Brisbane most popular bike ride is a terrific set of bends, however it’s not been without its problems. I used to go there often when starting out on road bikes, it was close by and I liked the buzz of all the other bikes there. I got lured into the scene so to speak before coming to my senses and moving on, very fortunate not to have come undone as many have on that road.
Long before I left Brisbane I had stopped riding Mt G except on rare occasion despite it being just 20 minutes away from my home. It was a magnet for noobs and police and every weekend was a crash scene. But it is a fantastic ride when you have it to yourself.
Look at the bike below – Honda Tiger Blade which was a new bike when I took that photo using a film camera for my ‘home page’ that preceded this blog.
You can locate this road on the map, expand to see the list.
These ‘good road’ posts were published 2006-2008. At some point the original images and descriptions became out of date and I moved overseas. I archived them here to update when I ride Australia again. This collection is just my own personal riding records, not a definitive list.
After returning from the UK armed with a bike licence I was looking forward to riding this road. To my dismay I found it almost claustrophobic with so many trees close to the edge of the road and boy are there some large ones. Once you clear Mt Glorious though and head towards the Somerset Wivenhoe Road the track becomes a cracker with some wonderfull twisties which are enjoyable at the speed limit which is very rare.
And yes the Police are ridiculous.
Not too many open sweeping roads around Brisbane. Also difficult to enjoy them on a modern sports bike with todays law keeping.
Try:
Advancetown (Hinze raceway)
Burringbah range
Summerland Way
Esk to Hampton
Esk to Gatton
Some of the Maleny to Kenilworth and Obi Obi (still some tight stuff in parts)
Parts of Woodford to Maleny.
Best open flowing roads I know are in countryside northern NSW.
The popularity of this road can be a downside but it is great fun and a delightful way to spend time just by riding at or under the speed limit. It’s always great to stop for coffee at the top, such a broad range of bikes and heaps of older guys and girls like myself.
If you can get away on a week day go it. That reminds me, haven’t been up there for months. Must go!
I am fairly new to Brisbane and Nebo / Glorious was one of my first rides here. I will definately agree with everything said thus far: Law enforcement is extremely high, i passed 4 different police vehicles in a 2 hour trip. Weekends are packed full of riders and ‘P’ plate drivers with limited experience, so expect to see lane sharing and overtaking on double whites.
Last time i was up there was a couple of days after some rain and the roads still had wet patches and wet trails running through a lot of corners. Wet leaves were also an issue.
I know this sounds like im bashing the place, but on the conterary, it really is an awesome ride. Weekdays are a must if you are fed up with the traffic.
I agree its rather nice to take a spin up there on the “off peak”.
For example I sometimes go up late on a Sunday afternoon which surprisingly turns out to mostly be one of the quietest times on the hill. I enjoy alot the road sections either side of Nebo village and the climb from the bottom of the steep branch road towards Samford. I can ride both these and have a coffee and cake at the Nebo cafe (shop next to post office has best) and be back home again in about 2 hours since I live just 15 minutes away.
I just got back from a ride through this. It has been one of my favourites for years, I used to do it on a GPX250, now days on a GSX750 and one day on a Ducati 900. I had a guy on a Ducati (i'm pretty sure he was in cohorts with the police as he overtook me about 1km before a radar and didn't get done and did a U-turn straight after the radar). I followed him after he overtook me for about 2 kms but backed off when I realised that he couldn't ride- drifting right out to the white centre line, bad posture, jerky power reliant speed, not speed due to good lines. I backed off so he wouldn't feel like he was being pressured and hopefully would slow down himself. I wish they trained these entrapment riders to ride better :).
My Glorious. My one and only Off on a road bike. First time on it. Coming down the steep decent into Samford village. A tight left hairpin (increasing radius followed by decreasing radius, which I didn't read for some stupid reason) followed by a quick right then another tight left. I exited the hairpin too wide, line was all shot to hell to make the right and slow down for the upcoming left. Ended up in the ditch just before the left – after drifting wide onto the wet leaf debris on the side of the bitumen. All the way up from Fernvale side was leaf debris everywhere and a Lot of corners had water/wet across them on the apex. Zero injury to me, only cosmetics on the bike (I'd managed to slow it down but not correct my line in time before hitting the wet leaves which sent me upright into the muddy leafy ditch). So, my premiums will rise – dang, and I was gonna buy a new bike this week too. DOH! Oh well, once I have the bike back – or the new one – I'll have to get back up there to ride it properly this time.
