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Sat 7.30 Razzle, mickmeld and Connor turn up followed by dickey on his kato ready to go
the rest of us were geared up and ready to go at 8.15
I was sweeping and scott was the lead rider
we did start sweating as soon as we were through paradise 👿
there was a good westerly wind to blow the dust away but it was like a wall in some gullies and hill climbs where you had to stop as visibility was to the end of the front guard :blink:
tower hill was extremely dusty as it had just been bulldozed to a nice consistent 6inches of talcum powder where Connor found it difficult 10 meters from the top (still suffering from the flu :sick: ) we did about 40 to 50ks
Mick got a flat rear tyre on dickies boundary so we had a quick break while dickey did a speed tube change :whistle:
did I mention it was really bloody hot ( 40deg at 2.00pm ) :pinch:
Connor wasn’t feeling any better and my genuine Austrian marble seat got to me :blush: so I volunteered to take Connor shortcut home while the rest of the boys did a few more trails to get back to the shed :silly:
where beer, pool and cooler clothing waited everyone was just getting comfortable in the wash bay when we got sandstorm blasted all of a sudden :woohoo:
seriously you didn’t miss much the worst conditions I have ever seen here
but if anything it was memorable and got to meet razzle a new old bull to the area
SAT 20 Sept 2012, 7:30am
Yep, bright and early (and eager) with the Berg loaded in the Chinese ute that I thought was going to throw me through the roof a couple of times on the drive to the farm … I pull up around the side of the shed thinking “sh*t I hope this is the right place”, luckily KTM Bull came out with cereal bowl in-hand and a welcoming “good morning”. After a quick chat everyone else starts to arrive, I get instruction to the CornerMan system which I’d never done, I assemble my Camelback with the bladder fresh from the freezer one-third full of lovely cool ice (thanks Moto for the tip), I even needed instruction on how to assemble it :unsure: coz it was shiny and never used “make sure the tube is to the left”, anyway all sorted I put it on and give it the taste test … “is it supposed to taste like plastic” :sick: , wishing right then I’d poured my Monster Energy in there rather than skulling the whole can ten minutes earlier.
All geared up and we’re off. :woohoo:
Really beautiful country around there, with fun trails and some challenging stuff, Scott obviously knows the area like the back of his hand and takes us on a good mix of stuff. The dust was bearable mostly as the wind tended to take it but every now and then a dead-spot where it would just hang thick in the air. Most of the creeks were dry which was actually good coz at least that way you can see the rocks, some big suckers too that would take you down if you hit them submerged!
A stop for a rear tube change on Mick’s XR after he’d been doing speedway slides on the corners of the previous hill climb and realising he’d got a flat, no-one else was carrying a spare tube so just as well really. Between Mick and Dickie that tube was out and the spare in, pumped up and back on the bike in record time!
Further along as I ride past Mick who was cornerman in this instance I hear him yell to me “Really BIG hill” .. so I get on the gas. The day before I’d only just put in the Red “aggressive” auxiliary spring in the power valve and I’m lovin’ it! rather than aggressive it’s actually much more useable …suits me better, also wound out the main pre-load spring to bring the power band in sooner, anyway … back to the hill (Tower Hill as I now know it’s called); steep and freshly graded with the biggest erosion mounds I think I’ve ever seen! :woohoo: :woohoo: My stomach dropped on a couple like a roller coaster, If anyone was behind me I apologise coz I was gassin’ it as soon as I was on the verge of each one to get momentum for the next …. excellent fun. At the top, Scott, Mick, Dickie and myself go down on foot to help Conner who’d stopped about ten metres down, roaring up on the gas came KTM Bull, as he skewed across the trail trying to avoid Connor’s bike he roosted Mick like you’ve never seen anyone roosted before! I reckon there was Tower Hill dirt in every orifice afterwards!! :laugh: :laugh: Everyone safely at the top, Dickies KTM525 was doing an impersonation of a kettle boiling, KTM Bulls fan was running flat-out! It was getting friggin HOT by this stage!
The only stack for the day I think was actually me?? Toward the end of the ride, a turnoff from a main trail, Connor is waiting there as cornerman and I miss the turn, so a quick brake spin to get back around and then another to face the smaller trail we were to head up … just as I power on to head up ,front wheel through the gutter and heading up the hill, back wheel about to follow, SMACK! straight into a tree root and up comes the front wheel and spins me 45degrees back into the gutter! No way my feet were ever gonna touch the ground as I straddled ditch and hill so I bailed just as KTM Bull came along bringing up the rear … “what are you doing? Are you OK?” he said. Later he said he thought I was doing Dust Angels as I was splayed out back down on the main trail where I’d started.
Fun day, Fun ride, Fun bunch of guys to go riding with. Thanks everyone.
If these were the worst conditions, I can’t wait for the “best conditions” … but without the 40 degree heat next time
Razzle
AS Bull said, it was bloody hot, it felt as though every kilometer we rode it got 1 degree hotter. The recent bushfires that have ripped through the area contributed to the dust as the bushfiries put a dozer down some of the trails on Bull’s place as well as the joining property we know as Paradise.
Using the corner man system allowed us to space out enough to minimize the dust, which made it bearable as there was a strong westerly wind that dissipated the dust to a degree.
Bulll’s place has a tonne of great trails, some open stuff that suits the XR nicely .some tight lantana tunnels, rocky creek crossings and some cracker hill climbs.
As it is private property, none of the trails have been raped by dickheads in 4×4’s and it also sees very little bike traffic so the trails are littered with leaves that in the dry weather are as slippery as hell!
About halfway into the ride I jumped an erosion mound and landed dead smack on top of a besser block sized rock that near threw me over the hangers, I managed to stay on the bike and thought to myself I was lucky not to get a flat tyre out of that. Two corners later the arse end of the pig slid out and at that stage I knew what was wrong, a bloody pinch flat. Even UHD tubes have their limits and the hit the tyre took exceeded those limits.
A handy trailside stump was found and Dickie and I got into fixing the flat.
I think we should change Dickies name to 4 day as the speed he got the tyre off, the tube back in and the tyre back on would make any 4 day competitor proud!
It was ironic that I was the only one with tools and a spare tube and I was the one who got the flat tyre.Once we got the tyre fixed the temperature had hit the high 30’s and it was good to just get moving again. WE decided to give Tower hill a run as it is always a challenge at the best of times, but it hadalso seen a dozer lately and it was 6 inches deep of talcum powder, that created a white out for the following rider.
Connor, got lost in the white out and ran up the bank and crashed 10 meters from the top of the hill, and needed some help to get up the last section
As you can see the dust hung thick in the air.
Bull had a moment on his first run and had to go back and have another go and as he passed where I was standing he gave me a roosting that Ollie would have been proud off, I was totally covered head to toe in rocks and dust.
Razzle has taken to the Husaberg like a duck to water after a 28 year lay off from riding dirt bikes and it wont be long and none of us will catch him.
Once we got back to Bull’s, it was straight to the eskies for a drink to wash the dust down, although the conditions were extreme, we still had a good ride didn’t we Razzle!
Thanks To Bull and Scotty for leading and sweeping, I am looking forward to hitting Tower hill again, after some rain next time!
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