DB1k 2011 official thread

[bishxt]

Hats off to Ryan and his course setting crew for giving us such a great route this year. Had a real blast, the highlight being the Awakino challenge (a few pics below) - definitely an adventure! Only binned it once which was rather surprising and thanks to the forgiving nature of the DR.
Great to see old and new faces, special thanks to the Cagiva Navigator rider for chain lube at Alexandra and for the guy who let me buy petrol from his can at the finish - got me home by 12.15 in the morning.
Just serviced the DR - a slow puncture on the front, cm's of dust in the air box (but not past the filter!), some scrapes and a seriously stretched chain... pretty good for the 1600km I put on it since Friday!
Already looking forward to next year

[javahead]

It's been said already but, again, Ryan you and your helpers created a seriously good route for this year. As soon as we entered the woods near the start it was clear this was going to be so much more than a long flat blast down gravel roads.

It wasn't long before we started inadvertently reducing the pest population; topo apparently being attacked by (and successfully repelling) a wallaby with his footpeg. Later during the final 5 hours of darkness there were black shapes crossing our paths at alarming intervals. At one stage zeRax stopped for two startled deer, and at another a group of surly bulls stopped for two startled riders.

Congratulations joshkie and ROD - we saw tracks from early on and they provided us with motivation to maintain our pace. Dunno if they were your tracks but if they were then it looked like you were on a mission by the number of overshot corners and fishtailing exits. Those seemed to reduce as we went along, so perhaps you found your rythym and calmly got the job done.

Only a couple of navigation errors where we went astray for a few km - maybe three times? All our own fault because the GPS combined with a roll chart made it pretty clear where to go.

Highlights for me were the Challenge Loop A, the section starting from the farm at Young Road through to the Serpentine Church and out on the Dunstan Road, and the Carricktown Track. zeRax was flying, but smooth and in control - that little WR250 is an astonishingly capable bike. All the fords before the Omarama Saddle were exciting in the dark. The first one caught zeRax out because it seemed he pretty much landed mid-stream. At one point I went through first and stopped to find zeRax's headlight went out behind me. He'd drowned the bike but it somehow cleared its throat, spat a bit of steam out the pipe for a while, and went on without further incident.

There was just enough moonlight to sense the size of the dropoffs through the Omarama saddle and Black Forest Tracks - very sobering, and alarming at times to see evidence of the occasional overshot corner by someone - surely not the other one-dayers?

The final few hours weren't pretty. Slow and deliberate at best, but it got us there. Thanks zeRax for keeping the pace up when I went into self-preservation mode from around 700km, and continually showing me how maintaining corner speed beats point-and-shoot. I learned heaps from this ride.

Thanks too to Katie and Alison for coming into Omakau with food and drink and fuel around 8:30 pm. Saved us 30 min and boosted our spirits and energy.

All up it was a brilliant ride and an excellent weekend. Only one photo to show for it, but lots of vivid memories. I'm still smiling (and spontaneously falling asleep).

[thepom]

I,d like to say thanks to matt dakar too for the orari gorge,went well and had a hoot......and again to Ryan and crew and must say top family for giving you so much support.

[junkmanjoe]

thank you to Rayn and co, for amazing trip....getting to and back from the weekend was an adventure in its self...but the DBK-2011 will be very hard to beet......

JMJ & Baby LC4

[Monstaman]

DBK-2011 will be very hard to beet......

JMJ & Baby LC4

Agree, what a magic trip and although we ran late on Sunday with Woodmans drowning we soldiered into the dark with high spirits, we blasted past Noel Jacksons gate (High Country Motorcycles) as the clock ticked over the thou you get the idea.

Finished with 1013 km on the clock ... done, funniest highlight (amongst many) for me was JMJ hurtling his man eating sleeping back at me from the back of his bike, every which way I steered to get around it the bloody thing eyed up my front wheel but chickened out with a rugby ball bounce into the weeds only inches from being DRed.

I thought the catastrophe was over when I realized Shrek was about to railroad me from behind cos I had locked up trying to avoid the MESB (Man Eating Sleeping Bag)

So the 1150 train managed to get passed me and avoid the MESB which has piled off into the undergrowth.

Anyway, all good MESB back in its cage and bombs away onwards!!

Photo to ponder .... Woodman can explain the finer points

Cheers Ryan, you are machine for organizing the event

[thepom]

Here are some pictures...the first one is josh...fastest guy into a river to help someone out....

[dino3310]

Photo to ponder .... Woodman can explain the finer points

you gotta submit that to the KB calender... Fookin classic

[umopom]

Ryan - thanks for an awesome weekend, some of the best riding anywhere on the planet and you strung it all together with style!
Cheers
JC

[junkmanjoe]

All Hail Great Shrek

A tribute to a great rider..a man of steel and oorsome riding talent,,


the going was good till we meet the ZIG ZAG...



but Shreks might and strength and fight not to give up..



saw the mighty man beat the ZIG ZAG...and a well earned rest at the top was in order.....

True credit to the the man who was silly enough to ride a GS over a mountian


JMJ & Baby LC4

[Padmei]

Ride down to Chch on the Thursday. Umpom,The Jatz', Woodman, .

Meeting at St Arnaud for coffee.


