Go West

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I don't have the Pet Shop Boys' hit 'Go West' on my Ipod playlist, but I will admit that a few bars of the ditty might have been hummed while I was deciding which direction to head as I wheeled the Street Glide out of the garage.

Late Tuesday morning, the unfortunately regular-for-this-time-of-year Brisbane showers had abated, all Magazine deadlines had been met and I had a few hours to get better acquainted with the bike.

I live in the Eastern Suburbs of the City, not too far from the super slabs that run North and South, but I'd already done enough freeway running lately, so the decision was 'West', which means crossing a city of 2 million people before getting out of town.

The bike is very easy to deal with in urban situations. It's very well balanced and easy to ride slowly in traffic. The upright ergos help being able to see over the cars and the engine management system keeps the temperature under control (by shutting down the rear cylinder during extended idling) nicely.

Fortunately Brisbane is a lot bigger/longer North-South than it is East-West and one of the best rides in the region is just out of the city. The run up to Mt Nebo and Mt Glorious is a very good bike road. Due to it's proximity to the urban areas it's speed limited to 80kph and heavily patrolled, but for the most part, the road is twisty enough and tight enough that it doesn't really matter - the fun is at 60kph on the hairpins anyway.

Then when you get up into the sub-tropical rainforest and the magnificent Cedars and Grey Gums form massive tunnels overhead, it's not such a drag to button off and enjoy the spectacle.

I didn't stop for a break at one of the several cafes at the top of the mountain either. The bike is very comfortable for extended periods and the footboards provide some opportunity to stretch legs - or at least change your foot and leg position, so I just kept going over to Dundas, before retracing the route back to the city before the worst of the afternoon peak hour.

What a great way to spend an afternoon; beautiful bike, nice roads, sunny day. I could get used to this! I did shoot quite a lot of video too, this is the first section, just out of town: