'The Geezers' - Hills n Thrills
October 25-26.
Oct 25 and 26 we hosted a tour for a group of English Gentlemen who had previously been on a Holland Track ride with us while out on holiday from England. Now residents of Oz, 'The Geezers' decided on the "Hills n Thrills" hire bike version, with MC NEWS editor Trevor Hedge (also Sunday Times) along for the ride. Also along for the ride was young Fred Riley, nephew of Dell (the bald one in the pics) who was out for a holiday from the motherland, and Dell's mates Darren Giddings and Geoff Crowley.
We met at the base out of Boyanup and hit the trails after the pre-amble, with young Freddy taking a dive in the sand in the boggy section early on. He hadn't really ridden in such soft sand, and then came the pea gravel for a bit more of a steep learning curve about off-road riding, WA style. He managed well, taking it easy and riding his own pace, and before long we were into the single trails and pines. The lads were all smiles, having a ball, and raving about how impressive the TTR's were. Trevor was by now getting very impressed too, by our KTM250 EXC-F.
At every stop the group was all talk, mainly about roadbikes, R6, Blades, etc and their motherland, when it was discovered that Trevor originated from the tiny town that Dell was married in, somewhere in the UK.
Getting closer to lunch Trevor tested how easy the KTM plastics scratch, with a low speed high-side down a rutty hill. And then the unthinkable happened - a TTR developed a problem! She was cutting out under power and we determined it to be a blown fuse. Fuse replaced and all sorted, right? Wrong. It would cut out again ... and again. It appeared that every time we wiggled the wires around the fuse it would cut out. Easy fixed, bypass the fuse. Ahh, that sounds better, and it sure did, but didn't look too good with smoke coming from the wiring loom around the headlight! The park light globe had broken and the holder was shorting out on the headset! So, remove the wiring loom to the park light, and we were off at last to lunch.
After a big feed and re-fuel it was the Mountain Trail and the terrific scenery along the scarp. We stopped for some photo shots of the KTM for a feature in the Sunday Times, with Geoff kitted in the WCTBS KTM apparel looking just the model too! Freddy got to see the kangaroos and emus in abundance through his Top Gun shades (very cool mirror jobbies), while Darren lost about 10 kilos sweating in his Dri-Rider jacket, albeit worthwhile for that added protection. Dell was glad to bring his hat along, not for the sun protection but to cover his satellite dish for the pics! It was then more cruising the fine flowing trails through the Blackwood Valley, where we rested at a river crossing.
By now the conversation had turned to beers. The thought of a cold ale fired us up to hit the trails, blazing our way to the Exchange Hotel in Greenbushes where Justin greeted us with the amber fluid aplenty! A BBQ dinner outside in the unusually warm air and a few bike DVDs on the big screen had all the stories and funnies coming out from our past experiences.
Next morning we were all feasting on bacon & eggs for brekky. Trevor had done his earlybird update of his website and updated us on all the latest news. We swapped a TTR for Trevor's CRF450X from the support vehicle, and now the boys were ready for more adventure. With Trevor on his CRF, the lads were sharing our KTM250 for the ride home. Geoff was first up, and took to it like a duck to water. Being an ex UK motocross champ he was in his element and having the ride of his life on the little screamer.
We stopped and gazed at some huge Grass Trees (after Dell let it be known they're his fave aussie tree) and we got a photo or two for the sake of it. Off again, and into some single pine trails adjoined by flowing fire trails, then into some good hills.
It was here that Freddy discovered the awsome power of the TTR. Unfortunately for him, though, I witnessed the event right in front of me. It was all looking good when he came around the corner, leg out, looking well ahead, but in second gear screaming "c'mon, don't stop ya bitch" or something of that nature! I was yelling back "change down a gear", when he realised he was in second. Dropping it down and dumping the clutch he sent the bike into a flip, landing it vertically on the rear guard! I watched the seat bend at right angles, only to flick back straight, but the frame was a different story. She was bent bad, and snapped on both sides, but luckily not all the way through! A few pointers along the lines of, "don't dump the clutch so hard" and a bit of frame straightening bush style was employed, then Freddy steered his trusty TTR up the hill to the group. Some more bush skills applied to the TTR to get her through the rest of the ride, and we were back on the trail. Freddy had lost a bit of his confidence and was taking it easy. We then had the river crossing, where Trevor captured an awsome front on pic of Geoff on the KTM spraying water at speed. Poor Freddy, nervous as, was last, but made it easy. With a few more hills, and some muddy flats, we meandered our way into Balingup.
Dell requested a Quokka while I paid for the fuel, then scoured it for bikes at the table during lunch. "An IT490 here for $500 bucks" reminded me of a scene from "The Castle". He has only been in Oz 12 months, and is already onto the Quokka for bargains! He is always looking at adding to his fleet of bikes, being a mad collector of old time motorbikes! We scoffed our burgers and headed off for the final run home.
Darrin was now loving the KTM's rideability, and was pleased that Freddy was reluctant to ride the gleaming new machine as he was well pleased with his efforts on the TTR250 and decided he'd done enough damage to date.
We rode through an area that had recently sustained a controlled burn by CALM, and the smell of the fire was awsome. It was an eerie sight with all the trees and ground burnt, and diverting off the track around fallen trees was also somewhat bizarre, with the ground all covered in a 3" thick ash. Once clear, it was some fast flowing firebreaks, and by now Geoff was pretty much up my clacker on the TTR, getting right back into the rhythms of old. Trevor was pulling monos at every straight, and Dell even did some fancy photo work to capture a few snaps while riding along beside Trev on the back wheel. Not recommended by WCTBS, but boys will be boys!
We got back to the base all in order and on time, and with the suppport vehicle and luggage to greet us. Another great ride, and one which had the lads saying that they're coming back again, but on their own bikes next time.
They had discovered the true freedom that Trailbikes can offer, not to mention the remote locations we can access, and fun factor to boot! WCTBS look forward to seeing Dell, Darrin, Geoff, and Freddy when he comes out and becomes an Aussie!