2nd Annual Clear Creek New Years Ride

[Karna&Justin]

Clear Creek Trip is a go!

As of 7pm tonight Clear Creek area has only received 0.2 inches of rain. The weather forecast (weather.com and accuweather.com) shows partly cloudy skies Sun-Thurs with a 30% chance of a shower on Tuesday AM. Highs from mid 50's and lows in the 30's. Some snow at higher elevations is likely. FUN! FUN! FUN!! Bring rain gear, though, just in case!

So, if anyone wusses out then you won't be forgiven! This means you Mini and Jennifer!

Karna

 

[FireLily]

Yes, General.....I mean Karna! :)

0.2 inches of rain is a good news.
We will be there tomorrow morning, hopefully 9:30. :thumb:

Mini

 

[jennifer]

Weather forecast sounds good.... guess that we will have to cross our fingers. I guess that I will have to go out today and buy a raincoat just in case!

We will see you down there!

Jennifer

 

[GETMETOCA]

Originally posted by FireLily, the unknown zinger
Yes, General.....I mean Karna! :)

LOL Mini!  :)

Glad to see everyone still coming!!

 

[ktmchick]

Well we can give you a first hand report of what CC is like at the moment, went down there today for a looksee. We only got a bit of drizzle this morning, but all the trails we went on were quite muddy and slippery and we got to ride in snow for the first time. :yeehaw: Still we had a lot of fun. Was quite cold so I would recommend packing an extra blanket or three and some more socks. We're still planning on being down there Monday night. Can't wait!!

 

[Jonala]

Thanks for the post Chickee,

I was planning on taking a sandwich and a coke, with plans of returning home after spending an hour trying to make it up the first climb out of the parking lot.

So now I'm taking TWO sandwichs, Two cokes, a bag of oatmeal, a quart of water for two days of riding. :aj: :yeehaw:

 

[Jonala]

Change in plans, I will not be down there by 9:30am today. Hopefully I'll make it down there tonite.

 

[GETMETOCA]

Looks like you and me both Jonala. I will probably get there before you, though. Karna and Justin said they are going to put yellow Moose tape up to guide my way. Kind of like bread crumbs. I think you've been there before though.

I have had the Chevy all packed and loaded since 8 PM last night, I am READY TO GO!!! Why do we have to work? Oh, yeah, so we can afford to ride.

Everyone will be on their first ride in about 2 hours.........

 

[RetSenior]

I got sick and couldn't shake it. To all Have Fun!!!

 

[treefinder]

Also wimping out here. :( As much fun as it would be to ride with you guys, I can't get psyched enough to push the mud-camping, broken shock and cracked subframe out of my head. Think I'll spend the next few days getting the suspension fixed while I wait for the parts goblins in Ohio (Austria?) to send me a new subframe.

Have a fun and safe ride, and great new year! Huge thanks to Karna and Justin for organizing this event! :thumb:

 

[D36-108A]

I was getting my bike and gear ready last night when it started pouring down rain. Maybe if it lets up today I'll try to ride Wednesday.

 

[Jonala]

You guys missed a great day. :flame: I got there late Monday, Justin was nice enough to take me and Jake(ggoja) out for a short ride. I was totally mud locked with my lack of mud riding skills.

We get back just as the skies teasingly start to drip. Justin had to open up his carb, so the skies really let loose to help him clean his carb. Did you know Braun electric toothbrushes work great for getting mud off a carburator.

Frank,
The camping was something out of the movie Tornado(?). At 8:00pm Buddy and Mini's tent decided to pull up stakes and impale itself into a tree. While we were saving the tent, my easy up did a 360 over Justin's tent trailer.
Oh boy you just can't buy this type of fun.

That was just a teaser for what happened during the night. Time unknown but hurricane force winds kicked up, I swear my trailer moved a foot downwind from the buffeting. After what seemed like three hours of wind the skies opened up again. Made the WFO downpour seem like a dripping facuet.

When morning finally came, I was expecting to see the creek running over the access road. No real harm. I thought no way we'll be able to ride today.

The riding conditions were OK. For some unexplainable reason I learned how to ride in the mud over night. The mud on most fireroad sections was about 3-4" deep, the singletrack was fantastic. FarmerJohn took us on a lot of fun rideable trials. Thanks FJ, Justin and Karna, and everyone who showed up to make it a fun day. I called it a day figuring I was pushing my luck. ;) WE HAD A BLAST!!!! :aj: :aj:

Sorry you missed it, hope you feel better George.

 

[jennifer]

Hey John!

Thanks for the quick recap. Pierre and I were such wimps. We should have gone. This morning when we got up and saw how beautiful the weather was in San Jose, we regretted it. Glad that you and everyone else had a blast. Hope to ride with you guys soon.

Happy New Year,

Jennifer and Pierre

 

[RetSenior]

John...thanks for the report. I missed so many great rides this year, this one just being one of many that my New Years Resolution is to hopefully not miss as many this coming year. Hope to ride with you all soon and Happy New Year.

 

[fremontguy]

Guess I escaped Clear Creek relatively unscathed. Sunday night conditions were bluebird clear, no wind, no rain. Had to get back to the Meadows New Years eve party...Work. Happy New Year all.

 

[jennifer]

I can't beleive you guys missed the poker run at hollister... hahaha ;)
Pierre

 

[Jonala]

I would of gone, but all my gear was gooey, muddy, wet, plus it took me an hour with a pressure washer and two gallons of Simple Green solution to clean my bike. It's still not clean, but I can now recognize major components, like the engine, wheels, frame. :( By the time I got the bike and trailer clean, it was too late to make it down there.

