AMTRA.com.au

What a difference a month makes! Theme for this months ride was DUST :)

John put on another awesome ride. Some of the usual tracks and some new ones, and some of the loops in the reverse direction!

Had a great day out with a few hills catching some out and lots and lots of DUST :)

Heres a vid: YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIt3EhXxU5Y

Dave

Thanks John for a lovely arvo doin those tight single trails, and for diverting me down the not so steep tracks.
I had a bit of a problem with the throttle control, it's got me stuffed why the front wheel is always in the up position.
Looking forward to the next blat at Glenlyon.

what a cracker of a ride! the weather was looking ok until we got into it, dunno about everyone else but i reckon i lost 4-5kgs just through my helmet. I didn't catch everyone's name but a big thankyou to Big John for an awesome lead and to the tailmen for their work. This was my first Glenlyon ride and it sure wont be my last. It was great to meet some new people and catch up with some familiar friends. As much as the dust can be a pain in the arse, it added a new dimension to the ride, keeping you on your toes by putting in that fear factor of not knowing what is ahead until you're on top of it.

things i have taken away from the ride:
when a husky gets a flat, it is contagious
mikey should lay off the drink before a ride
energy drinks made you ride like a lunatic
my next camera will be BOLTED onto my bike

yeah, don't forget lads, a slab reward posted for the return of my camera should anyone find it. It's definitely in the second part of the ride, pretty sure somewhere along the dried out gully.

although i did lose my helmet camera, the back up did get some good pictures and a couple short videos. here is my favourite...

JaCk ;D

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPHtudTBGIA

i can't work out to to put photos on here ???

i will slap them them up on the dbw forum, sorry guys it's just that i know how to drive that one!

lol Thanks for that Jack  ;D You'll keep hehe

Today its pissing down rain!! John you missed by one day with your weather setup!

that's what i like to hear!!! it's been pissing down here all night and day. i should have had a cup of HTFU this morning and gone out again

Was going to have a look to day but we got 70mm of rain up till
lunch will go for a look next time are you sure it is in that gully you said.

You would of needed a snorkel up till lunch don't know what would of been worse dust or drowning

when we took off after lunch and we did the 'transport section' it was still there. i am pretty sure i had it set up when we finished the open flowing stuff and it was gone by the top of that sh1tty hill. reality is it could be anywhere in any of those gullies, on the return leg i had a look around where i thought it may have been but no joy. i really want to get it for the footage of Dave and i slugging it out on the single track, and myself with the guy on the exc300 and the cr125.

yeah, don't forget lads, a slab reward posted for the return of my camera should anyone find it. It's definitely in the second part of the ride, pretty sure somewhere along the dried out gully.

ok lets get back too the slab, slab of VB, slab of Wild Turkeys, slab of Crownies, i'm in for the Turkeys!!!

if you find it, you name it! turkeys, jacks, beams.... a slab worth. just what you will need after a ride looking for the bloody thing

Thanks John for organising the day and leading, fantastic mix of tracks, i think without the dust some of the flowing stuff would be great! There are certainly some interesting hills and one inparticular that'll have me waking up in cold sweats for weeks to come!!
Thanks to all for the concern shown after my little display, i've pulled up a little stiff with some nice bruises to my leg, stomach, shoulder and grazing on my forearm and can see myself visiting the chiro during the week but other than that alls good!! looking forward (sadly!) to seeing Luke's footage - as i'm sure a few others are as well.
I did notice one thing on the way back to the cars, Peter seems to have a strange balance problem with his bike where the front wheel seems to want to run at a 45 to the ground ??? ??? ??? or is this just the way he sets  up his bikes?

Have you guys checked your air filters yet?  Wowee I haven't seen anything that filthy since I was in Amsterdam.
Awesome ride John, some of the afternoon stuff was bliss - despite the dust.  It was raining so hard by the time I got home, I dropped my gloves in the gutter, and by the time I bent down to get them - they'd floated down the effing drain!  Lucky I still have a Left and a Right - albeit an odd pair.
Can't WAIT for Luke's footage...

It's a Throttle problem i seem to be having at the moment,and by my calculations it's more like 50 to the ground.

Ride Report: Glenlyon / Daylesford 21 Nov, 2009

The weather girl promised us rain, but I didn’t believe her.  All the way out to Glenlyon, Paulie told me it was gonna be a wet afternoon.  I didn’t believe him either.  And as we geared up in a steamy 22 degree morning, I still couldn’t see any sign of rain!  Everyone avoided wearing jackets, and as Big John gave us his pre-ride talk,  he suggested keeping gear to a minimum, and warned us it was gonna be dusty.

23 of us (some first timers, some repeat offenders) fired up and followed John out onto the tar for a short squirt till we hit the driest, and dustiest road I’ve seen for a long time.  We spread out a bit, and then through the haze I saw a cornerman, signaling the first of the single tracks we were to tackle on the day.  Off we went!  The pace quickened, and the scene was set for an exhausting ride.

