Evans Head - March 2003
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Sunday 16th March and our alarm has gone off, Ray looks at the heavens and YES
it is a fine sunny sky - his prayers were answered and we are on our Wing at
7.35am. We arrive at the BP Garage,
Browns Plains, and we are NOT the first! What a roll-up 12 bikes, and Donna's
uncle will meet up with us at Kyogle for morning tea. We also received a phone-call from Rob (Bear) and Jane
advising us that the alternator on their bike had failed, so they were trying
their darndest to fix it and would hopefully meet up with us at the R.S.L. at
Evans Head. Also joining our ranks
was Mustapha on a Kawasaki Drifter 1500, and Syd & Barbara on their Valkyrie.
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We
are on the road at 8.30 a.m. and we meander our way down through sleepy hollow
Beaudesert, and into the hills which were looking as green as they ever can be -
even the cows looked as though they were smiling. Then we turned off onto the rather (in)famous Lyons Road,
negotiation the cattle grids, narrow bridges and pot-holes very well. Our planned stop just this side of
Kyogle was well and truly needed, with a cuppa and chat and Donna's Uncle Fred
and Auntie Betty join us on their Honda Shadow.
Our
next stage is a short run into Casino where most of the bikes fuel up, and then
onto Coraki where we received a cheery wave from a little bunch of excited kids
who were (you guessed it) Donna's relatives!
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More pleasant rolling green hills and contented cows, and onto Evans Head for lunch at the R.S.L. What a pleasant hidden little haven it is too. The R.S.L. Bistro is extensive and very tasty with plenty to choose from. Our Raffle was drawn, and Larry is going to change his name to Mary - both Mary's won a prize! I then had to hustle Ray away from the Pokies where he just has to donate more money to the club, and we were finding shady places in the car-park to wait for Bear & Jane, who duly arrived at 2 p.m. and we gave them a rousing cheer for their sterling effort. Waited just long enough to say hello and well-done and then helmets back on and on the road again.
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We had coerced the ex-locals - (you guessed
it - again) Donna & Andrew into guiding us up to the look-out for sight-seeing,
and when we arrived there was a party happening, and Chris was asked to give the
lady celebrity a spin on his Trike - much to their excitement Chris agreed, and
the lady had her 50th wish - a short ride on the trike!
The next stage was to follow the coastline home, only we had to get onto the highway just outside Broadwater (which we had totally forgotten) but the ride through the sand-dunes is still very pleasant, and on the highway we had the river on our left, then we caught up with our beautiful coastline again at Ballina. What magnificent views they are.
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As we rode through Ballina we bade a fond farewell to John & Ann and Chris, and we continued up the coast towards our next stop "ice cream" at Byron Bay. How we make it safely through Byron Bay I do not know, as Rays' eyes are NOT on the road at all! We did a circular ride onto the grass, the Wings are parked neatly for local admiration, and I am sent on a mission while Ray (and others) check-out the surf?! Some of us found room for Ice Cream - and then we are off on the final leg of our trip.
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Onto the highway, and giving the Wings a good spin @ 110 - 120 kph and we are still being passed by LandCruisers and CR-V's! Our last stop is at Robina Caltex for fuel and MacDonald’s coffee and for Bear & Jane to have lunch! We were all enjoying our coffees etc, and timing it perfectly for when Bear took a bite of his burger to say "well that's it we are ready to go!" We were not in a hurry to see the end of such a great day, but we had to start to say good-bye - Bill & Mary, Mustapha and Syd & Barbara were almost home and they left the happy band here.
Now it was our turn to wish everyone a safe trip home, we were on the highway at 5.30 p.m. and we raced a huge black cloud that seemed to follow us all the way, trust everyone arrived home dry and safe! Another great day - thank you everyone and see you all soon. Our mileage was 465 km, and we were home at 6.15 p.m.
Ride Navigator – Valerie / Ride Captain - Thommo!
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