A freezing Sunday morning ride to Mt. Tamborine

The dawn was calm with clear blue sky, promising this to be another bright and sunny Sunday morning. My riding buddy, Eadie is back after his long dissapearance. His Ducati must be screaming with joy to be able to hit the road again. We met up in front of the office (such a good feeling of being so near to the office, yet not having to go to the office!) and headed South on the M1.


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I picked the route that I went with my family last Sunday (Brisbane-Beenleigh-Mt. Tambourine). And oh yes, the road felt totally different on the bike as compared with driving in a car. When you drive; you just drive but when you're on a bike it's like every turn and every curve means something and your view of the road ahead and its surrounding seem totally different. One not very good part though is the temperature and the wind... It was a freezing 3ºC! I had my grip and seat heater on full blast. The new fleece neck warmer and long sleeve thermal helped too... I glanced through my rear side mirror and saw Eadie following close. A few bikes stopped by the road side with the riders basking in the sun trying to warm up as we were climbing the steep mountain road. But hey, we are the tough ones... we ride on...

By the time we reached the top of Mt. Tambourine I decided to stopped at the same lookout point we went to last week. I need to let Eadie thaw himself...



The breathtaking view is worth the freezing climb...

...and that's Eadie thawing slowly... He actually put his hands on his exhaust pipes to defrost them! Haha!









It was a much needed break. Surprisingly, despite the wind and all, it was a nice 12ºC at the peak. Met a guy on an Aprilia and had a brief chat then head downhill again towards Canungra. I never bothered to stop here when I went out riding alone but today just feel like hanging out at "The Outpost" (I think this is what it's called, a biker hangout place for brekkie at Canungra town). It feels like going to a bike show with the rows of bikes of all kinds from Harleys to superbikes, customs and tourers...

A flat white and a pie each then we hit the road again. We headed west towards the Gold Coast, then north bound at Nerang back towards Brissie. As I was cruising on the M1, the sun was already up high but the wind still has that crisp morning feeling. Humming to "Wherever I May Roam" (by Metallica, for those who are not familiar) blaring on my stereo, I was thinking... this is the life.


"And with dust in throat I crave
Only knowledge will I save
To the game you stay a slave

Rover, wanderer
Nomad, vagabond
Call me what you will..."