[scott bockingMember]

Trailboss wrote:

Quote:

You could always flip burgers with Kram or help Mick. Then I can ride with Puddles :laugh: hold Boony’s hand chase the Warlock smash another radiator :angry: and borrow STM’s swag

TB

[scott bockingMember]

Sunday arvo

We geared up and left burger heaven (Capertee servo) for the last time and headed down the road to embark on the final session of the weekend. 30+ dirt bikes were such a sight that some local had pulled the video camera out to film us riding through town. It may have been the sheer number of bikes or maybe word was out that TB likes to do wheelies.
We had left the rocks behind and we hit some good sections of singletrack which had me grinning through the dust. Sunday afternoon brought some great sections of trail. We had singletrack, buffed double with water bars and some bog holes. The pace was solid and it was obvious that everyone was digging deep and keeping the throttle turned right through the afternoon. I was feeling good considering my idea of a ride is a 40k hot lap and then a bucket of home brew yet we were approaching the 400k mark.
TB and Mal continued to push hard up front and every time you pulled cornerman duty there were stories of near misses. Mick stopped and didn’t light a ciggie so I knew something was wrong. He had managed to bottom his BRP and had taken a huge gouge out of his bash plate. Somehow he had hung on and survived what could have been a nasty get off! We continued to keep the hammer down and hit a section of sweet singletrack. I came into it behind LC4 Skin and we gave it our best shot. In reality it probably resembled two boxers late in the 15th round. We did what we could but by now the fatigue was setting in. Considering I was coming off two nights with bugger all sleep and enough beer to fuel a high school formal I was feeling ok but was not in my best form but that was not going to stop me enjoying every last bit of the ride.
We arrived at what can best be described as a swamp and Chicken was already bogged. For a 7 foot man to be up to his waist in mud you know it is soft so as I approached the bog I was expecting my bike to completely disappear but somehow I found the firm line and got through. The stores of roosting that came later and the shots show just how wet it was. If you want diversity of trails then this was it. We had ridden sand, rock and now through a swamp. The sun was sinking and we continued to hammer out the k’s. We came out on a fire road and I was left waiting with TB, Mal, Ollie, Mick, Moose and Burple. It was a fitting crew to be with and as we waited for more to join us it became obvious that there was an issue. We feared it was an injury as it could not have been a slow tyre change as Ollie was with us.
It was getting close to dark so TB and Mal decided to go back and look. They were not gone long when I heard the unmistakable throb of the big Honda flying back down the dirt road. He waved us on but did not back off at all as he hit the next left at a speed that my bike is not capable of and even if it was I would not be doing anything but a straight line at that speed. As we looked on he backed it in and under a darkening sky, his pipe shot a flame and he was gone. Pure gold!
It was time to turn on the headlights but my bike was so dirty all it did was shine back at me and it gave no light forward at all. I would have given it a quick wash but my Camelback had been empty for the last three hours. Moments before the last rays of day faded we arrived back at the cars and started the load up. I only had one bag, my bike and me to load so it did not take long but I had forgotten the vital milk crate that I need to step up into the back of my Hilux. Katgirl had helped me out on the Saturday morning but she was gone so as I looked around for a make shift step King Crash had already jumped into the back and was ready to drag my bike in. Just goes to show why he was chosen as OB of the year.
Thanks go to Salina and the boys for putting up with us on Friday. Mal and TB for linking up 400k’s of Aussie bush and planning a B route as well. Tiny, Bubba and Lotsa for your massive effort. I could list individuals from here but at some point I either rode, sat cornerman, or laughed with each and everyone on the ride at some point during the weekend and to single anyone out seems unfair as each and everyone on the ride deserves my thanks.

Cheer OBT

STM

[scott bockingMember]

On this trip we had two routes so it was everthing from full touring setups to 250cc four bangers and everything in between.
Rest assured though there were plenty of your weapons of choice (DRZ’s)out there.

[scott bockingMember]

micknmeld wrote:

Quote:

[img]http://www.obtrailriders.com/media/kunena/attachments/legacy/images/SDC10559.JPG[/img]

Did you see the size of that seagull!!!

[scott bockingMember]

Hey Nickj

Welcome aboard mate. You will have a good laugh on here and also get the collective knowledge of a lot of very accomplished riders. Next time I do a long haul for an OBT ride maybe now I have someone to share the driving with :woohoo:

Enjoy

STM

[scott bockingMember]

micknmeld wrote:

Quote:

AS far as accomodation goes.

