Newcastle Detour Trail Tours - Wingham to Mt Seaview Two Day Ride Review

Sitting round a camp fire is always good for the soul, and for good stories. My Newcastle based mate, Rohan, and myself started talking bikes, and the best rides we had been on.

From the moment he started talking about The Cells ride, by John Liddell of Newcastle Detours Trail Rides, I was hooked. "No rocks, no roots, just an awesome combination of single trail and overgrown logging roads", was his claim.

So when John made the offer for EMD to attend the ride and attest or refute Rohan's claims, I jumped at the chance. I was that enthusiastic I emailed back the forms blank!!

And after the last couple of dust fests we had ridden, I was keen to taste some of this alleged North Coast riding heaven.

Newcastle Detour Trail Rides - Who Are They?

Newcastle Detour started life as Off Road Adventures in 1993 by its current owner, and our tour leader, John Liddell. This makes Newcastle Detour the longest running operator in NSW.

John is an all round good bloke, and is pretty handy on a bike. His years of experience running trailbike tours is an great foundation for putting together a memorable ride.

"We know the ride areas intimately, so if a trail is impassable or a creek too high, we know the way around.  The responsibility to ensure the tracks are looked after, and the importance of knowing these bypasses is paramount to ensuring this. I will change the tracks on each ride dependant on the current conditions and the rider ability. Some tracks are just not suitable in wet conditions, and others are too dusty in the dry. My job is to provide safe, challenging terrain to suit these conditions"

For overnight tours they use local motels, resorts or pubs for accommodation and meals. Morning tea & lunch is provided each day and fuel is provided after turning up with a full tank.

Newcastle Detour is part of the Yamaha sponsored Detour group, a name shared by Lyndon Heffernan's Detour, and Boris Everson's Coffs Harbour Detour. Together these guys share an awesome reputation of providing good rides for us us dirt bike heads.

The Cells Ride - Wingham to Mt. Seaview

 Being just a country boy, I had to Google both these places to find out where they are. The "cells" near our riding area are contained within a maximum security jail!

Mr. Google said Wingham is just outside Taree on NSW North Coast, and Mt Seaview is on the Oxley highway 60km West of Wauhope ( near Port Maquarie).

The nineteen riders converged on Wingham for Tuesday morning. Yes Tuesday! This was an invitational ride arranged by a bloke by the name of Evan Carmen. One of Rohans friends, he arranged the ride, and then wasn't able to attend. Bummer!

Some arrived Monday afternoon and graced the local pubs by there presence, and others got up early and arrived for the 7am rendezvous. My arrival was somewhere in between.

In typical fashion I had left preparation to day before, and due to the  heavy rain, I had to make some last minute changes to my preparation. Included in this was a new back tyre. I wasn't travelling over 400km each way to make a spectacle of myself on the first greasy, snotty hill!!

John's pre ride checklist also included some handy suggestions to add to my riding kit. Add tyre levers, spare tube, spare gloves, and a couple of odds and ends I usually bludge of the rest of the EMD riding crew.

John also suggests fitment of heavy duty tubes. I have used these for quite a few years now, and touch wood, have yet to have a puncture on the trails. A couple of blokes didn't heed this advice and personally witnessed the glad bag like thickness of KTM standard tubes - more than once!!

On arrival at our base for start and finish, everyone was pretty enthusiastic and geared up quickly. John and his lovely partner, Annette, welcomed us and gave the pre ride briefing. This outlined the two day ride, what was expected of us as riders, some safety instructions, and detailed the Corner Man riding system.



The Corner man system utilises a dedicated lead rider (John), and a dedicated sweep rider (Mick). Stating the obvious, the lead rider is always first, and the sweep rider is always at the tail. The lead rider will leave the rider behind him at every corner or hazard.  The Corner man places his bike in the direction of travel. All riders pass until the sweep arrives, at which point the Corner man continues his riding. Its a great system, and worked without a hitch on this ride. The "cartonable" offence of overtaking the lead rider didn't occur either. When you see how well John rides this is little wonder.

Day One - Wingham to Mt Seaview.

During the briefing John mentioned that the it could get pretty dusty. My heart sank a bit, as I had presumed the rain all through the previous night would have damped the Terra Firma a bit. It ended up that his version of dust was only a taste to that experienced at the Apex rides down south, so it was ok.

There was some transport section on the first leg, which allowed  "on bike" warm up. We then travelled through some great tracks on what used to be logging roads, but which are now overgrown with bush and saplings, making it a safe version of the single trail most of us have grown to love.

We had our first couple of flat tyres early on, so morning tea was later than normal, and to this point their was a fair amount of politeness in most of the riding styles. Having a chat over something to eat and drink obviously broke the ice, because after that the duelling and fun began.

