Light Up My………..Tire?

I know you have thought of what you would do and what you would buy if you hit the Lottery. Haven’t we all?  I have done a whole lot of wrenchin’ on bikes, not because I want to but because I have to!  I know what I would do if I hit the lottery. Bigger house, Nope.  Nicer clothes, Nope. Finer restaurants, Naw.  Newer truck, Maybe.

I would buy more bikes and way more parts just so I didn’t have to band aid them to keep riding.  As it is I have several bikes, Dual Sport, Off roaders, Race bike, and Adventure bike. Some are duplicated even though I can only ride one at a time.  I justify that by saying that if I split the time between two of them I won’t have to replace them as soon. Clever, eh?

One could say that if you have to have a log book to keep track of oil changes, air filter changes, chain and sprocket changes then you may have too many. I think that just means a guy really cares about his bikes and the maintenance required to have a perfectly functioning machine.  Sounds good.  Well in my maintenance log book I don’t have a section for “riding buddy’s bike”.

Now we get to the moral of this story.  I helped a buddy locate, acquire and set up a KTM 300xcw. It was a used bike, 2014.  Very well kept and in good condition.  So it should not take much to get it in the ball park right?  I found out how poorly some bikes are set up but ridden month after month, year after year in that condition.  The guy it came from was a Fireman and seemed to be pretty squared away with all his accessories, add on parts and even riding gear.  However, when I took over the task of set up I discovered looks are often deceiving as we all know.  The bike worked ok but was too harsh in the front, over sprung in the rear, pinged when under a load and barely cleaned out on top end. I changed what was necessary and made improvements in the performance and handling. But I did all of this on the old tires that came on the bike because I didn’t want to thrash my buddy, Jess’s, new tires. Am I a nice guy or what!  So I had his new tires sitting in the corner of my shop with the other 30 new tires in my garage, lol.

Set up completed and it was time to mount the new tires. Front was a Pirelli knobby and the rear was a Pirelli MT43 trials. No problem with the mounting, bike looks great and all set to deliver for Jess to ride.  I rode with Jess on his 2^nd or third ride and his rear tire was looking low. We checked and aired it up. Next ride low again, ok now we gotta take a look and see why.

We break it down and find a small FLASHLIGHT inside the tire! No Way! I would have called him a fibber if I had not been there and seen it. Then I would have said he was such a Joker and was setting me up.  But when we looked closely at the light, sure as heck it had #33 engraved into the side of it. I mark all my tools.  Apparently it rolled off one of the benches and landed in the tire during my 2 week long set up period, since it was parked in the corner waiting to be mounted I never checked and didn’t notice.  I just grabbed a new tire and put it on. Ok, I am a dipstick for not checking first.  So we fix it and go riding.  Jess gets another flat.  Whaaaaaat! I gotta see this one, so we break it down AGAIN and take the tire off the rim to check EVERYTHING!  I am looking for broken rim strip, burrs in the aluminum rim, sharp spoke nipples and even possible exposed wire in the tire. Nothing!  So while Jess is double checking, I look close inside the tire and there is the usual little bit of rubber chaff from the tire and tube rub. I dump it out and see a little something that doesn’t look right. On closer inspection I realize it is the LENS from the little flashlight!  I stare at it and know that I can sweep it away before Jess sees it or realizes there is anything there since he is busy checking the tire again.  But I don’t, I just hang my head in shame for not catching the flashlight in the first place and decide to take the beating.  Jess laughs and says, “I see a shadow board trophy will have to be made.”

Ok, Whatever!  Does anyone think he still has that little flashlight.  Not a chance, it disappeared and I have No Idea as to what could have happened to it.  But if you ever stop by my house you might have to look for the ‘Wall of Shame’.

#33

‘Complacency is a continuous struggle that we all have to fight’

The Plunder Ride

Having just completed “The Best Ride Ever” with my buddy Jess on his newly acquired KTM 300 XCW, I rolled out in the same area for what turned out to be “The Plunder Ride”.

We rolled again into the same area outside of Orofino and rode a different loop with a lot of trail we had been working on for the past couple of weeks with our saws, both power and manual. We had been clearing brush and downed trees in anticipation of a great unobstructed ride of approximately 75 miles of single track.

It was now 2 days after being blessed with the summer rain that watered the trail system like it had been prepped for a local motocross race. I think the Moto Gods were smiling on us and paying us back for all the hours we had spent working on and polishing this trail in the previous couple of weeks.  In the first couple of miles I thought maybe the Best Ride Ever ride had just been one upped!  But before I got carried away with calling this ride the Best Ride Ever, I just upshifted, adjusted my still fresh ear to ear grin and let ‘er roll!

