Forum Replies Created
-
fish wrote:Wow what a ride.Was great to catch up with all the old bulls new and old.Sorry guys as usual didn’t take my camera !! so no pic’s.Just want to say a big thank you to TB another great ride mate,you really know how to link all those tracks together,also to Chicken for being our support did an amazing job mate,big thanks to Crash for sweeping the first day which allowed me and Boulder to let our hair down a bit.
The country we rode through changed so much from green grass and full dams, to being two hours west where the grass was brown and the dams empty!!.
In answer to James report mate it was a pleasure riding with you and they were packets of 25 and we still had plenty when we pulled up at the end of the day,you rode really well for your first big adventure ride mate hope to see you on the next one.
In the words from the great man Tony Kirby, “We do this stuff searching for adventure because it makes us feel truly alive”.
Cheers FishThankyou Fish for the kind words of encouragement.
Alive indeed,and yes you will see me on the next one
.Looks like a softer place to land than the one I saw :laugh:
Trailboss wrote:Mt Irvine as of this arvo, like I said on Sunday “last time you will ever do it”
Sad day, and the only decent run over the mountains gone
TB
I don’t know about that TB,from what I saw on the weekend I reckon you lot would get over that easy :woohoo:
Great report and pictures Jeffro,brings it all back nice and clearly, brains still fried from concentrating for so long :laugh:
Nice pics and vids Eagle,what do you mean I looked like shit :silly: 😆
Cant wait to watch the movie TB just to relive it all again
Awoke on day 2 to the sound of creacky floorboards and banter coming from the little kitchen at the end of the hall Wolfie, Jeffro and from memory Eagle were up early having breaky.
After the stuffup the evening before I was now having trouble blocking out that little voice of self doubt which had by now turned into a shout rather than a wisper 😆 Wolfie had asked me how I was going so on and so forth and gave me a little rundown on what I could expect on the day ahead.
Now this being my first big adv ride and all I did rock up underprepared to say the least :blush: .The tyres I was running were the Heidinaus, which when matched with my skillset made for some interesting times on the really loose stuff :ohmy: .The skies looked clear of clouds which was a relief as Wolfie had told me if it rains I may struggle on a certain section of the days ride and may want to get on the bitumen and rejoin the group later.
So good advice but I found myself now cloud watching praying it did not rain 😆 :pinch: .Fuel was also going to be an issue for the Farrier and myself today after yesterdays performance as we did not refuel when we should have.Lucky for us Chicken came to the rescue with a jerry can which by chance the Farrier split perfectly between the Tenere and the 950.I ended up coughing and spluttering into Oberon and he was the same.
The ride itself got of to a good start,and we got away to an earlier start thinking we wont be holding people up by being last.That soon changed as most of the riders rounded me up covered me in dust and disappeared into the distance :laugh: :laugh: .
It was around this time when the Boulder brothers caught us for the first time.This would go on to happen a few times as we made our way through the pine forests.They would catch us I assume stop and have a smoke to give us time to get in front then charge on up behind us again.
As silly as this sounds at a time when fuel consumption should be more of a concern I found myself calculating cigarette consumption thinking that for every time they catch me that’s two smokes.Iwas hopeing they had a pack of fortys not twentys as at my speed the supply may not make Oberon :laugh: :laugh: Thanks guys for being patient with my pace.
Rolling into Oberon and seeing all the bikes lined up was a relief knowing we were still in touch with the group.Chicken schnitzel roll and chocky milk for lunch then back on the bike.After lunch we were amongst more riders which was fun and it was easier to stay with the pack as there were a few bitumen sections were I could stay with the pack.
More pine forests and dirt roads until a fair bit of tar which brought us to Mt Wilson.Down into the valley and at the little bridge at the bottom some more advice,this time from Eagle.Try to stay close to the clifface because if you make a mistake you don’t want to go over the edge,he wasn’t kidding :ohmy:
I actually really enjoyed the climb up out of there and it didn’t really pose much of a problem to me my moments of uncertainty were the really steep loose downhill sections more on day one and the fist sized gravel we seemed to encounter on both days.
Up and out of the valley and the scenery started to become familiar,Mountain Lagoon ,Wheelbarrow Ridge and the like I had survived :woohoo: A quick River rd and on to the pub for a coke and goodbyes.
