Speedy Farmers at the Gasgoyne Dash

Lovely ol Eric, Irish backpacker Maz, Kristy and myself

HAVING the opportunity to mingle amongst the team was a nice feeling and to be able to help in some small way and not just stand around looking pretty was also nice.  Ha
Kristy and I were split up, put in different vehicles and sent to different pit stops from each other for the weekend.
It was a little strange to begin with however it was also a nice chance to chat to other people and get to know them better.
On the first day at the Gasgoyne, Jamie came through our stop with high spirits, Shaun maybe a little nervous about the dusty road ahead and Charlie came through with his hands cramped up.
We quickly pulled Charlie's protective gear off to let him have a breather but Charlie being Charlie didn't seem too worried about it all.  Just interested to know if he was beating Shaun.

I was lucky to be at the first stop because as soon as they'd all gone through we were able to go to the dry river bank and watch the boys ride to the finish line for day one.
I really admire anyone that can ride a bike and especially on the conditions at the Gasgoyne.
Unknown to most people Jamie is actually a handy rider and familiar with the Gasgoyne Dash race.  Charlie and Shaun on the other hand were roped into it by Jamie as celebrity riders.
It was entertaining for us because the weekend ended up being a competition between the two farmers.  The very fast two farmers!  Ha (That sentence is for you Jamie)
They could be coming last for the day and as much as they weren't happy with that it was more important that they had beaten each other.
I don't think they had trained before the race so they did great to even finish each day.
The journalist however was less fortunate.  His story was sad for everyone.  He had hurt himself physically on the first day and the track was harder then he'd prepared for.  He gripped on to that bike for as long as he could and was determined to stay until the end but time was against him and from what I can remember his hand was red raw.
We all felt his sadness that night but all we could do was give him a smile and a stiff drink.

One man I got to spend time with and quickly grew to like was old Eric.
He drove the Kenworth to the race and kept everyone amused with his dry sense of humour.
He was a tall, skinny man who walked around very relaxed but always popped up with a funny comment out of the blue.
Going to the pit stops with Eric made me smile.
He was great company and made me feel that little more comfortable amongst everyone.
Throughout my life I have come across people that have felt the need to take me under their wing.
They look at me and see me as a very small person and I know they don't look at me as incapable but they feel they should look after me?
It is not a bad thing.  I think it is really sweet and it is nice to know people have your back if you need it and I feel like this happened for Eric.
Our friendship would have looked like a willy wagtail on an old horse.
Our heights and age were at complete opposites of the scale.
For those who don't know me I have nicknames like small fry, little one, shorty and short ass.  This might give you a visual of my height in case my photos make me look tall!  I am the runt of a litter of six.

The Gasgoyne had a big Saturday night planned for everyone.  Despite everyone being cactus from the long days, they gathered their strength and went to the big tent for the entertainment.  What a show that turned out to be!
They had performers juggling and fire twirling.  A lady in her 60s with a long skirt was called up from the audience.  This is where it got really entertaining.
A slight accident with the fire and next minute her skirt was lit up.  Kristy finds these things so joyful to watch so she spent the rest of the night laughing about it.
I unfortunately missed the part where it caught on fire but I did catch the part where they were all trying to pat it out.
I will give you a small visualisation...the fire was on the front of her skirt and it wasn't in a spot where you'd like strangers to be patting!

It was our last night in the Gasgoyne so we made the most of it even though the race was continuing the next day.
The farmers had gone to bed before us in the back of a ute near our swag.
Kristy and I were keen to sleep as were the rest of the camp.  One girl who we didn't know had other ideas however.
We hear this girl stagger past and then when she found one of the farmers she told him he should wake up and have a drink.
It was really funny for us at first but after a while it just got annoying because she wouldn't give up.
The poor guy couldn't fight her persistence.
Kristy came up with a brilliant idea.  She got out of her swag, put on a stern voice and told her to leave because she was their manager and she had to leave the man alone because he had an important race to ride.
It was brilliant.
She fooled the woman and as you can imagine the farmer was extremely relieved.
Kristy has always been great at spinning yarns but this time it actually came in really handy.

The next day of the race was the last.  We packed up the camp and the guys rode back into town to the race course, where it had all began.
Kristy and I drove Shaun's ute, (yes massive pressure not to scratch or dint it)
Crazy man Ivan who was recovering from a previous bike injury of I think broken ribs and Jamie were the first back from the team.
The young guy that we thought would win the whole race could not be seen so everyone was getting worried about where he was.
Charlie came through next and proud to be in front of Shaun.  Where the bloody hell was Shaun?
Bad news came through about the young team member.  He had blown up another bike.  He was devastated but hey where was Shaun?
Then in the distance we could see the dust and farmer Shaun riding his bike home....riding it fast!  Ha
To make it fair on the guys I should get the results off Jamie and post them on here because I am sure Shaun didn't come last.