Razzle’s Wauchope workout.

[Mick DMember]

Razzle got his first proper introduction to Old Bulls yesterday when he turned up for a blast in Bago with the locals.

Razzle arrived at my place nice and early, closely followed by Ferknerkle, we then kitted up and headed to the cemetery to meet up with Moose and Toes. Toes was suffering from AIDS (alcohol induced dizzy spells) after a big day on the drink at the Port Macquarie Cup.

A few intros and we were off, the first section we did had been burnt during the week and there were still stumps smoldering and small trees across the trails, this had me a bit worried, that we would have to contend with this all day.

I needn’t have worried, once we got to the top of Bago, that was the last we saw of the fires but as it is so dry, the dust was diabolical and once we got to the top of Bago the boys needed to stop for a rest and a drink.

This is where Toes produces a 1.25 litre bottle of petrol from his backpack and quickly proceeds to drink some of the contents of the bottle. Between his coughing and gagging he starts to accuse Moose of watching what he was doing and knowingly letting him do it. All we could do was laugh and take pictures.

He eventually stopped spitting and carrying on and quickly proceeded to light a cigarette. (Having been there myself, I was feeling Toe’s pain, a gutful of petrol is not fun)

I am pretty sure at this stage, Razzle was seriously wondering what he had got himself into and what sort of weirdos us Wauchope locals were!!

It has been years since I have seen Bago this dry, gullies what would be normally a bog holes were as dry as a chip and there was actually bull dust in places, which was causing white outs for the following riders.

The only non-dusty sections were the little pockets of rainforest, like Big Jurassic. Big Jurassic was where Razzle’s pretty little Husaberg got to have its first taste of dirt when he let the front wheel drop off the side of the trail, when this happens in Jurassic, the best option is to drop the bike on the ground, otherwise you will spend ages trying to recover it after you career down over the steep bank. Razzle took the best option fortunately.

As it was so smoky, I cut out the 10km section up to Comboyne Rock as there was no point going to the lookout and we went the opposite direction as normal up Elkhorn rock road, which would have to be one of my favourite sections of trail anywhere.

Leading any ride with Toes on it, will eventually see you being pushed faster than you’d normally ride and him and I had some ridiculously high speed runs through some of the faster sections on the range. Toes is a freak, it is amazing how fast he can peddle that old XR600, just when you think you are flying down some rocky, rutted hill he will fly past you hitting the erosion mounds and getting some ridiculous amount of air off them, all the while landing in ruts or piles of big rocks and riding it out.

We only had one extended stop when a stick got itself caught up in my chain and my chain came off and wrapped itself around the front sprocket. Ten minutes of fiddling around with it, saw the chain back on and us underway again.

An 80km run saw us back at Timbertown at 12.30pm, so we headed back to my shed for lunch which consisted of a carton of beer, a big bag of peanuts and 2kg of prawns, a great way to finish off a morning’s run in Bago.

Thanks guys for a great morning out.

[GregMember]

Cheers for the report not of your normal high standard but eh but better than my day :pinch:
Toes drinks petrol out of a soft drink bottle in his back pack and blames others :blink: really but :blink: head spins before he left :dry: . It reads more like an AA’s day out, all he needed to do was escape the pink elephants and then back to your shed safely and its back to normal :laugh:

Why was he carrying petrol? An XR600 will do what your 650 will :blink:

TB

[Mick DMember]

Not the normal high standard? Probably because we set a cracking pace yesterday and I didn’t have much of a chance to get the camera out.

I have no idea why Toes was carrying spare fuel.

The afternoon ride debrief in the shed was a beauty! :laugh:

[DarrenMember]

First; thanks guys for a great day and for being so welcoming.
Second; I am so friggin sore today that I can hardly move!

