Ride Report Fumina 17th of January 2009 by Brad McDiarmid.
There were 13 riders on the day all of which were AMTRA members; the temperature was 21 degrees which later felt more like 25, as the day warmed up. No rain for awhile so the tracks were going to be pretty dry.
After the rider briefing we headed off at the usual 9am start, going a different way from last month via Fumina and soon we were on the trails. We reached the deepest river crossing and everyone made it over without mishap, a few bikes stalling in the water.
A good pace with no issues put us at Al’s first rest spot about 30mins ahead of last time with a group 7 larger than the last ride, this also included an exploring detour.
Al must be made up of various Germanic parts (part Indian, Explorer and Jazz player) as he has mapped and leads this ride, all together, very well. I often hear how good this ride is as people ride it on the day or after they have finished. Although there are a lot of narrow tracks the flow is just fantastic and therefore it is not as tiring as some other rides. Probably just as well as we covered a fair distance whilst out there for the 8 hours with most people carrying fuel. Two of the WR’s were running what I heard termed the “Exxon Valdez” of fuel tanks, being the Safari 15.5L tanks which later turned out to be of use.
We reached a challenge hill which was steep and rocky. Three guys gave it a crack and all did pretty good with the efforts, the two stroke getting the furthest.
Well done on your efforts guys to Nathan Stott-WR250, Rob Bromich-YZ250F and Charles Sibberas-KTM300.
See it on YouTube at
http://au.youtube.com/user/BradAMTRAThe afternoon trails were great, apart from the dust, with some smooth and long narrow stuff to see how fit you were and often giving you a chance to get into a ride rhythm.
Overall the riding ability on the day was tidy and friendly with people helping each other out and passing on tips The group kept a steady pace with some fast spurts by some of the quicker riders. On the day there were a few spills by some with no serious injuries other than a few bruises. Bike maintenance was also up to spec and any issues quickly sorted.
Some of the sorting included:
•Water and carbie (breather hoses need “T”ing off and re-directing)
•Broken spoke
•Slightly dirty two banger plug
•Ran out of fuel (got two stubbies for my 1L donation, pretty happy)
•Brake fade on front
As tail I had a light day of it, a push or two here, a kick or two there, fuel trading and just keeping company with folks who did a bit of minor bike maintenance.
In all we covered 135.2Km and finished around 5pm.
Thanks to Al and me for their Leading and Tail man duties, and thanks to all of the other riders for their company, it was a great day out!
See the AMTRA web site under Gallery, Ride Pictures for all the pictures I took on the day. Attached are a few but not all of the 20 shots I posted.
Ride list:
Al Mason WR250 Ride Leader
Rob Bromich YZ250F
Leon Van Kollenberg WR450
Wade Evans KTM250
Charles Sibberas KTM300
Simon Kermode WR450
Mike Hobley XR400
Tim Dykes TE510
Nathan Stott WR250
Michael Neubecker DRZ250
Paul Lacy WR400
Ron Darby Husky 250
Brad McDiarmid WR250 Tail man
Post Script.
On the day we had a few corner mishaps. All three were minor and fortunately quickly recovered, however it pays to remember the corner man system exists for everyone’s safety.
AMTRA have written various articles about the system and how its works and remind people regularly about the system, including every ride. So, if it does seem like were harping on, I thought you would like to read the article by Keg on dbw regarding the system
http://www.dirtbikeworld.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7740, like all trail rider groups they also need the system to work.
