The tracks rose at quite an alarming gradient here, really designed just for walking or specialised 4wd vehicles, and are not well suited to fully laden adventure bikes. Unfortunately Gary found this out the hard way today. With slopes exceeding 60 degrees, it's essential to gauge how much momentum is needed to hit a crest in one pass. Stopping mid slope can only lead to flipping over or sliding backwards. Gary experienced the latter option today, not hitting a slope fast enough and finding himself at a standstill three quarters of the way up the slope. This momentary pause was followed by the terrible feeling of 250kg of machinery sliding backwards,
Gary's initial concern quickly escalated in octaves, ending in a squeal of "F#%£ F¥#%"' silence, then a much calmer "I'm off". To avoid the bike accelerating any further, Gary had done the only sensible thing and simply jumped off. We recovered his bike from the deep rut, dusted poor old Gary off, and continued up the mountain.
A pause for breath at the top of the mountain yielded an unpleasant surprise. I had squatted down to rest and enjoy the view, then lifted my eyes to see a horrifying sight right in from of me. With a healthy dose of arachnophobia, this was indeed a worst-case scenario, and the specimen in front of us defied belief. Suspended from a web that could have been used as a ship's anchor, this beast was too heavy to sway in the mountain breeze, instead focusing all of its attention on scaring the bejesus out of unwary motorcyclists. Ty ventured closer for a photo, and the blurriness in the photo can be attributed to the sharp shove that had him scrambling rapidly backwards.
The trip back down the other side of the mountain was no less exhilarating, with concrete plateaus suddenly falling away and leaving both bike and stomach suspended momentarily before both crashed back to earth. The days ride did cause some casualties, with one of Gary's panniers split open, and a sheared exhaust bolt and broken side stand spring on my bike. Only Ty emerged unscathed (today).