Jatz loves Schmidtty



Rainbow:
Woodman



Jatz'




The dirty lil piglet



Hoping to get his lil trotters clean in the river

[Padmei]

Meeting under the river bridge for the trip into Orari staion.


Umopom doing a bit of maintainance



Some sheep herding



A dappled sky



Oh dear

[Aslan]

Ryan, Mrs CooneyR and those you helped Ryan put together this great event - huge thanks.

I had an absolute blast. Prolly won't be attempting the challenge sections next year - asked myself several times after falling five times on the Awakino Saddle - 3 on the Ascent and 2 on the descent - "am I a silly old fool to delude myself I can do this stuff". Current resolve is to return next year and do it all again 'cept the Challenge Sections God Willing

Special thanks to Rogeson and JMJ for help in righting my DR. Roger you're a very patient man - thanks.

XF650 as always for his generous hospitality and Cold Comfort for time together on Sunday after we took a wrong turn on the Dunstan Trail ending up at Clarkes Junction

Returned to Picton to catch the Ferry yesterday through the Molesworth - absolutely awesome.

Cheers to all - great to see familiar KB ADV faces as well as meeting some new folks. Carpe Diem Aslan

[_Shrek_]

Day 2
up at 0530 put jug on then went in & kicked one or two sleeping beauties, time to go lots of moans about another 1/2 hr....
mrs S made us bacon & eggs on toast followed by another coffee, packed the bikes & off up to the dam, meet up with a few others a bit of chit chat about breakie then time to go around to wrights rd then onto M/track then McDonalds farm where i left my gear along the track for others to pick up etc.. thanks guys next time I seeya's then out the other side onto the Dunstin where you know who drownd his bike by then I was a wee way down the track 2 1/2 hrs later they show up, back way in to Alex for gas & a feed & as it was 1715 by then we shot straight to Danseys Pass & up to Oldriders for shark & tatie while mrs Oldrider made us coffee & tried to feed us as well by then it was 2100 so off over the Blackforest & at night it's black got into Fairlie 2320 with a from ear to ear & in all the excitment pissed the nieghbours off across from the cabin & only coz we was leave'n as soon as we got changed

a ride to remember with some of the best company a shrek could ask for, Monstaman, Trails Rider (aka shep shagger) ADVGD, Woodman & our norfy Junkmanjoe

still sorting pics

[_Shrek_]

Cold Comfort for time together on Sunday after we took a wrong turn on the Dunstan Trail ending up at Clarkes Junction

Cold Comfort was just head'n home & thought he might take you sight seeing on the way

was good catch'n up, next time we shell do it better

[Buddha#81:Me]

a year ago I traded my DRZ on the XR to get a better base for motarding. Straight away Helen was at me to do the next dusty butt. Yeah yeah yeah what ever I thought!

I've done a bit of dirt riding but nothing really in the last 15 years, so when I confirmed that I'd do this one I started to wonder what I'd got myself into. I had no dirt riding gear and beg borrowed and stole what I could. I picked peoples brains on what I needed to take and borrowed Cynna's spare 20ltr tank.

On Friday I caught up with the guys riding down and took some of the gear they didn't want to carry and effectlivly give me some allies for when we turned up with bikes on the trailer (best idea I've had for a long time).Friday early arvo I shot around to Helen and Sams to pick them up. We had a good drive down and unloaded settled into the buzz meeting a new bunch at the BBQ after resetting Sams valve clearances on his XR.

After a shite sleep thanks to the excitement and whoever was in room 10 hacking logs. The cooked brekkie was downed and onto the bikes. The choice of leaving the Kenda and cheng shin tyres was doubted as soon as we hit the wet grass and mud only km into the trip, they were shite.....very shite. Fook I was hoping the weather stayed ok and would improve. once we got back on the gravel and seal through to Waimate and Kurow my mojo returned and got into a bit of a groove. I had a dream run up the 1 st challenge section and made it to the top with no major dramas. the temp on the XR was in the mid 90's so I ran some water out of my Camel Bac onto the Radiators and soon got the temp back to an acceptable level. the rest of Day 1 was fooken wicked and didnt relise how much time slipped by and we finally rode into Alex in the dark after 10 sore tired and stoked with the sence of achievement.

Day 2 started with some bike prep and we hit the trail. Somehow we missed the 1st fuel stop, which explained why there was only the tracks of a few bikes ahead of us, this tested the range of the two XR's with 20 litre tanks and Thepoms XT. Well out from Omakau, Sam, The pom and even Cynna was on reserve and I'm not far off. We pulled into Omakau the XT runs out with just enough momentum to roll into the forecourt of the servo. I expected to be told that they were out of gas (told the night before that there was 100 litres left in their tanks). But the owner had been to Alex and got more that morning.....what a legened. The rest of the day was a hoot. The multiple river crossings leading up to the Omarama Saddle wore thin but challenging. Black Forest was stunning and have always wanted to do this.

We rode into Failie at 10pm after hitting the 1000km mark at the top of Burkes Pass and stoped at 1028 after 30 hours on the go. All in all a bloody great trip, Hats off to Ryan for setting this up and the mind boggles at the amount of work that goes into this for nothing but the love of it.

I'll be back for 2012 for sure!