I had a problem to sort out first though. The previous afternoon some of the group had noticed that my brake light was on constantly. This seemed to be to do with the front brake lever assembly. The light being on was fairly minor, the bigger issue was that it also activated the brake servo circuit. Left to run constantly the servo could overheat or have a problem.
Once I started looking at the problem it gave everyone else the excuse to get their tool kits out. Soon we had a number of guys helping diagnose the fault. It transpired to be microswitch that was not closing to cut the servo/brake light circuit.
A bit of tinkering and fetling resolved the problem and everyone was happy that they hadn't carried their tool kits all the way to Portugal for nothing! And so we were now ready for our last morning off-road.
Jim, Simon & Phil had booked road tyres to be fitted after the morning session so they were up for wearing their knobblies out as much as possible. Our guides, Alex & José, had spent the night at the hotel so we were on the trails quickly.
There was only one group of riders today as some had decided not to tempt fate on the last off-road day. The tracks were wide and fast with only the occasional rocky section. Many were even shown on my sat nav.
Speeds began to grow, particularly on one section used by the Portugal rally. Everyone was pushing that little bit harder.
Coming round a bend on one rocky section the road had a large gully formed by the rain. Phil made the mistake of looking at it and so ended up heading for it. He managed to stay on but did have plough through some small shrubs!
Stopping further down the track the tail enders failed to appear. It was obvious someone (captain slow) had found the gully. They say that idle hands do the devil's work, and so it was that we came up with the idea of faking a crash scene.
We had waited at a junction in the trail after a long downhill section. The first gum tree at the junction was growing from its base in a V shape. Phil decided to be the victim, so we wedged his bike into the V, scraped away a long skid mark and Phil lay on the ground further ahead. Myself and a couple of the other guys gathered around him looking concerned.
We heard the sound of a scrambler coming down the track and so it was action stations. It turned out to be Julian, whose face drained of colour as he pulled up. He soon realized it was a scam and we reset for our intended victim Alex - the guide and nurse.
As he approached I started waving franticly. He was off his bike before it stopped leaving it on its side and swinging the medi-pack off his back. One of the group managed "we haven't moved him because he says his back hurts" without bursting into laughter.
Kneeling at Phil's head Alex began to suspect the crash scene. Maybe the heather wedged into Phil's backpack wasn't quite realistic! Phil opened an eye and a cheeky grin appeared on the Welshman's face. Alex realized he'd been had good and proper. Grabbing some wood he chased us around trying to inflict some real injuries!
Tempting fate is a risky business though as Phil discovered less than 200m further down the track. Coming round a bend there was a big mud puddle and Phil came off right in the middle of it. The man upstairs must have been grinning.
Phil was not the only one to get muddy. Jim had a spectacular off that is on video, so his embarrassment can live forever on UTube!
After lunch I said my goodbyes to Alex and José and headed back to the hotel on my own relying on sat nav. It had started raining and sat nav decided to take me through forest trails that were slippy and wet. Still I came here for the off-roading!
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