Offroad school

twowheeler

two wheels are best
Wanting to do more rides like last year's Dig Tree, but without the broken bones and punctured organs bit :sick: , I decided it was time to learn a little bit about what the hell I'm doing.

It cost $500 to spend the Cup Day weekend at Shane Booth and Chris Urquhart's off-road school. I've yet to regret spending money on training; it's helping make up for a motorbike-free youth and the unconscious skill that brings.

It was based at Myrtleford's Motocross Track and in the hills behind it. What a great part of the world Myrtleford is - no wonder Tim (SF) you've moved there - I stayed in Bright just down the road with friends.


Escaped work early on Friday and rode up via Alexandra & well-policed roads (breathalyzed in Buxton then again in Taggerty) then onto the Whitfield Road.
With all this rain, how green is my valley, just before Broken River -

https://flic.kr/p/NQnPE3

https://flic.kr/p/N3NMGy


Bright and early Saturday morning. Heavy bikes, low skills and a motocross track. What could possibly go wrong ? -

https://flic.kr/p/NQnEkm


We were taught all sorts of basic type skills over the weekend. We didn't learn how to hang the back out in sand at 160kph like Toby Price, but we did learn how to lockup the rear at sane (read, low) speeds to rear-wheel steer which made me feel 10yo on my Malvern Star again, and other stuff like that.

This pickup technique looked crazy easy -

https://flic.kr/p/NPvshX


so I tried it and it was -

https://flic.kr/p/MRmXSF


We did lots of this sort of stuff, all about standing up and clutch/throttle control -

https://flic.kr/p/NLfF1G


Up into the hills -

https://flic.kr/p/MRo5xT


And the opposite hill -

https://flic.kr/p/MRAQ5E


That was after being taught hill recovery. Let it stall in 1st, keep engine off, dab the clutch to gradually ease around to 90 degrees, shake the bars to ease the front down the hill, off you go. I suspect it could be a wee bit harder on the side of a cliff with some slimy tree roots thrown in -

https://flic.kr/p/NLek1J


https://flic.kr/p/NFG9FM


Let loose onto the track -

https://flic.kr/p/NFGpzV


I learnt that listening is easier without earplugs -

https://flic.kr/p/NDbibA


The lap record was not in any danger whatsoever -

https://flic.kr/p/NLedSG


But it was brilliant fun -

https://flic.kr/p/MRmYfz


The track surface was gradually improved with the addition of mirrors, indicators, hand-guards and other sundry pieces, and obstacles added in the form of dropped and stalled bikes; glad to say my GS remained unscathed.

It was a top weekend. Shane Booth in particular is a bloody excellent teacher. He has very high bike skills as you'd expect; he's also articulate and can talk at many levels of understanding :chug: .


The ride home to come ....
 
Last edited:

twowheeler

two wheels are best
Rode home on Monday. The original plan was to go over Mt Hotham and the Dargo High Plains Road, but that was still closed for winter. The forecast was -7deg on Hotham that morning anyway, stuff that.

So with new and possibly unfounded confidence for gravel, I came back on a lower and round-about route, starting with Lake Buffalo -

https://flic.kr/p/N6Z2mu


then the Dandongadale Road -

https://flic.kr/p/N3NqWA


And its bridges -

https://flic.kr/p/P4QNpi


Stopped at Paradise Falls which had a bit of water going over -

https://flic.kr/p/P1Dqof

https://flic.kr/p/N6Euf6

https://flic.kr/p/P1DcPN

https://flic.kr/p/N6En7i


Had lunch in Cheshunt so it was a relaxed pace so far, time to get a move on. Headed south through Jamieson and onto the Woods Point / Matlock Road, which looks reasonably direct on a 1mm-1km scale map :doh: .

Gaffney's Creek stonework -

https://flic.kr/p/P1CSty


Spooky looking mine near A1 Settlement -

https://flic.kr/p/N3NjYU

https://flic.kr/p/Ny3M9o


Not Mt Dandenong's Devil's Elbow -

https://flic.kr/p/NQndeU


Nowt wrong with that (Woods Point) -

https://flic.kr/p/NSTMvv


Maori Creek -

https://flic.kr/p/N3w1xB


I was surprised how remote-feeling this road becomes past Woods Point, with some real alpine-like viewpoints. It's not that far from Melbourne in a straight line.

Some beautiful timber somewhere near The Triangle, on this random stretch of manicured bitumen that starts and ends nowhere in particular :???: -

https://flic.kr/p/NXrpib


Eventually got home at 7:30pm after 9-plus hours. As taught, I'd diligently stood up for all of the gravel, which was lots, and my feet ached for days. May have overdone that bit.
 
Last edited:

Sir Francis

Displaced person
What a great part of the world Myrtleford is - no wonder Tim (SF) you've moved there..

No no no it's a horrible place up here. Nothing to see. Nothing to do. No good roads to ride. No bushland to explore. The locals are unfriendly. Nowhere to eat....:whistle:

Some beautiful timber somewhere near The Triangle, on this random stretch of manicured bitumen that starts and ends nowhere in particular :???: -




.

Its taken the best part of my adult life but I finally found out a few months ago why that random bitumen roller coaster is plonked between two remote dirt roads....:thumbs:
 

twowheeler

two wheels are best
Its taken the best part of my adult life but I finally found out a few months ago why that random bitumen roller coaster is plonked between two remote dirt roads....:thumbs:

... and ?? .... the reason is ?? ..... you can't just f..ing well leave it there ! .....
 
Top Bottom