The Bendigo area has been getting its fair share of rain in 2010 but May had been very dry until this week when we recieved more than 50mls. So mud and puddles were on the agenda for Steve, Tony, Brett and David when they headed out for the Sunday morning blast. Tony was still nursing a few sore bits from his crash last week but apart from that everyone was in good spirits.
We had run extra air in the back tyre to suit the Bendigo 6 Hr circuit last week but that wasnt a good match for the slippery tracks we were about to tackle so some quick deflating of tyres was in order.
We headed out via the Salomon Gully track towards Diamond Hill and hooked up with Murrays track for the journey to Sandhurst Reservoir. We have previously featured Tony's Crossing which was named in Tony's honour as he was the first to ride this tough entry and exit through a gully on Murray's track. Well it appears that some other riders have also had trouble with this gully because the exit has been remodelled with some well placed rocks to make it more rideable. Well it certainly is for Steve who has no trouble with this piece of track now but unfortunately the renovations arent to Tony's liking as he has been unable to complete the exit since the changes were made. So Tony's Crossing has been renamed Steve Crossing until Tony can remaster it.
Although we ride mountain bikes that are designed for going in the dirt its not ideal to ride through every puddle as you never know how deep they are and giving your bottom bracket a wash with muddy water is best avoided. However it was an attempt to miss a puddle on the outside of a corner that caused the first crash of the day. I could have ridden through the puddle which looked pretty shallow but I thought I would just steer a bit more to the left to miss it but the front wheel didnt agree with the angle I put it on and the next thing I knew I was almost in a kneeling position next to my bike as I lost the front end. The good news was that apart from a muddy knee the only damage was a small tear in my new knee warmers.
The second crash of the day belonged to Tony and this came right at the half way mark of our ride. Tony was leading and just heading down to the Channel crossing. There was a bit of a wash out on the left hand side and although he was only going slowly its probably best not to wipe your nose with your hanky as you tackle this section of track. The better line is on the right but Tony was on the left and got caught on a shrub sticking out which temporarily snagged him before releasing him off balance down the drop off which resulted in Tony heading over the bars.
It was a bit of a hard landing and right on the damaged knee from the week before. But with a few minutes to gather his thoughts and his breath Tony was back into it like nothing had happened.The good news was that the rest of the ride was pretty uneventful.
Distance 41kms
Time 2 Hours 15mins
No comments:
Post a Comment