Newsletter – February 2013 Part 2

APC 14 day rally – Some interesting changes!!

In this year’s rally there will be “easy” and “hard” sections covering the same territory that riders will get to choose. When riding the course they will be able to select how technical they want the riding.  The way we are going to manage this is by having the GPS
units loaded with the routes as follows:

• Route A – easy
• Route B – easy
• Route B – hard
• Route C – easy
• Route C – med

In this example you can see how route “A” is easy so all riders will complete it. Then they will get to route “B” and see a “hard” or “easy” option they would then refer to their track notes to see why we have graded it has hard and then make their own decision.

For riders who complete all the hard sections we will give a “gold” completion medal. For riders who complete more than two hard sections we will give a silver medal and then a rider who finishes the event on the easy sections we will give a bronze medal.

There is a good chance that some hard sections could be cancelled by the organiser due to weather and if this occurs that stage will be neutralised.

A rider will need to volunteer to enter a hard section, remember it’s a non supported ride so if you get somewhere you can’t get out of it’s not the organiser’s responsibility to retrieve your bike.

The track notes will have far more detail then previous years so riders can make informed decisions. We want everyone to have a good time and we don’t want to turn away riders who just want to have a good ride and not bash there machinery or themselves up too much. They can simply take the easy options and still have a great ride. The riders who plan on going for “Gold” should be ready for a real challenge so far two APC rally recce riders have had to retire from the course when we were doing the pre run.

MILDURA starting point has been changed to Menindee  -  Sorry for the change there was a 1000 km of ordinary track that just wasn’t good enough.

N.S.W 4 day 21st Feb 2013   Sold out

The pubs have been booked and the team have been down pre running.

Most riders will arrive on the Wednesday night and have dinner and a few beers at the Imperial Hotel at 1 Station Street, Mt Victoria the rally team have booked rooms so just show up to the reception and I will be there with my laptop ready to load your GPS unit. We will all share rooms at the pubs so I will help co-ordinate this. I will be there at 4-00 pm till 10-00 pm loading GPS units in the lobby. There is a vacant car park next to the pub you will just need to make sure nothing valuable is left in the open. It could pay to bring a lock for the trailer chain if you are coming in a car.

You will need to make sure you have a full tank of fuel. You will need a 230 km fuel range, I will have a 12 litre bladder of fuel on the
sweep bike if you run out.

1. Mt Victoria – Tuena – 210km – Imperial Hotel
2. Tuena- Murrumbateman – 155km – Overnight stay (Murrumbateman Country Inn O2 6227 5802)
3. Murumbateman – Talbinga – 211km
4. Talbinga – Corryong – 122km
5. Corryong – Benambra – 143km – over night stay (Benambra Hotel 03 51599214)
6. Benambra – Jindabyne – 200km
7. Jindabyne – Cooma – 92km
8. Cooma – Majors Creek – 135km – Overnight stay( Majors Hotel) 02 4846 1145
9. Majors Creek – Braidwood – 23km
10. Braidwood – Sutton Forest  – 145km
11. Sutton – Mt Victoria – 220km – The Imperial Hotel, 1 Station Street, Mt Victoria – 02 47871878

GEAR GUIDE

Here is the gear list i would recommend:

1. Rain suite or rain jacket and pants
2. Jeans, shoes, 2 t shirts, 3 jocks, 3 pairs of socks, polar fleece jumper, shorts ( stored in dry sack)
3. Goggles
4. Hat
5. Sunglasses
6. Camera
7. Pressure bandage
8. Torch (keep small)
9. Cigarette lighter
10. Leatherman
11. Spanners and levers to change a tyre if required
12. Riding gear
13. If your riding gear has no knee protection, I would suggest you get at least some cheap ones
14. Mobile Phone, charger both in zip lock plastic bags in case you go underwater
15. Camel back
16. Tow strap
17. Spare front tyre tube
18. Ear plugs
19. Notebook and pen
20. Zip ties, small piece of tie wire, quick steel
21. Small can of chain lub

Daily Routine “What you can expect”

Out of bed at about 5-30 am, if there is no breakfast where we stay we will try to be on the bike and riding by 6-30. If there is breakfast we will try to be going by 7-30 am. Riders should always fill up with enough fuel to do 220 km whenever they see a fuel station. Riders should always fuel their bikes at the end of each day and lube the chain. The sweeps will always be at the back of the group to help with trouble. If a rider gets lost they should phone John Hudson 0414 457 455 and stay static for at least 20 minutes if they cannot make contact they should get to the nearest town and then start riding to the overnight stop and send a text to advise what they are doing.

All riders shall receive help from the sweeps if the sweep feels that a rider does not have the experience to complete the course safely, the sweep will pull the rider aside and ask them to return to the start for their own safety. They will be helped return to the start and the rider will receive a full refund.

If a rider breaks down the sweeps will try to get the bike going or tow it to the closest town ship. The rider will then be responsible for their own recovery. The APC team will try to help wherever possible but it must be understood that they cannot leave the course and their key role is to provide communication to emergency services in the case of an accident. Both sweeps are carrying satellite phones.

Emergency Action Plan

If a rider is involved in accident the riders with them should perform the following actions.

1. Provide immediate first aid ( Ask about allergies).
2. If the rider needs to be evacuated a 000 phone call needs to be made as quickly as possible. If there is no phone reception another rider needs to be sent back to the sweep
   that has a sat phone.
3. When an ambulance arrives other riders should make sure that the injured rider has there wallet, cloths bag, phone and charger with them. John Hudson will then advise the
   Next of kin by phone as to where the rider is being taken.
4. The sweeps will then make sure that the rider’s bike is put in safe storage on the course.

Bike Setup for 4 day rides

• Show up with new nobby tyres and have 28psi if it is a big bike. If it is a 690 or 650 I would recommend 22psi.
• You don’t need camping gear. Travel light so your bike is not too heavy to pick up.

QLD 4 day March 21st

We are still taking entries for this ride if you are keen I would recommend sending an entry soon.