Hi all. well, I took a leisurely three days to attend the RTE at Maclean. Left home at Meringandan about 8.30am Monday 16.5.16. It was a bit cool, so I zipped in my jacket's winter liner, planning to unzip when it warmed up, but it turned out to be fairly cool all day. The bike was loaded up with a big bag holding sleeping gear and another smaller bag for my dome tent. The handling was fine, but getting on and off was a bit tricky.
First stop was at Allora for a comfort break. Met up with another rider on his way back from a historic racing meeting at Warwick.
Filled up at Tenterfield and then on to Deepwater where I bought a healthy lunch from the deli at the local Foodworks shop.
I didn't go right into Glen Inness as there is a 10 Km short cut to the Gwydir highway which saves about 40 km.
The Gwyder is in good condition, with a good surface picturesque countryside. The rainforest of the Gibraltar National Park is spectacular with huge gum trees and an understory of fern trees.
I turned south at Grafton and east again to the coast where I stayed at the Wooli Caravan park
The bowling club does meals six night a week, excluding, you guessed it , Monday night. Luckily I was prepared with a good supply of muesli. Took some photos around Wooli in the morning waiting for the tent to dry out. The caravan park was well established and had a good camp kitchen. A lot of the caravans seemed permanently moored with built on annexes. My neighbours took pity on me and treated me to an early morning cuppa.
On to Maclean (50km) about mid morning. The local roads were bitumen, but a bit unpredictable (including a wooden bridge under repair with some planks missing). Found the Botero soon after 11.00 and was starving so ordered a burger and coffee. Food very good. Had lunch with Onya Todd and Pat Malone.
On to Ballina next where I stayed in a vey comfy cabin. Much better than an air mattress on the tent floor. I think my bones are too old for tents.
Next day I hit the slab for the ride home to Meringandan. I like cruising along the slab at 110kph.
As I was going through Murphy's Creek near Toowoomba, another rider on a blue tourer warned me to slow down. When I got to the top of the range the tourer was on my tail. It was Tim Tding out for a ride, so we had a natter, mainly about bikes for a few minutes.
Then home early afternoon. I covered about 1000 km in the three days and had a very good break,
Philbo
