Australasian Dirt Bike — January 2018

condition. I was going into this ride
cold.Nopreparation,nodecentfood
and, with a fresh baby at home, not
much sleep. Sweet.

CARB LOADING
I hit Myrtleford by late afternoon and
checkedinwithrallyorganisers,
shakers and movers Luke Brock and
ChrisBonacci.Theboyswerepreparing
theMyrtlefordfootyroomsforthe
post-ride festivities that would take
placeSaturdaynight.It’sbeensaid
manytimesthatplentyofridersattend
theAlpineRallyfortheafter-party
more than the actual ride. It’s where
riderstellwarstories,hangshiton
mates,buycoolbikestuffattheauction
anddrinkbeer–exactlywheremost
riders excel.
Aftergettingthelowdownfrom
BrockyandChrisIwentinsearchof
carbohydrates and hydration, a.k.a.
pizzaandbeer.Ifyouareeverin
Myrtlefordyouhavetocheckout
BastoniPizzeria.It’sreal-dealpizza,
withabeautifullightbasethatblisters
at the edges.
Iplantedmyselfinfrontofthetellyto
watchtheAdelaideCrowssmashthe
GeelongCatsintheAFLpreliminary
final, chewed through that delightful
pizza and washed it down with half a
dozenHahnSuperDry’s.Low-carbbeer
wouldhavetomakemeridebetter.
AsIrippedthescaboffthatsixthand
finalstubby,Istartedtosecondguess
myself.Ihadn’triddeninages,Iwas
halfchargedandIsuddenlyrealisedI

was doing exactly what I always tell

otherridersnottodo.Bugger.Withthat

Ituckedmyselfintobedandsetmy

alarm for 6.30am.

The Alpine Rally had moved from its

original home to the Gapsted

RecreationalReserve,justa10-minute

drive out of Myrtleford on the Great

Alpine Road.

Anyonewholikesawineortwowill

nodoubthaveheardofGapsted,asthe

wineries in the area produce some of

the finest vino you can tip down your

gullet.

ImetmyoldmateChadTalbotfrom

Chad’sOffroadSetupsatHeiner’s

Bakeryforwhatcouldbetheworld’s

best bacon and egg roll. Chad grew up

inMyrtlefordandknowsallthetricks.

Thisrollisbuiltwithloveand

scrambledeggisthesecretweapon

here. Wow.

We d rove out to Gapsted, unloaded

ourbikesandsignedonfortheday’s

ride.A45kmloopawaitedusandwe

were free to do as many loops as we

liked.Theatmospherewasbuildingin

the carpark as riders on all sorts of

bikesweregearingupandslingingshit

at their mates.

TRAIL TIME

Afterashortandcheerfulriderbriefing

all 250 or so riders were ready to roll.

ChadandItookoffforthefirstloop

andenjoyedthefree-flowingtrailthat

greetedusafterjustacoupleof

kilometres of dirt road. The route

snaked then twisted and turned

TRAILRIDE | MYRTLEFORD ALPINE RALLY

The

Gippsland

group

The great thing about organised

trailrides like the Myrtleford Alpine

Rally is the group of riders who rock up

to be a part of it. I was parked next to a

mob from Gippsland and they weren’t

exactly taking it seriously. The main

actor was Steve Skinner and his main

sidekick was Ashley Erickson. These

boys had uniform singlets complete

with custom Texta graphics. It’s blokes

like 65-year old ‘Skinner’ with the glass

eye that make the atmosphere so

much fun.

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