Bacon & Eggs at Lightning Ridge

It started like any other year... you see, my good mate Mongrel (Poul, Growly, Growlypops), and I have bacon and eggs with each other once a year - somewhere between BrizVegas and Canberra as I live at Caboolture (near Bribie Island) Qld, and he lives - you guessed it.

Last year it was Yamba NSW (and it was great - but that's another story).

This year it was Lightning Ridge.

The routes, talking, activities and itinerary planning started months ago and as the departure day arrived, the usual excitement levels heightened commensurate with the expectation of adventure.

Whilst the destination was the same, the journeys were two very separate accounts of their own adventure - this is mine...

STella was packed early and ready to go.

I left around 8.30am under magnificent skies on Thursday

My ultimate destination for the day - Roma Qld.

Breezed through Maleny - after some road works - then on to Conondale, Kenilworth and up the Mary Valley Way to Kandanga, Amamoor and Gympie

Then on through the South Burnett including Kilkivan...

Murgon, Goomeri and Wondai...

- where I had a thoroughly enjoyable Mexican pie at this little take away. I recommend a stop here for either this, or seafood to anyone! Tell Judy (the owner there) that the tall guy on the maroon bike sent ya! She is great for a chat, makes great coffee, and is a sensational baker/cook. I guarantee it!

Then on to first fuel stop at Chinchilla - still under blue skies...

A lot of B-Doubles and mini road trains later - not to mention a LOT of straight road, I hit Roma. My first night's stop.

Now, all the time I hear of people just breezing in to town and picking up a room for the night wherever they wanted - but I have always been too cautious and meticulous for this reckless, spontaneous behaviour! This is EXACTLY why I decided to give it a go this time - yeah right! I dunno how, but I picked the only small outback country Qld town that throws on “Easter In The Country” that goes from a week before Easter (this weekend) to the week after. Trust me - there was not a SINGLE BED AVAILABLE in this whole town! I was on the phone for half and hour to the duty roster person trying to tell me “Muckadilla should have one luv!” (Even though it was 40 clicks the wrong way!) Surat was looking like the only alternative - 80 clicks to the south! I made the reservation of a tent spot in Surat and was riding out of Roma when I thought I'd have one last throw at it at the 'Big Rig Van Park'. I rocked in the front gates to the office, and the balcony of the house above it was full of people at a dinner party. One the the people got up and asked what I was after. I explained my predicament and she directed me to the bit of grass where all the 'bottle trees' were. I asked what she wanted for it and she said “nicks mate - enjoy” - What a great place!

Here is what it looked like...

My camp....

The town was full of these bottle trees - beautiful!...

Next morning - left Roma for St George. Roads were straight and long...

Had a speedo malfunction afterwards where it seemed to indicate twice my actual velocity....

... it soon fixed itself.

I must have scared 27,000 birds off the road... however, this one zigged, when he should have zagged!...

Hit Lightning Ridge and met my long time friend and breakfast partner Growly...

... that's a 250cc Piaggio Scooter for the record, and he takes it everywhere!





In a moment of madness, and after tasting Growl's chilli schnapps, I was forced by him to wear a T-shirt, boardies and helmet, and proceed to the hot natural springs for a soak...

We froze our proverbials off getting there as the weather was inclement and spitting. The springs were fantastic and warm. We soaked for 40 mins, then hopped back on the bikes, dripping wet and froze our other proverbials off getting back to the cabin. For medical reasons we had to partake in another chilli schanapps to ward off frost bite!...

Here's the reason we're here...

Then it was off to the minefields...

Found a house made from beer cans and bottles...

After the 'Ridge', it was off to the next destination. Stopped at the “Hebel” (just on the Qld side of the border) for a beer. What a great, friendly little place...

Then - through St George to our next stop for the night...

That's my room on the corner - not bad for $20. It was originally built in 1864 (during the American Civil War, and it was only 102 when I was born!)... 

They said they didn't mind if we slept on the deck floorboards - after all - camping is free at the Nindigully!

And here is the reason we are here..... the ROAD TRAIN BURGER!!!...

This bad boy has a meat pattie that weighs 1.2kg! The bun alone weighs 1kg!

And those sadists put 1kg of chips at one end of the plate, and .5kg of fried, crumbed onion at the other!...



Oh. And did I mention the chicken burger.... we were lucky enough to be at the inaugural launch of it. There are FOUR chickens in this baby!..

We had an absolute ball all night meeting people from all over (as there are no 'locals') an totally enjoyed the atmosphere. Even Burnsie (the owner) chewed our ears off for 3 hours! It was great.

Met some other travellers on a Harley and an ST1100 with side car set up...

Thought about going to the dark side for a minute...

But quickly came to my senses...

Off the next morning through Goondiwindi and Texas to Tenterfield, and on to our last night's stop at the Riders Rest near Tabulam on the Bruxner Way - WOW! What a ride, what a place!...

