First trail ride result! Waikeratu 2012

[Adriaan]

Not bad for a first time I think. I didn't go too hard, but I didn't put-put out the back either.

I started off in the first 50 or so riders - maybe not my best idea, but I was keen, nervous and excited. All was going well untill about 5 mins in. I was sitting behind a kid on his little KTM, probably aged 8 or so. The first big ditch came up and he slammed on the brakes. Locked up his back wheel and skidded sideways. So I had to take evasive action and do my own "rear wheel lockup"... he managed to pull it together and make it through the ditch. I landed on my left side and smacked my head. All good... Adrenaline won't let me know about whiplash till lunchtime anyway.

Apart from a couple of stalls in traffic going up the hills in the forest all was going well. I could go home and proudly announce "Only one off...and it wasn't even my fault".

So after a nice lunch and relax. We had to tackle the big uphill...this was disastorous. I got 3/4 of the way up and stalled in traffic again. Kicked over the bike about 50 times with some help from a random "cheers mate", but I couldn't get it going. Then he tried to kick it over with a full open throttle and he almost lost his shin I think. Cos he hopped off quick and helped me push it out the way.

I gave it some time and tried again and away we were. Up to the top. I was puffed, so I decided to have a stop and check out the carnage.

Here's the best part. Took off from the top, turned the corner and shot past some people standing on the top of the hill. Only to realised I'm on the wrong side of a length of alcathine hose running down the hill and towards the fence.

Que, my bike goes left and follows the pipe.... I....go....right... Ouch !

More damage to the ego than anything - thanks to the 20 or so people that found it SO amusing...

The rest of the way home was great. Enjoyed riding in the middle of the pack - all the hardcores had passed and the oldies and kids were far enough behind. So I was riding by myself and only a couple of other people.

Thoroughly enjoyed myself. I'll definitely be back for the next one.

Thanks to everyone who played a part... and thanks MR Motorcycle... Great Day !

[Katman]

Your first trail ride and you did it on a 450???

Brave man.

[Stylo]

Your first trail ride and you did it on a 450???

Brave man.

Fun read , and you had a good bike to ride for a starter ...

[Shadykiwi]

Nice read. cheers. One of the things i do at trial rides is chill at the start, sometimes I dont even bother changing till after riders breif or first lot have gone. I used to get all hyped up and go with first lot, but it usually always ends up with blockages, bottle necks and so on. Sounds like you had a good day though.

[noobi]

Hopefully everyone enjoyed the ride.
Track was pretty good, dust wasn't an issue in most places.
A few more injuries than we would have liked. Most people seemed to behave themselves, a few got lost around the sand dune though. Still lots of little kids on very small bikes riding by themselves with no parent around to help. Also, some people were drinking at the lunch stop, I think that's pretty appalling behaviour.
Not the most enjoyable ride to try and marshall.

[nzspokes]

Hopefully everyone enjoyed the ride.
Track was pretty good, dust wasn't an issue in most places.
A few more injuries than we would have liked. Most people seemed to behave themselves, a few got lost around the sand dune though. Still lots of little kids on very small bikes riding by themselves with no parent around to help. Also, some people were drinking at the lunch stop, I think that's pretty appalling behaviour.
Not the most enjoyable ride to try and marshall.

Well good on you for marshalling.

Once my bikes more reliable(and im fitter) I will be coming along.

[oldguy]

Hopefully everyone enjoyed the ride.
Track was pretty good, dust wasn't an issue in most places.
A few more injuries than we would have liked. Most people seemed to behave themselves, a few got lost around the sand dune though. Still lots of little kids on very small bikes riding by themselves with no parent around to help. Also, some people were drinking at the lunch stop, I think that's pretty appalling behaviour.
Not the most enjoyable ride to try and marshall.

Awesome ride, got to be my favorite, I know what you mean noobi, i saw alot of kids on small bikes on there own, had to feel sorry for the little fella at the approach to the sand dune just sitting there watching as I went by.
The advantage of not leaving with the main group, is you get a lot more clear riding,
and most of the bottle neck areas are cleared up, or easier to get through.

[scott411]

at follow the leader rides, the best place to start is last, and if you catch the front, stop, have a break and wait to the back to be there again, the leader quite often has to open boundry gates, and quite often has to wait for bunch of riders so no one gets lost,

[green machine]

Ha that was Dion passing you just as your some idiot comment flashed up.....i always seem to see one of my mates on your vids John....hardcase

[nzspokes]

Shit that looks fun.

[buffstar]

WTF is up with these shit parents leaving their kids to tuff it out? I didnt have the pleasure of the beach ride - its on my 'one of these days' list tho...... maybe next year. Glad to hear you enjoyed your first ride Adriaan

[RJM]

Another great ride, thanks to the Whitfords and other land owners. Loved the forest section even with a few slippery bits, the sand dune was awesome and the beach run is always good for a blast.

About a quarter of the way in I had some random little kid in front of me so was trying to shield him, another guy (teenager) tried passing me off the marked track and ate shit big time. Took a nice hit up the backside from his seat, managed to keep his hands on the bars while he did a perfect front flip - gutted I had just turned of my GoPro while I was behind the little kid.

Also spotted a few people drinking at the lunch break, not really appropriate for a family day out. Second half of the day it certainly did appear there were a few offs around the place.

On any trail ride there are douches that can't wait for a bit of traffic to clear an obstacle but for the best part of the day I was able to cruise / hoon at my own pace which was great.

Have some GoPro footage but still getting to grips with editing and sizing to an uploadable size.

[oldguy]

Ha that was Dion passing you just as your some idiot comment flashed up.....i always seem to see one of my mates on your vids John....hardcase

when you passed me on the road Steve, the cam was off, wasn't till I got to the bottom of the road that turned it on, was trying to save battery, but it ran out just after the switch back second part of the ride, gutted i didn't get any footage of the beach, that's where some of my best action was.

[meteor]

Cool vid Oldguy, that dune was massive, forest loop was a bit of fun and those rolling farm hills just before the end made for some cool air time. Yep saw some pro racers doing the overtaking at all costs thing too... dicks! Only thing I didn't like was that bull holed paddock about 15 mins or so into it... nearly rattled the fillings out of my teeth. But a great day and very well run as always. Thanks again Mr Motorcycles for a great day.

[gonzo_akl]

I enjoyed the ride over some very impressive country - felt the afternoon was more enjoyable - probably because we left the lunch break nearer the back of the pack.

If I knew how to upload videos, i was filming as I hit an unseen nikau stump crashing pretty heavily - didn't see it at all in the long grass on the edge of the track.
I went down pretty hard - a group beside the track thought it was pretty humourous - can't see anything wrong with my bike but I'm bit hopeless when comes to anything more than oil changes - not even sure what I was looking for

That will teach me to play more attention.

Any ideas of how many people attended?