Sunday 27 July 2008 - Mooney (short)

Whisperer was competing, Johnbo was studying, Rees is missing in action, Richard is injured, Brian is injured, and others have just disappeared. It was cold, but not as cold as it has been. It was wet, but not pouring down - indeed, most of the ride was in sunshine. It was muddy, but not as muddy as it has been. And, all in all, it was good - but nothing like the Mooney we have come to know and love.

Not real sure what failed us - but Doug, Daniel and Stephe went out to Mooney on a good day, and only just came back happy enough... which is not like the usual feeling at the end of a Mooney ride, of tired bliss. Hmmmm.

After a standard 6.32am start, Doug and Stephe met with Daniel at the closed road signs on the Old Pacific Highway, and drove down to start under the Mooney Mooney bridge. We saddled up and kicked off, stopping at Smartarse Creek along the way to show respect, and slipping and sliding on the wet rocks and muddy trail. The creek crossing was extraordinarily slippery (even Brian wouldn't have made it(!) - although we were upright for at least some of it), and we also quickly paused at the dam for the standard team shot and scenic appreciation...



The climb from the dam turned out to be very challenging indeed, with absolutely no chance of a zero dab climb today (a combination of looser than usual rock, deeper than usual gutters, general dampness, and the fact that at least two of us were tragically unfit for climbing!). But, there was fun to be had on the way down (and some poor attempts as well...), as well as some new flora to check out.



Finally, it was back to the original 'lake' rock garden, and some further playing (with mixed success - Doug looking good, Danny demonstrating how it was done, Stephe not!), and an exit via Smartarse Creek (again with mixed success):



Unfortunately, the profile shows that the whole thing was just a wee bit short, but at least it was a taste of what we need to start working back towards!



Full set of photos (there are quite a few) are up here...