AMTRA.com.au

Erica
4th + 5th
Ride report Dave Smith

Well another overcast morning, Fueled up at packy BP with a hot sausage roll and drink I was off to Rawson caravan park about an hour forty from packy on the speed limit
Once there the sun was breaking threw and I meet up with a few of the guys.

Geared up we headed off about 10:00ish for some exploring, but to first find the dozer has been removing a few tracks on the map.
Not to worry we figured out where to go and linked up the first section
We found this tree down on a super muddy greasy hill where it was hard to stand the mud was that slippery but we all got up and regrouped at the road

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Headed off to find some moor tracks to link up with no avail till down a ledge I say this little track so we followed it round to a spot we could drop into it and it looped up nicely


Found some more single track a nice downhill with a right hand turn in it witch is a bit hard to make at the last steep bit when you realize poo im facing the wrong way… lol
Alls good just means you have to go down and climb back up the hill.


 
With a few helping hands we all got across, next a fem more log crossings and away we went to the next regroup.
Did a few more tracks that turned into dead ends
One with the other guys behind me I say it’s a dead end so I raised my hand to stop and as soon as I did the front wheel washed out on me, what are the odds L
After I picked up my bike and they stopped laughing we took off found one of those clap tracks that is Teflon coated I come round this corner drifting nicely to see this huge mud puddle the width of the track and about a car length long so I stopped to have a look where to go threw next thing I get clipped buy Tyson on the right then just and I thought F**k brad clips my elbow on the left in the end all was good no one fell of and I found out the puddle was a puddle it was about 50mm deep (2 inch for the oldies lol) so nearly got killed for nothing.

In the end we headed west getting closer to tanjil we wee nearly at the bridge I wonted to look at, we started down this hill where im thinking poo this looks good and it the same thought had a guy on the ride that hasn’t beer riding long so I stopped when I could and asked brad will Tyson and you get up this?  “Yeah” he said
Once I got to the bottom to find 9 other bikes that have been trying to get up and only one could I thought this will be interesting…
Tyson and brad turned up and the first thing Tyson says was the is a way round isn’t there im not going up that… We all had a laugh and then informed him that no were going up it

So we had a break and the other bikes went back the way they came from cos they couldn’t get up. We had no option but to get up so I went first and got up with 2 stops along the way
I went back town to help the others up, brad with some kicking a cursing got up in the end, Tyson got ½ way up and I rode it up fore him Damm xr250 with standard road gearing is hard to get up hills. He’s buying the right gearing this week…. Lol

After that it was getting cold as the clouds set in so we headed back to beat the rain
With 112km done we got back to the pub got changed and hit the pub for the night…



Day 2

With a sore head we geared up and up to the pub car park to meet the others coming up
With no one there I thought there were all turned off with the torrential rain we had that night, but then Luke turned up with a ktm250 exc-f  what a great bike..

Then Matt turned up wit a xr400 so they geared up and off we went back to the muddy hill that was just hell it was so slippery it was ridicules it wasn’t funny
Tommy fell off and broke the clutch perch of his xr and we taped it up and he went back to the pub, we then regrouped once the guys got back from taking him back.

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After a lot of attemps we all got up ..
Did most of the same tracks with a few more single tracks thrown in
After the rain we give the big hill a miss I think Tyson spent more time on the ground than on the bike. He was happy we didn’t try the hill
We had a few rotations of tail man for the day
With the slight drizzle of rain turning for the worse and to look over the clearing and to see the clouds 20meters away we thought its time to head back..

On the way back both me a Luke ran out of rear brake pads, Bloody mud getting in there
One of the xrs nearly had nothing left just about back and I thought there’s time for one more hill found this little snotty track that turns into this rutted out greasy climb
I made it most of the way up but got stuck on a tree root, Luke give me a hand to lift it out of the rut with not to mush trouble I was off.
Luke got his going from where he was and made it look easy (don’t you hate that…lol)
Brad got his up and the other two went around

Back at the cars we did 83 km for the day
Thanks to all for coming hope to see you up there again

Dave Smith ktm250exc-f (Ride Leader + Ride Report)
Brad xr250
Tommy xr250
Tyson xr250
Matt xr400  (Tail man)
Luke F ktm250exc-f (photos)

Even with the cold & damp weather it was a pretty good ride & with a good bunch of guys!

I love riding single trail & Dave provided a good mix of varying terrain.

Thanks again Dave - I look forward to getting out there with you again soon.