Andrew “Nige$20” TylerSherco SEFR450 (Ride leader)
Ryan “Ryno” Turner YZ450FX
Gareth “Grumpy” Tyler YZ450FX
Isaac “Onesy” Goeby CRF450
Anthony “Mullet” Carriera Husky TC300 (Videographer)
Nathan “Natho” Tyler CRF450
Leon YZ280
Bruce “Wombat” Tyler WR250
Brett “Ramma” Ramsay GasGas300
Jarrod “Vinno” Vincent ktm450
Glenn “Scholzy” Scholz Fantic250 (Tailman)
On Labour Day Monday, I could tell the excitement level was high as a bunch of blokes arrived up to half an hour early for the 8:00 meeting time.
Everyone was geared up by 8:20 and the banter was in full swing as I tried to give the rider briefing, in particular explaining the “Cornerman” system to the newbies.
We got underway, leaving the property at 8:30 as planned.Some of us made it to the first corner – 300m from the start – where the plan was to gather for a 10-bike drive-by video shoot. Some however did not make it to this corner. After a 15 minute delay, those of us at the corner were told that the YZ280 had fouled its plug. This was replaced and we were underway again. Queue the video.
Just a couple of minutes from the gate, we hit Ward’s track, and a minute or so in we arrived at the start of Magic Mike track. I gave a few hints from what I’d learned during Thursday’s re-ride and I told them not to stop or to wait for me if they had momentum and I was stopped.
The first of many rutted climbs was negotiated and most of the bunch re-formed. Vinno discovered that his boot was covered in engine oil – a very bad sign and he pulled the pin. Ryno and Nath escorted him to the bottom of the hill, then Ryno dunk him back to get his car & trailer. His day was over just five minutes into the ride. The problem he experienced is, apparently, a common one. The oil filter cover gets over-tightened, and/or cross-threaded, then the screw lets go and the o-ring pops out, along with a steady stream of oil. Vinno had had his Kato serviced by a local dealership, so he was fairly non-plussed at their efforts – including the use of a cap-screw on one side, where there had previously been an 8mm bolt, and the fact that they hadn’t mentioned anything to him about the damage they’d inflicted on his bike.
Magic Mike track leads almost directly up the side of the hill to Eastern Break, which as the name implies runs along the eastern edge of the pine plantation. We found a few technically challenging tracks as we made our way back to A-road which dissects the plantation. A couple of km down A-road, we took Smith’s Break down to Tuckers track, then back onto A-road, Heyward’s track with a challenging hill climb and an easy way (that no one took). Having been stopped by a stalled rider, I was sucking big ones and Nath obliged me by riding the Sherco the last 10m to the top, which he’d also done for me on Magic Mike Tk. too.
We looped back to A-road and found the A-road – Tuckers Tk. link track which dropped down into a creek and climbed back out the other side. Tuckers Tk. Took us to Mt.Lindsay Tk., which everyone but me fanged it down to the bottom in record time. We rode from the White Gum Gully camping area to Mad Mile Tk., so named because it is 1.6km long and a 400m climb and it’s mad. 400m doesn’t sound like much until you attempt it. The Fantic, the WR250 and one of the CRF’s pulled the pin and rode back around. The rest made it to the top, with the longest (yours truly) taking 1hr.15minutes, after stopping and helping several other riders get past challenging obstacles.
We got to ride a few open tracks with our destination being Mt.Buggaree, and we arrived without incident. Mt.Buggaree is a very large rock over 100m in size, and several riders practised their wheelie skills up the side of the rock. We were at a natural pull-out point, so I sussed out the group's appetite for riding; they said they wanted more. Next stop, Mt.Separation. As they were departing Mt.Buggaree they set up a wheelie train for the videographers. On the way to Mt.Separation we found a small distraction, a short sharp hill climb well known to ‘Bogies regulars. After watching a few dozen attempts at the challenging snotty climbs, I made the unwise statement that I’d ride up the snotty hill if the WR250 rider did. I was (falsely) confident he wouldn’t attempt it. Alas, he did. It took him three or four starts, but he made it to the top on his ‘first’ attempt – which was an impressive effort. Now, for my turn... I rode straight up the snotty hill from bottom to top without a snag. When I arrived back at the bottom, everyone expressed their surprise at the fluency with which I nailed it. “You made it look easy,” they said. They invited me to “do it again to prove it wasn’t a ‘fluke’” I declined, and the ride continued. We made it to Mt.Separation, which is another rock, even-larger than Mt.Buggaree, and after seeking consensus, everyone decided it was time to head back to the cars. I had lost my map on the way to Mt.Buggaree, so I winged it, taking Longs Break all the way to the end, then D5-road, D3-road, and Green’s Hill break, back to Ward’s track.
At Ward’s Tk. I told the group that this was the last track back to the bitumen and I gave them free reign to go at their own pace. Some nailed it, and their bikes were on the trailers, and they had changed out of their gear when the
rest of us arrived back to the cars.
Thanks to a good crew who tackled all the challenges I threw at them. Thanks to guest rider Glen “Scholzy” Scholz for doing tailman duties all day and to everyone else for abiding by the cornerman system so we didn’t have to go looking for lost/confused riders.
Better luck next time, Vinno, we’ll be happy to have you back.
Andrew Tyler
