Ian had once again put in the hard work to arrange accomodation for a ride. This time for the Sunsent Country ride. Thanks again for that Ian!
Ian had estimated 4 hours travelling time to get to the campsite, but since I was travelling from closer than he, and didn't have a caravan, I reckoned I could make it in about 2 and a half to three hours.
I left work at around 1:30pm, rushed home, loaded up the bike and gear and finally managed to drag myself away at around 3pm.
Getting close to camp, I encountered a few Kangaroos crossing the road, which is common at dusk here in South Australia. Luckily, despite my hurrying, I managed to avoid them, although I did test out the ABS with the Husky on a trailer behind the Forester.
I arrived at the campsite just on dark, which was about 6pm. The campsite was fantastic, with not only a house to sleep in with gas lamps, a toilet, but also the best of all, a hot shower!
I unpacked my gear, unloaded the big Husky and wandered over to the fire for some bench racing with the other guys & families.
People continued to arrive until about 11pm on Friday night, some choosing to stay in the house, others (snorers and farters) choosing to stay in their own tents to save the rest of us from their emissions. Thanks for that guys. You know who you are ;-)
Saturday morning dawned crystal clear, and it was obvious that the forecast 32C temperature would be a reality. A little hot for riding, but we were all still keen. None keener than I, as this was the first "real" ride on the new TE510.
This meant I was ready a little before most others, so I took advantage of the some small jumps through a dry dam just near the camp, which I rode around a few times while the others got ready.
Ian had planned to do a couple of rides on the Saturday, returning to the camp around lunchtime for some refreshments and to fill up the camelbacks and thirsty bikes.
We set out around 9:30am for the first loop, and while it was dusty, the trails were not bad at all.
We hit a slight hitch when Darryl become "geographically challenged". Getting almost all riders lost when he took a wrong turn. Luckily it was quite easy to backtrack to where the wrong turn was made.
Unfortunately, while we were lost, Ken got a bit of wire caught in his rear wheel between the brake pad and the disk! It took a bit of disassembly to get it going again, but once that was done, the 450EXC suffered no lasting effects for the rest of the weekend.
Ken has a bit of short leg syndrome like me, and has had his seat "shaved" down, so that its quite a bit shorter than KTM standard, but he says that its now more comfortable than standard, as it is wider.
The rest of the morning was uneventful but fun trails, mostly dual lane tracks used by 4wd vehicles as well as dirtbikers.
We stopped for a break late in the morning on top of a very sandy hill which had a very sandy hillclimb section to one side. Tom had to give it a go, and on the third time made it up.
Of course, the little 250EXC 4t was steaming out the radiator the whole time he was trying to get up!
Paul also had a go at the hill on the 620SC, and the grunt won out and made it easy for him.
After those shenanigans, we went back to the camp for some lunch, and to re-fuel.
After lunch was more trails, down the border track where we encountered another crew (maybe two seperate crews?) of dirtbikers going the opposite way.
Not long after this, Chris had a getoff on his new WR450F and took out about 5 saplings and gave himself quite a knock on the head. After making sure he was ok, he continued, but at a slightly more subdued pace.
The day finished around 5:30pm with time remaining for a shower before cooking some dinner over the fire (big beef burgers for me), and more bench racing until late in the night.
Some - me included - were sore as this was the first major ride of the year. While talking with Jeff he mentioned that he'd forgot to bring his Kevlar gloves, and had developed blisters.
I was interested in how they went, and Jeff explained that he'd used them last year on the High country trip, for 7 days and not had a blister, so he now swears by them. Darn. another thing to buy before the next big trip.
Sunday dawned a little cooler than Saturday, with slightly overcast skies, and a forecast for possible showers. It was still going to be hot, but not nearly so bad.
The morning ride was great, fast flowing tracks, but a little dusty still. We met some other guys camping who had dirtbikes as well, and used the break to fuell thirsty bikes from the 5 litres carried in most backpacks.
We journeyed on to Hattah for lunch, where my favorite Mrs Macs Beff, Bacon & Cheese pie went down a treat. I was almost going to go for another pie, but decided on a Double choc Drumstick instead. Good high energy food ;-)
The afternoons riding was more trails, with a few road sections as well. Occaisonly a corner or trail would throw out something interesting, like the huge Tree fallen down just over a rise in the trail. Jeff did a gentle drop of his DRZ400 there, and I came quite close to doing the same thing myself.
About 30 minutes down the track, there was a bit of a regroup of the riders, and it was time for a breather. Ian (who was leading) told us the John had continued on ahead on his 520EXC as the rear bearings had let go and punched a hole clear through the hub! John figured that it was already buggered, so he'd try to make it home on it, rather than have to come back and get it. He did say it was hard to steer with both ends...
After waiting for the tail man to arrive for about 30 minutes, we started to wonder if something else had gone wrong. Sure enough, when he did arrive Mark let us know that Tom's 250EXC 4t had probably dropped the oil ring.
It must have happened just after where Jeff dropped the bike, which was just at the corner Tom was on. At lunchtime, they'd put some more oil into it, as it was noisy, and the oil was definitely low in the sight glass.
But unfortunately, it didn't make it all through the day. Darren had stayed with Tom, and the rest of us would continue so that Mark and Richard could return later in the Cruiser to pickup Tom, Darren and the bikes.
Off we rode, but it proved to be a longer trail getting home, and a few ran out of petrol, myself included. I pulled over to the side of the road, and layed the bike right over on the right side to slosh any remaining petrol across to where the fuel tap is, then stood it back up to hop on, and immediately dropped it on its left side. No good short legs!!
We waved Mark through and filled up the thirsty beasts as needed to get the last of us home, arriving just before dark again, in time for another shower before more barbecue dinner (big beef burgers again ;-).
Richard and Mark went off to fetch Tom and Darren in the Cruiser, and Mark left one of the girls (Kathy?) in charge of his potatoes wrapped in foil, which is a tradition for him to have as dinner.
She dutifully looked after the spuds, although there was quite a bit of ribbing from the blokes around the fire, some saying the spuds were too close, some saying they too far away. Of course, the one true Spud cooker, Mark wasn't there to set anybody straight.
When it was getting close to the time we expected to see Mark return, somebody decided that it would be funny to replace the spuds with rocks. This was only finished as they were driving into the camp, so there was no time to spare.
Of course, Mark eventually figured out that the rocks were there, and the spuds were finally returned, but unfortunately, they were not cooked, it seems they were too far from the fire after all.
So, overall a good ride, but 1 KTM DNF, and 1 KTM with a broken hub that limped home. 1 decent crash - Chris, but quite a few drops. Only one from me due to short leg disease, which is better than usual.
It was a high distance weekend, covering almost 600km in three rides over two days!
Thanks again Ian for organising and Leading, and Mark for going Tail rider.
I took the helmet cam, but didn't use it due to the dust. Mark G did take some Video though. I might see if I can get it to add to the rest on http://www.dirtbike.ws/tv/