Boy – have we got some fun in store for you! If you’re coming to the inaugural, one-and-only, first-ever Bike Fest Oz!, the hardworking and dedicated team behind the scenes have now started signing off on some great rides, activities and other fun stuff to run over the five days of our Festival, from June 7 to 11.
As anyone who’s been here before will know, the Coolangatta and Gold Coasts, and their respective hinterlands, really are some of Australia’s premier motorcycle playgrounds, with some fantastic rides and other adventures on offer, pretty much everywhere you roam. From the twisty run up to the majestic views over the coastline at Cape Byron, to the natural forest wonderland of Mt Tambourine, west of the Gold Coast, there is so much choice for visiting riders and tourists in general.
And the countryside can change so quickly sometimes that, almost without noticing, you’ll go from flat cane fields, to the spectacular mountain ranges straddling the NSW/Qld border, taking in majestic Mt Warning to the south, up to Mt Tambourine in the north. And along the way your eyes will be in wonder at your surroundings, while your taste buds will be in meltdown at all the treats that await in the many small towns, villages, restaurants, cafes and pubs along the way. And for trail and adventure bike riders, there are plenty of non-sealed diversions to keep you occupied.
But if you tire of saddle time, or just want to give the bike a break, why not grab a towel and head down to any one of countless beautiful beaches along the coast. Or you might want to grab a rod and try your luck on the tailor, salmon or even kingfish that lurk so close to shore that you can almost reach out and touch them! If old man river is more your style, you can take any number of river cruises, book time on a houseboat or see if you can catch an 80cm flathead or muscular bream for dinner.
But what is likely to keep you most occupied is bike-stuff – and we’ve got heaps of it! Our intention is to offer at least one official signature Bike Fest Oz! event each day of our Festival. And with more to be announced as the Festival gets closer.
Since the similarly exciting and engaging Cooly Rocks On festival is running over the same five days and will offer strong attraction for our visitors as well, we believe this will be enough for the first year to build a strong foundation for the future. And, of course, we will be providing online ride guides to visitors to showcase the many rides they can enjoy throughout the area (many being showcased on our website prior to the launch of the Festival in June and written by well-known motorcycle writers and journalists including Peter ‘The Bear’ Thoeming and our own Chris Beattie, among others).
As local businesses and rider groups are incredibly excited about our plans, there is a chance of more activities being announced, but the listed events are officially in the program for Bike Fest Oz! 2023.
So, without more ado, here is the Official Schedule of Events for Bike Fest Oz! 2023. Some announcements are yet to be made re locations or attendees, but what you read below is what has now been locked away. As they say in the classic, go ahead, make our days! And that’s exactly what we plan to do!
Just make sure you place your bookings now for the two main rides, including our Head to the Heads ride from Chinderah to Brunswick Heads and also our Lucky Helping Hand Poker Run in support of the Australian Sjögren’s Syndrome Association.
And continue to link back here as we’ll be making more announcements about other fantastic events we’ve got planned once all the details are locked away!
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Day One – Wednesday, June 7
HEAD TO THE HEADS RIDE TO BRUNSWICK HEADS FROM CHINDERAH
ALSO TO INCLUDE OFFICIAL WELCOME HOSTED BY THE MINJUNGBAL REGIONAL INDIGENOUS GROUP AND ADDRESS BY A WORLD FAMOUS RIDING IDENTITY (TBA!)
Location: Chinderah
Morning gathering at Chinderah, on the banks of the mighty Tweed River, where local Minjungbal Indigenous performing and cultural groups will showcase their culture and connection to the land and host exhibitions. Breakfast café nearby to provide refreshments.
We also hope to present an exciting display of bikes at the site of the gathering, with a Nitro Top Fuel Bike to be actually started up and possibly to perform a short burnout. Other significant competition and other bikes to be displayed.
The gathering will also be briefly addressed by our Official Bike Fest Oz! Official Patron, someone who is known to most riders and is an ardent bike rider and respected community leader. We also hope to attract several local celebrities, including Official Bike Fest Oz! Ambassadors actor Daniel Reader and local identity Brenda Walters to lead the Head to the Heads ride, which is an easy 43km/30min ride down the M1 freeway.
Arrive at the Hotel Brunswick for lunch and a band, with our Official BFO! Patron to give a detailed discussion of their background and riding experience as well as a particular cause they will be representing at the Festival. Wish we could give you more right now, but we have to keep something up our sleeve – although not for too much longer!