Breckenridge farmstay would be your best bet. $27.50 a night dorm accomodation. Hot breakfast Extra $9.00

http://www.breckenridgefarm.com.au

Give Barry and Shirley a call and tell them you are an Old Bull.

Other options would swag it at Mooses or My Place.

You got room for my swag Mick? :laugh:

STM

[scott bockingMember]

micknmeld wrote:

Quote:

Moto,coming out of retirement……starting to look like a good ride. :woohoo: There is a practice day the next day at the HVMCC MX track if anyone is keen :laugh:

I dragged him out of retirement last week up at my place Mick so he is back in the game. :woohoo:

STM

[scott bockingMember]

Trailboss wrote:

Quote:

singletrackmind wrote:

Quote:

To be continued

STM

Come on Scott where is the rest of this report, the corner wait the ride home in the near dark

TB

I will type up the fourth and final installment tonight.

STM

[scott bockingMember]

STEX wrote:

Quote:

This is actually Kram, pc is down so i’m stealing Stex’s while he’s not home

Just wanted to say thanks to all who helped me out after my little moment. The banter kept me in good spirits, the first aid was great and the help to get me to the road and hospital terrific.

A really big thank you to Donna and Mal for everything. Donna drove like a legend to get me to hospital and then stayed with me until the ambos took me to Orange. I wont forget the kindness shown by both of you.

The ride from my point of view was a cracker….just ended a little early :blush: next time I’m driving the support vehicle. I was only coming along for the beers and banter anyway :woohoo:

Sorry to cause you some grief STM. It’s merely a flesh wound I think watching it was just as bad as living it by the sounds of it.

Dr reckons I’ll be out of action for 3-6 months depending on what happens during the healing process. That means I’ll be back in the saddle for next year’s Anniversary ride and I’ll try not to stuff it up for everyone.

Thanks again to everyone who helped out

Cheers

Kram

Hi Mate

I am glad to hear you are safely home and can now rest up and get it fixed. Hopefully it is closer to 3 months than 6 and that it heals up with no future issues.

All the best on a speedy recovery mate.

STM

[scott bockingMember]

Sunday morning

As we rode out of the camp site the fog sat low in the valley and we disappeared into its cover. The road was dusty and the mist was thick so it coated you and your goggles in a brown paste. The air was cool and the speeds were reasonably quick and I felt about as warm as I had in the river earlier in the morning. You could see that it was going to burn off but that was going to take a while. The road broke to twin track and as we stared to climb the sky started to clear and soon we busted through into the blue.
We stopped at a great lookout and gave the goggles one more clean and then it was on again. The trails were a mix of twin and some singles and the group was flowing well. We came across some good challenges with some bog holes and some snotty climbs. Just before we hit the pines Justo got a flat and this gave us the chance to sit down and eat another few kg’s of Jerky.
From here we hit the pine forest and there were some really fun sections. The way the light filtered through the canopy gave a strobe effect and it meant you really had to concentrate because the double track was fast but lined with some big pines that would show no mercy should you screw up. Mixed with this was some fun singletrack that was awesome to ride as a group. We then sessioned Dan’s hill for a while and there was a sighting of the purple hippo but that cannot be confirmed by any photographic evidence.
We moved on from the pines and back into the native eucalypt and the ground started to get rougher and rougher. Before long it was only rock with patches of rock spread over rock. We stopped to regroup and TB must have sensed that I was getting beaten up and asked me how I was enjoying the “Western loam”. It was brutal to say the least. I was enjoying the challenge but it was hard work and you had to concentrate to avoid having your front end stolen away. Benji managed a flat which is not surprising considering the speed he was carrying through the coral and this gave us one more rest before the trail finally started to soften. By soften I mean sun baked and dusty but compared the rock fest we had just come through it felt like “Home sweet Loam”.
We had a few more K’s to kill and it was back to burger heaven at Capertee. It was almost 2pm so we made it as quick a stop as is possible to fill and feed 30 + bikes and bellies before our final session for the weekend.

To be continued

STM

[scott bockingMember]

Medial meniscus will heal itself if you minimise load bearing for a period and cartilage is yet to be replaced with any real dergree of success.
Building up the muscles around the knee joint and taking regular glucosomine are your best bet. Stabilise it with some rest and then start some non shearing weight exercises and make your legs strong enough to compensate for knee instabilities. It is possible to even compensate for an ACL rupture by doing this so you should be ok. The chance of it attaching to the femur again are very slim.

