Randolph giving the bike a quick charge while he waits along the trail for us to catch up.
The Beechworth Mountain Bike Park consists of a cross country single track, a short course downhill, a jumps area, and a beginners cross country loop. It is with the latter that we will be interested in for this challenge. Although it is described as a beginners trail, it is still a single track, lumpy and rocky one way trail. The terrain has been set high for this reason. A mountain bike is needed, plus all safety gear.
The full intermediate cross country loop is just short of 10km and you can add/subtract a few different sections and side loops to either lengthen or shorten the lap to your desire. The trails are all very well sign-posted so getting lost is pretty much impossible. (But we'll have a good try!)
Some good suggestions for those new to the trails:
8 Things you Should Know Before Hitting the Mountain Bike Trails by Heather Irvine
http://totalwomenscycling.com/mountain-biking/8-things-you-should-know-before-hitting-the-mountain-bike-trails-20673/#5G7dHO4tmoXag3Cz.97
We were all pretty new to these trails, but Randolph was certainly the most adventurous!
But then, although his bike could be called a hard-tail, he certainly could not.
There are two other caches that Randolph recommends while here:
On Your Bike GC298X6 - a traditional by Haveanez, just off the start of the trail, and
Letterbox - Destinations GC4BVED - a puzzle by BettyBoo3747.
The Cache
WP1 Map at Start/Carpark 36 20.609 146 42.358
Here you are standing in the carpark staring at the map of the Beechworth Mountain Bike Park trails. (if you aren't - turn around!)
The trail we are interested in is the Easy one. (You can forget all the squiggly ones, and the black one won't help.)
Some questions to prove you have looked at the map!
1. What colour is the trail you will be on?
Green (a nice flattish loop) A=0,
Blue (and very squiggly) A=1,
Black (Looks straight, but I hope you have good suspension) A=2, or
Red (very short, but lumpy) A=3
2. How long is the trail?
An Easy 1.2km B.Ckm,
an Intermediate 10km BCkm, or
an Advanced 1.2km (down!) B.Ckm
WP2 The Rusty Car 36 20.645 146 42.182
This is where On Your Bike GC298X6, a traditional by Haveanez is located. Well, the track nearby.
Two questions to answer here:
1. How many closed doors on the car? D
(Sometimes one of the doors is not quite closed, so as a check - How many large instrument mounting holes are there in the center of the dash?)
2. On the junction sign, the blue track mentioned is Mojo F=3, Rusty Stuff F=5, or Laundry track F=7
WP3 Big dead tree 36 20.528 146 42.175
Two trails come close together here. There is a very old, very dead remains of a big knotty tree just off the track.
It looks like it would be a great hiding spot!
What sized container would have been hidden here?
1. A Micro, because it is in the bush! E=1
2. A Small, because I had to carry it all the way into here! E=2
3. A Regular, because we want to make it an easy find and leave plenty of room for swaps, E=3 or
4. A Large, because the tree is that big, and we made a deal with the wombat who lives in the base. E=4
WP4 The Secret Track 36 20.448 146 42.200
There are several junctions that you will cross, just stick to the green track.
Hard left is the Secret trail (not much of a secret if they put a label on it!)
Left is a nice view (worth a short walk) and the MVO track.
Straight ahead is the Carpark (take that one!)
Do not go right - Wrong Way Go Back! All trails are one way here.
The trail gets a bit narrower here, and a bit bumpier.
WP5 Danger Track Junction 36 20.429 146 42.302
Many tracks cross here, but we are just interested in going straight ahead (but don't stop in the junction!)
Randolph likes the left track.
Is it the Cross Country Loop G=4,
the Short Course Downhill G=6, or
Back to the Main Carpark G=8?
The Final
I hope you have written down all your numbers.
To find Randolph's cache you need to go to:
36 CA.FAG 146 EC.DFC
Hope you enjoy the ride.
Lookout for Randoph on the Black trails!
Don't forget the clue for Randolph's final.
Randolph has produced 10 tokens that go with his caches for any cachers who find the matching caches.
When you find the caches, PM me your address, and Randolph will post the ones you have earned out to you.
This is the only way you can get one of Randolph's tokens.
The caches that presently have tokens are: 01 Treeclimber, 02 Vampire Hunter, 04 Pirate's Treasure, 05 Shred the Trails, 09 Thirsty work, 10 Rat Hoppet, 11 Ready Aim Fire, 13 Hang Glider, 14 Winton Racer, and 15 The Final.