Michael
Hi Cris,
Dunno about Dukes but the police do have two Hyabusa's.
I find I can enjoy much of the road at a quite modest pace. All the tight sections flow nice if approached in a relaxed ride mindset. Modern race styled sports bikes make doing that very difficult.
I live in the gap and hear the ambulances all the time. It happens week in and week out. Last one was half an hour ago and its 1am. The bloke who came off a couple of weeks ago is in an induced coma.
As tempting as it is.. Dont go anywhere near the place! The police are relentless in the area. They wont stop until they've destroyed road riding altogether – Often hiding out in the most ridiculous places.. Just before speed zone transitions miles from civilisation – where there's no risk/no driveways, buried in the bush – shooting lasers thru trees, multiple cars radio linked etc etc. Even if your intention is to comply with the speed limit, the disproportionate attention you need to give to speedo watching detracts from what fun there is to be had, and ironically makes it more dangerous in the process! Damn shame as despite its limitations, its still by far the easiest real riding to get to from Brisbane. Feel very sorry for the nice guy who recently took the bikers rainforest cafe over as biker numbers are dwindling every month – This is why his predecessor sold the cafe of course! And the only reason all those businesses are now doing it so hard is the absurd level of police harassment of bikers. Sad but true. You've been warned!!
Thanks for the update
Yes indeed the police are relentless, it's quite a revenue raiser for the QLD Governement, 60 kmh zones that should be 80 kmh zones, they get you for 85 or so…$333 and 4 points, 25 kmh over rather than a realistic 5 kmh over, this has really become a nanny state. Avoid this place, it's kinda dull at 50 or 60 kmh.
Hi Warren – I still ride Nebo Gloroius quite often because it is so convenient and such a great ride, especially if I don't have the time to put in a whole day ride. Recently the police presence on the Mtn has been extraordinary, they are obviously having a blitz of some sort. Six weeks ago on a Saturday morning at 7.30am my son and I were stopped and breathalysed at the bottom of Mt nebo at the Gap end. They had 2 cars, a blue SS Holden Commodore and a black VW Golf GTI. Later on coming back across the top, a few kms before the coffee shop the GTI chased and pulled up my son on his Triumph 675. The cop had been well off the road in a dirt carpark and had picked my son up on radar as he had gone past. I had slowed as I always do going past those parks and seen the cop but my son had not. 3 Weeks ago at 7.30am on a Saturday morning they had setup a very elaborate speed trap towards the bottom of Nebo (Gap end) to catch riders coming DOWN off the mtn – a 4WD with 2 cops and a radar, around the corner the blue SS Commodore and a fully marked H'way patrol car…thats what I call intensive policing! And finally to complete the picture and my contribution, last Saturday at 7am a cop was standing at the end of the "Bellbird" straight catching riders going UP the Mtn…usually they stand at the other end of the straight, park the police vehicle in the side road and catch riders coming down the Mtn. Fortunately for us I was in front and I very cautiously sat on 85kmh and we got through. The cop must have had a feast…downhill straight 5 kms into the ride, no wonder we saw so few riders on Nebo last Saturday, 1/2 of them would have lost their licences on the way up. Readers be warned its a fabulous ride but if you need your licence to get to work, take it easy up there. Keep up the good work Warren – Cheers Jumi.
Thanks for the update Jumi.
I feel sorry for the riders with limited time who might enjoy a short quiet ride there on a weekend followed by a coffee before back home to the family.
It has always attracted some fast riding (and driving) and will continue to do so as new people go there. Young riders and drivers will take it up as a challenge to avoid the police and make a game of it.
Nothing has changed in the near 20 years since Northbrook Parkway was sealed and nothing will until the community, police, and policy makers understand this.