Ride Reports

[Lefty]

His two index fingers will be working overtime !!!

[jarrod k]

johnny i will never forget your berg floating away,and i cant wait to see the footage.

[broco5]

Well what a ride a BIG thanks to everyone who helped out i was very impressed with how we all handled the days events.We had our first dewatering about 250m into the ride which the tail man and i had the privilege of helping with this seemed to set the trend for the day i think i saw this particular husquavarna at a couple of water crossings we had five drownings all up and Zeb was no where to be seen.Poor old Frankie went to step of his bike to walk it through when he lost his footing and went deep sea fishing bike included i think he should of taken his chance riding it he might of been dryer.Even with all this we were traveling quite well great pace most of the day except the poor yamaha riders who seemed to get stuck on the hills and those all show KTMS some stuck some broken ha ha!!!I managed to repair the broken kato so adam could at least get back to the cars and call it a day at lunch time. Wish at this point i joined him as my day was to get fairly long.Leaving the lunch point we had two options up the 70 degree climb or ride around the hill.With my skills being up there with or most improved (seano)i gave it a go with jarrod not far behind both making it to the top where we regrouped and headed of.We had a regoup after a river crossing where we had a few problems james on his (red yamaha) came a cropper doing a one handed superman after making it through the river very amusing for us who like to watch!! Then we had a drowned Berg also amusing and poor old Frankie and his kato .After about an hour we were on our way again we travelled around 10 meters when i came across a great sloppy clay pit after jumping across thinking hope i dont land in that s##@ made it to the top with ease to find a small handfull of mates there i took    the corner and waited and waited slowly the rest of the group emerged one by one all coverd in clay.They told me the poor bloke on the berg still was having trouble we blew out his fuel injection conection this got him going again but he did have dramas after that.We then rode along this grouse ridge track that went for ever i would say around twenty or so k's i was at a corner when jarrod came and told me someones had a accident and broken there leg so leaving him on the corner i went on to get the lead rider there was one more corner then luckily jeff was on his way back so we left the rest of the group there and headed back with rob as he had his epirb and gps with him.When we arrived at the crash we found Dane not very happy and in heaps of pain so we set of the epirb to get help as there was no way we could move him.So we waited trying to keep him warm and comfortable i relised he had NO sense of humor at this stage better stop mucking around (that dont happen often).Around three hours later he was choppered out leaving 8 of us to ride out in the dark thank god for that gps around a hour or so later we where nearly out only one more obstacle a huge locked gate james posted his red yamaha through the fencf which looked way to hard so we decided to lift them over the gate the first 5 wernt to bad then they seemed to get really heavy (was everyone lifting???) we arrived at the cars around 7.30   

[Jeff Davey]

Wow where do you start.

Before I get into the nitty gritty of the ride, please indulge me a moment to express the faith we have in the way people are prepared to help out a total stranger at a moment’s notice. From the 4WD blokes who stopped what they were doing to assist with Dane, to the campers who were quiet happy to give us fuel for a couple thirsty bikes (we did insist they take some cash) not to mention our guys who where only too happy to stay out in the bush knowing they would be riding back in the cold and dark. Thank you one and all.
On the lighter side there were a couple of truly dedicated souls who were forced to sit in the Stockyard hotel and endure such hardships as Parmas and  beer while watching the football on the big screen TV as they waited for the bike retrieval team to return. They’re probably still in therapy for such a traumatic experience.

On to the ride. I was handed the ride leader duties at the club meeting last Wednesday night. I thought “ok that’s not such a problem”. And then Sean’s original post for this ride mysteriously disappeared from the web site. I should have recognised the warning signs and stayed home.

Rawson is an aboriginal word meaning “God’s gift to trailriders”, so how could I stay home! As the sky lit up with a bright orange sun rise we made the pilgrimage to the holy land. There were 19 starters that gathered at the bottom of Beardmores trk in the shadow of the Thompson Dam. Some had been here before, some for the first time. 200 hundred meters in is the first chance to get your feet wet as we crossed the Thompson River, this long crossing around 30 odd mts wide but not that deep. Most crossed with nothing more than wet feet, except for Stan, a first timer to this area, who was baptised in the cool clean waters. As this a Victorian river and not a Tasmanian river his poo box YZ250 two banger still came out a poo box YZ, only water logged ( Stan don’t believe everything you see on TV). The first of many jobs for tailman Mark to deal with. At the top of Beardmores you cross the road to a Little Link trk , not that steep but always slippery that caught a few napping. Then on to CMF trk down to the Abberfeldy River. I had no idea how much water was flowing in this river as it rises and falls quickly. On sighting the river it was discoloured and up a bit, so in I went. it had a strong flow but only about wheel deep. Just as you were about to come out the other side there was a hole that plunged another 150/200ml that was a bit of a surprise. One by one the rest of the crew crossed, a couple nervous moments but all made it no problems. That was a relief.

