4th Annual Winter Dualsport Ride (3 days) in SE OK / Ar

[Nanotech9]

This is copied and modified from my posts on the forum this ride started on. The history of the ride is every year for the last 4 years a small group of guys get together and tough it out for 3 or 4 days in the worst weather oklahoma can offer, riding and camping solely from the bikes, stopping in a different camp site every night. Tents, sleeping bags, food, water, fire, etc all gets packed on the bike. The last three years people have gotten hurt, deer strikes, engines have blown, etc. Only a few people finish on the last day, with several going home in the middle of the ride. This year would prove especially tough with the first night starting us off with 10deg weather overnight....

And this is where i'll pick up on my story:

My part of this little adventure started as far back as before christmas last year... The thread was posted, and the gauntlet was thrown down.

The idea of a three day ride (Jan 20-23) in the middle of what might end up being 4" inches of snow and ice like last year seemed like a bit of a risk to commit to so early on, but i knew i was going, rain or shine, or snow.

I was completely unprepared, no gear, never camped more than twice in my life both in borrowed tents and never in the cold, and no idea how i was going to make it all happen.

I knew i had to get the ball rolling though, so immediately i started researching bike luggage, cold weather camping gear, sleeping bags, ground pads, and tents. These were the major items on my list to get as i had none of them. The bike itself was mechanically ready, mostly. I hadn't ridden it since late December when the shock blew at draper and it was still up on the stand. I had House of Horsepower rebuild and tweak the valving on it a little more and had installed it and set the sag, but hadn't bothered riding it yet, and didn't get to until Friday morning.

I soon realized my budget wasn't going to allow me to buy the "right" gear, so i would have to get as close as possible with what little i had to work with. After much research, i decided on a Eureka Spitfire 2 tent. I considered weight and pack size on everything, and the Spitfire 2 actually packed shorter than then spitfire 1 (1 man tent) and only an inch bigger around. For a sleeping bag i decided on a moderately priced 20deg synthetic bag from Alps Mountaineering. I would have (and should have) gone with the 0deg bag, but it packed a little bulkier, and i was worried about pack size. Next time i'll get the 0deg bag.

I knew up front that i wanted soft bags on the bike. After reading massive ride reports by the likes of Colebatch on his rides across the Road of Bones in Russia, and seeing him harp on the benefits of soft bags, i knew thats what i needed. Hours and hours of looking at various packs, including non-bike related type equipment that i could modify, i kept coming back to the Wolfman E-10 bags. For the price ($125 on sale), i don't think theres anything that'll beat them, and the small duffel that goes with them ($35). My wonderful girlfriend ordered these for my birthday which is the best present ever!


I did need a few more things to make the bike trip-worthy, and assist me in enduring the cold in case the 10-day weather report was wrong. (and boy was it!) As seen previously in this very thread, some Glove extenders were needed, some handguard covers block the wind, some mods to the Moose tail bag (bolts to the rear fender) to add some straps and tie-down points, and some mods to the camera bag i planned on using to take the DSLR along. I figured a trip this good needed good pictures... So, i popped out the sewing machine, and started making what i needed.

(since this was copied and pasted, and the pics aren't posted previously, here you can see what i worked on)

Wind blockers for the hand guards
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Glove extensions to keep air from going down my sleeves:

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Balaclava with extra to tuck in under jacket:
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Tool Pouch to custom fit all my tools:
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Modified the Moose tool tail bag to strap down a little better:
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Compact extendable MC Jack to change front tire if necessary on the trail:

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Over the weeks coming up to the ride i also started packing food, and picked up an Esbit stove. I chose things like the thin salmon packages, mack and cheese, hot chocolate, instant oat meal, tea, etc. Mostly stuff that could be made by just adding boiling water. I was told to be self sufficient, so thats what i aimed for.

So, fast forward to WEDNESDAY night before the ride... I still haven't packed anything on the bike, i mean i haven't even mounted the luggage on the bike! I haven't figured exactly how the packs are gonna load, and i keep jumping between dry bags trying to figure out the load. I finally ditch all the plastic type try bags and went with some little thin nylon from walmart. I continued to lighten the load, and with a little more to wrap up, and everything to finish on the bike (oil change, adjust shock, clean air filter, check the clutch, etc) i went to bed nervous.

