Ride Report 1 - Philippe Wilmotte

Dunno where to start except to say that it was Nowra at its best. Long and Hard …..

We started at 6 riders which is a great number to cover some distance; not too many pit stops along the track and gives some great company when the carousel stop spinning.

Once again I was with guys who obviously knew where they were as they were putting some meaningful names on distant tracks (meaningful to them but not to me….I had to keep my nose scotched onto my GPS to know where my mum was…. J)

We manage to go through the mighty F6 (what sort of grade is that?) and did about 135 Ks total

My lesson for the day : do not try to show Kim how to cross a high log knowing that he is always making some extensive reports on every ride he’s on (I am sure you will get the details of my gracious deception of gravity).
The highlight : 135 Ks of solid riding on my good old KTM

Back home I had to take a real hot bath to release all the cramped and sour muscles, some of which I did not even know I had

Thanks a lot, great ride and most importantly great company


Philippe Wilmotte

Ride Report 2 - Kim Bazley

Husky Ray (Husqvarna 250)
GPS Mark WR250F
Garry WR450F
Mark WR450F
KTMKim KTM525
Philippe KTM520
Yerriyong road, Wattle Trail, Nutbush, Saltwater, Honeysuckle, Quicksand, single-track along Power lines, Wattle Trail, Yalwal road, Northern Distributor, F6, left turn at junction up Basswood to Monkey Gum, Wombat Flat Road, Monkey Gum, Full Sandiman, Penda, Monkey Gum, Wandean to Wandandian for lunch.

Commenced riding from Albatross at 0830.

Ray was not feeling well so he left us from the Northern Distributor to meet us at the junction of Basswood and Monkey Gum.

Down the F6 was tricky as usual, and we all made it up the hill on the other side of the gulley unassisted.
 
Where we turned up the Basswood Track from the F6 we lost Garry, as he had gone ahead and went down Basswood. This was the first time I had ridden up Basswood, and it was fun !

Ray left us to return home when we reached the junction with Monkey Gum.

We waited at Wombat Flat on Boolijong Creek for Garry but never heard or saw him there. Apparently he arrived there 15 mins after we left.

Going up from Wombat Flat towards the Link, on the rocky section, I changed direction, from an upright to a horizontal direction that is !  What was worse was that I was unable to right myself before the next bike came along (Philippe). He gave me the advice that KTM's shouldn't go down......yeah right he was talking to me !

We turned off Monkey Gum onto Sandiman and had to go under a fallen tree. As I was first I dragged my bike along the ground, we then lifted the tree onto a branch to hold it higher so the others could pass under more easily.

Philippe came down whilst crossing a log on Sandiman, much to the amusement of Mark and Kim (who had sensibly gone around it ha ha).

Lunch at Wandandian 1330-1430 where we met Garry who had arrived 15 mins earlier.

Returned from Wandandian via Wan Dean Road, Gnatillia Road and along the singletrack, Yellow Wood Trail then Cassia up to Turpentine road. Along Yellow Wood there was a section that has three alternate tracks, GPS took none and came down on a fern. Of course I took advantage of his situation and laughed as I passed him !

Mark and Philippe left us at Turpentine Road for a more direct trip back to Albatross.

Mark, Garry and I took the power lines flat out back to Collymea State Forest then along Yerriyong road back to Braidwood Road and back to Albatross at 1630.

An excellent day's riding with fine and cool-warm weather and not a lot of dust except along the powerlines on the way back. Thanks boys for a great day out.

There are some great pics on the website that Philippe and GPS took during the ride.

Kim Bazley