My weekend started when I collected Onion at 2:00. We headed up to Holbrook and hit rain about an hour south of Albury. Driving into Holbrook at 6:00, with rain was a bit ordinary, but cold beers and bullish!t were waiting for us, so all was good. There was some Police charity event happening and about 50 people hit the pub for drinks and dinner, so we headed to the RSL club for a great feed and a few bevvies. We turned in around 11:00 in preparation for the following day.
We were up and in the breakfast room by 7:00, where we were met by the beaming face of Murry, and had a feed of bacon and eggs before loading the bikes and heading off. A short drive out of town saw us unloading and gearing up alongside a couple of old, metro silver trains. Murray gave us a bit of a riders briefing and we were off!
It was a cold morning and there was much discussion about wether to wear a jacket or not. Muzz said we were heading straight into single track, so we opted not, and that was a good call. The pace was hot from the get go, and Muzz had us scooting along a selection of loamy, open trails and his specialty of tight, follow-the-leader runs through the pine forrests.
Now, did I mention logs? We had to cross a few of them. In fact, we had to cross a LOT of them! OMG, I'm so sore from hopping logs. Big ones, little ones, dry ones, slippery ones. Some at right angles some at 45 degrees. I went over some, under some and through some! All fun, but my giddy aunt they knackered me!
Traction was great, even on the pine needles. There were a few boggy sections, but nothing too difficult. One of Muzz's sections saw us descending a steep gully, crossing a bog and then climbing a messy hill on the other side. The bog caught a few out (including me), but once clear the run up the other side was a hoot!
The terrain was as varied as it was great. Muzz puts together a terrific collection af tracks, including his 6 ks of 'single-track' track. Another section had us rolling down a small gully and climbing up the other side, which got steeper and steeper as we went up. You noticed that your handle bars were getting closer to you chest, untill you realized that you were almost going vertical! We jumped off the top and had to push your bike forward, otherwise you'd just fall backwards down the gully!
Lunch was steak sandwiches on the trail, cooked by Murry's wife, and they were great. After lunch, it was back on the tracks for more and more. Some trails seemed familiar from previous rides, others were all new. Highlights for me were:
Passing Pete (once), cos he was injured.
Racing Dave up a hill (once), untill he got bored and blew me away.
Passing Al (once), till I realized he was letting me pass so he could film me.
All in all, a great day with 140 km's at the end. We had a few beers at the trains after we loaded the bikes, then headed back to the pub of a shower and feed.
The accomodation for the weekend was a bit of a let down, as was dinner on Saturday night, but we all got fed and had a place to rest our weary bodies, so we coped. I didn't ride on Sunday, I was rooted! And my long term, hand problem was playing up a treat, so Onion and I headed off soon after breakfast.
It was good to meet up with some of the NSW guys again, along with Al C and some of the Holbrook boys. It's always good to ride with Murry, and his kids (Kim, Ben and Mark) are helpful and polite. And of course, it's great to catch up with Pauly, who put the whole shebang together, thanks mate.
That's it, a great weekend with great blokes. If you didn't go...tuff luck! If you haven't been....go! If you went.....thanks for being part of it.
