Normally March is hot and dusty. If we go on tour, we can often be found swimming during the day to cool off, sometimes wearing full riding gear. Not this week, this year.

Don and I needed to scope some tracks between Mitta Mitta and Omeo for the Blast to the Beach, so I drove to Omeo (1.5 hrs in the car), unloaded and rode another 70 k’s or so on the bike to meet him at Lightning Creek.

The route followed the GAR (Great Alpine Road), but to avoid some twisty bitumen around the Blue Duck I went via the Knocker. It’s above the snow line and remember how you can’t trust the weather in the high country?

Sunny in the valleys, raining in the mountains. As I had a long day ahead, I stopped early to fit the raincoat to prevent a wet uncomfortable day. Being a half - sucked - twistie, I had to be cautious.

The first 70 k’s was transport so if I got wet I would get cold. Once wet and cold it’s not much fun.

Along the way though, there were things to keep me warm. I must have just missed this tree falling as I’d seen a vehicle towing a horse trailer coming the other way not far back.

I had to fashion a little ramp from logs and branches to make it over this one. If I’d been riding the lithe 250 I might have had a go at jumping it and actually took a run up at it with the intention of doing that on the 450, but thoughts of stuffing it up and crashing, getting stuck under the enormous and heavy fuel tank caused a bout of pea - heart - syndrome. So at the last minute I gutted out and only rode onto the log, where I dismounted half way and rolled it over.

The dose of pea - heart was not unwarranted. Despite my usual state of preparedness, I was riding alone, which is in breach of my usual rule number one.

Sure, I had my mobile phone, but it was tuned to ‘won’t work here ‘cause no - one lives here so Telstra don’t care’.

My UHF in helmet comms set up was tuned to ‘big hills in the way in all directions and nobody can hear me’.

My GME Personal Locating Beacon was in my Camelbak, ready to spring into action in case of emergency - just needing someone conscious to set it off …………..

So I took it easy.

I caught up with Don at Lightning Creek and we set off on some cool tracks that don’t see much vehicular traffic. So much so that there was a giant toad stool farm in the middle of the track.

The normally very placid Lightning Creek was up due to the recent rain, but despite it’s 12 crossings it wasn’t too bad and we hardly got wet.

The tracks were in ace condition and some had seen a bulldozer recently. The Four Mile - Eight Mile tracks were just grouse, turned to Mega Loam.

Don turned up with a sad looking rear tyre and when he got stuck on a particularly steep and slippery hill we contemplated going the other way.

After hearing him bitch and moan repeatedly over the UHF, I went back to check out the commmotion. We swapped bikes, to give him a go on mine with a newish back tyre.

I rode his to the top and waited.

Not long after I heard more bitching and moaning, so back down I went to see if my bike was still in one piece. After being told to harden the f&%k up, he pulled it together and rode his bike up easily.

Despite the impasse, he later declared that track to be possibly the best track he had ever ridden. Big call, but it was way cool.

Later on we checked out the Mitta river near Omeo, which was in flood and a dirty brown colour.

We rode on to Omeo and met up with a young bloke called Arty, who had offered to show us some cool tracks around Omeo. He was a great guide and was fast, despite starting and finishing with a fully flat rear tyre.

Some of Arty’s tracks were a little overgrown and rutted from the rain.

We cruised over to the Blue Duck via some back tracks and checked out our lodgings for night one of the Blast to the Beach. The place is being remodelled by new owners Mike and Lana and is looking way better than before.

250 odd K’s and the day was done, with Don having to cruise back via the Omeo Highway and me to Omeo. It was time well spent though and both the Yack to Omeo and Blast to the Beach tours are shaping up to be Epics.

If you’re coming on one of these, don’t be fooled, they are both long and arduous rides. Longer than any of our previous adventures with plenty of challenging terrain. Start training and include some 200 km plus rides into your regime.