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A perfect day in the hills
Report by TigeR
Mark this date in your calendar, the 29th of August. It is now official that this is the best day of the year to go riding. Col Mc called the ride, a blast in the hills. Ten rocked up, five old hands, three with a handful of CQ rides and a couple of newbies. We had ... Col Mc - lover of all things Swedish with Austrian ingredients. Pounce - under strict instructions from his mechanic to thrash his bike due to carbon build up Choko - on a rare day off from work and raring to go Mick450 - spends more time on the dirt than an overworked Transperth bus driver does on the bitumen Biggles - the T&E pilot Husq Mick - ready for a perfect storm Mustard - looking forward to a night of cleaning Collin - not another one! Gavin - starting on the slippery slope to trail bike obsession TigeR - sweep, report writer and reluctant coach Husq Mick was resplendent in his yellow rain coat - Captain Bird's Eye style. Maybe he should consider the Fox all-weather jacket as worn by Daza at the WCS ride - but criminally not mentioned in that report. This jacket, as Daza bleated on all weekend about; is breathable, has multiple ventilation zips, looks smart and is water proof. Unfortunately it's not Mother In Law proof as Daz found out when he got home. The over enthusiastic Mother in Law put _THE_ jacket in the super hot wash and it emerged with the all-weather capabilities of a string vest. But enough about that ... and Daza if you're reading this - buy a bloody bike! At the pre-ride talk, the consenus was that it was about 18 months since the CQs had ridden the Sawyers Valley section of the Powerlines and a collective wondering why. "'Cos you get arm pump after about 100m" was Pounce's retort; and how right he was. Did somebody mention the Rocky Horror Show? But it was a great way to wake up and warm up quickly on a chilly morning. The heavy 4WD traffic has certainly left it's mark on the Powerlines with it being much more chopped up, rutted, rock strewn than a couple of years ago - who said trail bikes are the issue? We picked our way through the early sections, blasting at the front - cruising at the back. The first challenge was a slippery incline. Some poor family in a Nissan 4x4 (see photos below) had managed to find themselves stuck between a rock and a slippery place. A long day in the bush beckoned. The nimble trailies slipped there way to the top, one by one - some taking a couple of go's. Gavin and myself waited patiently - Gavin confided that he doubted his ability to get to the top. A few words of coaching and he picked his way to the top like a pro; then the coach's dilemma - I hope I can make it up - no worries, paddled and slided my way up like a non-pro. The conditions were perfect. The trails likewise and ably led by Col Mc and Pounce. At one regroup next to a big group of puddles, Pounce took the opportunity to fill in Choko but drowned Mustard instead. Luckily no other condiments were harmed in the incident. Mick 450 then jumped in and filled in Pounce. It was a good laff! Biggles true to his name took flight into the bush after being too eager on the gas on a particularly slippery section. He proudly proclaimed that he rode it all the way to the ground. That picks up SOTD - there were other contenders - but this was the best I witnessed. We rode about 80kms of mint trails ending with a regroup near The Lakes. At this point the group split with six heading back to the cars - some had a lot of washing to do. Pounce, Mick450, Choko and myself headed to The Lakes for a refuel of bikes and bodies before heading back out to sample 50kms more of the perfect conditions. At The Lakes we tried to convince some Harley riders to chuck on some knobblies and join us - but to no avail. It would be their loss. Pounce led us through a wonderful set of trails - it really doesn't get much better. Mick450 was saving his front tyre - pointing the front wheel to the sky more often than not. Choko was relishing his day off; but tiring due to recent lack of riding. On one slippery section I rounded a corner to see Choko on the ground on the straight section. What the? "That was your fault!" he said "I turned around to see if you were still behind and fell off!". The Crusty spirit of looking out for one another is alive and well. With a group of four we stayed close - no need for a corner man. Sometimes too close, Choko followed Pounce into a wheel deep muddy rut - Pounce had a little lie down and Choko rear-ended him and got himself nicely bogged. It was a good laff. We headed on up hill, down dale, through mud, sand, gravel & rocks - single trail, fire trail, 4WD trail - it was in a word - awesome. We arrived back at the cars - elated after a perfect day in the hills - but no baboons were sighted, and that doesn't happen very often. Big thanks to Col Mc & Pounce for leading. ROTD was hard to call with a few contenders; for me it goes to Mick450 - his dedication to the dirt make the rest of us look like we only have a passing interest. Ride while you can.  Group shot by Biggles  Biggles  Collin  Col Mc (second attempt)  Gavin  Mustard  Tige  New Toy (oh ay oh), to keep my head expanding.  LOOK AT ME! Choko finally does a wheelie.  New guy Collin  Gavin & Mustard (before the soaking)  Mick450  choko getting bogged  choko getting un bogged |
