Cairns to Karumba, Dirty Boys and Besties. By Brendan Coombs

Transcription

1 Cairns to Karumba, Dirty Boys and Besties. By Brendan Coombs This is a story about the C2K Dirty Boys 2016 but it all started way before that. I am an Aussie and I live in PNG with my wife and our kids live in Brisbane with our dog. We have a small resort called Driftwood in Milne Bay Province which we all get to each year if we can. I took up riding in 2011 but had a year off with a nerve problem in my leg. I got back on the bike in 2014 and did my longest ride ever on the Cairns to Cooktown ride. I signed up for Pack 10 but ended up joining Pack 6 with a couple of other PNG based riders. In 2015 I signed up to be a road rider in Pack 4 on C2K and trained pretty hard. Anyone that knows the ride will know that you spend the first day and a half pretty much free riding and I suffered from the delusion that the way I felt on Day 1 and the speed I went at would be sustainable across the whole ride. I was near the front arriving into Mareeba and Atherton and was killing it. The ride to Atherton had a classic headwind and when I looked behind me, there was a line of about 40 people all tucked in. I remember a guy with a big red cross on his shirt and thinking he was a medic. The medic led for a while as did one or two other guys. Anyway, on day 2 we rode as a pack for a while and I could see that Pack 4 was not for me. We had a free ride again into Ravenshoe on a cold and wet day and I had decided to join Pack 3 (after a mishap in the gents toilet which is well known to some). To cut a long story short, I met John Williams of Brinsmead and Marco Scaglia of somewhere near Brinsmead when we decided to get a humpy at Mt Garnet together with a couple of other chaps from Pack 3. We had a great Pack and from that day forward we were the only pack to always go en masse to the pub before the campsite and we became very close friends. Our group included the likes of Ettore (ET) who drove Marco s van and was our lead driver, Geraldine whose daughter was doing dirty boys but she volunteered to be our packs following

2 support driver, Kerrie and Leslie who I ride with in Brissy from time to time, Fats, Mich, Bronny and Geoff in Melbourne. Geoff is riding Melbourne to Cairns later in the year. We all got on famously and it was the best group of people and the most fun you could have riding on the road for 8 hours a day! The medic turned out to be Marco who is Swiss and takes great pleasure in wearing his country s flag. By sheer coincidence, Marco and John met on the Cairns to Cooktown (in Pack 10) the year I changed to Pack 6. They met Kerrie and Leslie on that ride too and Llew Davies was the Pack 10 Leader on that ride, so it was an aligning of the planets that we all met and bonded so well. So to Dirty Boys.. Llew has done the ride 9 times and, as Williams of Brinsmead works for him and took up riding on his encouragement, he decided to register and exulted Marco and I to join him. Marco did this in the blink of an eye and I took my time. In the end we all purchased MTB s and Marco and John got right into riding the world class trails around Cairns. For those of you who are mildly interested, John got a second hand Giant aluminium frame, I got a second hand Giant Anthem and Marco got a mandarin Scott with mandarin hubs to match his mandarin riding gear. (It s fecking orange man!) So, Cairns to Karumba on an MTB. I am not an experienced single track rider and I was quite concerned about how I would cope with a multiday ride on unknown terrain. I should not have worried We met at Brinsmead (John s place) at 5am on the morning of the start of the ride and with Alyssa, Marco s wife, driving the Pajero and carrying our gear to the RSL (and picking up brekky on the way), the three Amigos set off for the Esplanade. This was the first time I had ridden my bike with new tyres and I immediately wondered what the hell I was thinking I was knackered going up the first hill. When we arrived at the RSL, Elissa had already coaxed a bystander to load our gear on the bus and was waiting with coffee and some traditional bacon, egg and cheese muffins. Ok McMuffins! After a short goodbye we took our place in the hubbub at the starting gate and on the instruction to move, yours truly got his pedal caught in the power cable and almost won the first Wally award. A gentle cycle to the end of the Esplanade and we loaded up our bikes, jumped in our bus and headed to Davies Creek for our first day of riding.

3 Like the Masons and such we are sworn not to talk too much about the traditions and rituals of Dirty Boys, but herbal remedies are passed around immediately upon ingress to the bus. The ride is followed by a vehicle, driven by a tall aloof character, whose sole job is to keep right behind the riders to ensure that, at every break, a supply of ales and treats are available. So we headed off from Davies Creek on a single track for a few kms and then proceeded to ride to Tinaroo Dam. We climbed over 1200m on a loose gravel road, stopping for morning tea at a lake that is part of a venture by a cooperative who are setting up private camping sites and nurturing the natural attractions in the area. It is between Davies and Emerald Creeks and will be something special. The Mt Molloy State School put on lunch at Emerald Creek and it was, in a word, amazing. BBQ, pizza, cakes, tea, coffee and homemade fruit drinks to die for. It was a struggle to leave them as they are such a hospitable group. The C2K has raised money for Mt Molloy which has been used to create a teaching garden and the purchase of a pizza oven. Money is now being provided to set up an indoor/outdoor classroom to go along with the garden and the kitchen. The rest of the day was taken up making our way to Tinaroo, a swim in the Barron headwaters, a few more medicinal ales and a bus ride into Atherton. Day 2 and we had to make our way to Mt Garnet. Two groups were formed, one doing an extra 20k and an extra 400m of climbing. I chose the shorter ride, simply because I had no idea what I was in for I did not want to run out of steam for the remaining 5 days. It was a very pleasant ride through the picturesque Silver Valley. We came out a little short of the Innot Hot Springs and availed ourselves of a drink at the pub and a nice sit down in the very warm water. It was a great way to finish the day and tired legs felt so much better afterwards. We stayed that night at the Mr Garnet Rodeo Grounds and Golf Course. We had access to a shed with beds, shower, toilet and fire place. Although pretty much everyone in our group camped

