I decided to turn the one day nav ride in to a two dayer by having a cruisy run up through St Albans to Buckety on Saturday afternoon. It was very relaxing and a complete contrast to the lunacy I knew would be taking place on Sunday.
The opportunity to camp out with the senior OBT’s was too good to miss. Usi and I enjoyed one of the funniest nights in the company of TB, PTW and Lefty. The banter flowed and PTW showed us his amazing dexterity by taking most of the evening to undo a packet of batteries. I think there might be video evidence of the last three minutes. TB got confused trying to order a liver and pineapple pizza and ended up with some spring rolls. The Old Bulls stove was cranked up to provide enough energy to power a small city. And the Knights won (but they won’t beat the Roosters).
So all were up like spring chickens at sparrows fart to commence the ride. A slight technical hitch meant this was going to be a cornerman ride, which worked really well compared to some I’ve been on in the past where riders have been stretched out over 50k. The small group helped and initially the pace was not too hot.
Unlike the past nav rides, where TB springs a horrible surprise in the first 10k to get your fear factor right up there, the first sections were fast gravel tracks. Great riding and where the Tiger is right at home. I was cracking a reasonable pace (for me) and felt pretty good about life and in particular adventure riding.
Wolfy had a nasty off just as we were waiting for someone to come a cropper in the bog hole. I think I even saw TB break in to a trot to go and help, but if there’s no video, it didn’t happen, so I can’t be sure. Hope your leg is OK Wolfy.
As the morning wore on it got snottier and snottier. No major drama’s for me so far and I was probably a little bit over confident at this stage. I had been having a great time splashing through the centre of all the big puddles, like the big kid my wife says I still am.
One pothole was not shaped like the others though. It was about 1.5 metres long and had a really nasty vertical face to the end of it. A fact I only noticed when I was committed to going through it at about 80K.
The front wheel hit and basically stopped dead. I was immediately smashed in the face by my bar mounted Garmin GPS. Then the seat decided it was going to get in to the action and punted me up the clacker with such velocity that it lifted me right off the pegs. For a moment, as I hung in the air above the bike, I was sure I was going right over the bars, like that dude on you tube in “Dakar motorbike crashes”.
But the bike caught me up and I crashed back down, narrowly missing landing on my testicles (now that would have hurt!)
I must admit I was a bit stunned and was pretty sure I had broken my nose and buggered the front wheel. (In fact I had done neither.) I rolled on for a bit expecting the tyre to be flat, but no, it kept turning. Then I started to see funny shapes and lots of pretty colours and could feel the blood dripping down my chin, so I thought I had better stop and sort myself out.
I pulled over and dismounted but the patch of ground I was standing on kept moving around, so I had to sit on it to keep it still. There was a bit of claret but it was Lefty to the rescue with some concerned words, some water and a towel for me to clean myself up. Thanks Mate!
No real damage though. A bloody nose and a few loose teeth, which should tighten up this week (I hope so, I haven’t got many of my own left. They seem to be going the same way as my hair).
Amazingly there was no damage to the rim. Those Excel things are damn good!
Anyway it was back on the horse. And before long were in to some single track. I had an interesting time squeezing between the trees and the fence line with the Tigers fat arse (panniers are not a good idea when the track is only a foot wide). We came across a rock garden with a short steep hill at the end of it. The WR 250 had just cartwheeled backwards down it. Oh Lord, I’m never going to get over and up that! But a quick pre inspection and the removal of some of the bigger rocks (I wasn’t the only one so I don’t consider it cheating!) meant it wasn’t as bad as it first looked. Lefty and PTW came over last and showed us how it should be done.
Then lunch at the Night at the Museum Hotel. The excellent chicken schnitzel tested out the loose teeth. No drama’s, they all stayed put.
The afternoon was an absolute ripper. There were quite a few arse puckering moments on some steep rutted out downhills. Mine and the Tigers least favourite terrain. Some seriously tight bush bashing and some very muddy and snotty track. The blast over the Watagans on good gravel was the icing on the cake, though the fourbys coming the other way made for yet more puckeridge.
Well what can I say, another great ride. Well done to Chicken for being out there after his back problems. I’ve got to admire his balls (maybe later). Thanks to everyone who came and made it a great ride. But most of all thanks to TB, PTW and Lefty for the entertainment on Saturday night. That’s Gold!
Can’t wait for the next one!
Wigster
I have just loaded IOS 7 on my phone and now my PC won’t recognise the f%$#er to down load photos and video :angry: Any ideas :unsure: Anyone?? Cause I watched the battery vid again today and it is funny shit eh!!
