We learnt last year that it paid us to quickly race over all the runs in the week or so before the event, just to make sure there are no unexpected surprises (such as one road last time that was totally closed for the weekend for bridge works
) so we will be doing that again in the hope of avoiding any nasty surprises.
At this stage though, we have been over all of the runs at some point over the past couple of months and are happy to report that all roads are in pretty good condition with all of the dirt sections in particular looking good, with no nasty Moke breaking corrugations or wash outs. The only slight exception to this could be said to be the first half of the Wednesday trip, which has some slightly more interesting sections where it is a little more like a track than a road. Still nothing nasty or "off road" about it, just need to slow down and take it easy over a couple of sections. This road is really a back track, serving mainly as an access road for the various properties in the area, so is not as diligently maintained as all the other dirt sections, which are all "proper" Shire roads.
If you place any faith in such things, we have very little to no rain forecast in the weeks leading up to, and during Round Up
http://www.eldersweather.com.au/raindates.jsp?lc=n08&dc=disableCookies and the dirt road sections are all very lightly used, so it's unlikely that they will deteriorate much between now and the event.
It's already dusty though and that will probably only get worse, so for those that are coming on the week day runs with us, check your air filter and change it in need and remember to keep your distance from the car in front. Other than that, all we can do is hope for a nice drop of rain (but not too much
) a few days before the event.
Newie