The day kicked off with 5 riders and no rain.This made getting dressed in all the bike gear much more pleasant.
Into the forest we go with the first hill climb halting Andrew and Phil's progress on a stretch of slippery clay.It has been 2 years since Andrew's last ride and this start didn't help his confidence.With some help they were both up and going again.
The next track I used leaves the main track and comes back on further up except for one problem. Myself becoming geographically lost with new tracks appearing, others with "no motorbikes" signage and one hill impossible to climb in wet conditions. After a bit of exploring, going in circles and backtracking I was back to the main road and onwards to Rocky Track.Phil and Andrew rode around to Magazine Track whilst Denis, Rob and I tackled the wet slippery rocks, challenging,but fun.
Next up to the Telstra tower and down the rock infested Mountain Track where Phil decided he had exhausted his riding reserves for the day and departed our company.  Andrew questioned if he should continue. He stayed and in fact rode better as the day progressed.
It showered and rained at times throughout the day providing plenty of puddles and streams of water running down tracks. We were now on the loamy trails on the northern parts of the forest with reasonable grip and getting along quite well.
Later in the day we greeted some 4wds on a track who wished us luck climbing the hill they had just slid down. We did well to get to the top except for the DRZ stuck about three quarters of the way up on the icy surface. Robs idea of tying a rope to the bike to drag it to a better position made success possible.
Getting towards the end of the ride my geographical compass went out of sync again which didn't matter as where we rode was primo tracks and after 100kms we were back at the cars at about 430pm.
It might of been a bit wet but that did not hinder a great days ride. Thanks to all the guys who attended.

Mark Salter