Hytram
<-- now went that way
After 3 years of trying, I finally got to go to the Dargo Rally which is held in the sub Alpine region in Gippsland Victoria.
I really wanted to leave the Friday and take the long route over the top via Mt Hotham but work commitments got in the way. Lucky they did because the trip over the Dargo/Hotham road would have been a bloody slow a dangerous one.
It was decided to meet up at Launching Place at 9am, which Moike was 30 late for!!! (this is where we don’t tell him I was 20 min late
)
(Moike filling the Superbike with the super high octane stuff)
Then Came an SMS from Sharkey saying he was having a pie brekky in Noojee (50km further up the road) and it was raining, so we donned the wets and off we headed. Although the roads were wet, they were clean and grippy and we made good pace through the twisties to Noojee and then onto Icy Creek Road. Coming around one of the corners there was a 4WD parked in the middle of the road with a guy putting a dog in the back, followed by 2 guys dressing in full cammos carrying 303 riffles and wearing flouro Orange beanies....you can never be too safe I'm sure one of them said in an Elmer Fudd voice "we're hunting BMW riders, herherherher"
We made it to Willow Grove only to see Sharky pulled up talking to some other Rally goers that where going to Dargo via the Grand Ridge Road.
We waved goodbye to them and the 3 of us left for our lunch time stop at the pub Briagolong. $10 brought us a sensational steak sandwich and chips and after a drink and a bit of a bullshit with the locals off we headed.
(the lovely Gippsland weather meeted us as we left the pub)
Off we headed and shortly got onto some dirt for the first time, even though it was wet it was extremely grippy and good for 100kmh in parts... hey, this dirt stuff is a piece of piss I thought :jump: ... oh how wrong was I to be.
Off the dirt and onto the Dargo Road for a nice blat into Dargo.
(a quick stop at the pub)
(a quick stop to see if "all" made it )
(I wish both of them would bloody stop smiling!!)
Off to the rally we goooooooooo!! The first 15km were again, yes you guess it, wet asphalt...then came what should have been a nice 17Km ride along a dirt road into the old mining town of Talbotville which is nothing more than a camping area now.
HOLY SHIT :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow:
Was it slippery or what! I got in a whole 500mt before I pulled over to let the tyres down to 18psi. Speed was a slow 10-15km with even the slightest touch of the front brakes would cause the front wheel to lock causing you to go into a death slide.
(Moike with that "what the fuck am I doing here" look)
(Moike with that "all puckered up" look )
Though lots of slow slippery corners we came to the Helipad. It was traditional to stop for a nip of Scotch to calm down the nerves and the calm down the bloody fact we had been on the dirt for 35min of hell and we weren’t even half way in!!
(the view...or not so view at the Helipad)
(the Strom ready to eat more dirt)
(Sharky's beast "Upright")
(a muddy Brembo)
("Moike.... where were you, we were getting worried?" we Said)
("playing in the dirt" Moike replied)
I believed Moike dropped the Beemer, with such hard and fast speed all he did was dirty the rocker cover..... Any crash you walk away from is a good one, any crash you hose of the damage is a great one
Then came the down hill slog. I was even more slippery and some small wheel ruts were starting to form which caused the wheels of the bike to lock in and cause those "moments"
(Sharky in one of those "moments" )
It was a bugger to pick up, it wasn’t that heavy, it was the fact both our boots and the bikes tyres just wouldn’t stop slipping. I hoped back on the bike and it took me 4 goes to get going on the downward slope....
(Moike and his Superbike overtaking maneuver)
We made it!!! Probably the hardest 1hr of riding I have ever done. 1hr of pure concentration and having every muscle in your body completely tense. Next time, knobbie tyres... and it will be a dry weekend
To be continued………
I really wanted to leave the Friday and take the long route over the top via Mt Hotham but work commitments got in the way. Lucky they did because the trip over the Dargo/Hotham road would have been a bloody slow a dangerous one.
It was decided to meet up at Launching Place at 9am, which Moike was 30 late for!!! (this is where we don’t tell him I was 20 min late
)(Moike filling the Superbike with the super high octane stuff)
Then Came an SMS from Sharkey saying he was having a pie brekky in Noojee (50km further up the road) and it was raining, so we donned the wets and off we headed. Although the roads were wet, they were clean and grippy and we made good pace through the twisties to Noojee and then onto Icy Creek Road. Coming around one of the corners there was a 4WD parked in the middle of the road with a guy putting a dog in the back, followed by 2 guys dressing in full cammos carrying 303 riffles and wearing flouro Orange beanies....you can never be too safe
I'm sure one of them said in an Elmer Fudd voice "we're hunting BMW riders, herherherher"We made it to Willow Grove only to see Sharky pulled up talking to some other Rally goers that where going to Dargo via the Grand Ridge Road.
We waved goodbye to them and the 3 of us left for our lunch time stop at the pub Briagolong. $10 brought us a sensational steak sandwich and chips and after a drink and a bit of a bullshit with the locals off we headed.
(the lovely Gippsland weather meeted us as we left the pub)
Off we headed and shortly got onto some dirt for the first time, even though it was wet it was extremely grippy and good for 100kmh in parts... hey, this dirt stuff is a piece of piss I thought :jump: ... oh how wrong was I to be.
Off the dirt and onto the Dargo Road for a nice blat into Dargo.
(a quick stop at the pub)
(a quick stop to see if "all" made it )
(I wish both of them would bloody stop smiling!!)
Off to the rally we goooooooooo!! The first 15km were again, yes you guess it, wet asphalt...then came what should have been a nice 17Km ride along a dirt road into the old mining town of Talbotville which is nothing more than a camping area now.
HOLY SHIT :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow:
Was it slippery or what! I got in a whole 500mt before I pulled over to let the tyres down to 18psi. Speed was a slow 10-15km with even the slightest touch of the front brakes would cause the front wheel to lock causing you to go into a death slide.
(Moike with that "what the fuck am I doing here" look)
(Moike with that "all puckered up" look )
Though lots of slow slippery corners we came to the Helipad. It was traditional to stop for a nip of Scotch to calm down the nerves and the calm down the bloody fact we had been on the dirt for 35min of hell and we weren’t even half way in!!
(the view...or not so view at the Helipad)
(the Strom ready to eat more dirt)
(Sharky's beast "Upright")
(a muddy Brembo)
("Moike.... where were you, we were getting worried?" we Said)
("playing in the dirt" Moike replied)
I believed Moike dropped the Beemer, with such hard and fast speed all he did was dirty the rocker cover..... Any crash you walk away from is a good one, any crash you hose of the damage is a great one
Then came the down hill slog. I was even more slippery and some small wheel ruts were starting to form which caused the wheels of the bike to lock in and cause those "moments"
(Sharky in one of those "moments" )
It was a bugger to pick up, it wasn’t that heavy, it was the fact both our boots and the bikes tyres just wouldn’t stop slipping. I hoped back on the bike and it took me 4 goes to get going on the downward slope....
(Moike and his Superbike overtaking maneuver)
We made it!!! Probably the hardest 1hr of riding I have ever done. 1hr of pure concentration and having every muscle in your body completely tense. Next time, knobbie tyres... and it will be a dry weekend
To be continued………
