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The Capel 200
Report by Col.
Pretz pulled a quote from this years entry form and posted it on the message board - "The course is designed to be very easy with flowing trails" Huh? Does mud actually flow?, he says". If you managed to get around this course only just once you would probably say it had its challenges and would not be at all suitable for a newbie to the sport. If you got the second lap in, the many mud crossings became increasingly difficult to navigate and really easy to get stuck in. Well done to all of you who made the two laps. This was the best Capel of have ridden so far and hope they keep the ride with all of its challenges. There were 17 official Crusty's on the ride. Some we had not seen for a while however it was fantastic to have a large group at the event to share the stories, ride the trails with and hang out together for the day. We all experienced something different out there and most of us were more than happy to tell a story about our ride. My story A couple of km's into the ride a lens fell out of my glasses and rendered me visually impaired. Although the main group kept waiting for me I was stuck at the back of the pack until the half way mark where a quick repair turned me back into a sighted person. I thought it best to follow Roley around and use him much like a blind dog. Not a good move. We finally made it to the creek crossing where there was a line of riders waiting have a swim and 30 others on the far bank who were hoping you were going to get wet. They guy in front of Roley laid his bike down with only a bar grip exposed. Although Roley didn't make it under the power of the bike he kept it upright and the motor dry. I was pretty happy to ride across both times without getting wet and hearing a loud Crusty cheer from the far bank while emerging from the depths. Within 500 m's of the river was another crossing about half as deep. Roley had trouble on this one as well and stalled in the middle. As I tried to ride past him he lost his balance and toppled, we collided and both ended up submerged. My motor stayed dry but his took in a bucket load and locked up. There were several deep mud crossings that easily held you up without notice. The rest of the ride was a combination of very tight goat trails and of course those "flowing trails" we were told about. There were even a couple of nice hill climbs with the odd scattered log that made for a bit more of the technical stuff. On the second lap I got stuck in one of those mud crossings on the fence line. After wrestling the bike for some time I then somehow managed to get stuck in the wire of the fence. No problem I thought and grabbed a handful of wire just to find out it was an electric fence. It still took me two grabs to work out why my wet gloves were causing my body to shudder each time I had a go at freeing the bike. Andrea and Big Col thought it was pretty funny although back at the finish I was to learn that at least two others had shared the same fate. Rick Gill held a riders meeting before the event and told us the course was two 60 km loops. My speedo showed 82 k's when I returned after the first loop with the half way mark at 42 k's. Did these guys not pre-ride the course?? Rick also mentioned at least 12 times that it was not a race!!!! If they made enduros like this one it would be mint.  130 BIKES IN THE PITS  A FEW OF THE BOYS GET TOGETHER.  COL PULLS IN AFTER LAP TWO.  COL WANTED TO KNOW IF THE UTE MADE HIS ARSE LOOK BIG. That's my version of the events. If anyone wants to email me something I will add it. Tiger's report - [Capel 200: The Paddy Ride Report]-------------- Another Capel loomed; with the abundance of rain and my lack of mud riding experience - there a some fear and trepidation of the day ahead. My last (and really only) muddy ride was on the Powerlines, where I spent half the day sliding down the track on my arse .. but that was then ... A beautiful sunny day, perfect conditions, a nice calming talk from on the little "60km" loop trail ride ahead by Rick Gill, a reminder from Pretz on the RTRA, a sea of Crusties in the crowd ... it's all good. I took off towards the back of the pack, nearly fell off in the boggy sand at the start. Now that would have been embarrassing ... phew! Straight into really tight single-track - jeez, no point in easing your way into it. Before the ride, I'd been given the tip of wearing some disposable gloves under your normal gloves to keep your hands dry and grippy in the wet. 20 mins in I had to pull over - took off the gloves and about 2 litres of sweat poured out - I was dehydrating through my hands! Cancel that tip. This ride was full on, seriously tight single-track, even the logging trails were really bumpy from all the traffic, I was even enjoying the muddy sections, nice and steady - tough but really good fun. Was mostly on my own due to my ... ahem .. individual speed. Been on my own was strange, eerie even when you're used to a Crusty ride which has plenty of regrouping. But soon I had the company of thousands as I rounded a corner to see the line-up for the river and a grand final sized crowd on the far bank. Great! last time I did a river crossing was on a West Coast ride, and about 2cm across I took a swan dive into the river. A repeat performance before a crowd like this and I might have to stay under! Watched a couple of guys go across. Jeez, that's farking deep! Ah well, no point in waiting ... front wheel into the river ... followed the other guys lines to the mm and made it across slow and steady, and up the bank. Woo hoo! Met Roley coming back from his swim at the next creek. Cliff was there, one of his mates was on the other side on a brand new 450 ... contemplating the horror of drowning it. Tipped out my full boots, and I took off happy with my new found creek crossing truimph. Passed over Baboons creek, rode along another bit .. and then came across a section of about 100m of flooded track, thinking .... "I'm the water crossing king, a little flooded track is no drama" ... ride along keeping left, 50m in ... no worries, "how good am I?" ... then the front wheel disappeared into the mother of all bogholes, closely followed by the back wheel. DOH!. Stuck! Spent 20 mins in that hole, before Jeremy (RTRA guy) and another sweep came along and pulled me out, thanks!. Then they built a log barrier to ensure nobody else would follow the same fate. Fiona came along on the pocket rocket 200, and with a little push over a log she was off into the horizon. Fiona definitely gets my vote for ROTD! Came across another really muddy section, decided to watch a few guys first to get the line as there was already a couple stuck in the middle. Pulled over to the side, as an eager KTM rider was itching to go... he took off going much quicker than most others, jeez, he's pretty handy ... then he did a