Ride Reports

[flipper]

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.

[sandra(bob)]

SHOWTIME!!


With a little from a friend


Arent they cute 



Smile!


Onya Ted 












Poser 






Oh Allright then Gaz, I'll stay behind you - i'll let you lead 


And now...a word from your ride leader - strike the pose!



Praying to the bike gods!


The tree root - it was this big!!!!



better late than never hey Pete


Ok off you all go -I'll wait here for you all and will pop the kettle on 



lunch time






A fun day for the chaps finished off at the Robin Hood Inn for dinner.

[Grandpa]

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 !!!

[sandra(bob)]

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

[sandra(bob)]

Sorry Rossi 

[johnny d]

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