John linked together an amazing array of trails, some of which could hardly be recognized at times, but for the morning, he put a relatively flowing trail after a tight single track to give both rider and machine a little time to cool down before the next onslaught. Sean’s husky was hissing coolant early in the piece, due to an over-filled over flow bottle, but this soon sorted itself out.  At the first re-group, helmets were off, sweat was dripping and faces were red, but we were all rearing to go.  Phil, the only one to wear a jacket, had removed it and strapped it to the back of his new bike, where it stayed for the rest of his ride.  We took off again (trying) to follow John as he twisted his way over, around, under and through the trees, jumping logs and dodging rocks as we went.

We battled on like this for a while, then stopped for another re-group.  We had waited for quite some time before Wiggo went back to see if there were any problems.  Not long after, everyone was back at the re-group with Phil shaking his head, still having troubles getting used to his new bike.  I offered to swap for a while, but Big John said to wait till after the next hill. 

(http://www.vinamtra.com.au/forum/gallery/61_23_11_09_12_35_28.JPG)

(http://www.vinamtra.com.au/forum/gallery/61_23_11_09_12_34_48.JPG)

I arrived at ‘said hill’ just to see John crest the top of it.  Others followed.  Some made it, some didn’t!  Simon had 3 goes, and made it on his third.  I had 2 goes, and stopped after that.  Rob had 3 cracks and gave it away.  Dustin was looking good on his first go, until he flipped it at the top, and ran back down the hill, tripping at the bottom and landing with a splat! It looked nasty, but he said he was ok, so we continued on.  Those that didn’t get up the hill skirted around it and re-joined the group.  By now it was getting onto lunch time so we headed back to the cars.

On arriving back at the car park, we were greeted by a familiar face.  Peter Ross had come out to give his leg a try, so we ate, drank, re-fueled and headed back out.

(http://www.vinamtra.com.au/forum/gallery/61_23_11_09_12_36_02.JPG)

Peter promised that he would take it easy, but this lasted about 500 meters.  The front wheel of the Berg was already complaining that it was over worked and needed a rest, so up it came….and stayed there!  Back into the dust, we followed John again through a couple of longer single sections, with no breaks until we came to another steep hill with a very soft, loose covering.  We all got up, one way or another, but the message came that Phil had had enough, and that Peter had taken him back to John’s father’s farm.  So off we went to Pick up Peter and give Phil directions back to the cars.

We continued on another couple of great tracks, one following a creek bed, dropping into it and climbing out of it as we went.  This was a hoot!  It finished with a very steep drop which many completed on their arse (like me), or their belly or many other ways, other than on their bikes!

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwWoUKELbqI

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJNA8Mb5Qqc

We had another re-group at this point, and once again we waited for some time befor John went back to see what the hold up was.  Turns out that Nathan had been a puncture to fix, and decided to take it back to the cars.  Another Husky went out in sympathy, so the group was reduced slightly for the last couple of tracks.  The rest of the ride continued without incident and we arrived back at the cars at about 4:30. Given that there were no great dramas for the day, Peter and Paul decided to do the AMTRA Happy Dance!

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqIY-nFyBc4

We had completed 90 k’s for the day, (35 in the morning session).  And that rain we were promised…well, we had the slightest sprinkling during lunch and that was it!  However, on the way home the Heavens opened, and overnight the Trentham / Daylesford area had between 70 – 100 mm!  That would have been fun!!

Thanks to John for a great day out and thanks to mark for tailman duties all day

John Theisz         TE 570 (ride leader)      
Rob Broatch         YZ 250F
Mike Robbes         DRZ 400         
Dave Armstrong     KTM 450
Sean Douglas        TE 450         
Chris Skzelinski   KTM 400
Mark Clark         FE 550 (tail man)      
Rob Copsey         FE 390
Nathan Stott        TE 310         
Jure Giapo        CR 125
Luke English        WR 450         
Peter Cerasuolo    KTM 300
Serge Coffa         WR 250F         
Dustin Finch        RMX 250
Peter Devilee      WR 300         
David Theil         WR 450F
Paul Wigginton     WR 250F         
Dean Fergie         KTM 250
Paul Lacy         KTM 250         
Matt Bruce        TE 450
Phil Randall         WR 250R         
Peter Trainor      TE 510
Simon Kermode        WR 450F
Peter Ross         Berg 2

TANKS JOHN FOR ANOTHER BLAST AROUND THE TOP END OF WOMBAT A GREAT DAY AND WELL ORGANISED.  SERGE I THINK YOU GOT IT WRONG WITH THE CRANKY BERG DIDN'T IT'S FRONT WHEEL GET AGITATED BEFORE WE LEFT FOR THE ARVO LOOP

Great report Serge....
And once agian, thanks John for organising the day!!

Thanks John (again)

great ride as always...

I hereby name the big climb: STARWARS

as you will see in the vid:

1/ the sarlaac pit tried to suck in Jackhammers bike (with Jack attached)

2/ Dave T made a valiant effort to stop his bike from being pulled by the tractor beam.

3/ Dustin escaped the clutches of Darth Vader (well, almost..)


thanks all - hopefully see a few of you on Saturday at Cobaw for more malarkey

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlfkIUHnKIs

Great footage Luke.

Pity you managed to catch me sittin' on my arse most of the time!

 ;D

Matt is your morning ride still a level 1/2