lovely pirouette and went head first into the mud ... HAHA .. now that was funny. I remember riding along thinking, man this is the longest 60kms I've ever rode! Then going along this single track, bounced over a few logs .. "this looks familiar?" .. it was the "Hero" section from a previous Capel. Managed to get stuck on one of the logs, so much for my hero status. Finally made it back, the guy stamped my card, and said if you're going back out you've got about 20 mins ... mmmm ... maybe not, I've paid my dues to the mud gods, and I'm completely rooted!. Talked to Cliffy back at the camp, who said he clocked 78km on the loop, and he reckoned he had the front wheel in the air for at least 10km. :-) Well done to all who went around again! That was by far the toughest ride I've done, but also the most rewarding. Roll on next year! A few comments from Col Mc - Umm, now i have had time to reflect on Sundays efforts, i thought i would share my memories. Cramp in the groin for 1/2 of lap 2 and the mozzy bites on my hands. Roll on next year! Or maybe what a great day out that was, that brought back some memories of some of the tough Mid Wales enduros. The first lap was totally top tastic, as the ground was still relatively unscathed. I was surprised at just how tight some places were and being as they were also pretty fresh tracks, made for a few unexpected trips into the bush. But i give credit to the organisers for laying out a course with not too much of anything. You had a few kms of tight followed by open stuff to get your breath back. The river crossing rightly proved a popular viewing spot and judging by the quivering backsides on more than a few riders, must have been a first for many. After Colin B's glasses fell apart and we lost Roley to the water monster, we rode as a group of 3, with Andrea along for company. We are of similar ability and that meant few hold ups along the way. The long section of sandy berms amongst the trees are what makes that event stand out. I was having so much fun trying to go as fast as i could round them. As others have commented, the run to the first check point seemed to go on for ever and i was glad of a breather when we got there. It was also one of the few opportunities to catch back up to DaveM and Orry, or were riding a whole different pace to us. The second part of lap seem uneventful, other than the very last deep sand left hand corner about 400m from the finish, where i think all 3 of us over shot it, with Peter B snapping away with the camera. I was surprised how long it had taken for the lap and how much the paddock had thinned out by. In fairness it was longer and more technical than most Rallies i have been on and if it was aimed at attracting newbies or inexperienced riders in, then i am sure one lap was plenty for them. I was a bit worried about fuel, as the Gasser was down to about 1lt left in the tank and i had to sponge a drop of DaveM to ensure i was topped right off. So a group of 5 set off for lap 2 and before you even got out of the paddock you could see the course had been roughed up. The first section of tight rocky stuff had my arms starting to pump and it made for an exciting few kms til it sorted itself out and i just rode at the back at my own pace. Then we got to the first of the wet sections and some logs had been placed across the main track and you were sent off to the right. But this had got dug out and a guy was stuck right in front of me and seemed in no hurry to get moving. Thank goodness for the weight and low slung proportions of the Gasser, as it was easy to lift the bike out of the rut and ride round the stuck rider. It was after this that Andrea started his amazing crashing man routine, as he went out front and seemed to crash about every 100m, til he was blowing hard and looking a bit hot and bothered. The river was dispatched with no hassle and we were off again. The course rode totally differently in the second lap, as 150 odd bikes and really soft ground meant that a bunch of holes, bumps, ruts and other obsticles appeared and most were water filled. Even the sandy section in the trees had loads more bumps and a few boggy sections. In fairness the boggy sections were all passible, but it paid to take a few seconds to pick a line that was less deep and muddy. The run to the first check seemed to go much quicker this time round, perhaps as a result of not hanging about at the river crossing and with far fewer riders on the course. A last regroup and we were off to the finish. Almost straight after the check point i got cramp in both my groins and that slowed me down for @10kms, as it hurt really badly and would not go away. I got a break at the fence line next to the paddock on the right, as first Col B got himself tangled in the leccy fence and Andrea dug himself in. We had spotted 2 bikes buried axle deep in the main ruts and we had decided to turn round and find another route. I am still not quite sure how his bike ended up on the floor, with a leccy fence wrapped round his back wheel, but it was class entertainment watching him try to recover it. And so on towards the end and the cheeky hill climb with the 2 logs across it, again had me glad i brought the Gasser, as another rider stopped in front of the 2nd log with me right behind him. With no run up and the log right in front of me i wondered what to do. But a 2nd gear start and a whiff of clutch and the front wheel just floating up and over the log and i was off. Clearly the Gasser trials heritage did the trick as opposed to my ham fisted efforts. I took my one tumble of the event on the 2nd to last boggy section and have the foot peg mark in the leg to prove it. Then onto the very last boggy section, where i had my route all marked out, that involved criss crossing the main ruts to avoid the deepest stuff. That worked til i clipped a blackboy and dropped into a deep rut and had to fight to pull the bike out. Thank goodness for the steady run to the finish. So my summary. That was a game of 2 halfs. The first loop was straight forward enough, if a little longer and more technical than i had expected. The second loop was challenging for sure and would not have been many peoples cup of tea. I do not suppose you get many rides like that 2nd loop in WA. The combination of wet, boggy, rutty ground just isn't found here i suppose, but gave me a reminder of what i left behind in Pomland (and in fairness had hoped not to see again). It was a nice feeling to have completed that and faced the challenge successfully. Whether i would have wanted to that against the clock, i am not sure. But 2 laps like that would make for a very decent enduro. A long day and the journey home was painful as the groin cramps were there the whole way back. So i appologise if any saw me rubbing myself in an inappropriate way whilst driving, but it hurt like hell. And the mozzies had a feast on my hands! |
