OK, its been asked so I'll ask again, how did you get water in the engine Gaz?
OK. You did ask. Make a cuppa before you start.
I left the airport at 4:30 pm on Friday, 1st May 2015. When I came on to the Moreton Road on ramp, I discovered the traffic on the Gateway was at a standstill. So using the new Lane filtering laws, I rode slowly (30 km/h) up the left hand safety lane. While doing this before the Shell at Nudgee off ramp, I had to dodge cars which were half in the lane and trying to block anyone using the lane. At this point I wished I had a modulating headlamp.
At the Shell/Nudgee Rd on ramp, I hit a large puddle of still water and sprayed the parked cars. QI rode through that and continued up the safety lane until the road works where I then had to go into the middle.
All the while on the CB I was hearing that the Gateway was closed at Nudgee, Boondal, Sandgate Rd, Depot Rd, Deagon Deviation, the Bruce Highway and that the Highway wad also cut at Dohles Rocks, Anzac Ave, Buchanan's Rd, Caboolture etc. In 21 years of using the Gateway Northside I had never seen it closed due to flooding. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
As I rode through towards Deagon Deviation, each of these "closures" wasn't true, so I pressed on. On Deagon Deviation the was another long puddle of water only up to the bottom of the rims. At the Brackenridge Rd on ramp there was water over the road in the on ramp and half the left lane with 4WDS still coming through the on ramp, so I slowed to about 10 km/h and rode through the left side of cars. up to an area where both lanes were clear of water again, only to discover between Brackenridge Rd and Wyampa Rd there was more water over the Road. All this water didn't reach the foot pegs, so more riding up the left side of cars which were driving up on the right hand safety lane.
I got through that and came across more water across the road under the Wyampa Rd overpass. There was another line of cars, again up against the safety rail, slowly making their way through water that now came up to the foot pegs. As I was going past them they were quite spread apart but an impatient jacked up 4WD came up the left side of me as a truck coming the other way approached. Both were pushing big bow waves. Both waves met at my bike and peaked at the front of my bike. The one from the 4WD was the strongest and because it hit me from the side, it nearly knocked me over. With that the endings stopped. As soon as I hit the starter and got no kick over at all, I knew what it was. How I knew is another set of stories, suffice to say, Army and water crossings and one youthful mistake with my own car.
Fortunately for me, 2 young fellas (from Aviation Australia) who had themselves been snatched strap dragged to safety (but had a working engine) came jogging in to help push me out. After helping me they turned around and jogged back to help the next car. They kept doing that for 3 hours and rescued a total of 7 cars.
Then the very long wait to be towed began. There was no point calling RACQ until the waters subsided. No one was getting anywhere in a hurry.
While we stood there in the rain, we could now see where the water was coming from. The Pine River had burst it's banks, flooded the wet lands and was coming over the Gateway Motorway and flooding towards Brackenridge.
Around 6 pm the waters peaked and people were trying to reach RACQ. I tried at around 6:10 and while I was on hold, one of the other people said that because we had driven through flood waters RACQ wouldn't tow, because it would be an insurance job. So I hung up.
At around 7 pm the water was starting to recede and more vehicles where getting through so I rang RACQ priority line (ultra membership) and the lady said because of my location that Main Roads would have to clear Me to a safe place and then RACQ would then tow me home.
At around 8 pm the water cleared the road and for the next 2 hours traffic roared past until the Lend Lease contacted road safety crew could get there to block the left lane. The bloke in the bumper truck let me sit in his cab and turned on the heater to keep me warm, and when he heard me on the phone to Shiney to let him now I was out for this RTE and that I had turned my phone onto Power save mode and couldn't use the Web. He offered for me to use his charging cable. During that call to Shiney, he offered to come over Saturday to show me how to get the Tupperware off so I could remove the spark plugs to release the water.
Because we were all stranded on the Gateway we were in a clear away zone and had to be removed. So the crew started to organize Tow Trucks to remove us. One turned up and said he was on his way to another job, but he would be back and his rate was $110 (Lance). After he left an RACQ towie turned up and said $316.48 to the nearest Exit being Dohles Rocks Rd. The other biker who was stranded with me had also been told over the phone that it would be $317 just to get to the nearest safe point.
Lance came back and took a car away to North Lakes and said he would be back. He came back and picked up another one who was trying to get to the Sunshine Coast, and on my recommendation took them to Kallangur Shell because there was a Macdonalds, Workshop and a Motel nextdoor. He then came back for me and the other bike from Kallangur. $110 each and we were delivered to our doors. Lance from Viper Towing (NorthsideBrisbane) specializes in lowered cars and bikes. 0413 956 590.
The generosity of strangers and friends was impressive.
Awesome work yesterday Shiney.
Apart from Saturdays shenanigans, here endeth the saga.
