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Ride Report Noojee Saturday  9th of October 2010 by Brad McDiarmid.

The weather was perfect for riding starting around 5 degrees with a top of 19 degrees later in the day, also we now had daylight savings which was helpful towards the end. There were 22 riders in attendance, with the ride beginning slightly late 9.30am after the rider briefing as we were late returning from a short slippery check ride.

We moved off and got to the first split point where the level 2’s went off on a tougher route whilst the L1’s kept to the main track. At the regroup point I was informed of a smoking kato and checked out the 525 which went back to the cars, managed collectively by the group with Trevor and Will escorting Keith and rejoining at the La Trobe river.

Took some photos (see web site Gallery) and Fred got a puncture which was probably the result having the valve nut tightened against the rim pulling out the valve away from the tube. Whilst this was repaired did a loop with most rest of the crew apart from a few blokes who assisted Fred (thanks guys) and returned to find the repairs completed whereby we had lunch.

Headed to Fumina where we split again the L2’s went on a more challenging route both groups riding wash away’s down steep hills regrouping at the bottom.
In Tanjil SF we did another split that did not work so well and I plan to pull this for the dual level ride as the delays are lengthy between groups as is the separation distance.

Ran over a few tracks which Al’s crew had used in the morning up the staircase and back into the La Trobe SF where Fred was unlucky to get a second rear flat. After repairs we did another split and regroup and began heading home as fuel would be an issue shortly.

On the way back yours truly fell and was passed by some riders who didn’t see what happened and unfortunately kept going at the next corner, 3 were recovered quickly however the other 5 took awhile longer. Regrouped and headed back with no major injuries or off’s for the day.

Got back to the cars at 5.15pm with the L1’s doing around 105K’s and the L2’s around 125K’s.

Many thanks to all the riders you were a great crew and some of the level ones have improved out of sight and handled the ride with relative ease.

Ride list:
   
Brad McDiarmid     WR250   Ride leader
Gary Clarke      CR250R
Zeb Colic      WR250 Husky
Dexter Kiernan   WR450
Adam Fisher      KTM450
Rossi Raynard      CRF450X
Daniel Jewell      WR250
Steve Wiseman   XR400
Paul Bryce      KTM250
Trevor Healey      WR450
Keith Bugeja      KTM525
Michael Neubecker   DRZ250
Lynton   McPhail   WR250
Chris McCran      WR450
Frank Reefman   BMW450
Will Munro      KTM525 Alt ride leader and tailman L2
Dennis Dorman   WR450 Tailmain
Scott Dorman      KTM300 Alt ride leader and tailman L2
Stuart Mackey      WR250
David Tucker      DRZ250
Marlene Shenko   Sherco 3.0I
Fred Shenko      GG450

Thanks for the great ride Brad.There was enough technical stuff as well as plenty of faster tracks.I had a really good time with a good group.

Cheers
Michael.

Yea I second that, I had a great day and enjoyed discovering a new riding area and the weather was just perfect.  I liked the idea of the optional L2 runs as it gave me a chance to front up some challenges, then cruise for a while, then some challenges again if the body was up to it.

Spring riding at it's best, great company and laughs as usual, Thanks again Brad.  DanJ

Gidday all,
Thank you Brad for putting on & leading a fantastic ride, one to suit both level 1's & 2's. The mix of the level 1 part was perfect  ;) with it's little bits of challenges thrown in & from what I heard of the level 2 bits, the guys loved it as well. For me personally, it was great I could ride the whole day, a ride over 100 k's being a first for me, without having a meltdown  ??? This ride should set the standards now for future level 1/2 rides. Well done  ;D . Big thankyou to tailman Dennis who I know this time round, I didn't give the "tailmain grief"......Glad we went to the pub for dinner; food was real nice....See you on your next ride Brad....
Cheers..Marls & Fred  :D
 

Dont wanna repeat what everyone has already said , i got through just under 130 ks with the morning pre ride which is quite a feat for me , the idea of level one and two splitting up at certain points is grouse , allows you to pace yourself without missing all the harder stuff and having a chance of getting the whole day in without as marls says " having a meltdown ".

Great company , great weather and a ripper ride thanks Brad.

 :D :D :D :D ;)

A COUPLE OF SNAPS FROM SATURDAY ... the AMBO shot wasnt
from saturday so dont panic .. this poor bugger can to cart of one of our mates who broke his leg and wrote the abulance off in the process

Here's a few of my shots from the day...

Great photo of everyone watching (and ribbing) Fred about his 2nd puncture...

And Zeb I think you forgot to mention the "Save of the Day".  Frankie might be hard of hearing but his eyes are as sharp as a hawk, noticing those loose sprocket bolts could have saved a long tow back to the cars... Great tip too Frankie.

DanJ

Dan you are correct Frankie may be deaf but he sure aint blind .... Bloody Huskies made an investemnt in some loctite yesterday wont happen again . The walk back to the cars may be been very tough but a new hub would have been a tragedy.

Great photos see ya on the next ride.

It's all been said - but thanks Brad for anopther great day out - and look forward to next month. :)

Folks thanks for the feedback its good to know what peoples views are of things. As this was the first time for this ride to fine tune, any feedback is very important.
Found around 4 area's to work on for the next ride. Cheers

thanks Brad and all the others who helped organise this ride.It was my first time back on a bike for many years and i loved it.I thought the tracks were great challenging but not to difficult.Look forward to the next ride.

thanks
Paul

Hi Brad, thank's for a great ride, must have come close to 140km with the pre ride and extra trip down to the Latrobe river, good combernation of level 1 & 2 riders with everyone willing to help out when needed,
BIG thanks to Fred for the 2 x puncture repair demo's,
Hope your thumb is OK
Cheers,
Gary.

XRAY on thumb tomorrow reckon its Ok, will see

Yeah, great ride Brad. Only 20min late to the fund raiser, so all good. I did see Frankie drinking from one of the rivers on the ride !!! You OK Frankie ????

Stuart.

Thanks Brad that was a great ride!
Ended up doing 145ks for the day after doing the pre ride and being one of the guilty ones doing the extra loop down to the river near the end, got paid back now though have got heaps of midgie bites on hands after taking the gloves off waiting down at the river now.
I really enjoyed the fast flowing sections with the single tracks thrown in. ( maybe next time we can throw in a river crossing half way thru to cool down:) ) Decky

Yeah mate, thats what we had to do years ago.

I was looking forward to this ride as my wrist was feeling strong enough for a good ride, I almost didn't ride because I hurt my back bending down undoing my shoe laces of all things, I got Will to play the chiropractor, I think he still needs a bit more practice ;D anyway thanks Will for having a go, as I said I was looking forward to the ride so I HTFU & rode, I'm glad I did it was a great ride I was happy to be able to get the beemer fired up here & there.
Thanks Brad for putting it on, I thought it was a good idea getting everyone to introduce them selves just before the ride, for the new ppl I met you need to introduce your selves to me a few more times so your names will sink into this old head of mine ;D

Thanks everybody for a great day out on the bike

Yes yes yes, thanks for reminding me Frankie. Great idea of the notes to introduce oneself, I now can put a few names to faces and bikes. Keep up the good work boys. Stuart.