Planning and Decisions

 The 2026 Glacial Lakes MC Grand Tour has arrived, featuring a theme of Obscure Oddities & Attractions.

And as I have done in the past, the Grand Tour will form the core of my 2026 ride plans.

However, unlike previous years, and with some regret, I won’t be an official participant this year.

Before I explain why, I would like to thank the GLMC for allowing "Internationals", or as your friendly ICE Agent would say, “undesirable aliens”, to participate in previous Grand Tours.

These type of "treasure hunt" events were popular here in Oz with motor car/bike clubs back in the 1960s & 70s, but died out during the 1980s due to increasingly stringent Public Liability / Duty of Care laws, combined with aggressive Insurance company lawyers.

So, the opportunity to participate in a modern-day Grand Tour, albeit remotely, was greatly appreciated.   A big "Thank You" to all involved.

This year, US-based riders are chasing bonuses listed in Atlas Obscura and Roadside America, while Oz-based riders are chasing bonuses from Atlas Obscurer and Wikipedia Big Things.

I applaud the use of specific reference files identifying the bonuses. It provides an even "playing field" for all participants and eliminates any ambiguity at the Scoring Table.

My first order of business was to download the Wikipedia Big Thing file, copy it to an Excel spreadsheet, select the 4 Eastern states and then upload that data into Google My Maps.  

I excluded the central and western states as they are just too far away to be considered.  To provide some perspective, Australia has the same land area as the Lower 48 States, with our Eastern States covering an area approximately 2,000 miles x 750 miles.

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I then eliminated all the towns that did not begin with a G-L-M-C and applied an "8-hour" limitation. 

The 8-hour radius is a personal restriction, as my days of endless travel with no regard for the kilometres travelled are behind me. Nowadays, I like to stay within a day's ride of home for family reasons.  This is about a 8 hr / 700 km / 450 mi road distance.

This restriction reduced the potential bonus locations considerably.

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“Big Things” have a habit of disappearing over time, and as the Wikipedia file was quite old, I used Google Street View to validate these locations. 

Sure enough, a couple of bonuses are now gone (demolished, destroyed by fire or wind, moved, etc.).  This further reduced the potential bonus count.

There are not many entries in the Atlas Obscurer for Australia, but I processed what was there in a similar way and uploaded it to my map. 

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Hmmm... Houston, we have a problem. 

To be considered a Finisher, I need 25 bonuses, but after validating the locations, I found there are now only 26 in total that still exist. 

A possible solution is to photograph "Big Things" within my restriction zone that are not listed on Wikipedia, submit the photos for approval and hope that they are accepted and the data file updated before the end of the Grand Tour.

The Wikipedia file has not been updated since 2022,  suggesting that this topic is not active, so I feel the margin for failure is too great.  

I suppose I could make a submission to Atlas Obscura, but I have no idea how quickly they review/accept/update their website either.  If I was chasing a podium place, then I would give it a go, but all I am doing is chasing a tee-shirt so I will skip it.

Simply put, I am a DNF before I have even started.  No tee-shirt for me this year.

But all is not lost. Some years ago, a well-known moto-journalist, Peter Thoeming, published a list of his Top 50 Australian Motorcycle Rides, and as my luck would have it, 20 rides are within my 8-hour radius.

It is of no surprise that they all involve rides along various twisting mountain roads across the Great Dividing Range.

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• Alpine Way - A 120 km high-altitude route through Kosciusko National Park with constant twists.
• Bonang Road - A legendary forest road near the Victorian border, starting in Dalgetty.
• Brown Mountain - a steep winding road between Bega and Nimitabel
• Bruxner Highway - A demanding mountain run between Casino and Tenterfield.
• Bucketts Way - A long flowing road through the hills between Gloucester and Nabiac. 
• Bylong Valley Way - A scenic route through rural landscapes with two steep twisty climbs.
• Goulburn To Oberon Road - High-country sweepers mixed with tight technical sections.
• Gwydir Highway - The steep winding climb from Grafton to Glen Innes.
• Kangaroo Valley  - Known for tight technical descents through dense forest. 
• Kings Highway - The main winding route between Canberra and Batemans Bay.
• Macquarie Pass - A very steep and tight mountain pass with narrow hairpins starting at Albion Park.
• Mount Lindesay Highway - A rugged winding path through the border ranges. 
• Nowendoc Road - A remote high-country road with significant twisty sections.
• Oxley Highway - The 165 km stretch from Wauchope to Walcha is considered our premier motorcycle road.
• Snowy Mountains Highway - Alpine sweepers and elevation changes from Tumut to Cooma.
• Summerland Way - A scenic winding alternative route north from Grafton. 
• Thunderbolts Way - A mix of fast sweepers and steep climbs between Gloucester and Walcha.
• Turondale Road - A technical back-road between Hill End and Bathurst.
• Waterfall Way - A scenic winding route from Bellingen up to Armidale. 
• Wootton Way - A technical forested loop through O'Sullivan's Gap

Over the years, I have enjoyed many of these challenging roads, plus several more that didn't make the Top 20 list, so as my riding career winds down, I see 2026 as a chance to enjoy some of them once again.

With all that in mind, my 2026 Riding Adventure is to plan my rides around the Top 20, combined with as many "Big Thing" bonuses I bump into along the way.

Planning for a number of 3-day rides has begun, with the first ride tentatively planned for late February or early March.  

I may not achieve a Grand Tour Finish, but I am sure I will have some fun along the way.