Riding In The Rain!

A WET SURPRISE!

Have you ever gone out on a beautiful day for a ride and got sent scurrying back to the truck soaking wet?
I started out on an exploration ride into some local mountains with the expectation it would be significantly cooler that the 98* temp at the van. But I did error on the side of caution and threw my FLY Black Ops jacket in my pack. Just in case. Boy, did I choose wisely! As I headed up the mountain a few clouds appeared and I thought, Great maybe I will get a sprinkle during Sept and have moist trails all to myself, since it was a weekday.
About 45 minutes into the ride I was approaching 6000 ft and could now see over the mountain range. Man was it DARK!
I thought if I stopped and put on my FLY jacket I would work my way into a valley I wanted to explore and miss the big stuff. Within 10 minutes of putting the jacket on I was cruising along in a slight drizzle. I could see because my goggles were not getting hammered so I kept going.
That lasted all of about 3 minutes, then the rain drops got so big I was sure I saw them making a splash or just bouncing a bit like hail. Trying to be the optimist I approached it like Bill Murry in Caddyshack when he soldiered on in his raincoat and galoshes. I even remember trying to distract myself by asking, ‘Do you think the big stuff will be coming?’.  I made myself laugh!
In about another mile on the trail my gloves and pants were soaked so I pulled over against a hill with some trees protecting about one square foot.  I tried to squeeze myself into it to wait it out. I made myself as small as I could but was still getting hit from all sides. I huddled there for about 30 minutes. During that time, I watched my poor 500 XCW get a shower!

It was looking pretty good since I hadn’t washed it in almost 2 months! It looked so clean I snapped a picture! Then I noticed the rain had come down hard enough it was now running down the road as a small creek! DOH!!!  I would have to go back that way.
Also I was there long enough I was starting to get cold and thinking about how good a hot shower was going to feel. So as soon as the monsoon let up, I fired up the KTM and headed my butt back toward the van.  The good thing was that the more I descended the less rain I encountered. It also warmed up considerably with the elevation drop. Life was good!
I made it back to the van and the 98* temps in the valley had almost dried me out. I changed out of the damp riding clothes into some dry street clothes and realized my ride had been cut short, I got cold, soaked and only covered 47 miles. Then I realized I was smiling and thought: This was the Best Ride Ever!!!
#33
‘Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful’

Riding with “Doo Rag” on “Hello Kitty”

I have a buddy I get to ride with whenever he gets a ‘kitchen pass’!  But whenever he shows up I am pretty much guaranteed a fun filled and entertaining day on the trail.
So this trip put me on the trail with Rodney or R.J. as we call him, Doo Rag (Darrin) and Barry who lives in a housing complex called Camelot, sounds magical doesn’t it!  We started our ride from Barry’s house and rode into the Plumas National forest. Barry or Bear-Meister as I usually call him leads us out on some really cool trails that are awesome single-track after awesome single-track. We negotiate some rather large boulders, narrow tree sections and a creek crossing or two. Then we come to a trail head that Barry tells us is known as “Hello Kitty” and we should go that way and he will meet us at the other end.  We assume he was going to set up for pictures or scouting another trail or something. Boy are we dense!  But like good little soldiers away we go with big grins on our faces. This is going to be great.
We thrash for the next hour and a half and probably cover all of 3 miles or less!  It was Great!  Well, I thought so anyway.  Doo Rag struggled in a few spots and had to make 2nd attempts and push a couple of times but he survived.  Barely!  

RJ did great with the exception of one tricky steep off camber downhill.  He and the bike swapped places and the bike rode RJ for a bit down the hill. Unfortunately for RJ I was there to capture the comedy on camera. He escaped unscathed, remounted and soldiered on.
When we all arrived at the end of the Hello Kitty trail Barry was nowhere to be found. It seems Barry was not as familiar with the trail as we thought.  He couldn’t find us at the other end.  So we took a break to eat and drink something, but mostly for Doo Rag to recover since we were now on our own and would have to find our way back.
When we did find our way back and hooked back up with Bear Meister I found out he had done Hello Kitty exactly once!  He was also overheard making the statement that it would be the only time!  Doo Rag was a bit fatigued and could hardly keep his eyes open so he laid down and took a little siesta so he could make it back to Camelot.
Day 2 started out much better since it was agreed beforehand we would not go anywhere near Hello Kitty. So we had a great 2nd day of riding on some great trails with some very scenic views. I was pretty sure Doo Rag was feeling the effects from day 1 so I thought it would be a good idea to stay close and keep an eye on him.  I also made sure I had the camera ready, I didn’t want to miss anything.
Well Doo Rag didn’t disappoint, he had a low speed mishap on an uphill rut that had him lying in the brush with his leg pinned under his bike. Since he was on the downhill side he could not free himself without help. Take a guess on who the “helper” was! Yup, yours truly #33.  He calmly waited and said, “go ahead and take your picture then help me get up!”.  I was laughing so hard I almost forgot to put my kickstand down. I got the photo as Doo Rag posed and then lifted the bike for him to escape.  
We finished day 2 without any more major mishaps and made it back to Camelot, loaded up and headed for home. I couldn’t wait to download the pictures and share our boy’s bonding weekend trip with the mx43 readers.
Anybody want to go riding?
#33
“Learn to smile at every situation. See it as an opportunity to prove your strength and ability”

Fly Helmet + 1000's of Miles = Happy #33

 First Anniversary of FLY helmet

 

It is almost a year of wearing a FLY helmet for riding and a Baja 1000 race.  It has been very comfortable and seemed to hold up well despite having hundreds of hours and literally thousands of miles on it. Rest assured it has had the lining removed and washed several times during this constant state of flogging/use! 

