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Great job Smally!
Bet you are addicted already
If yout get stuck with anything give me a yell.STM
Spud.m/m wrote:Spud.m/m wrote:There is another BETA coming that i no of today…Its being picked up very soon..
…spud…
well well…. the BETA that i no of will be home Thursday ….
We will be riding with it on sunday at this stage…..I think..…spud…
More info Spud!!
STM
Nickj wrote:Did I just see Mike hit the sand ????
Nick
He even falls gracefully!!!! :laugh:
STM
I had been counting down the days to this ride as it was the first time I have taken time off from my new business. After 5 months I needed a few days away with the boys and this was the perfect opportunity. Staff were organized, mother in-law shipped in and bike prepped and ready to go.
The weather report look perfect with 15mm to suppress the dust during the week and cool, clear conditions on the forecast for the weekend. As soon as I jumped in my ute and looked at my bike in the rear vision mirror a smile came across my face. OBT weekends are always good fun and this one promised to be right up there with the best of them.
On arriving at Nickj’s there were already a few bikes and bodies and over the course of the next hour many more rolled in. It did not take me long to set up camp and get ready to ride Nicks home loop.
The loop in and around Nick’s was brilliant and he had done a heap of work since I had last ridden there. The tight singles were a great way to warm up and it sure got some heat back into the bodies of those that had driven down the range through the snow. We rode a good mix of singles and open trail with some cool sandy section thrown in. My bike was on song after new clutch springs that week and felt as good as it ever has. I have spent more time on the MTB lately but in the single I felt good and the bike felt even better. I had some good tussles with Mike and shared a few lines with Dude and Sam which is always good fun.
After about k’s we were back at the ranch and ready to wash the dust down.
Nick had the place well set up and I think a few were taken aback at the scale of Château Jacko. It is a beautiful property that he has cleared and built from scratch and the perfect spot to spend a few days camping.Everyone realised how physical the next day was going to be and that evening played it sensible except Toes. His XR had shat itself early was fatal so he was out and that is always a recipe for madness. We were done before 9pm but Toes was determined to kick on. I woke up a few hours later to find someone standing over me and realized it was him. He asked me what I was up to. It seemed pretty obvious that I was asleep but he offered me a beer anyway. I rolled over, he got the hint and disappeared.
The plan was to get to Spuds at 7am and everyone was right on time or as close to it as Andy can be. Spuds place should be a tourist attraction as there is so much cool stuff lying around.
We geared up and Spud gave the brief for the day. The sun was not far above the sugar cane at this point and the temps were as low as they get around these parts. It was about 4 degrees by the time we were ready to head out and the first few k’s of fast dirt roads were going to be fresh.
Super Sweep
Dude
The man of the moment
The other Super sweep
About 6 k’s in I hear a sound that I thought was from a bike behind me. It was as if someone was sitting on my back wheel with a badly adjusted chain. It was a loud rattle and then my bike coughed and started to lose power. I pulled the clutch as it died and rolled to a stop. It was not long until Nick and Rob rolled through to see what the problem was. The bike was not hot and there was no oil coming out the exhaust. I looked for a hole around the case but there was no sign that I had lost any oil. One attempt on the kick starter confirmed my worst fear. She was seized!!
There was nothing that could be done but to sit on the side of the road and wait for Smithy and his shiny ute. I sadly loaded my bike in and he offered me a lift back to my car.
I had the choice to go back and feel sorry for myself or hang out with Smithy for the day. I chose the later and am glad I did. He is a great bloke and we had a good day chatting and catching up with the crew and a few of the pre-determined meeting sots. He knows the forest as well as Spud and had us in he right spot every time. It gave me a chance to take it just how beautiful this coastal stretch of bush is and to snap of a few photos of the boys.
Boze
Rob
Pikey
Mike
Andy
Smally
Sam
Spud
Smithy was carting around a full esky and offered me a beer but I held off in case somebody pulled the pin at lunch and needed me to get their bike home.
Lunch was arranged with the same military precision as everything else this weekend and although it hurt not to be riding it was great to see the excitement and enthusiasm amongst the crew. After lunch me and Smithy made our way back through the forest to finally meet up as Spud appeared around the final corner of the trail. He had dropped his last corner man for the day and was rewarded with a cold can of his favourite brew.
I believe that sometimes things just go wrong unexpectedly to stop something else bad happening so it was clearly just not my day to ride. On arriving back at Nicks it was time for another amazing meal and something that I could do that day, Party!!! It was a very funny night with good mates and one I will remember for a long time to come.
Thanks to the boys and their patient wife’s for all the work and effort that went into such an amazing weekend. I will return for some more of this!!
STM
