Ride Report - Eighty Acres

Wow, I had forgotten how hot 29 degrees feels! Its great to be able to ride in nothing but a jersey and lightweight shorts and not freeze however, the sun does get a bit harsh.

Anyway Dave, Gus and I headed out to Eight Acres on a warm afternoon as I had never hit the trails out there. Jumping in the car, I was pumped to hit some new trails having heard so much about them.

All ready to rumble. Although I could do wih a shave.

Pulling up to a random carpark had me doubtful however we quickly spotted the multitude of tyre tracks heading off into the scrub. Dave was enjoying reminiscing about DH years gone by.

Playing with the colour settings in Photoshop

Wow the trails were loose! Pretty much gravel and rocks everywhere interspersed with a few large jumps. My brain was having a hard time keeping up with line choice given how much time I have been studying lately.

Gus getting sideways into a berm with a look of terrified concentration. These trails were loose!

The trails are essentially old washed out DH lines that have had the ruts made into berms. Lots of fun which required our suspenion to do its job.

Getting my 'arty' side out. The side knobs of my WTB Vigilante are finally starting to show some wear. Given how grippy they are, Im surprised the rubber has held up so long.

Gus looking a bit more confident on a reasonably long jump. This went into a 90 degree bermed corner through which you are holding a fair bit of speed. Considering how slippery the berm was, Gus was hitting this jump with confidence.

Dave looking as stylish as ever. Pretty sure he could have appeared on the covers of some old MTB mags as a clothing model if only he was around then.

Gus looking worried with all the airtime. He is higher than he looks. I couldnt get any lower with the camera as there was a prickly bush just under the camera.

Heading down towards the landing having already achieved peak airtime.

Eighty Acres has some awesome views from the top out towards the sea. Its not acutally that far from anywhere.

The corner after the jump above. Fast loose and dusty. Gus currently going too fast for my shutter speed. Im still getting the hang of my new camera, although Im slowly working out what all the settings do.

Ah the dust clouds settling after a rider goes past. Gus being to quick for my reactions.

The push back to the top. Short, sharp and shiny and pretty damn loose.

Next time I should be able to get my shutter speed sorted so I dont end up with a bunch of photos like the one above. Still, sometimes the blur adds a bit to the speed of the rider.

Eighty Acres is not for the faint hearted or those with short travel bikes. If your looking for a challenge and something that is very different from the usual Adelaide riding, check it out.