It was Awesome! Traction without a hint of mud or slick spots that let you ride like you were on Velcro.  Steep downhill, no problem, just apply the brakes needed to adjust your speed to your comfort zone. Steep climb with ruts, rocks, tree roots, no problem just adjust your seating position and dial the amount of throttle you want to scale it like a lizard. Tight trees, no problem, just throw your bike into them at whatever speed you think you could handle and it would bite, no slipping or sliding. Traction that resulted in direction changes like you were on rails!  Off camber, child’s play! I had high mileage tires and they stuck to the off camber like they were brand new tires.

The only thing this perfectly watered and seemingly prepped trail didn’t do was move all the obstacles off the course for a knucklehead head that was having more fun, laughing and riding too fast while not paying close enough attention to detail.  I was riding a steep side hill that banked and let me get on the gas and carry a fair amount of speed into the next bend. That is just about the time I noticed a large stick about 4ft long and about an inch or more in diameter being sucked into my front wheel and stopping it very suddenly!  Remember those perfect “Velco” like conditions?  Yup, lots of traction and my tire got so much traction it bit like I just slammed on the brakes! I got tossed forward and over the bars falling on the downhill side and into a pike of sticks and brush. Once I realized I wasn’t hurt and didn’t get skewered by any of the sticks in the brush pile I started laughing at my good fortune!

The impact when I landed tore the shoulder strap of my back pack off at the bottom of the pack. This required trail side fixing with zip ties to hold the torn shoulder strap to be able to wear it instead of trying to carry it home.  Most of the time spent during the repair I was smiling and laughing. The day was THAT good!

On our way back Jess took a few turns leading and it was fun riding directly behind another rider without being dusted out. Especially when we have the opportunity to see everything on the side of the trail.  Jess found a KTM radiator cover that actually fit his bike. I found a pair of 100% brand goggles. Then it happened! I found a bleached out skull of what appears to be an Elk!  Being more of a city boy I assumed it was a cow skull.  But my resident country boy, hunter, local Orofino boy and riding partner informed me it was from and Elk.  I didn’t care I finally found an intact skull that is going to reside in my garage and remind me of the almost perfect couple of days of riding in Idaho.

When we wrapped up our ride and got back to Jess’s house I laid out our newly acquired finds and took a photo.  Then it dawned on me with all these treasures it truly was “The Plunder Ride”.  This just may be even better than The Best Day Ever ride.  Sometimes I just can’t believe my good fortune! 

#33

“Find something to laugh about”

Best Ride Ever?

Just got back from a ride in Orofino Idaho after spending a week of trail clearing in the area. Hauling hand saws and chainsaws and stopping every minute or two to remove brush and downed trees or logs knocks the heck out of your mileage.

But finally we, (Jess and #33), got to roll and actually ran out of time before we ran out of trail for the day!  That always falls into the “Best Ride Ever” category.

While the trail clearing days were all done on mostly 90ﹾ plus days, our Best Ride Ever ride day came on a day after a rain! We couldn’t have asked for a better reward for all of our efforts. Once I started my roll on the trail I found myself grinning from ear to ear and laughing like a loon most of the day. Now most of you have gone woods riding on a day after a rain and know that the lead rider generally knocks the moisture off the branches for all the other riders. I learned that one from my good buddy Frank Showers when he sent me ahead on one of his trail rides many years ago after a rain. I thought I had hit the lottery that morning until my brain caught up with my riding at the first stop.  I didn’t know I was being set up by an experienced trail geezer, I was soaked to the bone and happy as a clam! Thanks Frank, lesson learned!

But not today! This was obviously payback from the trail Gods for all of our effort and hard work clearing trail. I was lead rider and prepared for the wet brush just to ride such a great trail, freshly cleared and recently watered. At my fist stop for a breather I couldn’t help but notice I was dry and my goggles did not require any maintenance for me to keep going. My first thought was that we must have ridden through a pocket that got minimal rain. But as we continued on throughout the day it never changed. Incredible!  A perfectly watered trail and dry bushes on the day after a rain. Almost 40 miles of mostly 2^nd gear riding, 4 hours later and I was heading to the house dry. Awesome!  Take That Frank!

In all my years of trail riding I am not sure I can remember that happening. So I have to believe it must have been the Trail Gods paying us back for all the work we put in the previous couple of weeks working these trails in this area.  So this could be quite possibly the “Best Day Ever” of trail rides.

I hope everyone gets to experience one of these days in their riding life. Maybe you already have if you think back. If not, suit up and give me call. I have a new 500XCW I need to log some miles on.

#33

“Find something to laugh about”

Geezer Snookered

Did a ride with a couple of Geezers the other day and they were pretty slick! First off the Boyz could Ride! In the second place they took me to their regular stomping grounds, you know the place, in your back yard on your normal loop that you ride every couple of weeks for the past 10 years or so!

