Australasian Dirt Bike — January 2018

Those DSMRA boys sure

doknowhowtoturnona

heckofatrailride

of fire-trail which were coated with a

four-inch layer of gloopy red clay that

had no frickin’ traction at all. Just

riding in a straight line meant no

twisting the throttle, no brakes, no

clutch and pucker your arse cheeks as

tight as you can.

All of which made hitting the tarmac

for the final leg into Tumut all-the-

more tasty, especially for a bloke

named Tony who, it turned out, had

been riding with two busted feet and a

cracked fibula after boofing a log after

lunch. Tough son of a gun, yeah?

We’d racked up almost 200km for

the day and the thought of a hot

shower, a mighty feed and a few

beverages at the local bowlo club was

lip-smackingly good.

But there was one last sting in the

tail for the day, with three riders

copping fines and multiple demerit

points for having unroadworthy bikes,

literally right outside the caravan park

where we were staying. That left a real

sour taste ... but the boys did a whip-

round the next day to help pay the

fines. Awesome.

YOU WANT MORE?

The next day’s return trip over the

mountains delivered more of the same,

as Cambrell took point and headed

deep into pine plantations in the

general direction of Wee Jasper, before

cutting south-west into the

Brindabellas to get back to the vehicles

near Cotter.

It was another action-packed day,

with one rider having to be rescued

after sailing off the edge of a ‘cliff’ and

four drowning their bikes in a fast-

flowing creek with a lumpy, rocky

bottom that brings a few unstuck every

year. Yes, the sweeps earned their keep

• thanks, gents.
  Somewhat surprisingly, the entire
  pack was back to Cotter by mid-
  afternoon, bikes loaded and everyone
  setting off on the drive home by
  4.30pm. Judging by the post-ride smiles


• and aches and pains – everyone was
  rapt to have been part of another stellar
  Canberra-Tumut run.
  Those DSMRA boys sure do know
  how to turn on a heck of a trailride and
  if you want in on this one in 2018,
  make sure you get in early.

Got something to say about this yarn?

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More images and info at adbmag.com.au

136 | JANUARY 2018 http://www.adbmag.com.au

More timber laid to get across a bog

Try marking this in the dark with a flat headtorch

Powerline twin-track for a quick breather

The boot warmer came in handy on Sunday

Some of the log crossings

were very greasy

TRAIL ODYSSEY | DSMRA CANBERRA-TUMUT RIDE