Australian Wing Riders Association (Qld) Inc

A club for riders of Honda GoldWing and Valkyrie motorcycles

Bill & Mary’s Burger Bash

By Bill

I am writing this a bit late and I wish I had a good excuse, but I don’t. Anyway, you know the old saying; “excuses are like armpits, we all have at least two and they are both on the nose”. I am surprised that Annette has not been on my case about getting it in as my turtle paced program must irk her normal speed and alacrity. Maybe she has but I have not checked my email. See? Turtle pace.

What? You want me to get on with the story? That is the point, there is no story. We all got ready, we rode to the start point, some of us had coffee, we rode somewhere else, we ate, we rode somewhere else, we ate some more, we rode home. How easy was that?

You want more detail? Haven’t you got something better to do that sit reading the ranting of a demented old biker?

Okay. Being a committed AWRA member and keen supporter of the ride program, several months ago we started scoping out suitable venues for a social. After all, we knew that at some stage we would be asked to lead a ride or social. Editors Note: In actual fact, at one of our meetings the person next to me, (not Mary), asked me what was stuck to my sleeve. I lifted my arm to look just as Winston was calling for volunteers and someone wrote my name down. I didn’t know what happened until we got outside and Mary gave me some advice about volunteering.

Anyway, after taste testing the cuisine in many of the best restaurants in South East QLD we noticed a hamburger joint just at the top of our street. How could we have missed it? After speaking with the owner and negotiating a suitable menu that was up to the gourmet standard of our club, we then applied enough pressure to gain a suitable price to ensure a value for money experience. As luck would have it, the standard menu just happened to fit the bill.

The next stage was to plan the ride, and we know how hard that can be. It has to be the right distance, it has to have some corners, (not too many), it has to be a comfortable speed, not too fast or too slow, minimum traffic lights, no gravel and at least one U turn. Then the timing has to be right so that we don’t get to the restaurant before it opens or after it closes. Wow. There aren’t too many variations you can add to a trip from Beenleigh to the ‘Coast so we decided to take the cane paddock route.

Two cars and several many bikes, (I knew I should have counted them) assembled at BP Stapleton at the appropriate time. We were surprised at the roll up as we have never had to use two hands to count the numbers on our rides before. After a short but insightful pre-ride briefing by the Ride Leader, (me), we headed off.

After a technically difficult stage of the navigation, (just after the first corner), ‘Tail End Charlie’ noticed that our American friends in a hire car were missing. The group was halted, a plan devised, and Clint went in search. In surprisingly quick time, it was established that we had left while Paul was still trying to plot the course into his GPS. (I wish I had known he had a GPS and I wouldn’t have got lost.) They decided to follow Larry and Annette directly to the venue and not chance their survival in Australia on my leadership ability again.

We set of again through Woongoolba, Rocky Point, Jacobs Well, and even a detour though the rapidly developing Coomera Waters area. All the time the group was entertained with the local knowledge delivered in interesting repartee by the Ride Leader. It was a shame that so many people missed this information due to radio problems, probably caused by the power lines. Even the obligatory U Turn was handled with skill and aplomb. Well done team!

We arrived at the venue at exactly the right time, and were greeted by the pre-arranged paparazzi (Annette), who was doing her usual fantastic job of recording the clubs history photographically. Alfresco dining was the order of the day, and after ordering at the counter we all settled in with friendly conversation and joviality while waiting for our meals. Once they arrived conversation ceased and all you could hear was mmmm, gooood, grrr, yeeaahh, and variations on that theme. I think most people enjoyed their meal.

With the meal consumed, faces wiped, belches completed and the leftover sauces firmly attached to our shirts, I asked the question, “would anyone like to go for a ride through Surfers?” It wasn’t part of the scheduled ride, but one of the qualities of a good ride leader is to be flexible, willing to cater to the needs of the client, and to be able to vary the program in a meaningful way on a moments notice. Rusty replied that he had the furtherest to go home and he wanted to go to Surfers so that was a done deal.

After a brief cruise though the tourist capital of Australia which was suitably punctuated by the ooohhhhs and aaaahhhhs from the bystanders as we passed, we made our way to the baby boom capital of the ‘Coast, (Pacific Pines), to McDonalds for coffee and more revelry. I had taken a particularly circuitous route to get there, and when it came time to leave many were curious about how to get home. You just can’t do enough for some people; they even want you to take them home. I just had to inform them that the ride was complete, my part of the deal was over, and unless that had dropped some crumbs my suggestion was that they follow someone with a GPS that was heading North. After all, I was going to have enough trouble finding my own place of residence. I logged on to the missing persons report the next day and I didn’t see the names of anyone I know so it must have been alright, (unless no one has missed them yet).

Now if you believe any of the above you must be gullible. What we actually did was - We all got ready, we rode to the start point, some of us had coffee, we rode somewhere else, we ate………..

It’s not hard is it? Don’t be shy. Volunteer to do a ride and we’ll follow you. Mary and I had a good time and we hope you did too.

Keep it up.

Bill & Mary

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