The shrinking numbers of riders left Neil and I
too tackle Stromlo alone...at
night....ooohhhwweeeeeeooooohhhh...
They have changed the old dirt
Stromlo Forrest carpark
I used to rally through as a kid in my old Torana
:) You now park just off the Cotter Road (about 2kms
west down the Cotter Road from the
Parkway)
There was heaps of other cars there, filled with
joggers and other health freaks like us, so I felt right
at home :) Neil set the course west over the Urriara
Crossing road, we found some flat, but challenging little
walking trails along the way, but set our course for the
Stromlo Observatory hill, about 5kms west from the
carpark.
The climb to the top was via fire trails,
then a wicked little 'goat track' as Neil called it.
It was very steep and rocky, walking was a must, and
I was beginning to doubt we would make it back down
at all as it was a very steep drop off the side if
you made any mistakes!
At the top we found a
'private property' gate that led into the Stromlo
Observatory land, this was to be the start point for a
memorable downhill.....
The steep and rocky bit was
awesome fun, our skill set has definiteley picked up as
we whipped though it in no time at all, hitting the
fire trail at the bottom at speed, the confidence was
booming. It was the fastest rough downhill we've managed
yet, at the fire trail we headed back east towards the
cars in search of more little tracks for fun when Neil
spotted an old unmaintained firetrail and we took off,
cruising the relativeley wide, but rough (erosion gullies
and rocks abound) trail at over 40km/h, I was tailing
Neil, keeping a good 30m or so between us to give me
clear sight at the track. Out of the corner of my eye I
spotted it, bounding blindly toward Neil, there was no
time for warnings. The roo lept out in front of him,
causing him to look up and brake, taking his eyes of the
road for a moment. The erosion gulley was only 2
inches deep, but once he had the front tire in, it was
steering for him :( That would have normally been
recoverable if it wasn't for the rock that the front tire
hit, sending his front wheel sideways toward the side
of track...
Full lock on both wheels would
have reduced impact speed to around 30km/h. The tree
was unforgivoring and immobile as he made the
judgement to put himself infront of the bike as he slid
sideways toward it.....the dust and high speed impact of
the bike and Neil made my stomach drop, I had no idea
where we were, a quick look around revealed the Urriara
Crossing Rd in front of us. I thought I'd be on the mobile
getting the ambo's for sure, but Neil stumbled to his
feet, the first thing he had to check, was the bike
ofcourse! Butthead!
The bike was fine, but he was
worse for wear. No broken bones (I hope that collar
bone is ok buddy), but one hell of a sore shoulder and
scratches on the arm, leg and helmet. Neil had survided his
first 30 km/h encounter with a tree. A feat I have no
need to see repeated!
The legendary crash left
his front tire flat and us with a 4 km walk back to
the cars :) Still, I am impressed he managed
that!
Overall an excellent ride (apart from the dramatic
finish!), just keep your eye out for roos! A better
starting point would have been closer to the back road to
Urriara Crossing as it was closer to the more fun parts
of the ride.
We'll be back in the forrest in
Febuary, but up the Northern End, starting from the
Aquarium.
Time: 1:07 (had to walk back!)
Dist: 9.47
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