The Place, CALIFORNIA

[the Eel]

GGOJA and Farmer John are to blame for this .. pure and simple. GGOJA planted the seed and FJ was more than happy to water it !
A small group of us showed up to ride The Place .... Thumbs, Farmer John, GGOJA, Old n Slo, and myself. It turned out great, and except for Old n Slo's scrap with a tree branch, we got out in one piece, bikes and all. PlaceLast himself and the littlest PlaceLast (a lot less little than when I saw him last) also showed up to take pictures, lend a hand, and spectate. And the spectatin' was pretty good I think !

The Place is a creek trail that has been unused for a some time. I accidentally ran over a rattlesnake on the way in but the snake just slithered away like it was nothing. A loose rocky trail leads you slowly uphill and then down toward The Place and eventually the rocky trail morphs into the rocky (yo adrienne!) creek trail. The Place is only about 1/4 mile long and then it just becomes too impassable. We rode in as far as we could. About 2 hours or so to do the 1/4 mile.

The hard parts are the boulder piles that litter the creek. Plus everything is slippery from the water and the creek is very narrow with the walls sloping up and away on either side. Most of the time it's just up and over the piles as best you can. I was tired after the 1st pile ... and only 10 or 12 more piles to go. Tony was saying how fun it was to clear a pile on the first attempt. I was saying "great, a 1 in 5 chance of having fun !"

Here's a typical scene: GGOJA on the left clutching it over a rock pile, PlaceLast in the back getting a shot, and me on the right trying another line.
http://home.earthlink.net/~emjelliott/_uimages/GGOJA-PlaceLast-Eel.JPG

Then there's the proto-typical "assist". Farmer John up and over with help from Thumbs. John would have made this solo. I tried the line and didn't make it until FJ rammed from behind with his bike ... gave me the momentum to get up and over. I offered to give him a hand on his turn but he said "no". He had pretty much figured out the line when Tony snuck in and gave him a push. http://home.earthlink.net/~emjelliott/_uimages/Thumbs-FarmerJohn.JPG

The only misfortune of the day was this:
http://home.earthlink.net/~emjelliott/_uimages/oldnstitches.JPG
That left eyelid is indeed split. What I don't understand is why is Old 'n' Stitches still smiling ?

Here's GGOJA stylin' the Bulldog.
http://home.earthlink.net/~emjelliott/_uimages/Ggoja.jpg

Here's me in somewhat deep doo-doo.
http://home.earthlink.net/~emjelliott/_uimages/eeldeep.JPG

And more of the same .. with Thumbs in front this time, a spot he frequented all day.
http://home.earthlink.net/~emjelliott/_uimages/Eel.JPG

And finally, the King of The Place is ......
http://home.earthlink.net/~emjelliott/_uimages/thumbsfocus.JPG

Yup ... Thumbs had the cleanest lines on his 1-2-5. No doubt.

I can't remember everything else that happened so you guys can fill in the many blanks. Right now I think I need to go soak.
http://home.earthlink.net/~emjelliott/_uimages/coolingoff.JPG

I had a great time ... thanks for showing up fellas.

 

[GETMETOCA]

GREAT REPORT EEL!!  I've met nearly all of you on one ride or another, so I can just imagine what a fun group you had there.  Hope the eyelid heals up soon Old'nStiches!!

 

[motochic]

That looks like unbeliveable ride. Thanks for sharing the pics :-)

 

[Jonala]

I wish that PLACE was closer. I sure would like a try at it with a trials bike.
Great report and pictures. After riding the Polecat, I'm sure Jake was right at home on those rocks. :p

 

[MelloYello]

Eric, nice report, man. I was yelling something close to "Yo, Adrienne!" but it started with an M and had an F in the middle.:eek: Just like at the Polecat, I fell down a lot. But oh, what fun!

Actually, placelast is to blame for everything! He took me there last Christmas and I had been thinking about it ever since. By the way, how great a guy is John G. and his son, Joseph! They not only hiked all the way in, but took some great photos of our misadventures. Thanks, guys!:thumb:

Here are some of those pics: http://groups.msn.com/JakesPicturePage/theplacedrn.msnw?albumlist=2

It was great meeting the Eel and Thumbs, good to see Farmer John and oldandslo again. Let's find another "place" and do this again.

 

[the Eel]

:)
It was fun ... and Jake was right at home. I think he has even more pictures coming ... I can't wait !

 

[the Eel]

:yeehaw: Guess I didn't have to wait at all ... his pics are already up !

 

[Jonala]

I just realized that having FJ there, who know what kind of carnage he will unleash at next years Piglet! :flame:

Watching kids and parents going over water and rock obstacles, ohh what fun! :laugh:

 

[Ol'89r]

Eric.

Awesome report. :thumb: Great pictures, wish I coulda made it. :whiner:

9r

 

[thumbs]

Nice report Eric and great pics too.

It was another fun filled day with the Wrecking Crew. I can't even begin to tell you how much my arms and legs hurt today. Can't wait till next time.

Thank for the ride of the 250F Jake.

Nice to see everyone again.

 

[oldandslo]

Great ride, great pictures.

I'll never forget to put the goggles on again. It was hot they were fogging up, so I took them off. The next thing I know I'm on my back in the creek.

The rest of the ride was fun, I think. Can't wait till the next one.

 

[Farmer John]

wow! lots of pics.
I had a great time, but with EEL, thumbs, Oldandbleeding, ggoja, placelast & his clone how could I not?

I ended up not going to the enduro. I spent Sunday straightening my right radiator, popping out a dent in the pipe & replacing my clutch cable.
It turns out that when I thought I was loosing my clutch it was the, original from 94, cable popping apart one strand at a time. :think:

 

[MelloYello]

No problem, Tony. And thanks for the shower you gave Eric and me on our way out.:think:

Thanks John for fixing my front brake.:thumb: It would have been less than pleasant to ride out of the forest without it.