Thankyou to everybody for your advice, words of encouragement and willingness to help.The pit crew on day one cheers lads,Chicken for being that safety net,both sets of sweep riders Crash/Andrew day 1
Boulder brothers day 2,Pete and Amy up front marking the way and of course my ride buddy the Farrier thanks EZ I realize you and the big katy were chomping at the bit to get amongst it with the other faster riders .Now TB don’t know how you manage it but thankyou so much for organizing such an epic ride and welcoming a relative newcomer into your sport.From advice to offers of mechanical assistance you really do go above and beyond the call of duty and for that I am sincerely grateful.
See all you people on the next one cant wait,
Cheers James
Well where do I start,what a weekend :ohmy: :woohoo: :pinch: :blush:
My weekend finally got underway around 4.30 Friday arvo after roughly 2 months of nervous anticipation
for the big ride.Did I say big I meant BIG.The weather gods didn’t look to be smileing upon us though as I headed towards Mcgrahs Hill to meet
my ride buddy the Farrier.Fortunatey for me the rain held of,which led to a fairly uneventful but enjoyable enough trip down to Mittagong despite the peak hour traffic :angry:On arrival at the pub we were confronted by a carpark full of adv bikes
.Looked like we must be the last to arrive,unfortunately this would not be the last occasion where we would be the last home for the weekend :ohmy:So off the bikes and into the pub for a bit of meet and greet.Both the Farrier and myself had never met any of the other Oldbulls beside Steve [adv moto] so it was good to be able to match faces to names.I have got to say we were made to feel as if we belonged straight from the get go which was great.
A few beers,meal and idle chit chat had me feeling right at home and confident about the impending ride.It wasn’t until TB sat us down to talk all things GPS that I heard that little voice of self doubt from within, a voice which would accompany me along the steepest,dustiest,rockiest,most rutted and longest ride I have, in my short bike life ridden :woohoo:Lucky the Farrier was absorbing TBs pearls of wisdom on all things GPS as my understanding on the topic would not have enabled me to even find my room in the pub let alone Woodstock had he punched in a map to get to room 12 😆
Day 1 began with the engine noise of bikes leaving before first light,for some not the Farrier and I though as we got of to quite a late departure,probably last not sure.I cant really remember much of the first part of the ride other than it was really steep and I mean steep.Had trouble not focussing over the edge and if you had gone over it was all over :ohmy: .
After a while the country wasn’t quite so steep and I settled in to more of a rhythm and just bumbled along, my job was made easier by the fact I just followed my ride buddy.
Later that day was when I experienced the OBT help your mate attitude first hand as I had a flat tyre just before arriving at one of the fuel stops cant remember which one.Quite a few of the other boys were there eating lunch as we rolled in.I fuelled my bike went in to pay and ordered a hamburger,by the time I was coming out the OBT pit crew had swarmed on my bike and were changing the tyre.PTW,TB,ACE,CRASH,WIGSTER,EAGLE I think that was everyone sorry if I have missed someone :unsure: .Really appreciate it fellas was very embarrassed not being prepared and all thankyou
As the day progressed and the sun started to drop in the sky I began to look forward to getting to the pub.Up until that point the day had just been me following the Farrier or should I say his dust when I could see it.I would just follow the trail till I caught him up then he would take of again till the next intersection.
Now I am not sure how many times this took place over the course of the day but it was a lot.So when I came to the last T intersection of the day and there was no farrier I first thought he was taking the piss outta me :pinch:
I just headed to Cowra on the bitumen and as it turns out I should have gone to the right needless to say I stumbled on to the pub minus the Farrier.By this time everybody else is back safe and sound enjoying a drink or two and a feed.I then have to tell TB sorry to be a pain in the arse but by the way the Farriers missing :blush:
I never really thought he had crashed or anything but it was worrying me that after all those other intersections he wasn’t there waiting.
TB said give him an hour and shore enough right on cue he turned up in the dark thank @!#$%@ turns out he rode an extra 90 ks backtracking looking for me.So after an eventful day it was dinner and a few beers.Day 2 later
Hey Nick
When you do get some could I please have some as when I had the Teknic treatment I didn’t get any as you had runout. :pinch:
I do think the decals do look good on the bikesAs to which look the best Ill leave that up to the rest of the crew :unsure:
Sounds like a GPS barbeque day gathering, in the wind.
Don’t know if that appeals to people TB or you for that matter :unsure:
If it does all welcome at my place :cheer:
Just not sure if I can cater for the computer stuff :unsure:
