Ride a riverhead this sunday, like a challenge?

[cheese]

Bloody hard ride by the look of it, but I'll give it a go....... I had a great ride at riverhead last time.

Going to love them bogs!!!!

http://www.waitematamcc.co.nz/events2.php?recordID=75

[texmo]

fuck that looks like fun. how much is your rm250?

[cheese]

I meant to change that, I'm keeping it now that I've spent as mush on it as what I paid for it.

[Henk]

This ride will be rideable by (almost) anyone. Just stay out of the expert sections if you find the base loop challenging enough.

[cheese]

Fuck it, I won't be able to go now, my brothers wife is having a baby now and it's in Napier.

Oh well next one!

[Danger]

Yeah right, ya big pink ladies blouse!

[tysonzane]

Did anyone end up going? Damn it would have been a good event with all that rain!!!

[Danger]

Ride report:

Well I think the poster and the pouring rain on the day and the days leading up to the event had the effect of showing who the real men and the saps are. Out of almost 600 riders on WMCC books only 17 showed up and signed on for the day. Parking was not a problem! Riverhead has a nasty reputation in conditions better than this day threw at us.
None of the people I was expecting to meet up with arrived, and although it was raining it wasn't particually cold, about 18 degreess celcius (65f) at its warmest. So I didn't wear a coat but did wear a polypropylene shirt under my riding jersey and carried my survival blanket in my pack. I fired up and as I left the parke ferme my bike felt extremely rich. I was jetted for colder and drier conditions. As I entered the forest I stopped and removed the airbox cover just to check that I hadn't left anything in the airbox as I hadn't ridden the KTM in about a month, having spent a month on the RM250.
Airbox was clear so I returned to the parke ferme and leaned out the pilot some and chucked the small screwdriver in my pack incase I needed to make more adjustments. It still felt a little rich as I cruised back to the start of the trail but thought it would clear once I got going.
The trail had only had a few bikes over it, and once through the first section and over a 50 metre road stretch the real riding began. I knew these trails from rides in the summer, luckely as they were mostly under water. Speeds were down as I was unsure how deep some sections were (and some were up to my radiators) and the tree roots and ruts could not be seen under the water. It was like riding up a river is some sections. I tried to imagine that it was dry and keep looking up the trail and continue the momentum. But there was no getting around the slow speeds and I was soaked within minutes.
For the first lap I decided to take the short and easy route. This was 25km and probably about one third road, on which I started to get a little cold. Eventually it was back into the trees and I finished the first lap without to much problems and relatively clean due to the falling rain and the amount of water. I didn't encounter anything like in the poster, only due to the lack of bikes riding the event. I didn't see another rider the whole first lap.
Regased and head straight back out for the longer 35km and expert loops. I was warmer now after riding in the trees and the rain had eased almost to a stop. There was less water and the trails were greasier, but I was able to pick up the speed a little due to being able to see a bit more of the trail and being a bit more aware of the depth of some of the water filled holes.
The expert sections were trickier as expected, and I stalled maybe four times. One fall off on the side of a deep rut. No pushing was required anywhere and I was running only 6psi in the tyres. The forks did not feel as good due to the slower speeds to what I usually run.
In some sections that were just a greasy rut up a hill the bike seemed to still be running rich with the throttle sounding blubbery and uneven until the revs got up. I stopped and leaned the pilot out beyond where it had ever been before. I think this was due to the temperature being borderline for my winter jetting and the amount of moisture in the air.
While I was leaning out my air screw, having a slash and cleaning my glasses, grips etc and noticing I was getting low on fuel three other bikes passed me on the trail. I got going and eventually caught and passed them at the top of a wicked slick two rut down hill where it was a case of riding down in the rut trying not to pick up too much speed and using both feet as outrigers on the high banks of the rut. At the bottom was a swift but short river crossing of about 15 feet and unknown depth. I considered walking it but decided to keep the momentum up and powered across without problem. It was only about knee deep and the bottom was slick rock with no obstacles encountered. It still would have been a drowned bike if the bike had gone down due to the swiftness of the water.
About a KM from there I heard a bike behind me and one of the YZ's had caught me. I considered pulling over to let him pass but decided to try and stay in front and that was the last I saw of him until the end of the trail back at the parke ferme.
This time I was covered in mud, even had mud that had seemed to have fallen out of the sky and down my neck and inside my shirt!

Two laps was enough, as I had spent Saturday riding the sand and whoops of Woodhill and I was unsure that I had enough fuel for another long lap.
The bbq inside the shed smelt good and I called it a day.

No sheep were seen or harmed during this ride or in the filing of this report. Although some of the kids at the parke ferme were taking great delight in mutilating a dead possum carcass.

Thanks to the hardcore WMCC guys and gals for puting on this event. I'll be back next year. I appreciate your efforts.

Greg M