Singletrack Heaven at Coffs 2010

[scott bockingMember]

Friday afternoon.

The ride was labelled as a warm up and I knew it would be just that. The ground was moist and the temp was rising so it was going to be humid in the forest. We started out on an open fire road that is clear felled so it was the only dusty section we would ride for the next three days. I can imagine riders thinking it would be a dusty weekend but one turn later and we were into the singles and under the canopy.
Cornerman was working a treat which allowed us to spread out and give everyone plenty of room to ride their own sections. In the first bit of single, Jurassic Park, there are a few logs on bad angles which caused a bit of grief and some deep sink holes that offered a few opportunities to bury your “mate”.
The gullies were wet which is normal around here but everything else was in great shape. Zero dust and tacky. It seemed greasy if you were used to sandstone or pine forest but for these parts it was right on form. We stopped for a regroup and Krusty was hunkered over his handlebars and gasping for air. In his Seppo accent we hear, “Fark, is this the warm up?” :ohmy:
It was a perfect afternoon with some breeze blowing and the sun out. After 2 hours in the forest we headed back to the van park via the beach. Mike who is a part time local blew off the beach and headed straight for the Amble Inn. I knew if I let the crew settle there it would all be over before it began so I rounded everyone up and herded them back to the resort. We had an hour till the shuttle bus started its shuttles so Nick and i hit the 3k stretch of highway back to mine to get ready for the night.
I had the shuttle bus organised to run between 6.30 and 7 and getting everyone on was like herding kittens. One would show then realise they had time to go back to the cabin to get a beer, then another would arrive and realise they had forgotten their wallet. Then they would get caught up in a conversation with another Bull on their way back. Ollie strolls past in his towel saying he won’t be long and just as I am about to give up completely a rum smelling giant grabs me from behind and lifts me off the ground. I knew it could only be TB. Lap after lap the patient shuttle bus driver ran everyone to the pub and 90 mins after I arrived in the car park for our 30min shuttle service I was finally dropped off. On arriving the scene was in full swing with the Tamworth boys showing that they don’t just have skills on the bike, they are pretty handy in the bar too. :silly:
The kitchen staff did a great job of serving such a big crew and as the drinks went down the stories flowed thick. It was awesome to catch up with everyone and the OBT spirit was burning bright. Boony did a great job passing the fast fill around and TB and Factory Phil did their best at speaking English after their rum filled drive up. I knew Saturday was going to be a huge day so I organised the shuttle to start running again before it got too rowdy in the bar. Despite my best efforts most declined the lift back so I tuned the shuttle driver at the other end to do one more run and make the announcement that it was last lift for Old bulls. This tactic worked much better and the next run back had most onboard. The Noosa boys were on QLD time so they just added and subtracted an hour as it suited.
Nick and I had one last briefing session (home brew) before turning in and looked forward to what would be a massive Saturday. Not only did we have 110km of trail riding planned we had a lunch, a picnic and a BBQ. We needed all the sleep we could get.

To be continued…

STM

[DudeMember]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InFUaOeRNoY
:cheer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqrvD3Q_a2M

[Mark BuntingMember]

I’ve just been watching some of the vids again :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

Who cares about the rain can we do it again :kiss:

Kram

[GregMember]

Congrats Jeffro PM me your address and I will get it sent to you mate

Cheers

TB

[DudeMember]

Congrats Jeffro

Some more vids

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4DeavwonbY :dry:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSjIaSyXnSw
:cheer:

This is a special special vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_RoVQB9sJ0

enjoy

[scott bockingMember]

It was only one week ago that we were all doing this!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a_HxI2EbK4

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

STM

[scott bockingMember]

Saturday morning:

Nick and I awoke pretty fresh on Saturday morning after not going too stupid at the pub on Friday night. Very responsible behaviour indeed from us as our normal form would have left us waking up in a hazy fog. :blink: One look out the window confirmed that the weather was perfect and I knew we would be in for an epic day. During the night I had woken three times to the sound of torrential downpours so I knew it would be slick in spots but it was not enough to have put any of the creeks in flood.

After some morning bike prep Nick and I left for our 3k run down the highway to the resort. I don’t normally ever ride on the Pacific Hwy as I duck into the forest under the causeway but as we were staging the ride from the resort this was about my 5th lap. Every time I did it I could hear the S12 on the back shredding $’s with every rotation. They are the perfect tyre around my way but you can’t let them anywhere near road or rock or they die a very quick death. I was prepared to only get the 170k’s for the weekend out of it but I still took it very easy on the throttle on the road.

