Glen, Andrew & John's ride to the Birdsville Races Day 1 Brisbane to Amby We left Bris on 31st of Sept and headed out via Mt Glorious (of course), Bunya Mountains, Dalby, Condamine (nice cold rum here), to Amby to camp behind the pub. Great days ride but we were unprepared for the negative temps we got overnight. Day 2 Amby to Quilpie We all had a restless night and woke to find the bikes and swags covered in ice. General consensus was to head straight to Charleville and raid the Vinnies shop for blankets. I got in first for the only real blanket avail, the rest got cot and dog blankets. A nice policeman considered 120kph to be acceptable. Another relaxing days ride got us to Quilpie for the Kangaranga Do Street Party. Day 3 Quilpie to Windorah Today we headed to Windorah for the International Yabby Races via Eromanga to try and stay away from the inevitable traffic. Ice cold beer and great beef jerky at the Eromanga pub went down well. This also gave us our first taste of dirt and sand riding for the trip. We also encountered our first RBT for the trip on the outskirts of Windorah. This night had to be the biggest party of the trip. Would you pay up to $950 for a yabby to race???? Not me! Day 4 Windorah to Birdsville Slow start to the day for obvious reasons. The day started with me accidentally knocking over the stop sign for the RBT just out of town. Cops were very tolerant and told us this was the last we would see them until we hit Birdsville. A slow day was had dodging rocks and 4WDs. Day 5 and 6 Birdsville What can I say, drinking, boxing tent, drinking, Big Red sand hill, Race Track, drinking, betting, yabby catching. That about sums it up. Oh and Postie Bike racing on the BMX track, it hurt me for days to follow. Day 7 Birdsville to Innamincka We were told by other travellers that the Walkers Crossing track that we planned to take was pretty muddy after recent rains. This changed our plans so we decided to try the Cordillo Downs track. I had travelled this track several years ago and recalled some sand patches but the memory must have faded. We encountered approx. 30km of deep soft red sand. It took 9 hours to cover 422km, and yes we all ate dust that day. The cold beer sure was sweet at the Innamincka Pub. Day 8 Innamincka to Eulo This proved to be the day for breakdowns. One of the bikes was a DR650 with a brand new long range tank. Fuel delivery and contaminated lines plagued us for the entire day. We were in no rush and eventually got to Eulo Pub late in the afternoon. This was one of the rare publicans that had an attitude problem not just with bikers but everyone and life in general. Not to let that deter us we continued on and had another enjoyable night. Day 9 Eulo to Nindigully Pub The day started off with Sticky Date Liquor sampling at the Date Winery at 9am on the recommendation of a local. This is where we stumbled across the memorial to the champion racing cockroach. By Cunnamulla the phones were back in range and we knew the trip was coming to an end. On to Nindigully and the lure of the 1kg T bone steaks. The Road Train Burger and the T Bone have to be seen to be believed. I nailed the T bone and Veg while the Road Train burger was sufficient for at least 3 people. Day 10 Nindigully to Brisbane Camped by the river last night and we were all reluctant to pack up and attack the final leg to Brisbane. To spice it up a bit travelled via Goondiwindi, Inglewood, Leyburn, Clifton, Gatton, Fernvale and of course Mt Glorious. It was good to use the sides of the tyres again. We made Mt Glorious by about 4pm to have a final coffee break then stagger home to our first night in a real bed for 10 days. Thanks Marilyn for the chocolate slice and hot cuppa, seeya soon!!!!! Glen, Andrew & John

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