One steep section of hill saw Mitch try to T-bone his mate Steve - unsuccessfully, only to remount while being heckled by the hill spectators (us).

The only female on the tour, Jola from Krakow in Poland, started to impress us at this point with her steady, and quietly determined style. She made it virtually unassisted up every hill, crossing, and descent, and did all this on a DRZ250. Nice work Jola!

Jola's boyfriend Mick, and experienced enduro, and pro level desert racer, including the US Baja 1000, was along for the ride also. He was riding the DRZ at one point, and Rohan, Mick, and , myself had a fun duel over a sweet bit of trail with some sweeping corners, and erosion mounds.

The standard of rider on this tour was very high, with most having pretty extensive experience. While certainly not a race, it was really good fun having a dice every now and again.

After a late lunch, we rode the last leg of the day, including an entertaining river crossing..................

When I pulled up at the river, I headed to the bridge, only to be told Johns instructions were not to use it, but to cross the river instead. The bridge did look dodgy, but the river looked wet!! I then looked across to the other bank to see Norm, wringing wet from head to foot, with some of the other blokes helping him tip his drowned DRZ upside down.  Norm and his bike had been completely submerged in the icy waters, much to the excitement of the rest of the group.

 Once everyone was across, and bikes going, we rode to our overnight destination, Jaspers Peak resort. Included in the price of the tour is fuel after the first tank, so after refuelling at the on site bowser's, we settled in for a few pre dinner drinks and nibbles.

The accommodation at Jaspers Peak was great. Twin or triple share, first class beds, and quiet location. Rohan may dispute the quiet bit, because I am known as a champion snorer!

Day Two - Mt. Seaview to Wingham

Day two was a southbound journey to our Day 1 origin. John must have kept his favourite tracks for the return journey because they were awesome. With minimal transport sections, and heaps of pure single trail the terrain type changed constantly.

Although the trails weren't extremely tight, or technical, they were challenging enough to ensure all of the riders utilised their skills. By the end of the ride if you aren't proficient at log crossings, then there is something wrong.

At one stage I swapped bikes with Dean from Track & Trail motorcycles. His steed for the ride was a near new 09 Gas Gas FSE450. Over dinner the previous night he was praising the Gassers, and after riding one I was suitably impressed,.

The reason I like my Berg is that while it is a 450 four stroke, its a really easy bike to ride, and one that you feel comfortable on straight away. This hasn't been my experience on a lot of other bikes. The addition of the Roc Stompa Advanced Dampner I tested last year has only amplified the satisfaction with my Swedish beauty.

The GasGas is smaller in stature to my bike, but the ergos are narrower, particularly through the seat and tank area. I really liked the ability to be able to grip with my knees so easily, feeling at ease with the rider position. This can't be underestimated, as unsuitable ergonomics can be an expensive hassle to resolve.

The motor is possibly the best feature of this machine. The EFI fed donk has plenty of pulling power, and while I didn't feel it had the same responsiveness as the 09 Berg, it was very, very impressive.

The suspension was set a little softer than I have mine set, but in saying that I didn't change clickers at all, and I don't recall bottoming out over any of the obstacles.

I was really surprised at how well this bike performed. To be able to compare it to other bikes we have tested, would require laps on the EMD special test, and a detailed ride impression. Stay tuned, because a phone call to Mr. Gas Gas could be on the cards to arrange it.

I have to confess that my only real crash of the day occurred while riding the GasGas, and it happened because the bike is so good, and felt so comfortable! Mad Mick, as opposed to Sweep Mick, had a habit of letting out excited Whoo Hoo's when the riding was to his liking. I heard one of these from the rear, while following Rohan at the beginning of a sweet free flowing section. As the pace picked up, so did the competitiveness, and Follow the Leader became a contest to Be the Leader.

We rounded a right hand corner, and the track opened up a bit. I could see Mick had the left hand line past Rohan, so I took the right hand "line". Their was a bit of overgrowth, but none that I was too worried about. I saw a little sapling, and obviously misjudged it, because the next thing I was on the deck. I jumped up to get back on the bike, and reversed it into Chappy, who was parked, "beep beeping" his horn with glee at my little spectacle. Needless to say, for the rest of the day I avoided any contact with Mad Mick's competitive side!

Just before the lunch stop, Andrew, one of the two KTM200 riders, copped a rock to the goggles from the rear wheel of his good mate in front. The rock crushed the goggle lens in, and gave a reasonable split to his nose. Red (as he is known) was seeing stars for a while, but was well enough to ride the short distance to the lunch setup area.     

