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Buttsys Ballbuster MKII
The rain had dragged out the sandgropers and Buttsy with his infectious smile herded them towards Seabird to do the infamous Seabird to Lano and return.
We even had a visiting Crusty from Thailand join us, welcome Todd. A few of the Crustys had memories of the Summer run up this track…the heat…the flats…..the heat……the bags of ice…..the heat! Today was going to be very different with heavy damp sand and threatening rain. The usual riders meeting sorted Buttsy at the pointy end and Nathan, with job ready high vis vest, to take sweep duty. The Crustys went to play in the sand. Lethal is usually a smooth, fast bloke on a bike but put five meters of fencing wire around his Yamaha and he slows down with the rest of us. The wire was in his front and back sprocket and through the brake disk ripping one of the brake pads off. A mess. The track was a little up and down in places….ok, full of whoops….but lots of fun. If you count fun by the amount of bikes on the ground at each corner then LOTS of fun. A couple of regroups later brings us to the coast with everyone wondering about their fitness. If you were fast enough to be in the first three bike the track was smooth and fast. After that it was a little more difficult. We rode into a sand dune section and by the time I got there the front of the group was heading off. Nathan was not moving and on inspection found he had lost his gear lever in the sand. The chances of finding this would be like winning Powerball. Set an impossible task in front of a set of determined Crustys and miracles occur. Someone found the lever. Out came Fingers toolkit that has more tools than a Snap-on truck. Other riders with a selection of bolts to rebuild the stranded KTM. 5 minutes and back on the track This is why you ride with the Crustys! The new guy….DRZ John was having a hard day. There were false rumours floating around about Fueltanker Als jealous rage and John having a bigger tank and pushing John into a tree and so on. Nonsense! DRZ John just decided the quickest way between two points is a straight line. A tree disproved his theory and his sand ride ended there. So did the life of his right blinker, tail light left blinker, part of his nose, his number plate and various other items. John has reported back that he is tough enough to return in a few weeks to gently throw himself at another tree. Most of the group made it to Lano and lined up to get fuel and lunch. The return journey visited a huge adult sandpit. The big kids in the group set off to play while the more exhausted sat on the hill to observe the antics. XR Cass is much like the Energizer Bunny. The big 650 just gets wound up and away she goes. Skill, courage or insanity…..I’m still trying to work Cass out. How fast would he be on a DRZ440? Easty decided his profile shot needed updating and proved that white men can jump, not without some last minute landing panic. Two feet for beginners Easty.! A few other small offs have their photographic evidence posted on the site but no major damage to humans or machines. With skills and endurance lacking more Crustys hit the deck and carnage became just another form of grip up some of the sandy inclines. Most riders made it back to Seabird to relax at the old pub. The great ride is a credit to Buttsy and Seano’s knowledge of the area, no GPS and tracks going everywhere and we made it there and back. A hard but fun ride that tested the skills of everyone. So much better in Winter! Try having that much carnage on rocks and still say its fun! Sand Rules The one and only Fueltanker Al            |
