it didn’t look to be
a great area and there was no security for the bike. We went back the way we
came, and found a motel with a cancellation right in the middle of town
within walking distance to everything we needed. The owner even gave me his
drill so that I could install the extra brackets on the trailer rack that I
should have done before we left. Mt Isa is a great place to visit with lots
to see and do, and we did do a fair bit while we were there. We thoroughly
enjoyed our time there, and we salute all of those that live there as it is
remote, dirty, and a very unique place. Every Aussie should go there at least
once. We knew that once we left Mt
Isa, we were headed for home. This is really hard as you don’t want the trip
to end, but you are looking forward to your own bed, your own toilet, your
own shower, and to see and hug the ones you care most about. We always have
to overcome that urge, like a riding school pony that can see the stable, to
rush the return trip. We called in to McKinley, and
the Walkabout Creek pub where they made parts of the Crocodile Dundee movies
and it was great to see inside the pub with Walter’s sign on the wall. We met
a couple of fellow |
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motorcyclists from We booked for Longreach and
were fortunate to get a pub room but again, when we arrived luck was with us.
We found a very nice motel with a cancellation, and were able to stay a few
nights but had to change rooms but that was a minor inconvenience. |
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We visited the From Longreach we stopped to
see the offspring of the Tree of Knowledge in Barcaldine, and enjoyed a very
nice coffee in a coffee shop. As Bevan & Therese can attest to, there is
a rich history in ‘Barcy’. It doesn’t matter which political party you
support, the idiots that poisoned the original Tree of Knowledge, where the
Labour Party was founded, committed a crime against all Australians. From
there we travelled to Charleville via Blackall & Augathella where we
spent the night. |
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We’d been looking forward to
the next day all trip as we were going to the Mitchell springs for a soak in the
thermal spa. We originally planned to stay the night there, but that didn’t
eventuate. The 3 or 4 hours we spent there was very relaxing, and very
enjoyable before we headed off to Dalby for our last night on the road, and
home the next day. The worst bits were the
roads. Not all of them, but some of them were nothing more than bush tracks
with bitumen. When you have to ride 30 to 50 kilometres below the speed limit
on a main highway because the bumps and undulations are rugged enough to
bottom the suspension and jar your spine, you know we have a lot to learn
about road construction in this type of country. The best bits were many. The
mateship around the camp, the wide open spaces, the native animals, (that
weren’t on the roads), the country people and their hospitality, the
fantastic history and to see how our country was built and formed and the
hardships the pioneers endured. You have to be very careful driving in the
bush and in one five kilometre stretch we counted 65 animal carcasses. The
bush shouldn’t be taken lightly and you should always take plenty of water,
some basic snacks, and some other basic survival items just in case you have
an accident or a break down. You are a very long way from help much of the
time and a bike doesn’t provide shelter like a car does. The road trains are
awesome, and our bike was dwarfed alongside of them. We can’t wait to do it again.
C’mon Bill & Mary | |||
