Trail Bike Adventure Magazine

Disappointed...sort of

Sunday, 08 March 2009 23:30

It's Sunday arvo and I've been at the first two rounds of the Australian Off Road Championships. Unfortunately, I was there as a spectator, not a competitor. A seemingly insignificant injury earlier in the week suddenly went bad with a vengeance on Friday night, and I wasn't in any shape to ride - or walk very far - on Saturday and Sunday.

At first I was really disappointed. Trent Johnson from Dynamite Motorsport drove all the way up from Victoria with bikes for us - I'm not a serious member of the team, but I get equal consideration from Trent - and Dynamite teamsters Nicholas Beattie, Dan Ralph and Pete Bellew were all looking sharp. I stumbled in all hunched over and had to say, "Sorry. blokes.

Not riding." Although I was never more than comic relief, I still felt as if I'd let them down a little.

Saturday went ahead as a cross-country - as opposed to a sprint - and after watching those guys, I reckon I may not have been so unlucky to have missed it. It was a gruelling, grinding course, and I'm not certain I could've ridden it for two hours. The pros were doing lap times around the 12-minute mark. I seriously believe I would've been lucky to manage a lap in 30 minutes or so. Maybe longer. If I could finish a lap. And at the end of it, there were so many exhausted riders, it was a little scary. Dan and Pete both looked completely knackered, and when I went to congratulate Stefan Merriman on his outright win, he looked as though he was struggling to stay upright.

So maybe I didn't miss out much after all.

Sunday was the sprint format and everyone was much happier.

Having ridden his last four laps of the cross-country with no front brake, Pete Bellew cracked the cases on the YZ450F on the second day and finished the race on the YZ250F I'd left vacant. He was thrilled with the bike and posted good times. Dan thrashed TBAM's long-term WR450F around in the Pro class and I'm waiting for official results, but it looks like a top-20 finish both days.

Saturday night I worked on the next DVD with Guy Streeter here at home, then this morning we bustled back down the highway to watch today's racing. I was hoping to shoot some video, but I couldn't move around properly. The video I did get doesn't do justice to representing the track or conditions, but it'll give youse an idea of what the riders had to deal with.

This week I'll be squeezed. I don't have much choice to but to sit here and try and heal as fast as I can. I still have bikes to review, and the pressure is starting to mount on the issue #27 deadline.

Despite all that, I'm smiling.

I've been invited to ride a few days of the 2009 BMW GS Safari.

That may not seem a big deal to youse-all, but I love BMWs, and I especially love the way BMW takes so much care over everything it does, and every function I've attended for the big Bavarian - even dealer functions - has been a huge delight. On top of that, BMW hasn't invited any media on the Safari for some years, so it gives me a lift to know we'll be able to run a great story. I'll be on a F 800 GS, and the ride will run in Tasmania.

Woo hoo!

Here's a few pics from the ORCs.

TF