Wednesday Night:
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Thursday morning I was in a scramble to get everything done and leave by Noon, 2pm at the latest. I begin packing the bike, and things go well. A few more adjustments and i'm all set. Early on i made the decision to use 1" strap material. I picked up 30' from an army surplus store and used every last bit of it. I wanted everything to come undone fast, and go on fast, so i picked up a bunch of quick connects for the 1" strap at Walmart. Cheap, and durable....

Still on the Stand Thursday about 1pm:
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Loaded up and ready to roll out by 3pm... a little later than i wanted.
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My little Intel buddy decided to tag along this trip. Hes been watching me pack this bike for years just sitting on my tire rack in the garage, and never made it on a trip... so i said what the hell... why not. Little did i know at the time that he was going to try to bail on me near the end of the trip after a harrowing experience with a wheelie held too long and a short detour into the ditch, narrowly missing a downed tree... but i'll save that for later.


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I'm on the road and things are looking good and bad at the same time. The highway is clear, but I pass two semi's that have jackknifed and spewed their contents all over the median. I stop in for some decent BBQ to go on I40 just before the Indian Nation turnpike... I save the Cherry Pie for later at camp. The further south i head, the colder it gets and the more snow on the ground.

Looking worse, and my route planned takes me right over Talimena Drive to get to Billy Creek, but I've got Cherry Pie in a box. All is well...:
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I stopped about 30min from camp to pick up some more to drink and mention that i'm camping in the area... the gas station attendant tells me shes just seen another rider come through, ON A BIKE, about 30min before me. Its 18deg out and falling fast. I have no idea who it is (I've already read the forums and saw that HF had to turn back and load the big girl in the trailer) but i'm grinning from ear to ear knowing that at least one rider pulled off the ride down in the cold. Its a strange feeling you get when you know another rider is in the area, and you've just missed him... and your on the same route. You know you're gonna meet up, its just a matter of when.

When I finally get to camp, I'm greeted by a hot fire and 4 other riders. Bill has gotten there first and gotten the fire going, OKDQ i recognize from the Clayton DS ride - He stayed behind with me after the three bike wreck - i was the last to get back on my bike and hadn't realized my bars were well tweaked. HighFive is there and already telling stories, and Wayne has just rolled up a little bit before me, ON HIS BIKE!!!!! What a trooper!

I get them all to hold still for a second (literally, a 1sec shutter) for a picture by the fire...
Wayne | OKDQ | Hamish99 | HighFive
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Other riders start rolling in not long after me... Gene, Terry, Outlaw Son and his crew, Robert, etc... Some of the guys set up a second fire a little ways away...

 

[Nanotech9]

These pictures were all taken at 2am. After we all wet up camp at midnight, i stayed up a little extra late to shoot some frames of camp in the moonlight. The full moon was soo bright that they came out looking like daylight, but creepy. Notice how all the shadows are from concentrated directions, and the reflections are amazing:

HF's truck, bike (under the cover) and my Titan. 2AM. 8 sec shutter.
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Fire at our camp, and OutlawSon's crew's fire:
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OKDQ's tent - notice how the yellow is reflecting off of my tent (on the right) and back onto the near side of his bike, and the side of HF's truck. Amazing how light works, even in the dark.

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My KTM and Tent. I figured i would give it a go and see if it worked before i headed out the next morning. Hate to try and make camp hours away and find a problem.

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This is where i find out my 20deg bag doesn't really work well in 10deg weather. I nearly froze overnight. I think OKDQ did. I suffer through by moving one of those hand heat packs between my chest and my legs... Barely keeping warm enough to convince myself to stay inside the sleeping bag instead of venturing out to grab another hand warmer or even more clothes... I should have opted for the latter.

I get a late start on the morning because i'm so cold. I start packing up and Wayne reminds me that we still need to patch the hole in the top of his gas tank... I get out the JB Weld, but its frozen. I throw in in a little bit of water and start it boiling... At this point everyone is starting their bikes, and I still haven't eaten breakfast or finished packing my tent up, much less tried starting my bike. I put it in overdrive. No time for pics.

I'm nearly ready to go and try to kick start the bike. Its so cold all i get is a sluggish roll over, and no fire. Not even close. Everyone is already on their bikes, and zipping around chomping at the bit. I'm in a hurry and making mistakes. I have to pace myself to keep from wasting time.