PREFACE: I’d ridden the bike twice, for two 1-hour leisurely sessions to familiarize myself after 28 years of never throwing my leg over a dirt bike and to essentially run it in. The bike had it’s first service Friday, UHD tubes put in and the JD Jetting kit, certainly not coz I wanted a performance boost but I was worried about fuel range (I was warned KTM and Berg 2T’s are renowned for poor fuel range on stock needles and jetting) …

The Report:
So, there I was at Mick’s house at 7:15am, ute loaded with the Berg and all my new gear. A bit of a chat with Mick while we kitted up and Ferknerkle comes down the driveway in his gear. Off we go through the streets of Wauchope stopping for Mick’s bacon and egg roll that he’d pre-ordered, I buy a 1.25l water coz I forgot my Camelback, then we ride to meet Moose and Toes at the cemetery car park.

Part One:
So off we all go from the carpark onto dusty trials hootin’ along at a good pace, “this is gonna be fun” I thought, couple of single trails, some burnt out stuff, then a break for a drink and a ciggie, not too bad, a little arm-pump but holding up and keeping up OK …

Part Two:
MUCH harder, tight, technical, rocky, hilly, sh*it coming at you that you couldn’t even see coz of the dust … “oh crap, I’m gonna die”! The dust settles while we get into some good singles and trails with Lantana overgrowth then into Jurassic which was cool but getting out of it was one-line single trail uphill not much wider than a bike tire, I decide to take what looked like a slightly grippier line just to the downhill of the mainline, WRONG! Down I went with the hill just crumbling away under my tires, “just drop it” was the right decision though in hindsight.

I’m trying to drag my bike back online, exhausted I could barely grab it let-alone lift it! If Toes and Moose didn’t need to get past me I probably would have just lied down and had a rest, but I was in their way, Moose thankfully helped me get back on-track.

A Break:
Thank god, by this stage I’d already almost drank my 1.25l water, sweat pouring from me and thinking “please let it not be like that for the next [however far] we have to go” … right on-cue Mick says “we’re only about 40k’s in etc etc” and then I hear the words “Pr*ck Hill”. “Wait a minute! There’s a Pr*ck Hill!” I interject… “yep, Pr*ck and C*unt Hill, we’re taking Pr*ck coz C*nt is all rutted from 4WD’s, Pr*ck has been graded recently”. Oh, dear …

Pr*ck Hill!
Coming up to the hill I’m thinking “he said it had been graded” so I’m on the power for momentum. Again, dusty and rocks and sh*t I couldn’t even see … forward in the seat, keeping my feet on the pegs so I wouldn’t go into a flip-flop flail, I realized that my hands were cramping but tried to ignore it and relax … “are these erosion mounds fun or a pain in the ass for breaking momentum” I’m thinking just as I hit a massive rock that throws me into a tank-slapper.

I stopped exhausted about ¾ of the way on an erosion mound barely able to grip the bars, right at that time I heard Moose go down about 20 metres behind me, “are you OK?” I yell, like I had any energy to help even if he’d said “no”, luckily he said “fine, I’ll go back to the bottom and start again” … phew, that gave me more precious time to recover. So I sat and listened till he got to the bottom and I could hear him coming back up, then a realization hit me that I probably needed to go back down and start again too, I had no run-up whatsoever to get me up that last part … “crap crap crap! Just concentrate and rev this f*cker like there’s no tomorrow” … I made it just as Moose came roaring up behind.

A Good Rest:
We had a good stop for a while where I skulled a BIG can of Monster Energy praying it would revive all my cells, fibres and tendons! While the guys were all chatting I went introspective “WTF have I done, I’m 46 years old this bike is WAAAYY too much”. I was having flash-back’s dreaming of my trusty early 80’s XR200 wishing I was riding it instead. “Do I turn around and go back? … that means going back through that same sh*t! … they’re gonna think you’re a complete pussy if you go back! … forward is the only way … you CAN ride dickhead, it’s been a while but you can … concentrate, concentrate, concentrate!!!” Anyway, as you can gather I was seriously struggling.

Part 3:
I hung back for a while, avoiding the dust and taking the opportunity to rest a bit more, Ferknerkle hung back with me saying “let’s let the dust settle and ride at the back” but I could tell he knew I was struggling and was keeping an eye on me.

