I’ve come to the obvious conclusion that my life revolves around dirt bikes. Not sure how this came to be as it was never a childhood dream, nor was it a long-term goal to spend nearly every waking moment writing about, photographing, filming, testing or simply hanging out with others who are equally obsessed with dirt bikes.

The last few weeks have been pretty hectic in terms of work, among many things I’ve been busy editing this video for the Ballard’s Yamaha Park & Fly Off-Road Team, check it out:

It probably looks like I spend most of my time riding, or being involved in some kind of moto activity, but the reality of being a moto-journalist is long hours in front of a computer. The fact I live only 10 minutes from the Sydney CBD means I can’t ride a dirt bike without first traveling at least an hour – North, South or West.

However, when I actually do get to ride, it’s mostly in a professional sense where I’m testing bikes and associated products, all the while generating more time in front of the computer.

Not that I’m complaining, I couldn’t get out of the city quick enough last week to attend the 2012 ADB Magazine 450cc enduro shootout. The opportunity to ride nine bikes in one day is as much a privilege as it is a task, but being able to cut laps around Lochmaree (a picturesque trail riding property near Goulburn, NSW) is the best way to detox your system of computer exposure.

One of the best parts of testing is the photo shoots and trying to create unique action images. I work with best photographers in the business and just recently have started working with Mark Watson of Incite images. Mark is a gun shooter for Red Bull and various extreme sport industries like snow boarding. It’s cool because he can also ride a bike well enough to follow me into any kind of terrain.

Last week was also the first session of the Motorex KTM Off-Road team’s annual Finke pre-running. What most people wouldn’t realise is that these guys start thinking about the next Finke almost immediately after they’ve crossed the finish line of the present one.

Whether it’s tyres, engine mods, suspension settings or basic race strategy, the quest for Finke supremacy is perpetual, where everything learnt from each race fuels the fire to come back stronger, fitter and faster for the following year.

Brad Williscroft (Wonka), Price and Grabbo took teammate Chris Hollis out to Alice Springs for his first taste of the Red Centre. As a team, the KTM boys are the most dominating force in the desert to date, and have now increased their Finke contingent to four riders with the addition of Hollis.

It was always going to be a case of suck it and see for Hollis, who was very cautious about entering the high-speed world of Desert Racing. “It was a massive week out pre-running with the boys, I only just survived it,” he said. “We ride the Finke track in pairs, so I was partnered with Grabbo for my very first session. He told me I need to slow down whenever I see him slow down, which was going well until I went past him at about the 50km mark.

“I didn’t realise how fast I was going and some big bumps appeared quicker than I could slow down for. The rear end swapped out a few times, I cart-wheeled and ate it big. I bent the exhaust and banged up my hip pretty good, which was a real wake up call. I’m kinda glad it happened early because now I’m a little more conditioned to the speed and have a better idea of how the bike reacts in the whoops. I’m also lucky to get out of it with a few bruises.”

As team manager, Wonka was very happy with the boys progress and the performance of their bikes. With multiple Finke podiums himself, Wonka’s own aspirations of racing Finke are kept alive by the fact he’s surrounded himself with the fastest riders in the desert – Ben Grabham and Toby Price.

“Our bikes are fast. We’re basically on stock 450 SX-F’s but now we’ve got the same bearings used in the Dakar engines, so they’re better suited to the extreme heat and high-rpm of desert racing,” he explained. “Finke is so hard on the bikes, but it’s even tougher on your body.

“Hollis got a real surprise out here, but mainly because he’s unconditioned for the desert. I don’t think he’ll have much trouble getting up to speed, but we totally wore him out by the end of the week.

“He spent the last ride back from Finke in our back-up ute, because he just simply couldn’t do any more riding. I didn’t think I’d ever see that because he’s one of the fittest athletes in the AORC. It’s tough out here in the desert.”