AMTRA.com.au

Great day out Gaz shame not everyone turned up which meant some others might of missed out as the ride was supposed to be full, then the look of disappointment on the face of the publican at the Robin Hood when I informed her that the was only six of us instead of sixteen, huge fail guys, but besides the sun 95% of the day and only raining in the last 1/2 hr. great mix of trails from mud, clay ,dry ,rocky, big ups and downs, lots of disused tracks , bog holes and the staircase to finish off bloody awesome , new bike was bloody fab, pub was great as was the bench racing. Thanks to all who made the effort and to those who missed out, what could one say, probably lots of things , but would not be very nice so let's just leave it at perhaps set a new goal of living up to your commitments could be a positive thing for the club. :) :)

What a great day it was to be out on the bikes – 15 degrees and mostly sunny!

I almost missed the ride, as I was running 15 minutes late for the ‘meeting’ time of 8:30am.
Unfortunately I had also missed reading the important 2 words in Gary’s post that said ‘on bikes’. Luckily, the guys hadn’t quite left when I arrived, and Gary’s first loop was a short one that brought everyone back to the main road, so I was able to quickly get ready and meet up with them there.

The tracks were much drier that I expected, but still with plenty of puddles and sloshy ruts to keep us on our toes. Zeb managed to foul a spark plug on his ‘blue KTM’ early on, but had a spare, so was able to swap it out after getting the fuel tank out of the way.

I managed to clip a tree at one point, and speared off the bike. I jumped back on and rode off, annoyed with myself and trying to work out whether I (or the bike) had suffered any damage. I saw what I thought was a cornerman parked leading into one of those ‘overgrown’ tracks, and promptly turned off into it. It was only after I’d finished the loop that I was informed that I had ridden past our ride leader whilst he was waiting for someone to turn up and be a cornerman (whoops!).

Zeb then led us down to a delightful little rock-filled creek crossing, guaranteeing that everyone had wet boots by the end of it. The ruts getting out of that valley were a bit of a challenge, with foot high tree roots embedded into them.

Lunch time saw us back at the cars, and hot coffee waiting, courtesy of Sandra (Bob) – it was all very civilised!

It was then back out on the trails after lunch, with a smaller crew of riders this time, as some had opted to just do the morning session. The pace flowed well, and the tracks were really tacky, so you could get pretty good traction. It seemed the erosion culverts and whoops were the main ingredients in the tracks we took and I was finally starting to feel like I was getting back into the swing of things by then, so managed to enjoy lots of ‘air’ time.

A few of us cut the arvo session short, and headed back to the cars at 3:30. The sky was looking greyer by then, and the temperature had dropped considerably. Sounds like the final riders might have gotten a bit damp!

Thanks to Garry for running a ripper ride, and to our tailmen Johnny and Rossi. Also thanks to Zeb for leading us around the odd ‘challenge track’ in the morning session.

Hey Rossi , that Karmas a bitch isn't it, Im sitting hear with a bag of frozen peas on my left wrist thinking of you with your foot stuck under your bike. have you ever thought about disconnecting that horn,might bring you good luck on the trails ;D ;D ;D, I think I could hear your horn tooting in my sleep last night. awesome way to finish the day I think especially drifting down the stair case, whos idea was it again to finish the day off in that way anyway  ;D ;D ;D a well better go wash the bike and gear, thanks again everyone for a top day out.

SHOWTIME!!
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With a little from a friend
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Arent they cute  ???

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Smile!
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Onya Ted  ;D
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Poser  ;D
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Oh Allright then Gaz, I'll stay behind you - i'll let you lead  :P
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And now...a word from your ride leader - strike the pose!

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Praying to the bike gods!
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The tree root - it was this big!!!!

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better late than never hey Pete
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Ok off you all go -I'll wait here for you all and will pop the kettle on  ;D

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lunch time
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A fun day for the chaps finished off at the Robin Hood Inn for dinner.
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Ripper day gazz , great folks  to ride with and the weather was perfecto.

Thanks Johnny and Rossie for taking care of everyone rear and bobby for the chat and coffee , congrats to Wilbur on the new Kato and it was great to  catch up with some old mates I haven't seen in a while .

Well done Gazza ....

Yes I know BR9ES x 2 before the next ride right .

Great work Wilbur, Garry, Johnny & Rossi.  Another good day out !
Must admit I haven't felt so knakered after a ride ( or during one) for ages ................ note to self :  Harden up you big pussy !!!

Yep, we also had a great day. 121ks on my speedo. Well organized, both tracks and weather. My oldest hasn't ridden with me for over 12 months but Saturday has shown him what he's been missing out on.  Haven't been to Neerim South for a while but seemed in top nick to me. Thanks Gary, Johnny, Bob, Rossie and all those who went.

PS. How'd those young blokes go after the ride Bob ???   

Oh Lefty, the poor little buggers were freezing and just had no idea...but alas Mumma Bob used some of Johnnys spare warm clothes to put on their backs and we waited till the others got back (made em a hot cuppa) and Johnny led them back to where their car was......10 minutes (if that) straight up the road from where we were!!!!!!...The poor kids spent the afternoon with me mothering them and talking their ears off while explaining the advantages of joining a club like AMTRA where you have a back up when things go wrong and that they didn't have to be in this predicament - when all along they could have been back at their car!
However - we may have 2 new members out of it...they got to meet most of the crew and were subject to me and Zeb there for a while...oh bugger - second thoughts, maybe we scared them off lol...seriously though, they were eternally grateful to everyone for their input, so Thanks guys

Thanks Garry for getting this ride up and happening and to Will for arranging the feed afterwards. We all appreciate the effort contributed towards putting these rides on, such as field checking the areas to be ridden and responding to phone calls and emails prior to the day, good job guys.
And Bob, the bloke answer to Leftys question would of gone something like this, the kids got back to their car safe n sound...
And I appreciated the hot coffee at lunchtime, thanks Bob...

Sorry Rossi  ::)

Ride report , Neerim Sth Pubman  Level 2 +, 3 August 2013

 8.30 am quick ride briefing then on our way with 14 x riders for the day, Peter arrived as we were leaving so arranged to meet him at the entrance to the park, threw in a good mix of Neerim Sth tracks in the morning,  split the group up with a few optional harder loops led by  Zeb , all flowed well , back to the cars for lunch and re fuel.

10 x riders for the afternoon session ! , ran a few more Neerim track’s then headed across the Thompson river  towards Noojee , about 3.30, 4 x riders headed for home and the rest of us ended the day with a few more nice tracks, just started raining as we got back to the cars.

Off to the Robin Hood Hotel for dinner.

Big thanks to Zeb for leading the optional loops, Johnny and Rossi for tail man duties, Bob for drinks catering, and Will arranging dinner at the pub.

Cheers, Gary

Awesome day on the bikes,, much drier than I thought after the heavy rain on Friday,, having said that ,there was still plenty of mud and slippery stuff about... Tail duties on the morning leg and a nice blast in the afternoon made for a fantastic day on the bike.. thanks Gary for organising the ride, thanks also to Zeb for leading the "optional" sections,, thanks to Rossi for arvo tailman.. I had a ball.
PS. What happens at the tail stays on the trail ;) ;),, but boy it was fun ;D

Thanks guys for a great ride, and a big thankyou to Bob for the Tea :D