Rest of afternoon free for Bike Fest Oz! attendees to explore the surrounds and possibly ride back via the many and varied inland roads that meander through the area.
The day will end with an Open Mike Night for amateur performers to give their all in front of an appreciative audience at the Kingscliff Beach Hotel. Other activities to be hosted at the Chinderah Tavern.
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Day Two – Thursday, June 8
THE CELEBRATING ALL RIDERS AND ALL BIKES! MOTORCYCLE FESTIVAL
Location: Lawrence Drive, Nerang.
Official opening of the “Celebrating ALL Riders and ALL Bikes!” Motorcycle Festival centred on the motorcycle Mecca of Lawrence Drive, Nerang. Discussions with the many motorcycle focused businesses and shops in the area indicate strong support for this concept as it truly showcases the universal theme and appeal of our Festival with so many leading and great brands represented in the area, from Harley-Davidson, to BMW, Ducati, Kawasaki, Honda, Suzuki and Enfield, to name just a few. We will engage with all local shops to ensure as many as possible offer Festival visitors discounts or other exclusive benefits for attending the area and visiting the local shops and hopefully using their services and purchasing products while there.
The Festival is planned to run until the Sunday of Bike Fest Oz! 2023 and is also planned to include daily specific-category bike shows, such as a Scooter Ride-in Show, Custom Bike Show, Classic Bike Show and possibly other single-make displays, depending on local industry support.
Bike Fest Oz! interstate and non-local riders will also be encouraged to take daytrips to various areas and explore the many fantastic sealed and non-sealed riding roads that crisscross the Hinterland regions on both sides of the Qld/NSW border, also using as reference official Bike Fest Oz! Ride Guides that will be available to visitors, both online and ideally also as hardcopies.
The entertainment will continue Thursday night at the Kingscliff Beach Hotel with a band playing tonight, plus we hope to announce a themed night at the nearby Kingscliff Beach Surf Lifesaving Club, so there will be plenty of entertainment on offer, including at the Cooly Rocks On festival located only 10 minutes ride from Kingscliff and surrounds. Other local venues have expressed interest to host similar events tonight and Friday night, with plans for courtesy buses to ferry visitors from their accommodation to the venues.
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Day 3 – Friday, June 9
THE AUSTRALIAN SJÖGREN’S SYNDROME ASSOCIATION LUCKY HELPING HAND POKER RUN
Location: From Chinderah, NSW to Upper Coomera, Qld
The running of the inaugural Australian Sjögren’s Syndrome Association Lucky Helping Hand Poker Run will be held on Friday, June 9 as an Official BFO! event. And even better, we’ve nominated a great charity that the Run will support and generate funding for along the way!
The Australian Sjögren’s Syndrome Association is actually a border area-based charity created by a group of concerned people, including local long-time motorcycle enthusiast Rob Stimpson. The Association was set up to help people cope with this debilitating condition, which is classified as an autoimmune disorder that attacks the body’s own tissues and organs.
So we’ve decided to become official supporters of the Association via the Lucky Helping Hand Poker Run, a signature event for Bike Fest Oz! 2023. And the Association will also be the nominated beneficiary of various other fund-raising initiatives and activities throughout the Festival, including a possible Official Bike Fest Oz! Raffle intended to be drawn at the Festival.
The Lucky Helping Hand Poker Run will be limited to just 200 bikes for the time being, possibly to be divided into two groups of 100 bikes each in order to not inconvenience local traffic too much in the areas of mostly south-east Qld that we will traverse over the day. Our experienced road marshals will help to ensure that everybody is directed to where they need to go and when.
The Run will take in some spectacular local rides and scenery, with discussions already having taken place with the various hosts of each stop, including the start point of the Chinderah Tavern, overlooking the Tweed River. Entered riders and passengers (only $30 per hand, with no limit to the number of people per bike – sidecars and trikes welcome) will meet here and can enjoy a breakfast (not included in the entry) and entertainment at the start of the Run along with being dealt their first card, after which they will head into northern NSW for the second stop and card at the historic Chillingham Store, which has just celebrated its centenary. Hosts Gary and Lauren are enthusiastic motorcyclists and have a few bikes of their own on display to interest visiting riders. They also offer a great selection of snacks and food, so this is a great destination for card 2.
From here, riders will head north and again cross back into Qld and enjoy a very scenic ride on the way to the Advancetown Hotel, another very popular motorcycle hangout, which is located in the Hinterland foothills and overlooks the spectacular Gold Coast.