I fully recommend this overnighter - particularly if travelling in a group. Pop (above) even had the fire pit cranking for us when we arrived! Awesome!

Next morning, it was through to Casino, with views like this.....

Then off home through Kyogle and Rathdowney....

Rode in to a massive downpour to welcome me home - but got there safely with no dramas.

I guess it's now on to bigger and better things.

See you round somewhere.

Cheers, Diesel

Adding Handlebar Risers to complement the Highway pegs....

Well I am 6'4" as you'll see at FarRide #15 and I'm also 85kgs.... okay okay!  105kg, but you can see that I ain't no Gardner, Doohan or Sheen frame.

This is why the pegs work so well for me. In conjunction with the new handle bar risers, they give me an extra combination of seating possies on the longer rides. Sort of turned my bike into a cruiser!

You can see the substantially different seating position. This does not include being able to put one leg forward on the hwy wing, and the other leg on the pillion pegs etc etc.

They are merely a (somewhat expensive but very well made) add-on farkle delivered from the States.

It has all culminated in giving me a lot more time in the saddle and enjoying the ride rather than hoping for the next stop to relieve good ol Monkey Butt!!

ST1300s are generally good for 460-520kms range if you behave yourself - means a while without reprieve if you ain't comfy.

Regards, Dave

Adding on some Add-Ons....

When you do this to a motorcycle - it is commonly referred to as adding a 'farkle'.

This is a hybrid word made up from the two words  'function' and 'sparkle' as the farkle is generally of this nature. Some examples of 'farkling' include:

- GPS units
- Chrome handlebar weights
- Chrome side stand
- Heated grips
- Auxilliary runnning/visibility lights
- Power sockets
- Larger windshield
- Cup holder attachment
- Chrome headlight unit

And the list goes on. You can see that some items are more function, and some more sparkle.

We do this primarily to make the bike:

- look better
- perform better
- provide added comfort (aftermarket all day seat/saddle, larger windshield, heated hand grips)
- provide use of helpful riding aids (such as mounting a GPS, UHF CB, spot lights, or cruise control)

Now because I am 6'4" (193cm) tall and 85 kg.... okay, okay! 100kg, I found that I needed to bend my legs further than someone with duck's disease (and therefore they used to get sore) - so I ordered and fitted a set of handle bar risers, and these.... 

Highway Wings/Pegs...

Now I can fully extend my legs and stop any aching from having to keep the one position - much like if I was to get off the bike and stretch my legs out.

I'm never going back to not having them as they are too valuable to me as a LD (long distance) riding aid.

Lastly, the pegs gently 'click' into the closed or extended positions so the wind etc wont open/close them, but they'll fold in same as your footpegs if you entertain some serious banking angles and they strike the road - DAHIKT !!

Like a lass who has just purchased a pair of new shoes what doesn't hurt after 15 mins def hurts after 6 hrs! This generally means you have found a new problem waaaay out in whoop whoop,  that you didn't know existed at the end of your street!

I also had my seat raised a couple of inches by an upholsterer. One of the main whinges amongst ST owners is the standard (OEM) seat that was designed for this bike. Why oh why do they put such a ridiculously uncomfortable standard seat on such a capable LD Touring bike??? This is a problem the world over as people from many forums state the custom seat or Airhawk as one of the first things they changed to make the bike a little more user friendly.

I have published an extensive list of the farkles my ST1300 has fitted to her in a previous post, and as time goes by, new technology becomes available, or certain pieces of equipment are found to be a little wanting etc etc, so you inevitably end up changing the setup of the entire system slightly, or in a major way.

Some pics of my 'farkles'...

For instance - after doing many, many miles with what I thought was a reasonable LD touring setup, I found that the cables which attached to my helmet and motorcycle for communications, music etc, was a right royal pain in the ... behind. It caused distractions when it caught on the jacket. It was a bit of a pain to unclip when alighting from the machine, interfered with the Camelbak's fluid hose, and the camera tether kept getting wound around it, and when I wanted to have a good 'gander' behind me, if I didn't place the cord properly beforehand, I nearly garoted myself in a sharp reminder of my folly.

So I looked around to update to a blue tooth system (wireless). Trouble was - not many systems let you integrate a UHF CB Radio without spending big $$$$. After a lot of exhaustive research, I settled on a system, which I will detail in a later post.

Time for another good, long ride......

My First FarRide on the ST1300....

Below is a link to the Ride Report I wrote about the adventure I had (with pics) on my first FarRide.

Remember that my Forum Name is "Diesel" (due to an unfortunate incident at the filling station - more about that later!)



Anyways... it all started with fitting these spotties...

and fitting this brand new 5W handheld for vital comms

Then, after all the servicing, safety checks, list planning, packing and very, VERY careful route planning, it was off into the wild blue yonder on the wild Candy Honda....

