Damn! Here I am at work reading everyone's stories and checking out the photos and reliving the weekend.
I don't know what I can add to what's already been said - that has to have been about the best Classic Dirt yet. For me, CD1 (or CD2000 as it was) will remain the best - simply because it was the first. I had never been to such a thing and to be confronted by acres of ground littered with bikes, parts and people the like of which I hadn't seen for years was like being a kid let loose in a toy shop. Combined with superb weather, and well... it was just beyond description.
However, this year's event was every bit as good. Superb location, brilliant weather, fantastic tracks, and lots of people and bikes. How good was it?
This year I tried to get around and see things and people I hadn't managed to last year, so I went off to watch some of the riding on the two tracks from different viewing locations. What a blast seeing all the different bikes being put through their paces. Including some pretty fast people on the Pre 75 track! I went down to the trials sections and watched for a bit as well as checked out a mate's efforts on his TY175, and followed that up with a few minutes watching the enduro guys heading off into the mulga.
A decent wander through the camping ground and how many tents and bikes are there? I couldn't believe the size of it all. And enduro bikes. They were everywhere, it was like being at an enduro back in the early 80s.
I caught up with quite a few forum regulars and finally met Brent from the NT. He even let me take his TM125 for a spin, although I failed to get out on his TT500. Next time. Speaking of riding OP's bikes, I was offered a lot of rides but didn't manage to take up on anywhere near all of them. There just isn't enough time!
This year being in good health meant I got to ride the big track at a decent pace and I loved it. My dislike of jumps meant I didn't clear Drunks, but the rest of the track was brilliant. Who couldn't love the downhill blast after drunks, or that squirt up the hill followed by the neat drop off? Or that magic sweeper into the table top before the last big jump? WFO on a 125 through there is just a ball!
The poor old 75 RM125 was well outgunned though - I lost count of the number of times guys on Evo and Pre 85 Open Classers brake checked me, blockpassed me, or just plain roosted the crap out of me. One guy in particular on a KX500 nearly wore the little RM when he decided to take me on the inside into a tight corner, but I saved the day by simply running over the berm and then flailing wildly to stay upright and get back onto the track. Some may say that's just my normal riding style, but I kept it shiny side up, OK?
I could be wrong, but there didn't appear to be too many 1975 or older bikes out on that track. A few, especially someone going way too fast on an old Elsinore of some description, but not many at all. It was Evo/pre 85 city, just like Firko reckons.
Unlike last year, Me and Twisty decided to make it more than just an old dirtbike weekend, so we stayed offsite at some cabins down the road and enjoyed ourselves doing the breakfast in Maleny thing as well as checking out Kenilworth etc. Can't remember the place's name, but the coffee shop in Malenay overlooking the main drag was a great place to sit in the sun and watch the punters streaming through town on their way to the track.
Overall, just the best weekend. Even the long drive there andn back went by in a bit of a blur.
Thanks to all the usual people - the VMX guys, the SCMCC, the people from the P&C, and anyone else involved in organising and running the show. You did yourselves proud.
I'll post up a few photos of my own when I get a chance.
Let's do it again next year!