THIS IS WORTH READING: I almost forgot to mention this. When i got ready in the morning i piled on too many layers of socks. Between them and the extra thickness from the chemical foot heat pad, when i put my boots on completely opened up, they were too tight. I figured i would just deal with it. I had no idea how bad this would really be. My toes went from cold to freezing... Walking around finishing packing the tent i could hardly feel them. I realized it was a lack of circulation from all the extra pressure on my feet from all the layers. Not good. As i tried to kick start the bike, on the second kick, my toes went completely numb except for pressure sensation. I was in severe pain. Its like my foot stopped and i had no toes. While the truck was running to heat up the bike (see below) i pulled off all the layers, went back with just the thick MX wool socks, and the chemical foot heat pads. I was afraid i would be cold from the wind, but within minutes my feet were warmer than ever and i regained feeling. The warning is to not put on so many layers that your feet don't get circulation. This is much worse than having thinner socks and keeping some wiggle room. Consider yourself warned!

OKDQ has decided that its just to cold to make the ride so i volunteer his services to hold his foot on the gas in my truck as i park my bike next to the exhaust and finish getting ready. It works... bike turns over a few times and roars to life with the force of a newborn kitten. Shes alive, and i didn't dare touch the throttle for fear of making her stall out. The Idle holds, i finish putting on the gloves, lock the truck, jump on and we're off... for all of 10 seconds. Time to take a quick headcount, and now we're really off!

Headcount:
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..... stay tuned for the next post.

 

[Nanotech9]

HF sets the pace and route on the F800... she's handling well for a big girl and hes keeping her in her place. The road finally turns to solid snow and he stops to make sure everyone is OK to continue on. I take the chance for a quick picture...

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As the group starts off again, Bill (Hamish99) notices he has a flat... but how?!?!? We haven't gotten into any rocks, and hes running tubeless tires... humm. Wane breaks out the air pump and fills the tire back up. Can't find the hole.
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Snow gets deeper the higher we climb. I'll have to admit i would have been disappointed if we didn't have at least this much snow.

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Fowler on the right (i believe) and Robert behind him.
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When we get to the top we find that Talimena Drive (Hwy 1) is solid snow with patches of ice. Its one thing to ride on snow and ice with an underlaying bed of dirt and rock for the tires to find traction... its a different story when its smooth pavement and the knobs can't push dirt and rocks around to find traction. Some of the guys are hesitant to continue on, expecting the road to only get worse. I suggest we take the shoulder and venture across the road over to it to show that theres plenty of traction. Of course, the shoulder is fairly sloped so it could prove to be risky. The way i see it, we give it a try, and if we run into something we can't get around (culvert or no shoulder) then we turn back. Otherwise we'll never know if its do-able.

We head out and i pull over to take pictures.

Gene
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Fowler
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Robert
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Terry
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Wayne is the only one to ride it the entire way (?) ON THE ROAD. The rest of us take the shoulder. Not only that, but hes on what i would call 70/30 Kendas... but not even real Kendas... hes on the Shinko knockoffs!!!!! I'm not sure if hes lucky or good but he keeps the bike upright like a pro.

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Scott (HF)
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And thats where the battery on my little camera dies. Didn't even last half the day in the cold. I just turned it back on today to see if being warm helped any... I was right. It still shows a full charge today. I guess the cold brought the voltage down temporarily just enough to be "dead" to the camera.

So far i'm utterly emjoying the ride. Its perfect. I'm not even really cold under all my layers. Feet and hands are reasonably warm as well. All my prep work is paying off on the gloves and the handguard covers. My gear is staying put, and i've not had to tighten down anything yet. I'm riding moderately aggressive and i've not had any "oh ****" moments or felt like i was in over my head. In fact, i really acquainted riding in the snow and ice to much like riding on the sand at Draper. The bike dances around a bit, the tire spins a bit, the front end pushes a little from time to time, etc. Finally, all the riding in the sand at Draper has paid off! In fact, i'm even riding on "sand tires"... I had a decision to make before i left but running out of time helped me choose and i decided to just keep the Soft Terrain MOTO-Z Terrapactor tires on the bike that i keep on there for Draper. My other alternative was a Pirelli MT43 Trials tire, but i'm not sure it would have behaved as well in the slush, much like it performs poorly in the sand. The Moto-Z's did phenomenally. In fact i think i had the most traction out of everyone there. I definitely felt confident enough in the tires to ass off a LOT. Tons of wheelies in the snow - anywhere the tires hooked up it seemed like i couldn't keep the front wheel on the ground

I'll leave it at that for now... I have a ton more pictures. I'll try to get them all edited so i'll be ready to go tomorrow with the next half!