“Mick always starts the ride with the hardest bit first” said Ferknerkle … “The rest is my favourite bit”. And he was right, from that point on the ride was brilliant. Thank the Monster Energy? Getting used to the bike? The more open nature of the trails? … thankfully I came good and had a blast! Before I knew it we were back out in the same place we started wishing it wouldn’t end.

Wrap-up:
I still have no idea where we went or how Mick can remember all those trails and link them into a “loop”, but I’m glad he can and does.

The lessons from the day for me:
1/ Ride fitness is important
2/ Drinking petrol with a hangover is not a cure for AIDS
3/ There’s only one line through Jurassic, don’t wander offline
4/ Pr*ck hill deserves its name
5/ 17.5 PSI is NOT the correct tire pressure for those conditions
6/ Don’t ride it like a 1980’s 2T MX’r, the power-band is not your friend in tricky terrain
7/ Rocks and sticks hurt when they’re roosted at you from the back of a big-bore XR
8/ Toes will take any opportunity to roost you with mud when it’s available
AND
9/ Delete any text messages received from Toes on a Friday

Thanks again guys, great day and I was still beaming and thinking, “that was awesome!” late into last night lying on the couch completely knackered (and slightly pissed from the bottle of white wine I seemed to down in record time).

Razzle

[Mick DMember]

Nicely summed up Razzle! Glad you had a good day. We won’t take it so easy on you next time. :whistle:

Mate after 28 years off the bike, that ride would certainly have been a baptism of fire!

[SteveMember]

What a great day out.Thanks Mick for shareing your tracks,dust was a problem at times.
So i would try to get out of the dust by sitting right on micks back wheel.
Silly bugger thought i was trying to overtake him so we would wind it on more.Going way to fast at times.
was good to meet razzel.Was good to christen his shiny new bike with a little lay down up one hill.Glad he didnt give up there,as the tracks opened up for some fast runs.
Toes

[DarrenMember]

A day on the couch watching Bathurst has NOT helped my aching muscles … crap I’m sore! :pinch: But it was sooooo worth it!! :woohoo: :woohoo:

[Mick DMember]

razzle wrote:

A day on the couch watching Bathurst has NOT helped my aching muscles … crap I’m sore! :pinch: But it was sooooo worth it!! :woohoo: :woohoo:

So, you’d come riding with us in Bago again?

[DarrenMember]

ABSOLUTELY!! … Maybe not so much dust next time though please, can you organise a little bit of rain? Not too much, enough to make it “just right”, but not so much that it makes mud

Speaking of mud: The “Swamp of Doom” is somewhere I never want to visit, especially with Toes … or Ollie so I hear! 😆

[Steve WyethMember]

I had a laugh reading your report Razzle, Mick peddles alright for a 72 year old, who would have thought?

1.25L is not enough for any ride, I suspect the camelback will be top of your list next time! The power band is fun but if you’re not fit and fresh back to riding that bike has the ability to beat you to death!

Glad you had a good time, it’s what it’s all about. I’ll look forward to catching up with you for a ride

[Mick DMember]

Thanks for the kind words Moto. :unsure:

Once Razzle gets his bike fitness back, I am pretty sure he’ll be looking for faster guys than us XR riders to ride with I think.

[DarrenMember]

Thanks Mick, but you guys scoot along plenty fast enough I reckon! And sure aren’t afraid of some tough trails :silly:

Moto; looking forward to catching you on a ride too, looking forward to ALL rides really, I’m not gettin’ any younger so the more rides the better! :woohoo: :woohoo:

[MichaelMember]

Great report Razzle

Sound like you had fun , just think there ‘s plenty of more to come.

Cheers
Strucky

[scott bockingMember]

razzle wrote:

Thanks Mick, but you guys scoot along plenty fast enough I reckon! And sure aren’t afraid of some tough trails :silly:

Moto; looking forward to catching you on a ride too, looking forward to ALL rides really, I’m not gettin’ any younger so the more rides the better! :woohoo: :woohoo:

Great report boys.
See you at Coffs in November Razzle

STM

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