Only four Geese turned out for this Sunday's ride - Colin, Steve, Ozzie and Mike. Just as well, as the bigger tables at Invigor8 were all reserved and we had to huddle around a small one. A new venue still needs to be found for Sundays.
The first let-down of the day occurred as we set off from the cafe - Colin's front wheel, repaired after his Safari jaunt, was losing air through an inadequate weld. Ride aborted, he headed for home.
Ozzie and Mike took turns leading the remaining trio out towards Bli Bli, turning towards Nambour on Camp Flat Road, turning south out of Nambour before doubling back towards Dulong, up the steep climb to Flaxton and along the top to Maleny. Lots of bikes about on this lovely spring day and we followed a thunder of Harleys (correct collective term?) from Montville to Maleny.
After Maleny we took the well-trodden Maleny-Kenilworth Road north, with a not unusual detour along Eastern Mary River Road before taking the twisties to Kenilworth. Being good law-abiding motorcyclists we had no issue with the speed enforcement van hiding in the shadows just outside Kenilworth.
From here we headed out towards Eumundi but turned off at Moy Pocket Road and took the road less travelled through Brooloo, Imbil and Kandanga, eventually taking the Mary Valley tourist route into Gympie, and out the other side through Cedar Pocket to Kin Kin for a well deserved lunch. So far so good...
After lunch we turned left out of Kin Kin to loop along Dr. Pages Road towards Boreen Point. And that was the scene of the second let-down of the day, when a red warning triangle on Steve's instruments let him know that his rear tyre had lost most of its air. Steve pulled over and Mike kindly stopped too. Ozzie had forgotten about his rear-view mirrors and disappeared into the distance, to be seen no more that day.
It turned out that Steve's tyre had been punctured somewhere after Kin Kin and it was fortunate that Mike and his tyre repair kit were on hand to plug the hole, or Steve would have been walking home. Roadside repair completed we continued on to Tewantin and made our separate ways home.
't was another great ride despite the let-downs, thanks to both ride leaders from tail-end Charlie.
