Fly...Tough Enough!

Can you believe rides in California, Arizona, Montana, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Baja. Desert and more desert, rocks, cactus, sand, trees, water crossings, mud, pavement and more rocks? 16,000 miles and this gear still looks pretty good. That's some tough stuff!

Even a few crashes didn't do much damage.

Fly Patrol Still Going After 16,000 Miles

FLY PATROL OFF ROAD GEAR

Having been riding with the FLY PATROL off road pants and jersey now for about two years, I figured it was about time to do a follow up for MX43 readers.

Although this gear is now getting pretty long in the tooth, it is now finally starting to reach its limits. Throw in a lot of manzanita brush, cactus of all kinds, rocks and other things like hot exhaust pipes and it is understandable how I finally pushed it to the limits!

In two years and approximately 16,000 miles I have flogged and crashed the FLY PATROL pants through enough brush and rocks that I am seeing crash related tears show up. I am still amazed that the PATROL jersey has no tears! It is starting to show rough spots and snags but continues to stay in one piece despite my best efforts.

I really appreciate this gear due to the fact that I always have a place to carry my wallet, cell phone and money for gas and lunch! The adjustable waistband is a bonus too, especially when you enjoy a little too much lunch on really long rides, not that I have EVER done that. The vents with zippers are invaluable when you ride from hot to cold and back all in one ride. Countless times I have enjoyed the luxury of zipping or unzipping with changes in weather and elevation.

So if you are looking for a set of gear that you can trail ride, moto, dual sport or even race with the FLY PATROL combo can do it all.

#33

‘Life is like riding a motorcycle, balance and poise are only achieved by moving forward’

Flying on FLY pegs

I was recently introduced to the new FLY foot peg system and will never go back! These things are AWESOME!  They look great and perform incredibly well.
The arched profile keeps a more constant contact area with my boots as I ride. This keeps me from slipping when things get wet and muddy.
Having now logged well over 1000 miles on them they show no wear spots or dulling of the cleats. Also they are apparently very durable since they have encountered numerous bashing on rocks and logs throughout Idaho, Montana and the deserts of Arizona. So far so good not a mark or deformation to be seen.
The arched profile should also extend the life of my boot soles if I am correct just by not digging in as regular pegs do. Only time will tell, but I will let you know.
Well the sun is coming up and I have some FLY pegs to test!

#33
‘a good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow’

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”