Highway 61 MC Brisbane Poker Run

WITH THE usual perfect Queensland weather, a top BBQ breakfast, plus a couple of topless chicks serving beers and selling raffle tickets as you registered for the ride, it was a great way to get things rolling on what promised to be another top day on the road. The Queensport Tavern in Hemmant, Brisbane, was once again the starting point, and by the time we headed off at 12 on the dot, we were all registered, revved up and ready to go with a pack of more than 100 bikes.

The first beers and the photo session of the topless girl on a couple of bikes were well behind us as we hit the four lanes heading south towards the Gold coast. None of us really knew exactly where the first stop would be but we were heading down towards where I live and there are plenty of good pubs in the area and they’re all biker friendly.

The pack was travelling at a good pace and soon we rolled into the Beenleigh Tavern, a relatively new watering hole in the district. The staff there gave us an old-fashioned welcome. Time for second cards, cold beers and a burger if you wanted, plus the chance to catch up with some old friends.

We headed off the highway and out onto the back roads that have some great riding for the area. This first one I know well as it has an EPA, 24-hour, noise monitoring station on it just outside of the local quarry. Bet the EPA boffins were really scratching their heads about the huge spike on the graph that Saturday afternoon caused by our little ride past!

The Bearded Dragon Tavern soon came into sight and we surrounded yet another top establishment for cold beers and good times. More cards, more checking out the bikes, more talking to mates old and new plus some photos of some girls’ breasticles made this another good stop. My old mate Joe showed me his new mirrors on his V-twin, my new mate Chris told me about his new chopper, and then we all hit the road again and headed in a bit of a Westerly direction.

My local knowledge let me know that this road would take us virtually straight to a pub that should be our next stop, and even though we didn’t travel at light speed, we were fairly close to it. As I suspected, the next stop was the Logan Village Hotel which copped a carpark full of bikes and a bar full of happy bikers for a quick half hour stop before we headed back to the clubhouse. We hooked back up to the four-lane highway for the run back and the pack looked awesome in the late afternoon sun as everybody enjoyed the shit out of the last bit of riding of the day.

We rolled through the Highway 61 MC’s clubhouse gates just on dark, parked the bikes, then hit the bar before we all settled in for what promised to be a great night.

Last cards were collected and I think three-of-a-kind won the money for best hand (it beat mine because as usual mine were up the crapper). The hand-made trophies were given out and if my memory serves me right, Chris on the Twin Cam had made it back to the show after fitting a new chain; he picked up a prize. Then we got into the Hungi for a great feed to finish off the day with a great party that went to the wee hours as they always do.

This went down as the best poker run for the boys yet. It’s on again next year so get out of your arm chairs and get along for a great day on the road with a great bunch of people.

words & pics by Keith Cole