Up early (for a Sunday) and I soon had a text from Jack Abbott regarding a possible meeting point. I suggested meeting at a servo on Dohles Rocks Road as I intended to take the southern route to Esk for a change and meet up with mikan13 and totgas at the Dinmore Pads.
As I headed off from home at about 7:20 I noticed it was going to be a hot one. Sadly that proved to be an underestimation.
When I got to the designated service station Jak and his good looking
was waiting for me. As it was already quite warm, we were keen to get mobile to cool off a bit.
As you can see from the trip on Spotwalla, I chose not to run straight down the slab and Jack and I went down Becketts Rd to Ennogera and on to the Centenary Highway and struck road works which weren't to onerous.
https://spotwalla.com/embed.php?id=c1b954ba487d8e2c2&width=600&height=600&scale=on&zoom=default&refresh=no"
Before too long we were at the Dinmore Pads and found totgas, gerd and Alex waiting. We all decided next time we were going to pick a meeting place just a little further up the road at either the BP or Caltex service station where there is
shade 
We sweltered as we chatted and waited for mikan13.
Thankfully mikan13 arrived early and we quickly scooted for Esk as the temperature slowly rose to 38°C. We pulled into Esk Bakery at 9:25 and were soon joined by many more smiling faces and two new members ssm and philbo. great to meet you two today and hope to see you again on more RTEs and at the National Rally.
We soon found ourselves inside the Bakery seeking refuge from the heat, where we were treated to the usual good and friendly service and delicious food that staff at Esk Bakery always provide.
Those of us that are starting to suffer hearing difficulties soon reluctantly migrated outside to a less echoing environment and then went over under the trees were it was mildly more comfortable. With the heat and a few people on time constraints, I managed to get a couple of photos before most people left and went our separate ways. I'm still getting used to the camera in this phone, so pleas excuse the quality.
Same shot in panorama mode.
Again in panorama mode because I didn't think I'd fit everyone in.
Just after I got back on the bike helmeted up and turned on the CB and blue tooth, I had a brief moment of confusion as I had pressed play for music and suddenly ST2UP is in my ear having a chat and asking what I was giggling about. I hadn't heard the phone ring and at first I thought he was coming through the CB.
Chris was surprised to hear we were already preparing to leave until I told him we were being baked at Esk. He was glad to hear we had all had a good but brief gathering and wished us all well.
Due to the heat I decided to head back over Mt Glorious with STrider20 as it is usually a few degrees cooler. When I started the bike at Esk the dash read 43°C and as we climbed Mt Glorious it thankfully dropped to 29°C. As we climbed Glorious and just before we reached the village we caught up with totgas and Alex.
I had to stop at Mt Glorious for some re-hydration and almost sculled an entire Lucozade Sports drink, and only stopped because almost got a ice cold headache. The second bottle was slowly sipped as I enjoyed the cooler air and contemplated IanB's advice to head down through Nebo and the Gap instead of Samford. After a bit of consideration and internal debate about shortest way home to air conditioning or travel a road I have been on since the early 1980's, decided on the latter and enjoyed every bit of the ride down the mountains. This route took me passed the RTE destination for April 2015.
http://ozstoc.com/index.php?topic=8215.msg94355#msg94355I noticed there is some very great scenery and a couple of lookouts which I am planning to make a point of going to and taking some photos in April before or after the RTE.
Once I was down to The Gap I had another internal dialogue, go through to the city or up and over to Keperra and past a house I lived in as a Army Married Quarter in the late '80s. Well I'd done a bit of nostalgia so why not some more.
Soon I was past the old house which was barely recognisable with tress and shrubs around it (some of which I had planted
) , and out the other side and on towards home via Queens Rd (more Road works) now I was determined not to get back on the Highway so I skirted around the back of Strathpine (Warner) and on towards home where thankfully, the air conditiing was already running at a nice 24°C.
Thanks everyone who came along and made it another success and to all who wished us well on the day. Thanks again to Simon (ssm) and Phil (Philbo) for coming to meet us and be part of the family that is OzSTOc.
P.S. As much as Esk Bakery are a sponsor, I think we should limit rides to Esk to the Autumn and spring months.
