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The day started out nice and cold, nah…. not cold, bloody freezing more like it. After a quick out and back to warm all twenty of us, it was then into the tracks proper, trying to catch Phil the ride leader.
Being Toolangi it didn’t take long before the first bike was trying to imitate a submarine, fortunately the captain managed to keep it up right and after a bit of assistance, we were all on our way to the next test.
Soon we found ourselves in some more challenging terrain, something closer to level 2 rather than level 1. But with a bit of help here, and some assistance there, everyone came through unscathed. Gee that red clay is unforgiving should you let your guard down.
I think I forgot to mention just how slippery it was. The lighter bikes seemed to be having all the fun, while the 400’s just plugged away, letting their torque do the ‘talking”. Judicious use of the right wrist was the order for the less experienced riders, just to preserve sanity, but then again, insanity is always good for a laugh.
After some well appreciated lunch at the Glenburn servo, (my first mistake for the day – get your order in for food first, fuel up later before the good grub is gone! I wondered why Phil hadn’t fueled up…………cunning bugger). Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to a few riders at this point.
The afternoon saw us head back into the forest for what was to become somewhat of a trial for the uninitiated. A couple of quick blasts along some great 4wd trails had everyone excited, unfortunately a bit too excited maybe. For the second time today the corner man system let us down and a bit of back tracking was necessary to pull the crew together.
As we all know and I can’t stress it enough, please be attentive to the “corner man system”, it can be the difference between good ride and a great ride.
As the day wore on, we found ourselves at Phil’s mercy. After negotiating a tricky fallen tree, we were plunged into a regrowth forest with barely a track to follow. Thank God we didn’t have to go up it! I shouldn’t have blasphemed quite so soon, we almost had to! Very quickly the going deteriorated into a fight with nature. Mother Nature had seen fit to try and place as many fallen trees across the track as possible. Most were easily navigated with a bit of deft clutch work. (Or not as demonstrated by the author’s ability to stall!...........dang! Bloody CRF’s……..)
Progress was soon reduced to a quick twist of the throttle, followed by a sudden stop as the next tree was met. When gate for the end of the track came into view, several bloody great Mountain Ash tried to create an impenetrable barrier to the finish line. Brains and muscle were put to good use in devising a “cunning plan” that was to work exceptionally well and is a credit for all involved.
After disappointment with yet more fallen trees, a “U turn” and route change was in order. Just incase we thought we were getting the upper hand on Mother Nature…(yeah right!)…………a few more horizontal trees were thrown in. This was to become the status quo for the next hour or so and was starting to become a concern for all. It was becoming obvious that the day was drawing on and folks were becoming weary from man-handling bikes around the sodding trees. The remnants of snow from earlier in the week were a quaint distraction for some, but not nearly enough snow balls flew this day.
With another regrouping for a breather, it was mooted that the quickest way out of the forest was needed as the sun was now seriously heading down. Time had been slowly working against us while deep in the forest. Phil plotted a course out of the unknown, which lead us back to the cars, via a few interesting hills that I want to poke the front wheel up in the daylight.  All just making it that little bit more challenging in the half light for most.  
Rapidly we were all back at start and hastily getting organized for a quick departure. Somewhere out there, there were many cans of brewski calling.


Many thanks go to all who helped out today; it was tremendous just how everyone pitched in when needed. A special mention goes out to the other Phillip, our tailman. With the input of all riders involved, this is what makes a good ride great.

Cheers
Richard