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Howes Trail joins Finchley track and eventually
spits you out at Wollombi where the pub was
inundated with riders thirsty for a beer, or two,
or three... A few were fixing f lats from Howes
Trail. It wasn’t rough but it did egg you on and one
misplaced rock could pinch a tube.
After a final breakout, the Wollombi route weaved
through the Hunter Valley vineyards and some
riders stopped to pick up a bottle. That night the
entire Rallye camped out at Dashville. They called
it ‘glamping’; I call it camping. We slept in tents that
were already set-up with bedding and everything.
All we had to do was eat, drink then sleep.
DAY 3 DASHVILLE TO WALCHA
The third day was the longest on the bike so far and
would be the longest day of the Rallye. I clocked up
about 400km after getting lost a couple times but
my mates Tim and Brett cracked 450km!
We left Dashville and headed to Nundle but the
first breakout route of the day slowed a lot of people
down. The area near Barrington Tops is famous for
its clay. Add water and 200kg adventure bikes, and
it’s carnage.
I put the 1190 down three times in about two
minutes, a quick $6 to the bar tab. All three times
someone helped pick the big girl up and that was
a common sight on this stretch of devil clay –
everyone had to help.
The first breakout route had a rocky hillclimb
that caught a few off guard, but the second breakout
route was worse.
I had heard it was bad so to my shame I gave it a
miss. I’m glad I did after seeing the footage – bikes
were pointing every direction except the right
way. Organisers eventually shut dow n the second
breakout after too many riders got stuck and one
bloke got hurt.
The next breakout route saw us make 21 river
crossings. All were passable on a soft-roader, but
the slick boulders combined with heav y bikes
surprised some. The trail went through the Packers’
Ellerston pastoral station.
After lunch there were multiple breakout routes
that ducked off the main fire road through the
pine forest and deep into the greenery. The surface
was slippery but not from clay. Not many bikes
had ridden through so there was lots of leaf matter
covering the trail.
I got pretty lost in the pines when I missed a green
arrow and I just went further into the darkness! I
found my way out eventually and made my way
to Walcha, where I met former ADB cover boy Phil
Lovett at the petrol station. It was his first time on
the Rallye and he was mounted on a 690 Enduro.
We stayed in swags and tents at Walcha. Two
hundred adventure bikes acted as clotheslines for
the night – typical of adventure riders.THE CHAMP
IS HERE
2016 Dakar champion
Toby Price joined
the KTM Adventure
Rallye at Jenolan
Caves. It was a huge
surprise to everyone.
He gave a short talk
during dinner then
the next morning
jumped on the bike
for the first time since
his injury and rode
with the Rallye. The
plan was for Pricey to
ride two days but he
ended up staying the
full five.Right Rain and fog at Mummel National
Park on day four
Below How to drown a Kato – rain made
the river crossings extra challenging
Below right Kate Peck and Michael
Heaton from Channel Ten’s RPM