Only glitch was that it was to be a 'wet' start - meaning all the over jackets and covers were employed. Went for my good old start docket at 11.34am (Qld time) only to find the docket read 11.27am - DOH! So I went and checked the air pressure, and my new start docket of 11.38am was for a party pack of lollies! (Shaddup! - you've ALL had this happen!)

I must say the plan was PERFECT! I checked all the roads on google (even street view), read all the gov website road condition reports (after the devastating affect of the QLD floods), and meticulously pieced together my TAKING OWNERSHIP of this ride!

All went perfectly.... for 32 minutes and 11 seconds. Then this!...

This was a result of landslips from the recent floods near Blackbutt/Nanango in the Blackall Ranges.

Sign said that they are letting traffic through on the hour, and every 15mins thereafter. Of course I arrived with 14 mins to go!

Got off the bike, took helmet off, sucked in fluid as it was only 31 deg and I had prepared for full wet riding. Also ditched wets and tank bag cover etc. while waiting.

I knew Graham and his family history 'intimately' by the time I helmeted up again and left.....

Then doubt set in.... I looked skyward and thought "this FarRide must have been called off... there's blue up there"

But I pressed on, against the odds...after all - it's just a road...

Even though it is (in many places), decimated and treacherous...



After Blackbutt, Kingaroy, took this shot of the STeed catching her breath at Dalby. Okay okay, so I needed a fluid inouttake and derierre break!

Then on to Oakey, and after Toowoomba, it was time to stop for a bite to eat at Warwick (standing up all the time of course). Saw this iconic church down the road...

Also needed motion lotion as this was 450kms from the start.
Upon leaving Warwick - spied this sign....

..and I knew that "bikini watch" was over....

... Then I did the Border Run - but there was no puddin in sight...

Then on to the night section of the ride.

I chose what I thought would be a fun and interesting ride down to my stop for the night at Tabulam NSW, but it turned out to be technically difficult and very demanding. I had over 3.5 hours of 25, 35 and 55km/h twisties in the dark, and on extremely average road surfaces, full of patches and nasty potholes.

I missed 20 guzillion of these and only hit a handful that were unavoidable. One patch was so bad, it literally shook the mirror covers, (and therefore the spotlights) off my poor bike. I had to stop and do roadside repairs for 15mins..

Luckily - Ma Honda thought this might happen, and they are tethered to the bike, so you don't wave bye bye to them.

I was soon on my way again on this treacherous road. Quite taxing on the ol mellon. Anyways, I rode to the conditions and learnt another motherload of info about ride planning, and arrived safe n sound at my 'stealth camp' location for the night. Whilst I cannot divulge its EXACT location, I found the footy oval at Tabulam NSW to be almost an excellent choice.

Tabulam is a town that goes to bed at 9.00pm - barring the stragglers from the 'local', oh, and the tenants of the house that I happened to be 25m from. I dunno how, but the the lady in the house seemed to stand over the kitchen sink (of which window overlooked my campsite) for over 2 HOURS!

Therefore - EVERY SINGLE movement I made in putting up the tent and campsite had to be done in absolute silence, otherwise she would have called Mr Plod to 'move me on'. I couldn't even shine the torch without shielding its beam with my hand so the 'dishwasher from hell' wouldn't see me.....

My campsite. Into a 31 degree tent at 10.00pm, up at 3.10am for a 4.15am departure....

Next morning woke on time - but ginned around so much that I was 30mins late leaving. It was pea soup outside when I finally got going....

Weather was crappy....

No, wait... Person I met at Tenterfield servo was Crappy...

This is for that bloke who collects sunrises (Toura)... Tenterfield...

Then it was though more pea soup to Glen Innes, across the Gwyder (yummy) Hwy to Grafton, down through Nymboida, Dorrigo, Urunga, and on to Bucca.

This last hour involved the emotional roller coaster thoughts of "I'm screwed! I'm good! I'm screwed again!" and so on with road works and slooooow traffic right through until the south end of Urunga.
Finally I made it with 11 minutes to spare.

Here I am with my mate (growlypops) the guy who FarRode a 250cc scooter from Canberra - but registered accidentally for the SS1600 - he is obviously ordering 1 FarRider cap...

Had a great time there and met a lot of fantastic humans.

Here, a couple of "nevilles" hang around to get some FarRider tips off me... I moved them on pretty quickly...

And this noob was trying to get on the "A" list... wished they'd get a life!...

Anyways - had a great time and a trouble free run home - except for that handheld jumping off the bike at 125 100km/h..

Had a great brekky on the water at Urunga, went through for a beer at Murwillimbah, and a few more twisties through Natural Bridge (near Beechmont) before returning home safely with a new world of experience packed safely in my saddlebags.

Thanks everyone, as I can tick off an achievement I promised myself would happen when I first read about and heard of FarRider #1. His legacy is alive and well, and his brand name will sit proudly on my motorcycle as a quiet, acknowledging nod between us.

Thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone for a ripper time.

Diesel - FarRider #416