On arriving at Darlington we were greeted to an epic scene. :woohoo: We dominated the car park with just shy of 40 bikes and riders. The scene to the public caused a bit of interest but everyone was very respectful wheeling their bikes out or idling them very low. It was time for the briefing and to split the groups. It would give us two groups of 18 which was much more manageable and meant that we could cover more ground for the day. Nicks group was spilt from mine and after TB said some words it was time to go. My loop started with a 2k beach run which I knew would be a good novelty for some and then into some local streets before hitting the dirt. Until lunch that was the last time we would see any bitumen and with the two man corner man working to perfection we started to link up some great sections of trail.

Just when you get into a comfortable flow there is always some log or bog hole ready to wake you up and at our first regroup there were plenty of stories from the crew. Leading doesn’t involve you in the mid pack fun but this weekend was not about me and there have been some great reports written and some great stories told that show just how much fun everyone was having.

The pace of the group was solid and on the few moments we regrouped I did not have to wait long to have the full group together and ready to go again. With the pace that was being set I knew we would cover our loop by midday so I did not have to cut any trails out which meant we were now headed for the greasy gully. I have named all the sections of singletrack we rode over the three days and this section is called “Fully Loaded” as it has a bit of everything in it. It starts with a steep long downhill which we had ridden up on Friday afternoon and then turns into fast singles with some excellent erosion kickers built in. It then narrows to classic single near the valley floor before it takes one last drop into the creek bed. Down here in leech land it is almost dark and the only way out is up a greasy steep face that leads to what must be the slipperiest little up hill around. I left my bike at the top of the trail and walked back down to enjoy the show. Most made light work of the greasy face but stopped to celebrate on top and if you don’t carry momentum up the next incline you are stuck. One by one everyone battled their way up with just Corey stuck at the bottom. After several attempts his tyre was that full of mud that he had no hope. Corey and TB had let loose with plenty of banter before the ride so the heckles from above were golden. After a massive struggle and soaked in sweat Corey appeared up the bank as I threw on my helmet and said “Right then, let’s go!” No mercy…

From here it was a feast of singles and the group continued flawlessly. TB mentioned he got a call from the other group and mumbled something about RCHonda being hit by a roo and I quietly hoped Nick and his crew were Ok. Nothing we could do where we were and the last thing I wanted to do was alter our route and put us in a potentially dangerous situation with the other group. The loops were designed that the few bits of shared trail on both loops were only ridden in the same direction and at least an hour apart so there was no chance of the groups coming together so I stuck to my plan and hoped for the best for the others. :huh:

The trail conditions were primo and we continued to clock up the miles. After we snook under a huge log on a uphill slope we entered “Tunnel Ball”. This trail is everything I love about riding and I wasted no time in opening the little 250F up. Bike capacity means nothing in here as you don’t need power but you do need good handling and finesse. No throwing the bike around, just sweet flowing single with some kickers, logs and tight corners thrown in the mix. I knew there would be some serious frothing going on at the next regroup point and I looked forward to hearing the mid pack stories. It turned out that the next regroup was at the “Widow Maker” so all the excitement of the last section was about to be replaced as 18 riders stared uphill and contemplated their next move! :dry:

To Be Continued.

STM

[GregMember]

More please STM can I have some more

TB

[scott bockingMember]

Trailboss wrote:

Quote:

More please STM can I have some more

TB

You want more Oliver!
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

STM

[Mike WyethMember]

Great little vid Scott, was good to see some blue sky :ohmy: it’s been pi##ing down here all week should be good for a ride next weekend though :cheer:

[Jeffrey SmithMember]

Come on guys, there must be more pics and video than that.

[scott bockingMember]

Only 50 weeks to go till we do it all again Jeffro. :laugh:

STM

[GregMember]

singletrackmind wrote:

Quote:

Only 50 weeks to go till we do it all again Jeffro. :laugh:

STM

Shut up Scott and finish your ride report :laugh:

[Mick DMember]

Trailboss wrote:

Quote:

singletrackmind wrote:

Quote:

Only 50 weeks to go till we do it all again Jeffro. :laugh:

STM

Shut up Scott and finish your ride report :laugh:

I am with TB on this, Mr to be continued….

Hurry up man.

[scott bockingMember]

micknmeld wrote:

Quote:

Trailboss wrote:

Quote:

singletrackmind wrote:

Quote:

Only 50 weeks to go till we do it all again Jeffro. :laugh:

STM

Shut up Scott and finish your ride report :laugh:

I am with TB on this, Mr to be continued….

Hurry up man.

Sorry to leave you all waiting, my paying job got in the way :laugh:

Expect the next installment late tonight.

STM

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