 

[rahzel100]

I dont want to wait. need more story now.

 

[okkaps]

Cool write up..I always enjoy a great story with pics.

 

[Nanotech9]

ok ok ok i've held this train up long enough... lets get this show on the road.

where did I leave off... let me see here... click, click, search, spin the little scrollie wheel thingie on the mouse... click some more... oh yes, there we are...

For no reason one of the riders falls over, at a dead stop... Oops. It happens sometimes i guess. Anything can throw you off balance with a top-heavy bike like that.

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A team effort managed to get Terry and the Exxon Valdez back up and off the ground. I would say all he had to due was dust her off, but seeing as how we were having a severe lack of dust that day, i think he broke out the baby wipes. Gotta keep the ladies fresh you know


So, we mosey on down the trail for a bit... I didn't know it at the time but Hammish tried to play Olympic ice skater for a bit and landed a perfect double axel, followed by a Salchow, and a triple lutz. Its a darn shame we didn't have a rose girl come by to pick up all the roses that the crowd was throwing at him. Now mind you on day 2 I find out Hamish is a darn good technical rider (including trials bike experience) so it took me a while to figure out what was going on... But i'll come back to this in a little bit and explain what was most likely the cause of his figure skating antics...

Hamish dancing on by:
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Gene
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Robert, making the kendas beg for mercy!
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Nothing like a little ORANGE to add a little color to all that white...
I swear, i fall in love with my bike all over again every time i look at these pictures
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Fowler
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Terry the Pitchman
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Well, we finally hit a little bit of dry, err, wet land instead of frozen land, and take a little time to regroup and grab a snack and recharge our batteries.

HF decides Gene needs a hug and Gene is such a ham he never turns down an opportunity to pose for a picture. I think thats a sock Gene is wearing on his head. Not sure. :huh
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Waiting on a few stragglers
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From what i understand thanks to Outlaw Son's video, this little guys name is Rufus. Poor Rufus seems to have previously suffered from FBS - or Frozen Ball Syndrome. Luckily for Rufus, he seems to have warmed up a bit and is enjoying the ride as much as my little Intel man.

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Hey lookseehere everybody... I done got me a pictar of the pictar tooker.
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Fowler, the suprise isn't in the bag... its tomorrow, and its cold and wet. I promise. :huh
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Wade gettin' his chew on.
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We get everyone rounded up and head down the road for a bit and head over towards Hawcreek where we stop in at the Hawcreek General Store, which is most likely the ONLY store, and quite possibly the only resident.

We're thinking its time to stop for lunch, but HF wants to push a little further down the road before we take a long break. Hamish airs up his tire and I hear what sounds like the hose leaking air - I hear this all the time in my garage because i'm too lazy to re-tighten air connections all the time, but I can't tell if this one is the hose, or the tire. Seeing as how we know the tire is leaking, i figure its worth checking into. I yank off my gloves and feel around the tread and find a steady stream of air thats escaping from a tiny hole in FRONT and at the base of one of the tread blocks. Strange. Hamish proves the worth of the tubliss system by plugging the tire on the bike in a matter of minutes instead of having to pull the wheel off and replace a tube.

 

[Nanotech9]

Most of us top off with gas and get something to drink or munch on, and we head back down the road. We make it about half way to Poteau Mountain and it looks like we've lots a couple of guys... We can't figure if we're cat herding, or something has gone wrong. I run back and find Hamish waiting at the last turn with nobody in sight so i continue on to one turn previous (within eyeshot of the last turn) and fine Wayne with a flat tire. Luckily all this is within a half mile of the main group so I blast ahead to relay the news and get directions while Hamish heads back to start work on the tire removal.

HF gives me directions on a couple of upcoming turns to get up the Mountain, and I tell them to go on ahead so that we don't have the whole group sitting loosing heat and getting restless.

