All manner of machinery
was used to tackle the
terrain at North Star
Only the air was
rock-free – at times
race
trailride
Dalby Moto
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moto trail ride series
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What’s so enchanting
about vine scrub?
Nightly entertainment
included a timed
three-barrel sprint
Following the
leader is easier
said than done
Rockstar
words & PICS // Grant “goba” o’brien
When God created rocks, he got lazy and dumped them all at North
Star, a small town that hosts part of the Dalby Moto Trail Ride Series
N
Mount Mitchell, North
Star’s only hill, kept
riders on the edge of
their seats
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orth Star – it’s a cool name, but where the hell is it?
Sounds like a town from an old western movie, I thought to
myself as I punched the name into the web. After a few
stabs it told me North Star lies 40km south of Boggabilla,
which didn’t really shed much light on anything! I also
found out, however, that it was close to Goondiwindi – about five hour’s
drive west from my humble abode near Kyogle in northern NSW.
Arriving at these small country towns is always a trip as you can drive
right through them if you blink. But the sight of a field jammed packed
full of vehicles, tents, trailers and dirt bikes told me I’d arrived at the
place I was looking for. It felt great to peel my arse out of the van after
successfully dodging countless kangaroos during the 420km journey.
Guess I better find my bike, eh?
But what was it that Dalby Moto’s Craig Hartley tried to say to me on
the mobile in poor reception a few hundred klicks back? “I can’t make it,
mate, but I’ve sent you down a KTM 250EXC two-stroke with the Dalby
crew… static static… beep beep beep”.
A two-stroke! I can’t remember the last time I rode one of those old
gals. And how do you find the Dalby crew amongst a swarm of 700
people? That guy over near the sign-in about to spark up the PA looked
like he might know.
“G’day, mate, I’m from ADB, here to do a story on the ride, but first I
need to find my bike. Got any ideas how to find the Dalby crew?”
The guy, Jeff Nixon, picked up the microphone, speakers booming
across the already pulsing field of dirt-bike junkies, and screamed out
the obvious, making me feel like a lost kid at a carnival. But hey, a few
minutes later and I was hooked up with an awesome machine for two
days of trail blasting. Right on!
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My back wheel all of a sudden overtook my
front and I woke up lying in a pile of rocks with
stars circling overhead
WHO ORDERED THE ROCKS?
The riders’ briefing was the only thing stopping
me from hitting the trails, and this Jeff fella,
who seemed to be quite a character, started
telling a story about the price of beers.
“We’ve got dollar pots at the North Star
Sporting Club tonight,” he said. “The last time
they were that price was back in 1970 when
you could have bought a GTHO Falcon Phase 3
for $4000, or you could have bought 4000
beers. Now, the ones who bought the Falcon
would now have an asset worth $750,000,
whereas the blokes who bought 4000 beers
only have a beer gut and stuffed kidney to
show for it!”
Okay, so we established the beers were
cheap and Jeff’s humour definitely hit home
with many of the older crew. But I was of the
same mind as the young grommets, who just
want to get onto the trails. Time, after all, is a
precious commodity.
But in no time we were off. It was after
midday, the trail loop was open, the Dalby
crew had taken me under their wing and we
were on the gas following red arrows and pink
ribbons tied to trees on the first loop of the
weekend. I slotted in behind young Dalby
charger Josh Edwards and within 15 minutes
we were charging through the wide-open
smooth dirt trails of Falcon Hell quarry and
into the Enchanted Forest.
Now I don’t know who named it
“enchanted”, but the vine scrub covered single
trail section definitely put me under a spell. I
entered the tunnel-like vortex feeling like a kid
with a new toy, one that gave the impression
that it could do no wrong while flowing from
one turn to the next.
My KTM 250EXC two-banger didn’t miss a
beat, but then, while looking ahead checking
out Josh’s lines through the twisting trail, my
back wheel all of a sudden overtook my front
and I woke up lying in a pile of rocks with stars
circling overhead.
Gathering my wits, I picked myself up and
soldiered on over trails littered with the
buggers for what seemed like hours, as my
body got used to the constant hammering.
Navigating rocks and dodging stuck riders
on North Star’s only hill, Mount Mitchell, kept
the blood pumping through my veins and my
mind focused on reaching the top without
another spill. I learned later on that the locals
are very proud of the only hill in the North Star
region – not only because it claims many
victims each year who try and tackle it on their
dirt bikes – but because it is also home to a
WORD FROM THE NORTH STAR TRIBE
It’s a big thumbs up from all involved
They came to North Star from far and wide: mothers, fathers, girls, boys… dirt bike fanatics of all ages. And after two days of riding ‘til their hands bled, or making sure their kids and
others were safe and having a blast, they still had enough energy to share their experiences with ADB before heading home.
Allan Molloy, 48, and Mike Stevens,
50, Ipswich, Qld:
Mike: We planned to come last year but didn’t make it, so
we pulled out all the stops to come this year and we’ve had
a brilliant time. Our older bikes are slower than the others
out there, but we give them a good squirt every now and
then on the big straights, blasting past the four-strokes.
