1975 or 1976 Qantastic 2 day enduro...Orange although it doesn't look like Orange to me. I guess 1976 was a long time ago and I suppose things have changed a lot.
We have a winner (along with Rodge's cook/local girl
). I pretty sure the photo has been taken facing west in the main street with the photographer at the park in the CBD of Orange.
I took one look at the pixie Mark and I immediately thought 'Qantastic'. But when you said Cessnock it made me think and doubt it. There are similarities in both the main street and the showgrounds. But Orange it is.
IIRC it's the 1976 Qantastic. I think the Qantastic only run 76 and 77. What a great event. I finished, both years, but jeeze I was snookered. I remember doing some looong down hill up around Mt Canobolas on day two and my thighs were stuffed - I couldn't stand up on the pegs to save myself
. Some how I got home 'on time'. I've done some tough enduros; stupid long uphill push/rides up around Taree, pushing across acres of swamp at the Oberon Apex enduro but the Qantrastic snotted me.
Great enduros, great memories. One of my memories is coming flogging over a hill to a three way intersection at the base of a gully. At the same moment a bike came screaming down each of the other roads of the intersection with all of us coming to a screeching dusty halt in the middle of the intersection at the same moment. A quick conflab with much gesturing and flailing of arms and pointing. We each reckon we had the navigation right and we each set off in different directions each swearing that we were right. All quite comical at the time and even now. I don't know what happen to the others but I arrived at the check point on time
.
One of the others riders was Winston Stokes on his Sachs Hercules (I think, Sachs something with it earls forks
). Winston was a pioneer of Enduros having organised the first Cessnock 4 Day. A great guy that welcomed me and my Crew Chief Dad into the enduro world by sharing a beer, some fire and lots of info and encouragement on the night before of the first Cessnock 4 Day. That was the last time I meet Winston. Someone might know better but I believe he died a few years later. I'm not certain of the details.