 

[ktmchick]

Well you guys all missed out on a great time. As John said Monday night was a lot of "fun" camping down there and included gale force winds and torrential rain. But we woke up, had a cooked breakie and headed out for a fun mud filled day. It took awhile to relearn how to ride in mud but you only had to worry about it on the fire roads, the single track was a blast. We headed back, got a bite to eat and the guys went back out for another session. Us girls decided to stay back at camp. Natalie outdid herself with her New Years Eve feast. It was worth going down there for the meal. We ate well, and sat around the campfire drinking champagne and chatting, under the stars. Can't think of a better way to welcome in the new year. This morning we go up and went for another smaller loop. Conditions were a heap better and it was a lot of fun. John you should have stuck around!

Thanks everyone for braving the weather and making it down there for an awesome mid week get together. A big thanks to Natalie for the banquet that she put on, we've never eaten so well on a camping trip before. Thanks also to Justin and Karna for organising it, and Famer John for leading us around and Buddy, Mini and Jake for recording the event for prosperity (especially Micks endo/commando roll!). We had a blast!!

 

[WRSTEVE]

Thanks go out to Karna, Justin, Firelily, Buddy, Kali, Kevin, and Jake for letting me ride with them. I had a blast even though I crashed and burned a couple of times :D I guess that last wreck took out my right side Rad. and cracked my head pipe.
I would also like to put a BIG 2 THUMBS UP for the ladies who rode out in those condidtions, I was very impressed on how well they handled the terrain and there bikes.

Lets do it again soon :)


Steve

 

[GETMETOCA]

THAT WAS A BLAST!!  How did I get so lucky to be able to ride with you folks?  Thanks to Karna and Justin for organizing the whole event, YOU'RE AWESOME!!  Here are some of my random thoughts on the Clear Creek New Year's ride:

• Yes, you can really ride in mud that deep
• Jake (ggoja) does not mind if you steal beer out of his cooler
• Mick is the only guy I know who can wheelie up stuff I am afraid to ride down
• Kawidude is a lot of fun and he comes in handy if you ever need someone to pick your bike up off you
• Karna finally won the Salad Enduro
• Angry Jim is actually a funny and happy kinda guy
• Buddy will always be there with the Camcorder to capture your spodely spills
• A little Whitesnake, Justin?
• Farmer John is an honest man and will NOT reveal the route for the Wild Piglet, no matter how hard you try
• Jonala should have been there to ride on Wednesday, best day yet!
• Staple a paper plate with my name and an arrow to a tree and it does not necessarily mean I will find my way to camp.
• Kali, I didn't mean it when I said you were too old to attend a RAVE. ;)
• SuperKevin, I will make another pot of coffee for you ANYDAY.
• Mini, you fearless downhill flyer......thanks for the encouragement
• Belinda is my new resource for Australian Rum

And as usual, thanks to Buddy, Mick, Justin, and Kevin for getting me out of those rocky uphill jams!  Your patience humbles me, as usual.  To ALL, I had such a terrific time, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 

[Kawidude]

I only got to ride for one day but I had a great time with you guys! It was great to meet such a friendly group of people that truly love to ride. My biggest regret is that I missed the dinner on New Year's Eve.

I'll definitely agree with WRSteve...the women out there handled their bikes and the mud better than I did! (Hey, I managed to keep my bike upright for a few minutes at a time.) I did learn alot about riding in the mud and I'm much more comfortable with it after that ride.

Thanks to everyone for the hospitality and friendly faces. A special big THANK YOU to Mick for babysitting me up some of those rutted uphill sections. I'd lay it down and Mick would be right there to get me straightened out and headed in the right direction. For those of you who haven't seen Mick ride, he's one of those rare guys who always looks fluid and comfortable no matter what the terrain looks like. I was fighting mud on fireroads and he was just riding like the whole park was a playground. Amazing. I look forward to riding with you all again! Thanks again!

 

[FireLily]

Special thanks to Karna and Justin for putting this event together, and Natalie for cooking the great dinner on New Year's Eve.

Great meeting new friends.....Steve (WRSTEVE), Jake (ggoja), Mark (Kawidude) and John (Farmer John).

Fun to ride with everybody in the muddy condition.
Justin, Steve, Jake, Mick and whoever helped me getting out of the mud, THANK YOU! ;)

Jonala, thank you for putting my handle guard back on with a tiny branch! I fell a couple of times on Wednesday, but it was still holding my guard!!! :worship:

Sleeping in a tent in the storm made me tougher! :) I don't care about my broken headlight and a new scratch over my recently healed 10 stitches.

Karna, Kali, Natalie and Belinda, let's do it again!!

Mini

 

[MelloYello]

Originally posted by GETMETOCA
Jake (ggoja) does not mind if you steal beer out of his cooler

But I am keeping a running tab in my head.:p

What can I say? 3 days of great riding, great food and great people. Thanks everyone, I had a tremendous time.

I'm still working on getting all the photos up, so I'll let you know where to go soon.

Jake

 

[MelloYello]

This is where the pictures are: http://community.webshots.com/user/derazo

Good thing I don't have to work until next week or I never would have got these up.:confused:

 

[RetSenior]

Jake...Great pictures...Thanks. :thumb: