wfocrusty
Member
- Nov 2, 2001
- 118
- 0
Well, the day started out with the usual bummer when I went to hook up the trailer and found one of the tires flat. Instead of changing it, I just decided to ride into Chadwick again. While floundering in haste to get my gear on, I forgot to tighten my seat bolts back down (I was charging the battery) and on the way in lost one of my new sidepanels!!! Brilliant! Oh well, what's another $50. :|
After hauling posterior down farm rd. 171, I finally arrived at the pavilion. The K.C. group (Jason, Jim & Pat) and Darren House looked as fresh as morning daisies. I pulled in and elicited the customary salutations and was immediately informed that one of my side panels was missing. Great way to start the day! Jason introduced me to Jim, Pat & Darren and we set off to find adventure.
Since Pat hadn't had the fortune of experiencing Chadwick before (on the brand spanking new 250SX), we took a scenic run down 126 and then proceeded to Dairy Queen (we went down, so it wasn't THAT bad). I took the relatively easy western side and everyone made it down unscathed. Jim looked a little "white," but didn't complain that much. No dented pipes or bodies, so it was off to 104.
As we went hauling down to the 102/101 junction we ran into (almost literally) some ***s and I accidentally nudged the fender of one gal who zinged when she should have zagged. A thousand pardons to the lady (I think....) and I sincerely hope you learn to ride on the right side of the trail when approaching traffic! We tooled on down to the entrance of 104 and it didn't look nearly as bad as I had expected. A little slimey, but pretty tractable overall. We picked our way up the trail and lost Jim somewhere along the way. A few minutes later he showed up and we learned he had taken a little spill and received his first "Chadwick tatoo." 104 was fast, but not quite so open. I was hauling a little faster than I should have and came upon several "road blocks." I finally realized that the trees were downed intentionally on the trail. I'm assuming by the Forrestry Service...my apolgies. We squirted on through some fairly tight, rocky sections to get everyone loosened up and then headed for a scenic view of Red Bridge. The clear running water was deep and inviting as it was getting pretty warm by this time.
We headed back to 104 and (this is where the fun begins) I proceeded to plop into what should be an easily crossable ditch. It seems my 520 decided to develop a case of the hiccups and bogged everytime I blipped the throttle to make the 2' jump. After falling into the little canyon about six times (to everyone's amusement), I finally got a slightly longer run at it and clutched the big dog like a 125. Success, I was on the other side feeling somewhat like Evil Kinevil at Snake River.....
We then made our way up to my favorite section of 104. The terrain is relatively open, the trail is fast and wandering, the sun is shining through the trees....a perfect day. The occasional limb hanging out trying to decapitate us were the only real hazzards we came across. We roosted through the remaining trail and then intended on heading back to the truck. Jason decided to do some bank jumping on 121 as we went back. Darren was getting some big air and we decided to capture a Kodak moment. There will be some pics forthcoming...hopefully the Wal-Mart photo dept. will actually develop all of them this time. :debil:
We made way back to the pavilion and enjoyed some of Pat's excellent ham SAMMICHES...thank's Pat! After a brief rest we were back on the trail heading to 119 and the "Widowmaker." After instructing everyone on what to expect, we watched a trials rider putt up the knarly wall in FOURTH gear....how difficult could it be???? Jason took the fast line the first time and squirted right up it (Grrrrr). I floundered my way up the hill a couple of times and then found out that hot ticket was to click up a gear. Easy climb after that. Thanks, Jason.
Jim took a couple of tries and did very well with the SX. After a couple of get offs he cleared the top and was all smiles. Horsepower is king! Pat and the hill didn't get along too well, but he gave it a valiant effort. Soon after, Lindsey, my buddy with the mighty 540 Katoom laid waste to half the hill trying to go up it sideways. A couple of his buddies, one on a 250F were putting on a real show. It looked like a rodeo, as Jason said, with arms and legs flailing and near misses with solidly planted trees. Got some good shots of the underside of skid plates and bodies / bikes rolling down the hill. Again, hopefully, pics will be posted later.
Next was 108...one of my favorite haul *** sections. However, somebody again dropped some strategically placed trees on the trail and I almost had to clean my pants after coming around a tight corner and encountering a horizontal grove of hickory. After composing myself, I again proceeded down the trail where I almost wadded myself in the second pile of timber. But, the third one I was ready for! What was once a fast, wide-open section of single track had turned into a slalom course. Hopefully, there will be some trail clean up done soon.....
We then moved to the "cliff dive" section going over to 135 (nice steep drop offs that are more fun going up than down). Then we took an easy run down 135 and again encountered numerous downed trees. We took a right onto 132 and went through some nasty rocks (sorry guys) and although there were some ****s & ****s, everyone eventually made it up. From there we cruised easily through 132A and then back to 171 and the pavilion.
All in all, it was a very fun ride and we took a pretty good tour of the terrain available there.
After hauling posterior down farm rd. 171, I finally arrived at the pavilion. The K.C. group (Jason, Jim & Pat) and Darren House looked as fresh as morning daisies. I pulled in and elicited the customary salutations and was immediately informed that one of my side panels was missing. Great way to start the day! Jason introduced me to Jim, Pat & Darren and we set off to find adventure.
Since Pat hadn't had the fortune of experiencing Chadwick before (on the brand spanking new 250SX), we took a scenic run down 126 and then proceeded to Dairy Queen (we went down, so it wasn't THAT bad). I took the relatively easy western side and everyone made it down unscathed. Jim looked a little "white," but didn't complain that much. No dented pipes or bodies, so it was off to 104.
As we went hauling down to the 102/101 junction we ran into (almost literally) some ***s and I accidentally nudged the fender of one gal who zinged when she should have zagged. A thousand pardons to the lady (I think....) and I sincerely hope you learn to ride on the right side of the trail when approaching traffic! We tooled on down to the entrance of 104 and it didn't look nearly as bad as I had expected. A little slimey, but pretty tractable overall. We picked our way up the trail and lost Jim somewhere along the way. A few minutes later he showed up and we learned he had taken a little spill and received his first "Chadwick tatoo." 104 was fast, but not quite so open. I was hauling a little faster than I should have and came upon several "road blocks." I finally realized that the trees were downed intentionally on the trail. I'm assuming by the Forrestry Service...my apolgies. We squirted on through some fairly tight, rocky sections to get everyone loosened up and then headed for a scenic view of Red Bridge. The clear running water was deep and inviting as it was getting pretty warm by this time.
We headed back to 104 and (this is where the fun begins) I proceeded to plop into what should be an easily crossable ditch. It seems my 520 decided to develop a case of the hiccups and bogged everytime I blipped the throttle to make the 2' jump. After falling into the little canyon about six times (to everyone's amusement), I finally got a slightly longer run at it and clutched the big dog like a 125. Success, I was on the other side feeling somewhat like Evil Kinevil at Snake River.....
We then made our way up to my favorite section of 104. The terrain is relatively open, the trail is fast and wandering, the sun is shining through the trees....a perfect day. The occasional limb hanging out trying to decapitate us were the only real hazzards we came across. We roosted through the remaining trail and then intended on heading back to the truck. Jason decided to do some bank jumping on 121 as we went back. Darren was getting some big air and we decided to capture a Kodak moment. There will be some pics forthcoming...hopefully the Wal-Mart photo dept. will actually develop all of them this time. :debil:
We made way back to the pavilion and enjoyed some of Pat's excellent ham SAMMICHES...thank's Pat! After a brief rest we were back on the trail heading to 119 and the "Widowmaker." After instructing everyone on what to expect, we watched a trials rider putt up the knarly wall in FOURTH gear....how difficult could it be???? Jason took the fast line the first time and squirted right up it (Grrrrr). I floundered my way up the hill a couple of times and then found out that hot ticket was to click up a gear. Easy climb after that. Thanks, Jason.
Jim took a couple of tries and did very well with the SX. After a couple of get offs he cleared the top and was all smiles. Horsepower is king! Pat and the hill didn't get along too well, but he gave it a valiant effort. Soon after, Lindsey, my buddy with the mighty 540 Katoom laid waste to half the hill trying to go up it sideways. A couple of his buddies, one on a 250F were putting on a real show. It looked like a rodeo, as Jason said, with arms and legs flailing and near misses with solidly planted trees. Got some good shots of the underside of skid plates and bodies / bikes rolling down the hill. Again, hopefully, pics will be posted later.
Next was 108...one of my favorite haul *** sections. However, somebody again dropped some strategically placed trees on the trail and I almost had to clean my pants after coming around a tight corner and encountering a horizontal grove of hickory. After composing myself, I again proceeded down the trail where I almost wadded myself in the second pile of timber. But, the third one I was ready for! What was once a fast, wide-open section of single track had turned into a slalom course. Hopefully, there will be some trail clean up done soon.....
We then moved to the "cliff dive" section going over to 135 (nice steep drop offs that are more fun going up than down). Then we took an easy run down 135 and again encountered numerous downed trees. We took a right onto 132 and went through some nasty rocks (sorry guys) and although there were some ****s & ****s, everyone eventually made it up. From there we cruised easily through 132A and then back to 171 and the pavilion.
All in all, it was a very fun ride and we took a pretty good tour of the terrain available there.
Last edited: