In March you could actually walk the
bikes across on your own as the clay
bank on the right was in good con-
dition. That had deteriorated and it
took a bit more maneuvering to get
the bikes across, slowly edging for-
ward bit by bit.
Exhausted but beaming from ear
to ear we sat down for a good 20 min-
utes before we continued. Everyone
was pumped and in high spirits.
There was a constant drizzle which
kept the temperature down. In
March the heat was stifling and we
were all at risk of heat exhaustion.
Give me more fucked up trails any
day than that heat!
We were all pretty knackered now,
it had taken us 4 hours to go only 20
kilometres. This trail is very remote
and due to the condition of the trail
meant it would take a long time to
get help if something went wrong.
So that meant lots of rests and water
breaks.
We had one more hill-climb and
descent to go, and then an easy 20km
of single track and small climbs as
we dropped down towards Chipat.
We got to the bottom and had a swim
in a cool mountain stream. Everyone
was pretty much spent, so we relaxed
for a bit letting the water rush over
us. It had been an epic ride so far
and Ian and the boys where over the
moon; man hugs all around, saying
“it was the best riding of their lives;
A true adventure!”
Hearing that makes the job so re-
warding and it’s great to be part of
this.
The hill climbs were over and it
was mainly single track now, which
was very overgrown with loads of
vines stretching across the track
ready to catch you unaware and you
had to be careful not to garrote your-
self. In many ways, today was like a
video game with the different levels
of the game being all the challenges
we faced.
The next challenge was the Bam-
boo stage! It got so thick in places
that we had to literally lie the bikes on
the side and pull/push them through.
You have to be careful riding through
this stuff, I’ve impaled various limbs
in the past due to these thickets being
cut to get through them … an exag-
geration but you had to be careful as
they were vicious. We finally got back
to civilisation (sort of) and a welcome
rain shower greeted us into the quiet
riverside village of Chipat. We were
so tired that night we could barely eat
and before we know it we were out
for the count.
The following day was a long
TRAVERSE
33
day. We checked the bikes over in
the morning, changing a few brake
pads and bleeding the brakes. After
a hearty breakfast we crossed the
rapids near Chipat and were soon
charging through slippery single
track and dense, overgrown jungle.
There were a few little climbs and
some river crossings, but nothing like
yesterday. For the most part the rid-
ing was fast and exhilarating.
Some sections had got really
bogged down and we battled through
the mud and ruts. We stopped off
at Kamlot for a rest and to free up