Now i'm not sure if i've mentioned it on here, but the country to the west of Jimna is very special to me. The first time i experienced it was nearly 2 years ago on a 190km ride with Phil. Some of the roads were so rough i feared the shaking would result in a concussion, and my front tyre exploded just 2kms from the finish, but the scenery was spectacular and we were even lucky enough to see 2 deer (or 3 in my case, Phil missed the first one).
Being a farmer at heart, the rampant overdevelopment on the coast distresses me, and i can see the day in the very near future where rural blocks have been chopped up so small that most forms of agriculture will be simply impossible.
Just over the ranges though, the upper Brisbane valley is a place that time (and everyone outside it) has forgotten. I don't care how long it takes or what i have to do, i WILL own a property up there.
Much of the reason for it being so unknown is the roads, on the bicycle they were extremely tough going, I've since been out there in my Lancer and it was so difficult almost the entire exhaust came adrift. So it was clear that if i wanted to see more of the area, i would need a more suitable steed.
In my current state of Oliver Twist like poverty, a 4wd was out of the question, so i started looking into motorbikes. When i saw how little fuel a basic 250cc bike uses, and how cheap the rego is, i realised it was stupid not to buy one and use it for commuting as well. On very conservative figures, commuting on a motorbike will save at least $2,500 a year, even if i still drive the car 100kms every week.
So i found myself a 2010 Yamaha XT250 with a mere 286kms on the clock (the seller had bought it for his daughter, who didn't catch the moto riding bug) for $2,300 less than new, and aced my licence test on the first go.
Being a farmer at heart, the rampant overdevelopment on the coast distresses me, and i can see the day in the very near future where rural blocks have been chopped up so small that most forms of agriculture will be simply impossible.
Just over the ranges though, the upper Brisbane valley is a place that time (and everyone outside it) has forgotten. I don't care how long it takes or what i have to do, i WILL own a property up there.
Much of the reason for it being so unknown is the roads, on the bicycle they were extremely tough going, I've since been out there in my Lancer and it was so difficult almost the entire exhaust came adrift. So it was clear that if i wanted to see more of the area, i would need a more suitable steed.
In my current state of Oliver Twist like poverty, a 4wd was out of the question, so i started looking into motorbikes. When i saw how little fuel a basic 250cc bike uses, and how cheap the rego is, i realised it was stupid not to buy one and use it for commuting as well. On very conservative figures, commuting on a motorbike will save at least $2,500 a year, even if i still drive the car 100kms every week.
So i found myself a 2010 Yamaha XT250 with a mere 286kms on the clock (the seller had bought it for his daughter, who didn't catch the moto riding bug) for $2,300 less than new, and aced my licence test on the first go.