Good luck

STM

[scott bockingMember]

Moose is the most courteous rider in the game. He got deflected on a rock step and cut me off but it was my fault for not waitng. Benji then knocked my back wheel out which was not his fault as I got speared acroos the rut and Moose comes running back down the hill and drags me out. He was so quick to help. He is a true gentleman!

Cheers

STM

[scott bockingMember]

That was the hill White Rocket decided to pass me on and then go knocked off line in front of me and showered me in rocks. I put my head down and copped two in the helmet.

Bastard

STM

[scott bockingMember]

Trailboss wrote:

Quote:

I love reading your stories Scott they are fully loaded like you :laugh: The hr you mentioned wasnt that bad but blame Kram. I have his bike at my place come and ride it for a day or so you will feel better

Bring on the rest of it, cant wait to see your take on the Sunny corner loam :laugh: :laugh:

TB

There are two more instalments to come so stay tuned.
Like I said the decision to ride what we did on Saturday arvo was the right one and I am glad we all had the extra time together. I tried to explain this to my little bike but it told me to f@#k off so I have put it away dirty :laugh:
Kram has a lot of explaining to do as everytime I close my eyes I can see him hit the ground :ohmy:
Not pretty!

STM, or should that be FLM :laugh:

[scott bockingMember]

Saturday Lunch

We arrived at Capertee starving after a good mornings ride. It was getting warm by now and it had turned out to be a perfect day. The servo had been fore warned and they had a great system going for us to fuel up and pay for our food. Tiny had gone ahead and ordered 30 burgers which probably did not raise an eyebrow. :laugh: We fueled both the bikes and the bellies and the decision was made that we should take a more direct route to Sofala so that we could set up in the light and get the camp ready for the night ahead. This meant a fairly long dirt road transport but these weekends are as much about the social aspect as the riding so in my opinion it was a good decision. My little Yami did not agree and after an hour or so of the valves hitting me in the arse we arrived.
TB and Mal had sussed out a great location for the night and the support team of Tiny, Bubba and Lotsa went to work and made us an incredible setup.
Setting up for me did not take long and my minimalist setup was the butt of many jokes. And rightly so, it was pretty average.
The beers started to flow and the banter began. Just before dark TB and Mick kicked off the presentation and a big congrats has to go out to Crash who was a worthy winner. I was lucky enough to win two prizes. One for burning the most amount of fuel getting to the weekend and one for the dirtiest bike. Has to be something said for sitting mid pack and getting passed all day.
Special thanks go to 4bp Racing for the great new kit bag and to Muc Off for the cleaning products. I will post a before and after shot of my bike this weekend to show the results.
As the BBQ warmed up I took my dinner, a can of Campbell’s fully loaded, :woohoo: cracked the lid and sat it in the fire. Five minutes later I was enjoying some steaming hot soup. For desert I had some Jack Links Beef Jerky. It is seriously good stuff and will be a staple in my pocket on two day rides in the future.
I took the pack light thing seriously so my food for the two days consisted of what I could load up on at Capertee each lunch time, one tin of soup, two power bars and a plastic spoon. Added to this the calories from all the beers and I felt well and truly full by the end of the night. More liquid than substance but full none the less.
The night around the fire was a great laugh with some real characters showing the sort of form that makes this site what it is. I made one last trip to the esky to find the beer was done and thought it would be wise to take that as a hint that I should turn in for the night. I don’t remember the next sequence of events very clearly but in the morning I did find my shoes about 20 metres from my sleeping bag, the foam matt was not under me and my bag was torn. This may explain the stories that it took me a long time to actually work out how to get into the sleeping bag. It seems that I tore the liner with my foot so I was actually trying to get into the split I had made in the liner. The much bigger opening that is designed for you to get in would have been a lot easier but I persisted for a good 10 minutes or so. I obviously found my way in eventually and I woke at 6 am ready for day two.
If you can sleep on hard ground with a bald head and no beanie at 4 degrees Celsius you have definitely gone to bed reasonably hammered so I thought the best cure would be a quick swim. I was already that cold that the idea did not seem too bad and the water certainly woke me up. TB made the call as I was putting my bike shorts on the leave some space for when the plums dropped and he wasn’t wrong. The turtle and the plums were holding a race to see who could get the deepest inside me but it did do the job of clearing my head.
It was time to pack up camp and embark on day two of the ride. Again the support crew went to work on the area and in short time it looked like we had never been. If not for the 5 million farmers friends in Ollie’s tracky dacks you would have never known we were there. :laugh:

To be continued

STM

[Author]

Posts