A good turn up despite the weather forecast with Welly all the way from the Hill. A few early evening showers saw some set up just in time for the rain to stop.
1 arrival sat morn saw 9 riders head out in sunshine, with some dust as the area has not had a lot of rain. We took the reverse of the usual route this year for a change which gave us a different perspective. A fast pace as all were sand savvy saw lunch at Tinty early without incident.
A longish lunch & off again down a different track for a while parallel with the railway line – interesting when a train came along – some thought who’s passing in this difficult spot?! More quick paced riding saw us back near camp around 2.30pm, with the thirsty bikes short of fuel as usual.
Here we looked at a local enduro track with 4 having a go for a while as the less inclined & fuel deficients headed back.
Claudio missed the farm track & I chased him nearly all the way on the continuing good roadside track to the outskirts of town, whence we turned back to arrive after the racers who only rode a portion of a tough track which we early pullouts wisely missed.
We talked Peter in to bringing out the genset & TV so we could watch the finals showdown by the campfire which was great for a change, especially as most barracked for the crows.
Claudio had gone home but new boy Andrew who turned out to be a distant rellie of mine arrived sun morn to make it 9 again. Off we went in threatening conditions but no dust due to late night rain. As the day progressed we had some showers & it got very cold. Jackets were donned to help the handbags that some had put on before the start. Dave left his home as he is not a good weather predictor.
Headed for Salt Creek via the usual route with Andrew on a fast sand riding learning curve. He used way too much fuel for an XR4 too due to a previous owner fiddling with the jetting.
A nice hot lunch with plenty of chips helped revive the cold bodies so we could head back despite more showers.
Nearly home & Dave hit the same mound that Merv hit last year & crashed his brains out. We have now marked it so it shouldn’t happen again. Broke his helmet, winded himself, & generally very sore in places, especially the chest where he has probably broken a couple of ribs. 25 metres from inadvertent take off to crash landing for the bike, with Dave a further 5 metres on in a crumpled heap. After he had composed himself 4 rode for rescue 1 & 4 stayed to help.
All back to camp around 5pm, pack up & home with Dave being chauffered as he had been briefly unconscious so was not allowed to ride or drive for a while.
Thanks to Russel organiser & his parents hosts.