Blood on the Tracks

It was a bit of a weird ride this morning.

It started off with Alexander getting dog poo on his knicks, then Rod made a mess of his arm on a prickle bush and ended with my bike hanging upside down from a shrub.

The Sharp's were recovering from illness so we took it pretty easy with a bit of a loop from Diamond Hill through Spring Gully along New Murray's to Tony's Crossing, the old racetrack in reverse and then back along the fence to Diamond Hill then down Dead Dog Gully to Spencers.

I was following Alexander on the way to Diamond Hill and I had noticed a foul smell as we rode along but I had put it down to a dead animal in the bush. However when we stopped to clear some rubbish off the track Steve noticed that Alexander had some mud on his knicks. Only this mud looked and smelt a lot like dog poo. And as the saying goes if it looks like shit and smells like shit it must be shit! A tell tale smear on Alexander's rear tyre confirmed the bad news that he had indeed ridden through a fresh dog turd. Steve instructed Alexander in the use of bush soap (dirt in case you didnt know) and at least the smell was gone.

After we all stopped laughing we headed down the Burns St track and along the fence line at the bottom of the Spring Gully Reservoir. This is a new addition to our riding and the track is a bit overgrown with some very sharp bushes. We all had a few cuts and grazes but the trophy for the most blood went to Rod. Between us we had a lot of bandaids but not much else to clean the wound. Rod declined the offer of a used hanky and the water on the edge of the dam didnt look too hygenic so after applying some direct pressure he pushed on in true Aussie spirit.

Rod's bloody arm.

The next part of the ride was pretty uneventful.We stopped for a chat to some riders coming the other way and made our way back to the fence track heading for home. We crossed ourselves and prayed to the MTB gods for no punctures as we took on this dreaded piece of track. We rode carefully and picked our lines through the jagged rocks and made it through to the end unscathed or so we thought. Just as we headed for home Alexander advised us his rear tyre was going flat. Once again Steve did the fatherly thing and changed the tyre for his son.

From here there was only Dead Dog Gully to cover and we were home safe. There's really only two tricky bits on this part of the track. The rocky corner that's always wet and the final drop down into the gully (always stick to the right on this one and you will be fine). I was out in front feeling good and looking forward to my coffee when the rocky corner bared its teeth. I had just ridden through the puddle after the first corner and the next thing I knew I was going over the bars. I could blame a wet tyre on some slippery rocks or failure to keep my weight back but I think the real answer may lie a little further back up the track. Earlier on in the ride I had taken great delight in describing how one of the Biggest Loser contestants went over the bars during their Triathalon event the other night on telly. Perhaps this was my karma for laughing at some one elses misfortune.

Anyhow there was no harm done and I did find a new way to park your bike. I'm not sure if it will catch on down at Spencer's but you never know.



Who needs a bike stand when theres a shrub nearby

 Some of the crew are off to the Duael Pairs event at Macedon next week so good luck to everyone who is riding.