Conongrail / Part 1 / Intro

Dazza's piece

Ever since getting back into dirt bikes after many years away from them, I have always wanted to do more motocross than I could afford or my parents could! My wonderful RM125X in the late 80's was as good as it got at that time. What a great time I had on that old RM!

So, it has finally come to pass, being older (damn it) and now being able to afford the bikes I admired when I was a kid (as they are cheap). Now is as good a time as any! Thus, my mind wandered and pondered, “What event could I do and enjoy these days... Conondale shall be it!”

Especially after spectating a Conondale event in 2009, I have to be there in 2010!

And I shall call my endeavour Conongrail! My holy achievement was to ride in a motocross event. And with less than 6 months to get ready! “Quick, my orifice has to be cleared of my finger!”

Ok then.... mind working overtime; questions, questions! Who is going to go with me? You need someone there, to race against and talk trash before and after the event. My mate Tent and brother in-law Hooter shall be asked as we have done a bit of biking in the past together. They responded with a Tent: “Yeah, how much money will it cost?” and Hooter: “Yep, but I'll need more practice.”

Alrighty, we have a team and as was stated on the Queensland Vintage Motocross Site under the FAQ page: 'How competitive is it? I’m a Gumby rider…' We will be known as “Team Gumby” so look for us at Conondale and prior at QVMX round or two, perhaps wearing special t-shirts or with stickers on our helmets.

Next thing on the list: class we can ride in…sorry, I mean race! Let's face it, as soon as you put a number of bikes together and have a start and finish it’s a race. May not be nationally fast but a race none the less. Off track for a moment! Righto, class to race in... hmm, not much of a choice here. Was planning to ride 2 bikes based on 2009 Conondale – which was held in October (if again in 2010 that’s heaps of time to get ready) but it’s not so; this year it’s in July! CRAP!

Ok, I’ll have to take the Ol' girl - my 1982 Suzuki PE 175, which doesn't help my thought of coming last, as I'll have to go in the Pre85 263cc and lower with a bunch of 250's and my yellow chainsaw-sized engine! Oh well, it's about the Grail; getting into the event and riding, maybe racing some of them (if I push them over at the start and secretly turn some of their fuel taps off!)

Hang on a minute; my mate and brother in law will be going, Tent on a KDX175 and Hooter on a XT250. They'll both be in the same class – meaning competition for me! That's unless they find some coin to purchase a couple of rocket ships that'll make my little banana bike look average... (hopefully not) “Stay, poor fellas,” - until after August 1st anyway!

So bike is chosen, what next? Licences and a club membership. Righto, QVMX gets a new member, maybe 3 new members if I push the other 2 that make up TEAM GUMBY! And motorcycling QLD gets a few of my Colonel Mustards ($50's). It's worth it for the “The Grail”.

Next, we shall hear opinions of the other 2 Gumbies!

Tent's piece

The yearly hunting trip went as usual, plenty of bike riding on the old xr350 chasing down pigs and tearing up the countryside when the pigging was getting a little slow.

The journey home was as uneventful as it was long and we were looking forward to getting home to a nice shower and a good bed. Unbeknown to me I would return to find my vintage racer, (an 81 KDX175) pulled to pieces!

What was this and more importantly how the blazes did it happen?! I remembered my neighbour ( Dazza ) had a key to my shed and a quick text confirmed it. I was on the way to tidying up the Ol girl for Conongrail whether I wanted to or not.

So the journey that Banana Man (Team Gumby Suzuki rider) and I had talked about over coffee late into the nights had finally begun. I am hoping I have the time to get the Green Machine back in shape for the event so Dazza can eat some more dust on the day!!! There is frame powder coating, engine rebuild and tidy up to be done, as well as some fresh paint, a few new shiny bits and pieces plus a new set of plastics required to get her in shape for the big day!!! (Hopefully Dazza hasn’t done too much work on the penis eater (PE) or I may have to eat my words!!!)

I am relatively new to the biking scene, the 85 xr350 being my first bike ("Liar, it was a Smokey Yamaha Ag200" -Dazza) at the age of 25! I am now… a few years older (and wiser I might add) enjoy it and like mixing it up out on the home made tracks or trail riding. Now with the encouragement and pushing and prodding from my neighbour I’ll be able to add 'Vintage MX' to my riding achievements, hopefully finishing a little higher than last and being competitive with the other 2 Team Gumby Riders!

Hooter's piece

Riding, riding, riding, riding, riding... It’s all I can think of these days. I get the same feeling I had when I was a teenager and all I wanted to do was ride my bmx and do crazy stuff. Now all I wanna do is ride my motorbike and get better and faster and do crazy stuff. To think two years ago I had never even ridden a bike, let alone thought of owning my own, and now I got a bike (XT250 - GO Yami’s) and I urge to go fast on it.

I can thank my mate Dazza (now brother in-law) for this addiction (yeah, I blame you). He was the one that inspired me and shared his passion to get into the sport. Dazza and a lot of my mates are very competitive. Whether it’s martial arts or computer games, there is no better feeling than rubbing your awesomeness in their faces. There is also one constant to being so competitive - that there’s always someone there to compete against and that’s your mates. A lot of them are older than me and I do look up to them in a certain way, kinda like the cool kids at school only they’re not cool (especially Dazza) he’s just a better rider than me and all I wanna do is kick his ass in a race.

Conowah? Whatadale? What the hell is Conondale? Ahh, a motocross event. Well, just means I better start practicing to kick his ass (and you too Tent, can’t leave you out!) I think it’s just racing; racing your mates is the purest form of competition in the world and people race every day because that’s what they do. Boys = racing. And that’s the meaning of life, I think.

In all seriousness though, when someone feels passionate about something, whether it's food, hobbies or sports, it becomes a part of them and I can safely say that motocross has become a part of me.

So Conondale, will be it to prove my worth in Team Gumby as the sole Yamaha representative! till next time, Hooter out!