After collecting their third card, riders will then head towards the coast for the fourth stop at the nearby motorcycle epicentre of Lawrence Drive, Nerang, which boasts nearly all of the major motorcycle shops and brands in south-east Qld. Special arrangements are being made to ensure riders of all denominations and brands will be made to feel very, very welcome indeed here.
From Nerang, it will be a leisurely final run up the M1 Princes Highway, taking the Coomera turnoff and heading up into the Hinterland foothills to the very scenic and spectacular Gold Coast Motor Museum, where our hosts and hardcore bike and car enthusiasts, Carl and Grant Amor will welcome us for an afternoon of great entertainment, food and refreshment from their on-site Stanley’s Bar and Restaurant.
A lot of planning has already gone into the Run and prizegiving. Organisers have mapped out the route, visited all of the sites, ridden the roads, spoken with the site owners and occupants and calculated all of the distances and times. All of our hosts are hugely enthusiastic about being involved in the Lucky Helping Hand Poker Run and we hope to shortly announce a major sponsorship deal for the inaugural Run.
Plans also call for heaps of novelty and other prizes (best and worst hands) to be handed out on the day, so make sure you get in quick as spots will, no doubt, be filling fast!
In addition to the ride, we also plan to host a special Bike Fest Oz! night at a yet-to-be-confirmed venue, with a great headline band already lined up. Other possible activities on the night include a motorcycle-themed tattoo exhibition.
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Day Four – Saturday, June 10
THE CELEBRATING ALL RIDERS AND ALL BIKES! FESTIVAL
Location: Lawrence Drive, Nerang
Official Bike Fest Oz! 2023 “Celebrating ALL Riders and ALL bikes!” Festival to continue. Organisers also intend to host at least two free public exhibitions today, one for classic road and race bikes and another for custom motorcycles. Sites yet to be finalized, but likely to be in or around the Coolangatta/Tweed border area and within close proximity to the Cooly Rocks On centre of activities. Organisers have considered a number of locations for the shows, which would be a mix of trade exhibits and private and commercial bike displays, with possible rider skill and stunt demonstrations, including trials and other disciplines.
A special display and events are being considered to be hosted at Gold Coast Harley-Davidson marking Harley-Davidson’s 120th Anniversary in 2023. Subject to discussions with the dealership.
We will also host another special Bike Fest Oz! pub night at the Kingscliff Beach Hotel, including a Trivia Contest and an 8 Pool Competition. Tonight’s headline act will be extremely popular and talented local artists The Fat Albert Band and we will have a local rider and personality run the motorcycle trivia contest, with prizes donated by local businesses. A second venue, the nearby Chinderah Tavern, has also offered to host a motorcycle-themed evening on the night and since both pubs are owned by the same organisation, a shuttle bus service will run between both venues. All proceeds on the night to go to The Australian Sjögren’s Syndrome Association.
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Day Five – Sunday, June 11
BIKE FEST OZ! OFFICIAL FAREWELL AND ANNOUNCEMENT OF 2024 BFO! PLANS AND THEME
Location: Kingscliff, Coolangatta and surrounds
Official last day of the inaugural Bike Fest Oz! 2023 will begin with a Blessing of the Bikes to be conducted as a multi-denominational outdoor service and event, encompassing all faiths, bikes, riders, families and friends. Today will also be all about riding, with at least two official rides of not more than 200km running into the Hinterland and areas west and possibly venturing south of the Qld/NSW border to explore the great riding around the Tweed River and further south.
We will be hosting an official Bike Fest Oz! 2023 Festival Farewell at the Kingscliff Beach Hotel, with high-profile artists (discussions still in progress) entertaining Festival participants in a rock-concert-like atmosphere, incorporating a range of acts, comperes and celebrity riders. The concert/farewell will also include a final address by our Official Patron, and plans for a fireworks spectacular with the theme for Bike Fest Oz! 2024 being announced on the night. Other venues in the area have expressed interest in participating in the celebrations so it is likely that there will be a choice of other entertainment and venues nearby, and likely within walking distance.
In the morning and afternoon lead-up to the Concert we aim to host book-signings and also a motorcycle-themed Tattoo Exhibition at a yet-to-be-confirmed venue, although discussions have been on-going since late last year with two potential venues.
Festivities will end with a final farewell performance by the local Minjungbal Indigenous cultural group performing and entertaining visitors with traditional dances and other exhibitions.
All proceeds at the Kingscliff Beach Hotel on the night to be shared between the Charlie Teo Foundation and The Australian Sjögren’s Syndrome Association.
