Page 21 - Riding On Autumn 2022
P. 21
Dunnos
Double Dayer.
Its said a trip is just a trip until something goes wrong, then its The good
an adventure. news for
the next
What a great ADVENTURE we had! section
Dunno, Darren and friends are embarking on a 6 day dirt was
adventure in March to raise funds for the Variety Childrens that the
Charity. Whats needed before then is some extra time in the weather
saddle, especially on dirt. The idea of an overnight, 2 day ride conditions
was formed. The overnight venue chosen was Walcha. Then improved
Mick Simpson decided he would tag along and stay on the enough to
q
uick
y and so the pace w
as a
ble to
en
visibi
tarmac, meeting the rest of the crew at Walcha. So the dual help with visibility and so the pace was able to quicken
t
li
route, 2 dayer was born. Half the crew following Dunno on the a little. Until the now infamous Nowendoc Clay had its say.
dirt and the other half following Mick on the bitumen to meet Maddy really needed a new front tyre. Darren, following, lost
up at Walcha for a feed, a few brews and some laughs. Well, count of the number of big moments the Tenere rider had and
that was the PLAN. where that bike wanted to go. One such moment ending with
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Chapter 1 - Mother Nature. really was a game of roulette.
Theres a saying about the best laid plans of mice and men.
Well, Mum Nature had other plans for us. The dates for the Dunno also had his turn. Leading, he hit some deep clay and
ride had been carefully chosen using the long term weather WKH .70 ¿VKWDLOHG EDGO\ WKHQ JDLQLQJ WUDFWLRQ LW GHFLGHG WR
forecast for the 2 days where the temps were below thirty and head left, straight into the longest, deepest, muddiest puddle of
a low probability of rain. What we were greeted with was 2 of the day. Longer than the bike and at least 2 feet deep. Darren
the wettest days of the whole month and on the second day a was unsure whether to send in a search party or toss a snorkel
severe wind warning! to the little guy. Dunno came to rest with his left foot pushing
In the days and hours leading up to the start of the ride the against the cutting to keep Pepe upright ankle deep (on the
original group of 16, slowly dwindled to 11. pegs) in water.
What was to be a scenic cruise on the dirt changed. Itd been From here it was a beautiful ride across Mummel Rd through
advertised as a 2 out of 5 on Dunnos sphincter scale, but, in the National Park with just about every surface you could
reality it was a solid 3, sometimes pushing towards a 4. imagine. Riders being careful to see the occasional slippery
section well in advance. By the time the guys hit the tar, they
Chapter 2 - Mud not Dirt. were happy to cruise into Walcha for the night. Darren was
The group wound its way over Godfrey Hill Rd, down the Lakes pleased with his new ADVworx soft panniers but Dunno wasnt
:D\ WR )DLOIRUG 5G WKHQ 1DELDF DQG .UDPEDFK YLD $YDORQ 5G happy with the amount of water his new jacket had let in.
Here the 2 groups parted with the tarmac boys heading West (the jacket is being assessed at the Goretex testing facility in
and the dirt riders heading East to take Gloucester Rd to link Melbourne.)
up with Nowendoc Rd. This was a shake down ride for Darren
and Dunno, their bikes, gear plus luggage. The 3 adventurers 7KH ¿UVW SRUW RI FDOO ZDV WR KDQJ WKH JHDU WR GU\ DQG KLW WKH
headed towards Mt George, winding their way through the showers. Well done, Walcha Motel. It was only a short walk to
JUHHQHU\ DQG E\ QRZ WKH\ ZHUH FRQ¿GHQW ZLWK WKH JULS RI WKHLU the Apsley Arms where the new owners threw out the welcome
tyres in the continuing wet. mat.
Stopping at Mt George, it was quickly decided that a break Chapter 3 The Return.
was in order, out of the rain, on a verandah, much to the Locals advised us that the creeks on the roads we had chosen
amusement of some locals who didnt quite believe our reply of for the return, were swollen, with one crossing running at about
Any day is a good day for a ride. 5 feet. The riders decided to follow the road to Nowendoc. It
was a fun 2 hour loop including the run up the cutting, coming
Dunnos new Goretex jacket was showing signs of leaking so LQ YLD 1XQGOH 7KH ZHDWKHU IRU WKH ¿UVW KRXU ZDV IDEXORXV ZLWK
DIWHU PDNLQJ VXUH DOO YHQWV FXV DQG FROODUV ZHUH VHFXUH WKH the sun often highlighting the vistas. Sadly, the poor weather
journey continued. As the bitumen ran out, the red Nowendoc returned and that strong wind warning was well deserved. The
dirt gave way to running rain ruts and slippery clay. Turning 2nd hour was wet, cold and windy with strong gusts to keep
RQWR (Q¿HOG 5DQJH 5G DQG (Q¿HOG 5G FRQGLWLRQV FRQWLQXHG WR the riders on their toes. A break at Nowendoc was welcomed
become increasingly challenging as the water got deeper, the by all and the riders decided that safety was the call for the day
rain continued, the clay got thicker and the visibility became and decided to stay on the tar all the way home.
almost non-existent. After about an hour of muddy fun the trio
rounded a corner to be greeted by a freshly fallen tree across Darren announced that he thought Dunno needed a name
their path. Going back was a last resort and going around was change to Dr Dunno (as in Dr Doolittle) due to the love
potentially dangerous. It was decided that the main trunk may animals appear to have for him. Hed been escorted by
be movable, enough to allow passage. So, 3 sodden souls set Lyrebirds, stared down by cattle, dive bombed by Galahs and
forth and eventually there was just enough room to allow tight kamikazeed by a wallaby who eventually scaled a 10 foot high
passage. Each rider taking turns, while the other 2 dragged FOL WR JHW DZD\
the rear wheel around to the appropriate position. Happy to
be moving again the trio were pleased that no other obstacles Epilogue
appeared during the rest of the trip but for the mud, oh and did What was planned as an easy 2 day ride turned into a much
I mention the clay! Concentration levels were high but visibility more challenging event. That said there were zero complaints,
was extremely low. At the next rest stop all the riders were everyone had a great time and there are plenty of new stories
sharing stories of how some visors appear to break the laws of WKDW OLNH D ¿QH ZLQH ZLOO RQO\ LPSURYH ZLWK WKH SDVVLQJ RI WLPH
physics. How do you fog up when open in the rain? The interior Cant wait for the next one.
of each helmet was well soaked as an open visor was the only
option, 2 riders wearing glasses also added to the issue. Graeme Dunning #58852
RIDING ON 21