From there the trk changes name and is now North East trk and climbs very quickly, the last 200mts is in poor condition and resembles the Devils rock garden. There was plenty of traction but fairly technical, I thing Mark had some more work there. From there a left turn into Dream Creek trk. I love this trk, it has long fast and steep downhill and a mandatory river crossing. If you look at Lefty’s photos the second row is of this crossing. The trick is to ride right next to the log, not that easy when there’s a half metre drop to the left. No chance of dry feet here, all made it across but a few close calls. An easy climb from here to the road, then into Merringtons trk , a couple hundred metres later turn into Pheasant trk . Pheasant trk has the best of both worlds, steep clay down one side ,river crossing (yes back in that bloody river again) and a long rocky climb out the other side.

Flats trk was the next challenge. Don’t be fooled by the name, it’s anything but flat. The first 30 odd metres there is a near vertical rock face to go down . Once you commit you can only hope your sill upright when you hit the bottom, and then it’s all downhill till you hit Donnelleys Creek trk. We had a regroup at this point which took some time. Some of the guys lit a fire at this point as we waited for tailman Mark to arrive. Turns out Adam had a mishap on the climb out of Pheasant trk and damaged a radiator on the KTM. Matt was the man on spot to mend this, using all his McGuiver skills he fashioned a repair using only the foreskin of a Yak! that he had in his backpack WTF! . Adam wasn’t convinced that this would hold so opted for the quickest way back to the car. Lunch was held at Jorgenson hut while I escorted Adam back to a spot where I was confident he would not get lost. At lunch I asked Mark if he wanted to swap the tailman job, but he was happy with pace and getting plenty of entertainment so he stuck with it.

We hit Jorgenson trk after lunch then into Toombon trk and a left into Eaton trk. It was at the river at Eaton that things stated to go pear shaped (that’s the next row of Leftys photos). James put on a real show for the boys as his unusual departure from the creek was a big hit. John drowned the big Berg here, but Frank stole the show. You have to feel sorry for Frank. He tried to do the right thing and walk the bike across, but as he dismounted he and the bike landed in the drink Doh! Once all bikes where dried out It was straight into a steep clay climb to Comet trk, turn left, oops should have turned right.  Quick check of the map and we were back on trk up to the town of  Abberfelde. Fairly high up here and bloody freezing, had to feel for Frank. Heading north out of town we turned into Pluto trk to pick up the end of McGuire’s trk. It was on this trk that young Dane came unstuck.

The front half of group was way up the other end when Matt came thru with the news. I rode back with Matt to see what could be done. Mark had left by then to get higher ground to make phone contact. The other guys were making Dane as comfy as they could and getting a fire going. Someone had an emergency response beacon with them so we activated that.  As it was getting late I thought it was best to get the front crew back to cars and return with my 4wd. When I returned to the front group we meet some 4wds who also helped with phone contact  and then went the site to help where they could. The return to the cars was no easy task as I broke my throttle cable half way back and then bought fuel from some campers at Jorgenson hut to make sure we all made it back.

As you probably know Dane was Air lifted out with a broken leg. I meet the other half of the crew on their way back in the dark. I dished out some fuel I had in the car to make sure they made it back and arranged to meet them at the pub after I collected Stan as well as the two bikes from the Bush. Had to go out a different way with the bikes on and missed a turn, ending up miles away. Collected Stan around 7.30pm got back to pub I think around 10pm.

I would like to personally thank, well, pretty everyone for their assistance with Dane, I hope for a speedy recovery mate. Thanks Mark for being tailman all day & night.  Till we meet again in trialriders’ garden of Eden.
Jeff

[AL]

Great report Jeff!!! Lots of words in there about the stuff we tend to take for granted about riding with the club. And things we should be greatful for as members. Sounds like an eventful day out, as this sport can sometimes deliver. And a day that will live for a long time in the stories it will bring. Good job by yourself and the rest of the crew. Mark is one of those blokes who always puts his hand up for tailman duties and never gets his true rewards for the effort he puts in.
Al

[mr dusting]

Great job to everyone involved! Not good hearing about the rider down, hope he makes a good quick recovery!

[Frankie-boy]

Two drownings in one day Frankie that sucks , i feel for ya mate i know how it feels ....  Just dont let it get into ya head other wise it will be every river and creek you come accross trust me i know 

Mate I don't know where ya read that, I only drowned the bike once, it won't get into my head, I've drowned a bike many times over the years, I'm sure this one won't be the last one

[colinp]

Great reports everyone. A few learning's I took away from the day. Always carry a space blanket which are only a couple of bucks from the camping store, James had one in his backpack which was used to keep Dane warm. Secondly, take your mobile phone with you on the ride, out of all us we only had one phone, fortunately it was linked to Telstra and it worked from high ground. Thirdly carry a lighter. Mark had a lighter so we were able to light a fire to keep warm while talking to the Ambo's. James I reckon you should rethink you career prospects, maybe you should enter the medical profession your patient care was wonderful!

ColinP