When i get back to the crime scene, the fellas already have the back wheel out, half a tent pitched, and three steaks on the grill... well, i wish. They did have the wheel off though and were making fast headway on pulling the tube. I volunteer some baby powder for the new tube (keeps it from spinning the tube if the tire spins on the rim) and some rim soap. Wane's pump has died filling up Hamish's tire the second time so i pull out my lean mean air moving machine... When i bought my BMW 1200GS the previous owner had taken a nice 12v air pump and cut away all the non-essential plastic, effectively leaving a small DC motor, two gears, the pump cylinder, and a power switch and cable. All "internal" parts completely exposed.... but it worked! Not only did it work, but it never got hot!

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The guys make good time (20min or so?) and get the wheel back in place, and i help with the final chain adjustment with a little trick up my sleeve i learned from the likes of Daddy Devro at the 2009 FCT.

Up the Mountain we go. Snow gets thicker, road is sloppy, and the higher we climb the more ice is packed into the tire grooves. Because of this, i try to always give myself the advantage in each turn but crossing into the inside groove before each turn, with the assumption that if i slip, i've got more room to try to recover than if i'm in the outside groove.

Robert
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Wayne
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Hamish
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Beautiful scenery, but i don't take time to look long. The sun is on the downhill side of the afternoon and temps are dropping fast. I don't want to be on the top of this mountain when the sun takes its last peak into the evening sky and slips over the horizon.

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After a few good climbs i notice that we're putting a small gap on Hamish every so often and i'm a little worried about making it to camp at this pace. I've already given up on catching the other group as I assume they've had no other problems, and their lunch break wasn't more than 20 or 30min. I slow down and move to the back of the pack. I figure this way i'll know if something happens to any of the other riders immediately instead of waiting for a bit and then turning back.

Hamish is directly in front of me, and he's fighting the bike like Nacho Libre at the mexican wrestling nationals. Its ugly, and i'll bet its wearing him out, both physically and mentally. I ride along side for a bit a listen to his RPM's and watch his tire. His bike is purring along nice and quiet like mine. Hes riding a gear tall, keeping the RPM's low, and feathering the throttle. I can tell its not rider error. He moves from one tire track to the other, back to the center, then off to one side, looking hopelessly for traction that the tires refuse to give. And now it all makes sense. For some reason those particular tires are slip sliding all over the place 10 times worse than the Kendas and Shinko knockoffs on Robert and Wane's bikes. I can't believe my eyes as time and time again the tires simply loose traction and the back end kicks off to one side or another.

Hamish proves his worth though and manhandles the bike down the road, flat-tracking and correcting every time the bike gets unruly. Its a constant fight. We stop for a bit and we talk about letting some air out. He drops to 15psi but its not much help

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A lesser rider would have crashed a dozen times on the way up Poteau Mountain. I can't say enough about how well Hamish handled his unruly beast.

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Not too long after this we head back down the mountain, and just a little later, with what came to me as complete shock and surprise, we catch up to the other half of our group just before they head out from a resting spot! Hip Hip Hooray indeed! Not only that, but the road on the way back down gets better and better until its in almost reasonable shape again!

Finally, a little relief:
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HF pushes ahead
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I love this shot!
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Quick break to edit more images fellas... I'll be back once i get to the house and settle into my overpriced leather "drain all motivation out of me" chair.... Stay tuned!

 

[BigDiezel]

Ktm Ftw !!!

 

[Nanotech9]

sorry about not wrapping this up sooner, but i've been busy at work and busy editing my video (still only working on the start of it!) and today i was busy working on the G/F's SV650 and blowing out the cobwebs so we could a few miles on the street bikes today....


so anyhoo... I hope it was worth the wait - i think it is, even if you skip the story and just look at the pictures. Saturday was my day to shine with the camera

But first let me pick up on the story Friday night.

When we first pulled into the Sugar Creek camp area I wasn't exactly excited. We had stopped at the top of the mountain near the main entrance, and the entire field was somewhat exposed, and completely covered in a couple inches of snow. I wasn't looking forward to pitching a tent there. HF mentioned the smaller secluded camping area down the trail a bit, so we decided to check it out. He was right - it was small, but definitely secluded. Looked just big enough for a jeep to turn around in. Less snow on the ground, less chance of winds ripping through camp. We were sold!

