More thanks to our loyal volunteers...
On Sunday we put on a post-Scott cleanup / barbeque / social ride.
Another perfect day at Stromlo Forest Park had a small crew of dedicated volunteers nit-picking plastic and other debris from the event centre and trails. I suspect a lot of it was left-overs from previous events, but we enentually collected about a trailer load of trash. Actually, the trails and campsites were remarkably clean considering a week prior there was a small city and makeshift highway network flogging the ecology. That speaks volumes for the mountain biking public's earth friendliness - well done everyone.
After the obligatory BBQ, the crew got ontheirbikes for a gel pack hunting expedition. There were a few at Holdens Creek, and one or two on the climb, but it looks like the roving marshals had done another great job. Somehow I lost sight of the social riders on the Pork Barrel descent (I took a wrong turn at Slick Rock) and thinking they were behind me I stopped for 5 minutes or so to admire the vegetation. It turns out the majority of them went down Skyline.
Continuing on, I encountered a teddy bears' picnic on the Blue return after the end of the beginners DH. They were going to look a bit tatty after a few months, so I took to them with the wire cutters and began stuffing them in my back-pack. After a while I ran out of room, so with a big purple rabbit sharing my waistband it was back to the pavilion. The bears will probably be resurrected next year, but 'till then they're bunking in my garage.