***Workday at the woods*** 14th August 2011 and ***REVIEW***

[gregster]

Wotcha everyone...just finished the Chinese so thought I should bang a post up to thanks everyone who came for their help today, the woods are looking great for the weekender...

Was great to meet ShaunyInk at last, in his 2.8lwb...( Shaun was a victim of my stalking modded fronty owners!!!)...
and great that Mark (mg autos) could make it back up this way again, has been way tooooo long....Thanks for the bits too, much appreciated...I like bits, as my hobby is breaking stuff, so bits to mend stuff again are always welcomed!

Todays crew were...

ShaunyInk, a newbie to our antics, in his 2.8lwb on 33's
MG Autos Mark in his shiny V6 lwb..with goodies for us...
Mapracing (well half of him anyway!)
Retro pedro (ON TIME!!!!)
David Dickinson and his friend.
Lloyd in the strangerover

and finally Sally(in her new rigger boots!) and I...

We got loads done thanks to everyones hard work...

We met most of the crew up the workshop as we were loading up the 2.8lwb and the BGL...
The BGL got a 2 minute special 1.5" rear suspension lift...when I accidently cut the spare wheel carrier off with the gas-axe!

Then off to the woods, to be greeted by a tree that had fallen right across the clearing...
We looked at it, like workmen are supposed to, and all agreed that the best method of attack was to drink some coffee and look at each others trucks!
After the coffee was finished and we had finished nattering, surprising the tree was still there, so we set about it with chainsaws and loppers and its now camp fire fodder...(Paul has his good idea for the season, by suggesting will fill the kettle with boiling water up the workshop first, making it quicker to boil in the woods on Kels camping stove... )

Something that had been a concerning me was a few dead trees, or bits of trees, in the clearing which were in the area where members would be camping in tents...So the crew set about bringing them down using Petes winch and then chopping them up into more bonfire fodder. The strangerover was on stump pulling duty...
Stevey2stuck scared his mate I think in the locked up snot green softy when finding fallen stuff and clearing the top of the woods, and then sent him out with lloyd in the strangerover....you cruel man..
The clearing was then cleared up, and sally dissapeared on one of her lopping missions for hours, she loves pruning 25'ish acres of woods so you guys dont scratch your cars! LOL...

Then we all progressed down the site, adding in a couple more tracks and challenges for your enjoyment....remember the rabbit warren run, we now have another one, and some trees for Badboy to hit nearby!
We improved some of the tracks and turns, with Shaun and Lloyd being guinea pigs...and enhanced the original big bombhole with some more routes round it...
Then back down to the clearing for a well earned brew again, clear up and unload up the workshop and off home...

So a great day, and we are ready for the weekender, with a better safer clearing, a monster wood pile to get through, new stuff to try, improvements to the tracks, and everything pruned up...

Thanks again everyone, and see you all at the weekender for a well earned

Ps...a word of warning (for everyone, especially Pete)...lloyd and I are gonna try and do a good evening down the woods with a digger, if we can borrow one, before the weekender, to dig out the holes that have infilled a bit over the winter...so please LOOK before you LEAP, cos stuff might be deeper than you remember!!!

[gregster]

Be warned....we are going digging tonight!!!

Look before you leap (and disapear!) will be the order of the day at the weekender!!!

[andytats]

Look before you leap (and disapear!)

or you can just drive into it.

Here are some photos of Simo nose-diving into a muddy patch on the first day of the annual meet.

[gregster]

Aint been back long....spent a good evening digging with Lloyd, whilst Sally went off tending/pruning her 25acre garden!

Right now listen carefully Mr Retropedro (our resident airbag tester!)
...the holes at the bottom of woods have been reworked....
around the bottom of the horseshoe is more challenging with the existing crossaxle holes having their depth again...
The track by the pond has been reworked on the original woods entrance end, and louis dumped a load of earth the other end just before the workday so thats been tidied and is more challenging.
The bit where RancidRich engaged a tree down by the former stump garden, has been widened and regraded, so is much much easier in a lwb now...
The steep bit in the former rabbit warren climb is now very steep again, probably steeper than when we dug it last time...
The cross axle under the tree is now proper brutal again, but there is still the clear route to the right of it.
The hole by the final climb has been modded as has its exit..Its now deeper,steeper, but wider and with a better but more extreme exit where we redug it and took a tree out.
Rose the landowner daughter/lloyds fiancee had a go in the digger and put a new hole in the area at the bottom of the "under the tree climb" where we identified a new track could go through...she did really well and I finished it making it very deep such that a wheel in the bottom should give 4ftplus of air the opposite corner. It has a small V notch going into it and should prove interesting...
Some of the other tracks down the bottom were tidied and holes in the access track filled, and the wood pile moved back from the fire site.

So all in all a good evenings work I reckon, that will yield some real challenges for the more modded trucks to start...and the rest of the site is looking lovely and unscratchy thanks to sallys efforts...

As always with fresh digger works can we all...

Take extra care and look carefully before driving
Drive downwards to start to pack down a good dozen or so times before trying uphill
Avoid wheelspinning, use a tow or winch if traction/articulation is lost as the loose earth will move easily till packed and simply fill the holes back up rendering our efforts a waste of time.
Deffo modded or difflocked trucks to start out on the fresh stuff...until packed down unlifted trucks will ground out badly...
Once packed they should be driveable in more standard vehicles.
Please please remember that these interesting features need to be dug to a more severe nature so that they pack and weather into a good obstacle for the future...
Lines will need to be established through them and care when doing these pioneering runs is essential, to keep your truck shiny side up and to ensure the obstacle beds in properly to be much fun for months to come...

Thanks for your cooperation...you know it makes sense!!!

Cant wait till the weekender now...its gonna be brill and you guys are gonna love the reworks...
Big thanks to John for the digger, and Lloyd, Sally and Rose for their efforts.

[andytats]

Greg your doing a great job with the woods. I'm looking foward to the weekender.

[gregster]

Cheers mate....Its gonna be a blinder...cant wait also Andy...

[2much]

well at least with stick on number plate at the back i wont rip it in half again like i did after the last digger event - go on steve "smooth out that new hole and hill
still with the new floppy top at least if the "frog in bondage" (locked up tight in the front?????) gets a little 2stuck i can leap out easy enough

save some landscaping for the rest of us pete!

[Retro Pedro]

save some landscaping for the rest of us pete!

All yours Steve - I've spent most of the day putting a replacement 'nearly' straight panel on the motor

[gregster]

Bet it looks like the odd one out Pete....

[Retro Pedro]

Yes Greg - looked out of the window and got all emotional seeing it with a nearly straight offside front wing

[gregster]

Once upon a time.......(see from about 38secs onwards....)