4 outside the shed, we really appreciated the hot shower and toilet and the lovely ladies from Emmett set up their table inside and we all got some niggling aches and pains looked at. The Mt Garnett School put on a duo singing a range of songs around the same vintage of majority of riders who were just fantastic. When we were walking over to dinner, we all thought it was a DJ, only to find a man and a woman bashing out classics from The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Cold Chisel and other great bands from the 70 s and 80 s (mainly). This was dinner at Mt Garnet, all the food groups covered!

5 Next day we were off to Mt Surprise and we started riding in the terrain we would encounter for the rest of the trip sand, bulldust, cow pats, four wheel drive tracks, washouts, creek beds (dry mostly) and the odd swamp. This was one of the tougher days riding and was to end with a group going on to ride the last 20km on the old train tracks right into Mt Surprise. A series of short delays and a few times getting us lost saw everyone finishing 20kms out of town and taking the bus into Mt Surprise, something the road riders point out whenever they get a chance. I had my first stack 400m from the bus, just goes to show you have to concentrate all the way. Day 4 we are head off to Georgetown. On this occasion we got to ride out of town and spend a wonderful day on the back roads and farm tracks towards Georgetown. Morning tea was provided by the owners of a cattle station and bike races with the bush kids. One of our riders had a bad stack and broke his collar bone and took no further part in the ride but stayed on with his family. The highlight of the day was a ride to a gorge and a swim in a pool on XYZ property. The owner still does everything the traditional way on horseback and no mechanical devices. Georgetown is a big day for the Cairns to Karumba with the main street being blocked off and a handicap race between each packs best rider where the riders are auctioned off to raise the prize money and for fund raising. A dirty boys rider won the race and the winnings went to make all drinks the next day free; apparently the best single day s takings on record.

6 After packing and loading the bus we headed off towards Croydon. Some heart starting tipples and then off the road to start our ride for the day. Another day of farm tracks, soft sand, washouts, creek beds and cow pats. We rode as a group through some beautiful countryside, stopping for breakfast beer, second breakfast and morning tea. Lunch was beside a spring fed creek and included a refreshing dip. The Savannah Lander does a trip out of Croydon for those who want to sample the old railmotor so when we got back to the highway, about half the riders boarded the bus and headed off to meet the train and the rest of us did another 30km into Croydon. My friend John had two spectacular superman esc offs on this section, both related to someone in front having difficulty. It was a lovely ride at the base of an escarpment and then on the back roads into Croydon. Sparky performed a set at the Croydon showgrounds and the Dirty Boys dished out the food. It was a fun time and even though there was not enough to feed us when we had finished, everyone enjoyed the ample portions and the banter. Next morning we rode.. the bus out of Croydon and went to the Tabletop Station. What a wonderful day. We did a ride around the property that the owner had cut out especially for us. It was an out and back ride and unbeknown to us the out included a tail wind. Coming back was tough.

7 We then went for another swim then lunch provided by the station. We were treated to homemade sausages, damper, stew, mince, cakes, sandwiches and more. It was delicious. You can really see how much the Cairns to Karumba fundraising means to these people by the welcome we receive, it is inspiring. Back on the bus and into the Normanton Rodeo Grounds. Definitely the hardest ground on the trip to put in a tent peg but nice hot showers, an amazing last dinner prepared by the Navy chefs and a big thank you to all the organisers, volunteers, cooks, transport and bus drivers, movers and shakers. The effort all these people put in to make the ride so safe and successful is nothing short of amazing. A good night s sleep and next morning we were off bright and early to get a group photo in front, on and around the big crock. From there we ride all the way to Karumba via the salt pans and crossing the Normanton river by ferry. It was a great ride, where one of those things happens that you only get on the Dirty Boys. A small group of us got away a bit slowly and found ourselves out the back. We decided we would mount a charge every time we came across a fellow straggler. This went on kilometre after kilometre and we were just having a ball. The unweary victims of the charge were taken by surprise but in good humour. What we did not know was that each small group would tag onto the charge and by the time we got near the river we had 30+ riders swooping down on the unsuspecting riders. A beer on the crossing is part of the fare and then a short ride into Karumba accompanied by hundreds of wallabies which, when excited, would fly across our path. Several people had close calls and apparently the year before a couple of people were hit at full speed. We regrouped with the roadies at the Karumba Golf Club and, as one, we rode the final couple of k s, crossing the finish line and rejoicing in our success but really we could have just done it again. We watched the sunset and had the famous fish and chips and a drink or three before hitting the hay and rising at 4.30 for the drive back. Llew Davies provided two support vehicles for the ride and we were able to take them back to Cairns in slightly worse shape than when they started.

8 My beasties were John, Marco, Llew, Bevan, Chris and Adam. We plan on doing further rides together including Cairns to the Cape. It is hard to get onto the Dirty Boys but it is not impossible and anyone who likes a mixture of tough riding and disciplined partying should give it a go.

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