Yup, the Boyz wuz Slick!  Ol’ Senor Kirby (Doug 21J) and Stan Stanton were the assassins that lead me around their riding area while inviting me to go first on several occasions. “We don’t want to hold you up” is what they said, but “let’s see whatcha got sonny” is what I heard. I ain’t so dumb!

Wisely, I didn’t take the bait and declined their “generous” offer. Besides it had rained just a day or so ago so I knew none of us would have to ride in much dust other than the open exposed areas. I was right in two categories. First, because the conditions were fantastic with traction and just a hint of dust in the open areas. Second, because as we got underway the two old buggers just about disappeared on me! I thought wait a minute these two guys are 152 yrs. old between them! That’s right they are both 76 years old! I thought we were going on a sightseeing trail ride.

I had the Best Ride Ever once I got up to speed and started keeping them in sight, they whipped between trees like it was a motocross track. I started to think they had done this before. We had a great time and rode some excellent trails. I am not sure I would have ever found these trails if they hadn’t shown me.  On our first stop/break I realized why they choose this trail, it was perfectly suited to the 200/250 KTM xcw’s, which is what the assassins rode. But I have to admit, it was just as much fun on my 500 xcw and it made me pay attention while darting in and out of trees. I loved it!

We had a couple of hours of fun and then it was time to head back, not that I knew which way was back, but if they ditch me now I have a Plated bike and will get my butt back!

This was my first ride with the point man Stan and as amazing as he was it was even more incredible that he had been involved in a work related accident 31 years ago when he was only 45 years old. His right hand/wrist had been all but destroyed in a logging incident while at work. Luckily, he was able to get a doctor that could put it together and make all his fingers work. The wrist has been locked in place so he is unable to use a normal throttle. Yet here he is hauling the mail through the woods beating up on the kids!

It seems he wanted to ride enough he was willing and able to design and make an index finger trigger throttle that he learned to ride with. When I saw that I smiled and thought “here is a guy that wants to ride as much as I do!” His throttle gives a whole new meaning to “pulling the Trigger” out of the corner!

When we got back I was thinking I would like to go ride that place again and told another rider about what a great time I had and what a great place it was. This rider said he had ridden the area and was not as enthused as I was because it was so “tight”. You know just, tree, turn, tree, turn, tree, turn………….I smiled and said, “exactly!”  I may invite that guy to ride with Stan and Senor Kirby next time I go with them, I would have a great time watching the fireworks!

#33

‘Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines’

Just a Taco Ride

Each Monday I go for a ride with a group to have lunch at a small restaurant/bar. The special each Monday is Tacos for $1. Good enough reason, or excuse actually, to ride 90 miles round trip don’t you think?

The ride is more about socializing and meeting friends than it is about riding since it is always somewhat the same route since we are going to the same place with a few twists and turns thrown in for good measure. In the past few years our group has added and lost people for various reasons and has begun to expand to include the dreaded 4-wheel crowd, lol. Polaris RZR is the couch of choice and as the group ages with each passing year the RZR becomes more attractive to riders looking at the septuagenarian and even octogenarian decade of life.

A few years back I wrote an observation on how I noticed the Rekluse clutch and the Electric starter keeping riders on their bike for a few extra years. Well, a couple of our guys have reached the point that they are limited on their bike on how far they can travel. They still can and want to ride but father time is telling them it is time to stop. So a couple of them have moved over to the dark side and bought RZRs. But we still all go to have tacos together almost every Monday.

Unfortunately, even the RZR with safety belts and roll bars can still be dangerous. Last Monday one of our guys, George, rolled his RZR on a hill and must have gotten his arm outside the vehicle. Of course he ended up with a broken arm and had to be taken to the hospital and is going to have surgery. Hopefully it goes very well and heals quickly.

It was a few hours to regroup and do the shuttle thing to recover George’s RZR. I was on my KTM as was my riding buddy, Big E (Ed). Big E limped the RZR out on a flat tire while I followed. The RZR had a spare but not tools that fit to change it out. Whaaaaaaat!  Apparently I carry more tools in my backpack than some of the chair drivers do in their vehicles.

Big E got the RZR to the fire station in town about 7 miles away and we left it there to be picked up on a trailer.  We recovered Big E’s KTM and were about to head home. Or so I thought!  Big E looks at me and says he is hungry now. So I guess we are still going to have tacos, even though it is now about 3 PM. Big E and I had our tacos, which seemed extra good for some reason and headed home. It was quite a day and was very good to get home safely, something I sometimes take for granted. I will try to be more grateful at the end of each ride from now on.

Hopefully George has a speedy and full recovery.

Thanks to everyone that helped, the firefighter/paramedics and Sheriff deputy that all responded. Unfortunately, we will never know their names but will always be grateful for their presence.

Ride Safe!

#33

‘Life is short, Live it to the fullest, it has an expiration date!’