It's not what you've got, but how much fun you have with it!

When I listed the Beta 300 RR Factory for sale there were murmurings in the ranks.

If you didn't bow down to this bike, it bit back hard.

One rather well-known individual (yes you, Nigel) may have posted the following: "Oh, how the mighty have fallen".

But I took it on the chin because the truth was inescapable. I just could not hang on to that beast on the single trail anymore.

I have been struggling with some weird form of tendonitis in my clutch hand and it has been wreaking havoc on my rides. Where once I was a "one finger on the clutch and the remaining three on the grip whilst popping and hopping over logs" kind of guy, now I am constantly lamenting the dilemma of four on the lever or four on the bar. But you can't do both at the same time and anyone that does obstacles (trials or hard enduro) will know, all too well, that not having clutch control and strength on the bars is always going to end in failure.

I pity anyone in a similar situation!

And so it was that the manic beast found a new home and I got myself something a little more manageable: A Beta 125 RR Enduro.

Ben Lovett making a pretty bike look even prettier.

Though my first priority was to throw it at a WHES round or three (that story later), my biggest concern was this: would it do my most favorite event of the year?

Would it do the Capel 200?

Of course, it bloody would!! Young Harley Jongen has been punting this very bike around the W.A. enduro circuit for the last couple of years.

The most spectacular start to a most spectacular day!

Possibly a more appropriate question was this: Would my mates allow me (after 10 years attending this event together) to ride out with them, or would the shame of being on the gate with a 125 be too much for them?

George seeks some certainty from the event organizer, Jeremy, as to whether or not my mates actually have to tolerate me on the 125?

These "mates" were all, bar one, riding plus 400 four-strokes. And as I am constantly reminding them that any more than two strokes is a wank, I really feel that I had set myself up for failure.

Riding out on a mosquito with wheels, rather than my trademark smoking dragon, had placed quite a "performance based" burden on the lil' Beta and it was the most I could do to pray she made it across the line.

When asked "Who's the lunatic riding the 125?" all of my mates were quick to make themselves scarce to avoid answering awkward questions.

Suffering the lament of my situation I sought resolve in coffee. And when the barista informed me that they could only do cash, I was all but certain my day was now on a hiding to nothing.

But my faith in humanity was restored by KTM350 pilot, Dave.

Dave very generously paid for the brew that significantly bolstered my omnipotence, rather than fanning the flame of impotence my "mates" suggested I was suffering since selling the 300!

They say KTM riders are only partly human, but Dave was a total humanitarian. Thanks Dave!

And so after all that, how did it go? It went most brilliantly!

The conditions were absolutely perfect. Not a hint of dust. There were puddles that were fun, but not the kind of fun that sees you soaked and freezing for the better part of the event. There was some clay and slop, but not the sort we have seen in the past where bikes have all but dissappeared. It was cool, but not cold. It sprinkled a little, but it did not rain.

It was just that good, and the track was epic.

Run in reverse direction for the better part of the circuit, it was like riding a new track. And the addition of some hard enduro style obstacles made for some awesome challenges that you could either take or leave depeding on what floats your bowl. On the 125, I took them all on and left them in my wake.

Just riding those obstacles that popped up sporadically along the track virtually validated this bike for this event.

I'm not going to lie; it struggled a little in the sand, but only because I probably lack the confidence to hold it pinned on the stopper. I know it had more to give, but I just have to find out how "much" more that is; without making it go snap, crackle and pop.

And as for my mates? Well, let's just say that if they weren't smelling two-stroke for a good part of the ride, they were hearing that mosquito buzz incessantly around the backs of their helmets.

Yes, you can blast off down the straights and along the open fire trails on your big 450 if that is what makes you feel better about yourself, but I'll always be right there with you the second we get back on the single trail!

That bike: It earned itself respect among its (un)equals.

Did I make the right choice putting the stallion out to pasture? I think I did.

Will I be back for Capel 200 2024? Of course, I will be!

And so too, I hope, will be the other 352 riders I rode with.

Ironstone Adventure Riding Club: you guys are absolute legends. Thank you!

(and thanks, again, Dave for the coffee).

A record 352 riders makes this event THE EVENT for the year.