TechED in Australia is only a couple of weeks away (maybe even less).  Since TechED is literally ”just up the road at the Gold Coast” I’ll be taking the bike.

I’ll be taking the extended detour though, and using the opportunity to go via Mt Tamborine, over the NSW border through  Murwillumbah, back via the old Coast road to the Gold Coast — turning what is a 80km trip into about 400 km;

….and the perfect chance to enjoy some beautiful scenery, twisty roads, and stop at one of my favourite little coffee houses, just outside a town called “MooBall”.

If you do own a bike (or you are dreaming of owning a bike), check out Roudy Bob’s posts.  Bob took the time out and rode to TechED USA — about 1900 km (about a scenic trip from Melbourne to Brissie):

One of the parts I enjoy most about riding a motorcycle is what I call the “zone”. Especially when navigating a road like this one where it is a seemingly endless series of curves and switchbacks, you get to a point where you are almost completely focused on the motorcycle and what is going on in front of you. You’re mental focus shrinks to what could and will happen in the next 30 seconds rather than what might happen later in the day, next week or next month. The brain and the body have to let go of all of those other thoughts because it takes every bit of their power to process the information the brain is getting and to make decisions about what the body needs to do to avoid becoming a pile of broken bones in the ditch. Checking speed. Making a decision about the gear you should be in. Calculating the appropriate amount of braking. Positioning the motorcycle in the right place to enter and exit the turn. Applying enough throttle to accelerate out of the turn. Watching for oncoming cars.

It’s not uncommon to forget entirely that you’re even on a motorcycle. Man and machine become one for a split second in time and you can physically feel the pull of the road and the momentum created as you navigate through the turn. You don’t have time to think about e-mail or voicemail or to-do lists. You can only exist both physically and mentally in that one moment in time. It’s a lesson I should learn to try to apply to the parts of my life when I’m not on a motorcycle. Be right here. Right now. Because that’s the only thing that actually exists. The rest of it is farther down the road and there’s no guarantee it’ll even happen….

Nailed it nicely Bob!  Couldn’t have said it better myself.