Allan: I had two nights of little sleep putting the RM500
together before coming to North Star, but once we got out
there she loved the big rocky hill section and went up like a
little yellow tractor. We love getting out on these rides. They
give you a good opportunity to get away with your mates
and the rides support local communities.
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Ben Edwards, 39,
Dalby:
“We were here two years ago
and enjoyed it a lot, so this time
we’ve come back with three
other families. We try and do
most of the Dalby trail ride
calendar as there’s a good
variety of terrain and we all
enjoy riding motorbikes, meeting different people
and, for the adults, a few beers around a fire at night.
It’s a safe environment for the kids – much better
than having them out on the streets running amuck
and instead they’re out here on trails having fun.
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mobile phone tower that lets them
communicate with the outside world.
I pushed on, passing a nice section of trail
bordered with long, gold-coloured strands
highlighted by the soft glow of the winter sun.
I took the opportunity to stop and take a few
happy snaps, which also gave me time to rest
up and check out the other riders who’d made
it to North Star and their motley assortment of
dirt bikes.
That’s what I love about these mega trail
rides; they attract all types of riders on all
types of bikes. From clapped-out bangers, to
tricked-up enduro weapons, to motocross
racers, to big adventure machines and even
pit-bikes – it doesn’t seem to matter what
people ride, so long as they have a go!
Light my fire
Back at camp, I couldn’t believe I’d only done
80km in three hours, because it felt like
300km. Maybe it was the slower pace because
of all those rocks, but I must say the 30km
run back through a series of creek beds had
very few rocks. And it was awesome!
But it was too late to hit another loop as the
gate had shut at three. And the Dalby crew
were off to their accommodation at the local
pub, so I needed to find me some new mates.
I swung my attention to my neighbours to the
west. “Hey fellas, how was your day?”
“Brilliant, you want a Bundy?” came the
response. “Ahh, 4 o’clock, nah, I’ll hold off for
now, but thanks anyway”.
Over the next few hours, the “Bundy Crew”
from Brisbane kept up the pace, warming their
insides with the golden brown liquid while
warming their outsides by a glowing campfire.
In no time I became part of the family,
keeping myself warm around their campfire as
the cool and darkness set it. I couldn’t get my
head around the Bundy, but I did get to chuck
a steak on the barbie and tuck into their
leftover mash and vegies.
Over at the equestrian ring, the horses were
taking on the motos in a timed sprint around
three barrels. As hard as the fellas on their
30-odd-horsepower dirt bikes tried, they still
ended up two seconds slower than a singular
horse, and kicked up a hell of a lot more dust
in the process.
I decided it was time to sneak off and
The action was great, with riders
steaming up the insides of their helmets
while trying to hop over rocks
Anyone for a
sausage (fest)?
Brendan Griffiths, 39,
Goondiwindi, Clerk Of Course:
“The weekend has been terrific. We started with
about 70 riders four years ago and we cracked
a total of 620 riders this weekend. And after two
days of riding it’s been relatively incident free.
The trail ride has exceeded our expectations.
The rain we had earlier in the week has kept the
dust down on the trails that are a mix of tight
rocky sections. Dalby Moto is exceptional in the promotion of their
series and I’d say a lot of our publicity has come from people
promoting the event on other websites.”
Emma Laidlaw, 21 (yeah, right), and Gypsie
Andrews, 19 (whatever), from North Star, both
riders’ mums:
Emma: “Our weekend entails running around doing fuel drops, making sure
the kids are okay, taking care of food, etc.”
Gypsie: “I get a kick out of seeing North Star lit up as
it’s usually a quiet little town of around 68 people. It’s
great seeing everyone have so much fun and the
event grow so much over the four years its been
running. Plus my daughter works in the kitchen and
they served nearly 400 meals on Saturday night in a
couple of hours, which is amazing. It’s a great
community gathering really.”
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fire-hop my way around the campsite to meet
the other crews.
Old faces from the past appeared out of the
darkness. Sitting around the largest fire in the
paddock, I found my old mate Chris Thomas
from Moree and his crew going at it in the
same vane as the Bundy lads.
Music was pumping from a nearby van and
the fire-talk was in full flow under a blanket of
stars. There were tales of the day’s ride, thrills
and spills, the last moto event attended, the
4-Day, Chad Reed in the States, who sucks in
the industry and who doesn’t. A few hours flew
by before my head hit the pillow.
crack of dawn
I woke up early as I needed a piss and the first
thing I thought about were the dollar pots at
the North Star Sporting Club. Damn, I knew
there was something I missed last night. But
hey, I came out here to hang out under the
stars and sit by a campfire, not sit inside a bar.
I looked over at the Bundy camp, where one
punter was up boiling the kettle. That’s what I
need, a nice hot brew to start the day. Sore
heads emerge from tents as sunshine lit up the
cloud-covered sky in a dream-like haze of
yellow and blood-red orange.