The first challenge showed up when Wayne started to put up his bivey, and announced that he was on his second bent tent stake. Me thinking that for some reason i would have better success, proceeded to bend a couple of the aluminum stakes. Things weren't looking good. It wasn't so much the frozen ground holding up the process but the rocks embedded below the surface. Wayne resorted to tying down to several large rocks, and i just dealt with it. My tent will mostly stay up with just two stakes - one at either end, and the rain fly didn't need much tension to hold it in place. With a little luck we didn't suffer any high winds and all was well.

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Terry setting up his fishnet hammock... which i believe he later decided to ditch because it lacked any protection.
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Bill setting up his tarp-on-a-stick... No tent. It seemed like most of us had the Big Agnes insulated air cor mattresses. My only dislike with these is they take FOREVER to inflate. I'm actually working on a solution based on a micro-electric R/C type ducted fan motor setup. I think i can get one to inflate in short order with a micro compact fan.

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Monty setting up his hammock
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I noticed HF had made camp completely out of visual range from the rest of us - not sure why, but hes a veteran camper, so i figured there must be something to it. With his hammock setup he was able to pick just about anywhere to set up and didn't have to rely on a flat spot of ground. I was starting to see the benefit of the hammock system. Monty set up a ways away, but only about halfway between me and HF.

I thought HF had been joking earlier when he said he was bringing a grill, but i soon found out he was serious. After the rest of us had eaten dinner, or something like dinner, I got invited over the the HF/Monty restaurant where Monty was cooking up nothing less than two big thick juicy steaks. Turns out though while the steaks were cooking they were enjoying a backwards dinner... starting with Ice cream bars, followed by Tecate, and then steak. Thanks again for the surprise treats guys!

Mmmmm
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Bill (left) and Monty sitting at the Chef's table at the Monty Restaurant cooking steak
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Thats a lot of steak
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Some of the guys set up a blazing fire at the bottom end of camp. Sure was nice. The stories were great as was the company...

These were all shot handled with a super slow shutter...

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HF sitting near Robert's KLR
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Wade (OutlawSon) (left) and Jon (Fowler)
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Bill - hamish (he kinda looked like my Intel guy)
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Terry
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Monty
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Wane trying to fight off a cold
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Robert
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Heating up the boots and feet and drying out the gloves.
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Friday night turned out quite a bit warmer than the night before... in fact i went to bed so warm that i decided to shed some layers... dumb mistake. I woke up in the middle of the night fairly cold, but still nothing like the night before. I still managed to get some decent sleep and woke up to someone in a nearby tent yelling "TURN IT OFF" over and over. Apparently someones alarm was going off and they were sleeping through it.

A lazy start to Saturday was a welcome relief for me. I rolled the KTM out in the sunlight to see if I couldn't get her to start a little easier and it worked... Everyone shed their luggage at camp and we broke up into smaller groups and with some printed maps and general directions from HF, we headed out of camp to explore the trail systems.

Early morning in the cold... the two odd bikes out of the group
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Frosty
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More....

 

[Nanotech9]

It wasn't long on the trail until we found a little turn-off with an excavated area to play in. The ground was saturated - the top surface slightly dryer and loose, and the underlying ground still saturated from the recent thaw. This made for a loose surface that would quickly load up the tires and cause plenty of traction issues...

Much like the ice, Bill's back tire had trouble loading up and simply lost traction no matter what he tried.
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The ruts were as deep as the wheels. Once the surface was broken through, it was a lost cause in searching for traction.
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I had thought several times of trying to ride all the way up the steep side, but with such little available traction, and so far from assistance if i were to get hurt, i wussed out. Nevertheless, the view from the top was spectacular.

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Terry

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Wade getting everything on video
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Bill was working on his second try... but no luck. Time to try some different tires Bill!
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Get-R-Done
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Robert catching air!!! Twist that throttle!
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Wade catching air
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I must apologize to wade... he got in some good ass'n-off at the top of the hill and as he came across this little jump he landed it, and hammered the throttle lofting the front end in the air and kicking the rear sideways... and i forgot to back out on the zoom and didn't get any of it!!!!!! dammit! It looked good though and put a grin on my face

Heres the moment right before he gets all kinds of wild...
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just add a handfull of throttle
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Terry motoring up the backside
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Jumping up to the lower level... didn't get the big air i wanted, but it was a slippery way up this little plateau and i didn't dare add much more throttle.

