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Lano - Cervantes.
It was time for another "sit on your arse" Lano to Cervantes run. 7 riders turned out for a top, fast paced ride. Harey hadn't been on a CQ ride since his last Lano ride which saw the group face to face with the boys in green enjoying some gunning practice on the range. He bought along a mate of his Fernie, on a 250 smoker with 5 litres of oil and fuel strapped to his back for his first ever ride along this part of the coast. Ant also came along for his first ever Lano run am was very happy to hear he didn't need to put his boots down to many times throughout the ride (short legs - tall bike).
Although there was a bit of rain early in the week, the tracks were dry with the usual amount of dust churning off the rear tyres. Fortunately there was a good breeze blowing and with the exception of a few sections of the ride, the dust cleared quickly and riders could bunch up fairly tight. Howard rode lead at his normal pace with most struggling to keep pace however the rest of the crew were pretty equally paced and enjoyed chasing Howard, finding him waiting at corners ready to put a corner man down. Our first stop was the usual nurses hut where the virgin Lano riders were all commenting on how much they liked these trails. We then headed up the beach and regrouped at the spot where the tracks head back in land. This is where Cliff, the Wheelie King always puts on a good display of balance and shows the boys the technique of holding the mighty DRZ 400 aloft. I am sure he only comes on the Lano run so he can hit the beach for a bit of high speed rear wheel riding. We the headed further north towards Cervantes. I was riding sweep and could not believe the speed the group were travelling over the long wide cap rock sections. This is where I normally like to do a bit of over passing of the less confident riders. Not today - I was riding as fast as I could and these boys were spread across the width of the trail and riding as if the ground was almost level. A break, a burger and some fuel and we were on our way back earlier than we usually do. As the guys rotated through the corner man system I had the opportunity to ride behind each rider. Each and everyone were riding hard, popping wheelies, lifting the front wheel high on crests and showing plenty of skill. I couldn't give them all ROTD but they deserved it. I decided to give it to Howard because a good lead rider always makes for a good days ride. He kept the group moving quickly, placed guys just in the right spot for the corner man and of course who else could you chase all day and be lucky to catch. Howard being Howard wasn't happy with only picking up the ROTD award so about 10 k's out of Wedge on the return trip he decided to drop the bike coming out of a corner in top gear and hit the ground hard. He was down and in a fair amount of pain. After a 10 minute breather he assured us he was alright to ride home at a slow pace. The rest of the boys followed Cliff back and I rode with Howard nice and slow. First time I have seen him ride 30 km's in 45 minutes. Back at the cars Fernie was telling me that Harey also had a go at the SOTD award. I asked to see the injury and wish I hadn't. He picked up his elbow to reveal plenty of blood, gashes and a few bits of meat hanging out. He then smiled and said real men don't feel pain. He is a true CQer. Ant recons the lano ride is a beauty and can't wait to do it again. Cliff and Gazzer were happy to be out of retirement and are looking forward to heaps of rides in the near future. Thanks for a good days riding fellows. Hope you're not off the bike to long H.  Ant and Harey relaxing at Cervantes.  Cliff, Gazza, Howard and Fernie. |