I spend the next two hours chasing my tail,
getting my camera gear, backpack and bike
ready to rock. I ran into Jeff Nixon and he gave
me the heads-up on getting to all the hot spots
to take photos. I nodded, thinking it was a good
idea, but in the end he just said, “Look, just
follow me out and I’ll lead you through a back
way so you get to the best points in time.”
“Suits me,” I said. My camera gear is heavy, so
this way I can get the job done and dump it!
The day rolled on with plenty of action,
especially on Mount Mitchell, with Jeff
redirecting riders around the hardest section.
The action was great, with riders steaming up
the insides their helmets while trying to hop
over rocks, some falling over backward, some
giving up and letting other riders get their bikes
up the toughest sections.
Over the next few hours, the Kato two-banger
and I became well acquainted and I started to
get used to riding over millions of rocks without
smacking my head on the ground. “Forty ain’t
too old,” I thought to myself. These trail rides
are perfect; you can go as fast or slow as you
want and, so long as you keep following the
arrows, you’ll make it back to base.
Riding back past the last marker and into
the campsite, my memory drifted back to the
Bundy crew’s fire last night and to John
Newton’s (Bundy elder) eternal quote, “It’s not
the years left in your life, but the life left in
your years”. I promised myself then and there
that I’d return to North Star to master those
bloody rocks before packing up and heading
home to rest my weary bones.
The odd grassy field offered short but muchappreciated respite from the rock-strewn trail
You can go as fast or as slow as
you want and, so long as you follow
the arrows, you’ll make it back
Lara Emily
Smith, 10,
Dalby:
“It was my first time
trail riding and my
friends and I had a
race on the novice
track and I won. It’s
good going away
camping with the family
and I can’t wait for the
next one!”
Brett & Ben Walters, 45 & 24, from Toowoomba.
Brett: “I come to these events as I love riding bikes and it’s a good
thing to do with my son Ben. We’ve never had a bad day at any of
the rides.
Ben: “It takes two things to have a good day – that you don’t break
anything and you don’t hurt yourself.
Who’s the quickest?
Ben: Dad is, unfortunately, as there’s a lot to be said for
experience. The trails were good, rocks made it interesting, but
you have to have that otherwise it would get boring.
Brett: You’ve got to have something you don’t like, because if you
don’t like something you just have to get better at it. We try and do
all the Dalby series calendar as the rides are just fantastic!”
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THE DALBY Moto TRAIL RIDE SERIES
Twenty-seven years on and still going strong
C
raig and Tony Hartley from Dalby Moto are the men who had the
vision to unite the many trail rides in South East Queensland
and Northern NSW under one blanket to make promoting the
events a hell of a lot easier and more cost-effective for all involved.
Craig points out some facts and figures on a trail ride series that he
says is the largest of its kind in the world.
“The series formed back around 1992 when we saw how a lot of
people were trying to organise trail rides, but there was no rhythm or
structure to them. So we decided to put a calendar together and to
promote and market the trail rides as a series, and the whole thing has
grown from there.
“The Bunya trail ride in 1993 was the first to kick-off the Dalby Moto
Trail Ride series, with around 300 riders in attendance. Money raised
from each event is donated to the local community via schools, sporting
committees or clubs.
“Anywhere between $15,000 and $40,000 is raised from each ride,
depending on attendance, as some rides are more popular than others.
The amount of rides per series varies each year and in 2009 there are
14 rides on the calendar. So when you take into consideration the
overall figure, you can see how much trail bike riders give back to local
communities.
“In 2007, the Dalby Moto Trail Ride series won the Queensland
Outdoor Recreation Federation Award for excellence in an Outdoor
activity. The series also received funding from Sport and Recreation
It’s just not about the riding
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and sponsorship from the Ride Smart, Ride Safe and Ride in the Right
Place initiative.
“Over the years, some of the events in the series have seen
attendance climb to 1200 riders, but to minimise impact on the land
– depending on weather conditions – I feel around 400 to 700 riders is
the ideal number. Most rides can handle more, but I don’t think we’ll
see the numbers pass the 1000-mark in the future as the series
continues to grow.
“It takes around 40 to 60 people to run each event. That includes
event organisers, marshals, catering crew, SES people, etc.
“We’ve done a lot of research regarding trail rides and there’s not
another series as big, or like it, in Australia, or anywhere in the world
for that matter. So we reckon we could safely say it’s the biggest trail
ride series in the world!
“We currently have a database of around 14,000 riders, but I must
point out how important it is for riders to include and update their
email addresses when signing in. As costs for mail-outs and marketing
increase, reaching people via email, our website and ADB Magazine
may soon be our only option.
“Our main sponsors – ADB, Yamaha, Honda, KTM, M2R helmets,
Kenda tyres, Rock Oil, and Motorcycling Queensland, have given
incredible support in making the trail ride series a success.
Tune in with our website www.dalbymoto.com.au for all the latest
info regarding the Dalby Moto Trail Ride series.”