Thanks Wade for taking some great pics
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Since you can't really tell where the jump starts, i'm claiming that was a 60' table top lol.


really though, i wussed out on going bigger - you'll see why below.
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This is why. I've got some super plus suspension set up from House of Horsepower... great for riding trails - like a couch on wheels, but soaking up flat jumps isn't its strong suit. I wouldn't trade it out though.

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Alright - enough of that, lets get moving...

Bill and I had been trying to figure out the maps in relation to the GPS tracks, but for all we could tell the maps weren't quite to scale or shape... made for some guesswork on where we were at, so we finally started just picking a direction when we came to a fork in the road and seeing where it took us. We didn't go wrong once.

quick break... Wade had to show off his 2-liter...
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I made bill do a lot of the leading through out the day. Just like in the snow, the back tire kept getting loose and he kept wrestling it back in place. I must have seen a dozen great saves all day.
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fiBishop
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Not as rough as the CNT, but still a decent amount of square-edge loose rocks randomly placed in the worst spots along the trail... between the leaves and pine needles, you didn't even see half of them until it was deflecting one wheel or the other in a surprise attack...

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As mentioned, we had been using the pick-a-random-direction method at every "Y" in the road for some time... on one particular Y we decided to take a left, and i soon realized we should have gone right.... good thing was i knew exactly where we were at on the map, and i had a plan to get us back on track.... Just up the road about a mile was a "shortcut" from the left fork to the right fork in the road which we should have taken. No problem, we'll take the shortcut and get back on track.

I had no idea this was going to be the longest shortcut I've ever taken.

It started out promising... the left fork had a fairly steep rise in altitude, so when we veered off onto the trail it took an immediate plunge. I love elevation changes, so i was happy to see this. Shortly after we came across the one and only water crossing with water in it on the trip... and boy was it a doozy.


Bill plunges in
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The bottom looked just like what you see on the other bank...
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Wade charges through. Sometimes it seems the heavier the bike, the more easily it makes it across...

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fiBishop makes a run for it with the Suzuki...

Now, this is the part where i like to start a little bet going... and use a trem my dad use to use WAY back in the day...

lets call this set of pictures "Willie Makeit, or Betty Don't"

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Looks like hes about to go down!!! Bars turned to lock, foot dragging, doesn't look good....

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For sure hes gonna sit down on a wet rock and take 5....
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but wait!!! in a flurry of steam and roost, FiBishop does what Wade suggests the most and pins that throttle to the max... and its working!

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hold on! hes heading the other way!!!
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he holds on the throttle though and pulls through on the other side unscathed
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Unfortunately, Fowler doesn't fair so well...
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Fowler Bails
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With a single lucky kick the DR350 starts back up and hes in the clear....
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Gene going for a while ride...
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Almost made it!
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As you know from previous video and comments, I took the "wussy" way out and rode through the "dry" rocks on the upstream side of this mess... or two reasons... One, i had a $3k DSLR camera strapped to the seat of the bike, and two, well, i just didn't want to risk soaking my feet on such a cold day. The patch i chose was fairly difficult, and working between one slick hole between rocks and the next prove to be just the challenge i suspected it would be. Forward movement was only to be had by seat-bouncing the rear, blipping the throttle, and rocking the bike all at the same time. I've been through enough water crossings to know what they're like, long ones, short ones, deep ones, and slick ones... and never been down in one yet, but this wasn't the day to test my luck.



Jon draining the boots - the very thing i wanted to avoid. He didn't get warm until maybe 3 hours later back at the fire at camp...
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Well, if that wasn't enough, we came across yet ANOTHER challenge in this little shortcut we were on... a slick, damp leaf covered uphill climb with loose rock and slick bedrock, and one outcropping near the top...

fiBishop decided to take a nap halfway up...
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Now mind you i'll help a buddy pick his bike up, but i've done it enough to learn that you let the guy try to do it on his own first, and only render assistance AFTER taking a picture for evidence, AND after hes had a good go at himself... because if you run up to help everyone immediately, you end up worn out halfway through the day.

So, after the "dammit i need help" sign, i put the camera away and headed up the hill... it took three of us to get it up.

What we discovered was that under the layer of leaves just below the rocks, was a muddy mess. After a couple guys went up it, mud was nicely distributed all over the rocks making it slick as hog snot.
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