I have also done trail work in it, which without the air flow, has resulted in it being thoroughly drenched in sweat. Those of you that have had to put a soaking wet helmet back on know exactly what I am talking about.  As disgusting as that sounds it has always cleaned up and washed up well enough I don’t mind  heading off on a new adventure once it has been cleaned up. 

I have grown very accustomed to the bright orange color and find it has several advantages, easy to locate when I set it down somewhere, easy for anyone on a group ride to identify me and very easy for anyone to pick me out of a crowd on a ride or during a race. Also, I think it looks great in photos!

So to sum it up, Comfort, durability, easy to maintain and good looks. What more could you ask for?

#33

‘Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions’

Works Connection Pumps You Up!

WORKS CONNECTION NALA & SUSPENSION PUMP
I have been using the Works Connection pump along with the No Air Loss Adapter (NALA) for approximately a year now. I have been very impressed with the ease of use and accuracy of the gauge.
The NALA is another tool that increases the consistency of your pressure by guaranteeing you have the same pressure each and every time you use your pump to set your forks. Also the gauge is so accurate with its digital display and bleeder button anyone can do it.
Having just recently acquired my first dual suspended mountain bike with air forks and shock opens up a whole new use and makes the Works Connection gauge and NALA even more exciting and valuable to have in the tool box!

The pump and NALA are light enough and small enough to actually take in my back pack to adjust and experiment on the trail. It has made dialing in my pressures and getting my suspension set up correctly so much quicker and easier I can’t wait for the next ride to do more trail side tuning.
I think I have found my new favorite tool in my toolbox. All I can say is if you don’t have one, move over when you hear “on your left” because my suspension is working so good I will be coming through!
#33

Riding Moab with “The Bad News Bears”

Riding Moab

Since he is newly retired (1 year) my sometime riding buddy ‘Recon’ got the idea he should rent a house and have a bunch of his buddies meet up and ride for a week. It was sold to us as a week of motorcycle riding, mountain biking, golfing and possibly some river rafting. It worked out pretty well with only the river rafting getting the axe because we simply ran out of time!

It was a great week and I had no idea I was meeting up with an older version of the “Bad News Bears!” The Characters in this real life movie were Recon, Todd, Rick, Tom and two new players I had never met, Duane and Craig. A brief description is Recon the hurry up and we can do two rides if you guys will just get ready guy.  Todd the slower paced more methodical and let’s think this out guy.  Rick the HADD (hyper attention deficit disorder) guy.  Tom the kid from the family with money that wants to polish his bikes before and after he rides them guy. Then two new acquaintances, Duane the only non-prison worker in the group that enjoyed recording the trip with pictures and was more techno savvy than the rest of us by using his computer to watch ride videos guy.  Craig the up for anything as long as you can keep him pointed in the right direction and self-appointed Chef/BBQ extraordinaire guy.
I had no idea of what to expect with these guys all together in a house for a week. As it turned out it was the most fun I have had in several of my moto trips! It was nonstop entertainment after the first day of settling in and they let the clowning begin.

We rode mountain bikes on Slick Rock trail and Porcupine Rim Trail. The riding and scenery was spectacular with breath taking views on both. Everyone had a great time and no one got hurt even with a couple of minor crashes!  Duane our resident photographer made the comment that the pictures would not do this place justice, it has to be seen. I think Porcupine Rim fell into the category of ‘Best Ride Ever!’
We rode motorcycles around the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park which took us somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 hours. Along the way we stopped at sheer cliffs that dropped several hundred feet and you could ride right up to the edge. You could even sit on the edge and hang your feet over the side, well except for Tom. I think he had to stop and polish his bike whenever we started to get near the cliffs!  Everyone started rolling right along until Rick decided to slide himself and his KLR 650 in the dirt like he was sliding into home plate head first!  I looked in my mirror just in time to see an enormous cloud of dust! I stopped my bike and started back to where he was.  He was already up and brushing the dirt from the front of himself, so I figured he must be ok because he is dusting himself off. By then the other guys were rolling up and I started yelling for them to take pictures! The cameras came out and we couldn’t help but laughing because he looked like Pig Pen!  Rick was giggling at himself too.  A few minutes and we were on our way.  This ride ended up being about 160 miles and we were about half way so ol’ Ricky may have been getting a bit tired.  So maybe it was time for a rest/lunch stop. We took a break and had our snacks then were back on the trail. More excellent views and lots of miles.  
Then it happened again, but this time Rick didn’t slide, he tipped over on a short steep hill climb. A KLR 650 is not exactly a lightweight so down he goes in a heap. No harm, no foul and no injury. Until we get the bike up and discover he has broken his clutch perch. Oops, spare levers but no spare perch. So it became a patch job. Of course everyone’s first thought is Duct Tape!  I thought the same thing and then realized I fit right in with this group! Oh Hell, we are a bunch of okie/rednecks!  Then after reconsidering we came up with the Zip Tie fix!  So now we are just plain ol’ rednecks. But the duct tape was still in our back pocket if necessary.  7 Zip Ties later and we are back on the trail.
We enjoyed the rest of the ride and took in lots of amazing scenery with Duane doing the best he could to capture it on camera.

The rest of the week had us all thoroughly enjoying ourselves with each ride and each meal being dubbed as “the best ride/dinner ever!”  I asked Chef Craig once what was for dinner and he told me I had two choices, 1. Take it.  2. Or leave it!   I found out in a hurry that this wasn’t Burger King!
Maybe this can become an annual event, if so I am in!

#33

“Just because it is a bad idea doesn’t mean it won’t be a good time!”

Lots of pictures in the photo gallery!