Ride report Fumina 21st March 2009

Ride Report Fumina 21st of March 2009 by Brad McDiarmid.

There were 7 riders all of which were AMTRA members; the temperature was warm to start and later got pretty hot in the low 30’s. The rain we had has settled the dust a bit, the tracks which were much better than last time dusting up later in the hot and dry afternoon.

After the rider briefing we headed off at the usual 9am start, headed out via Fumina and soon we were on the trails. We reached the deepest river crossing where we started de-watering two half drowned bikes of the lead and tail man. Everyone else made it over without mishap, with Wade trying to dunk his KTM.
A good L2 pace on nice flowing narrow tracks and no further issues saw us at Al’s lunch spot for a bite and a chat. As it turned out two of the riders are riding in the 2009 High Country ride and were after a bit of understanding of what to expect at the HCR weekend.
In case you’re wondering this is NOT a hard L2 ride in the dry, it’s is easier than Marysville in many respects although they are very hard to compare. One big difference is you are not near any cars, cake shops or fuel and therefore need to be self sufficient as a rider and group.
Also as it is near to Mt Baw Baw it has more of a high country ride feel to the ride and the conditions can vary allot with the weather moving the ride up to clubman in the wet, which I would say is also true of the red clay at Marysville when it’s raining.

After lunch Scott showed us how to change a front tyre after pinging a good sized rock.
Noticed he had a set of plastic rim savers so as not to scratch the black KTM rims.
BTW I think the rim savers are mine now a fee for providing fuel to a thirsty two stroke?
The afternoon trails were great with more of that some smooth and long narrow stuff to mix it up in, giving you a chance to test out your balance, cornering and controls skills.
Overall the riding ability on the day was spot on and friendly with people helping each other out and passing on tips.

Most of us ran out of water so we went to the river and topped up the Camelbacks.
The group kept a steady pace with some fast spurts by some of the quicker riders. On the day there were no offs, just a lay it down type spill with no issues. Bike maintenance was also up to spec and there was a bit of bike swapping to try something different as we moved along.
In all we covered 124.8Km and finished around 5pm.
Thanks to Al, Rob and I for their Leading and Tail man duties, and thanks to all of the other riders for their company and companionship, it was a fantastic day!

See the AMTRA web site under Gallery, Ride Pictures for all the pictures I took on the day.

Ride list:
Al Mason      WR250   Ride Leader
Rob Cecelja      WR450   Morning Tail man
Darren Clarke      WR450
Steve Bennett      WR450
Wade Evans      KTM450
Scott Dorman      KTM300
Paul Lacy      CRF250
Brad McDiarmid   WR250   Afternoon Tail man

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