                                                                                                                             
Red's injury was unfortunate as he was, along with mates Steve and Mitch, intending on short cutting it back to base after lunch. This was so he would be home in time for his daughters 10th birthday party.

Red had this to say on the ride, and his injuries. "Initially I was a bit apprehensive about going on a two day 'everything catered for' type ride, as I thought it would take the freedom out of being able to ride where you wanted, or as slow or fast as you wanted. Boy was I wrong. Sometimes you need to be in an organised, structured environment to really feel the freedom you desire. 

The terrain we covered had just about everything a trail bike rider dreams of. But it was the support and companionship that blew me away. I think if there was a motto to this ride it would have been "one in all in" for sure.

We had about 30km to go after lunch, and some of this section was amongst my favourite of the ride. I took some photos at the top of one of the more serious climbs, and then rode at the back of the pack for the return home.

Every fall of the weekend costs a dollar, and if witnessed by another its $2, up to a maximum of $10 for the ride. Funds raised go to the helicopter fund as a donation to a worthy cause. My rider disfunction cost me the princely sum of  four dollars.

Only one bike required "recovering", and that was Norms DRZ. Just before morning tea on the second day he holed his radiator, requiring a return ride on the trailer.

What The Riders Had To Say

Markus Schumi - "What I took away from this ride that it was just as good as my first Cells ride 10 years ago, although the bikes are now all electric,, but the riders are all just as keen.

As usual John Liddell fed us a mixed bag of open high speed two wheel drifting fire trails which my 12 year 620 loves, with some snotty and technical single line designed to wear us out. I think John purposely sends us down the single trails just to make them wider cause hes getting lazy in his old age, I'm sure of it!

Most riders at the end of the day had tired smiles, & tales of improbable speed, passing manoeuvres, & real bush racing - er this is not a race is it? !
There was drama and tales of woe with riders scuba diving mid river, aka Norm. And one having his nose punched by a huge cricket ball sized rock, kicked up from his best mates bike! Safety tip – hundred mile an hour tape works brilliantly on cut noses.
Comment of the ride: Day two from Rowey – not more singley…..Doesn’t John know I'm tired?

The Iron man, er person award goes to Jola. The 5 ft superwoman who completed every trail on a mighty DR250Z! My hat is off to you and your personal trainer Mick well done!"

Steve Bramble - This weekend would have rate as one off the best weekends ever!! Actually, defiantly the best ride weekend ever. The trails we went on I thought were awesome . As far as well organized, good  food excellent accommodation and good bunch off blokes goes -  I cant wait to do it again - 10 out of 10. Thanks.

Grant Harrison - Thanks again for the awesome days riding. Hopefully I will see you on another one in the not too distant future .........Cheers mate, from the Nugget

Wrap up

Newcastle Trail Tours run a fantastic ride. I had a great time and really enjoyed the riding, and also the company of a great bunch of blokes (and girls). The benefits of jumping on your bike, and riding for two days without stress or hassle, cant be underestimated. John and Annette look after all the organising, fuel, meals, drinks (except night time "indulgences"), gear transport, and most importantly the recovery vehicle.

The fact that most of the riders on this ride were returning customers is a testament to the quality of the experience.

It is important for riders to come prepared with well maintained bikes and quality gear. The ride is suitable for intermediate to advanced level riders, but beginners should contact John because I'm sure he has a route he can customise to suit all abilities.

We cant write a report on Newcastle Detour trail tours without acknowledging Yamaha as their major sponsor. Yamaha rental bikes are available for hire for all the rides hosted by Newcastle Detour.

Other sponsors are Kenda tyres, Mobil, Staintune exhausts, FoxRacing, Barkbusters, Camelbak, Scott, and Ian Wightmans Promoto suspension.

Also, stay tuned to EMD for a review on a great new product bHip Energy. With all the negative publicity at present regarding energy drinks, bHip Energy make this claim -Whether you're a "Weekend Warrior", Semi-Pro or Professional Athlete - if you're serious about taking your performance to the next level - bhip Energy delivers the nutrients you need in a delicious, fast acting and long-lasting formula that is convenient to carry anywhere ............. bHip Energy Blend works faster, last longer, and is healthier than other energy drinks that are popular with dirt bike riders.

Some big statements, but initial impressions of the product are good, and you may be surprised by the big names using the product. Coming Soon.

A special thanks to Rohan for taking some trailside pics for the report. Thanks again mate!

Have a look at the EMD Gallery of the ride, and contact Newcastle Detour to book your spot in their next organised trail tour. Fun factor guaranteed.

EMD's next date with the dirt will be at the Sunny Corner Rally. Hope to see you there!

See you on the trails.
Shane Corney
shane@eatmydirt.com.au