firecracker22

Sponsoring Member
Oct 23, 2000
3,217
0
Saturday I went for my first trail ride of the year. So far I have only been to the ORV park (way too open to be called trail riding, pretty boring), the dunes once and the track a lot. We rode at a place I had never ridden before but had heard a lot about, and had ridden at adjacent areas (Batey Bould for you local gals). It is known for being very technical and difficult. Well, it was, but not unmanageably so! There were mud holes, steep uphills, tons of switchbacks, steep downhills, rock piles, rock faces and a couple small downed trees. It was a near perfect day. It was warm and not raining, and there were surprisingly few mud holes in the woods, especially for this time of year. I made it up stuff that was fairly challenging although overall I think I probably could have done better. Still for the real trail first ride of the season I did ok.

There were 4 of us, my buddy Lee (a good friend who has babysat me since I was a beginner and been my team race partner too) and a couple who are he and his wife's neighbors. The gal had only been riding since December and wow, she was amazing. I am no pro but I have been riding for 3 years and she was right there on my butt at every turn! The only places I could shake her were uphills and uphill switchbacks. She has been a competitive downhill mountain bike racer for years and you could really tell. She did not have any of the hesitation of typical beginners; she would not even pause, just attack the mud hole, hill climb, rock pile, or whatever. I was amazed, and a hair jealous! But it's great--I've gained an awesome new riding partner. She is a great person to talk to as well.

So anyway, we did about 30 miles and we all rode awesome. I finally felt like I was "in the zone" after a couple hours and could stand up and just swoop through the trees (sorry for the bragging but I love that feeling). The guys assured us that us gals did not hold them up at all, and they never felt like they were waiting for us. They were there to help if we needed it (which embarrasses me that I did on occasion but oh well). They kept telling both of us that we rode great. There were a couple minor spills but no real crashes, one broken brake lever that was quickly fixed, and that was it for mishaps. It was as near a perfect day as you could ask for.
 

XR3J

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Oct 7, 2001
461
0
Glad somebody is getting some riding in.  With work and now rain (which we desperately need) I haven't got much saddle time in recently.  Sounds like you had fun. :thumb:
 

CJ Rider

~SPONSOR~
Apr 3, 2000
699
0
DEFINITELY nice to hear ya had a GOOD trail ride, FC22!

I'm with ya SR3J on the "sick of weather" thing. Will and I were riding dualsport in KS, NB, CO this weekend in preparation for the DustyButt 1000 and we hit WAY too much wind and WAY more mud than we've ever seen on those trails. I'm POOPED from riding sideways for two days and 1000+ miles.
 

Pegasus

~SPONSOR~
Jan 31, 2001
177
0
Thanks for sharing the good day FC .. always good to hear about someones good day !
Weve been slowed down by the weather here too but last weekend managed to get in a good group ride...

We had Brian, Marissa and kids from Seattle ..Belle and Bob, Randy and Kim who just started on her new 230...a beginner whw was also amazing.
Brian rode his 4 yr old Reyessa on his tank both days.
First day we rode 4 hrs in an on off good drizzle.. we were soaked.. that kid just kept smiling.. Every time we stopped I expected to see horror and dismay on her face as we scrambled through the mud and hills.. She never said a word.. Bryan said every now and then she'd say ..wheelie Daddy.
Next day we rode the ranch and hit 4 in of snow on the north side.. all day never a word.. just a big grin.It was so cute..
Needless to say we nick named her Wheelie.. Her sister on her Honda 70 never fell.. we called he No fall.. going through puddles she was knee deep both soaking wet 2 days and always a smile...

It was one of those rides where everyone had fun..wet cold and just having a blast.

Came home dried off by the fire and had a huge tri tip dinner Yummmm !!

CJ 1000 miles ???Did you do that in 2 days. You amaze me.
 

squeaky

Roosta's Princess
Damn Yankees
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Mar 28, 2003
2,561
0
It's good to hear you had a ride that didn't discourage you FC22...I had a great ride this weekend too! You can read all about it under the Paragon thread...what a blast! I suggest going there for anyone who's never been...it's soooooo fun!
 

MudnRocks

Member
Apr 15, 2003
42
0
I love hearing about everyones riding experience!!!

There is nothing better than a good ride (well almost), and making new friends.

1000 miles, my back end is sore thinking about it! You've got to be in incredible shape!!

Those darn kids, don't they just remind you about the meaning of life! How cool.

I also had a great weekend, I rode my first enduro. It was a begining enduro so the course was moderate and it was only about 30 miles, but I had a blast!!! It was a good introduction for things to come. It had been dry up here last week so when it started raining early Sat. morning and kept doing that intermitent thing it was ok with me, traction would be good and the puddles (lakes) should still be managable. My husband set me up, (no computor) rollchart, clock and panaram. He also didn't ride, he knew I would rely on him instead of learning about it on my own. We were both nervous. I rode with a couple of guys I didn't know. They were way cool!! We all kept time and did the team work thing, it was a good fit. I made a couple of mistakes, like looking at the wrong line on the roll chart, and looking at the hour and minute on the clock instead of the minutes lol, but it was ok. I rode the best I've ridden in a while, no one broke down or got hurt, I wasn't beat when I got back (in fact I was jumping up and down and dancing, a little excited) and our time wasn't too bad. I came in 12 min. late. I was pretty happy with that. So was my husband.
My husband rode the next day and had a good day also. I know it's only Mon., but yes we are still smiling!!

Kimberly
 

zero_it

~SPONSOR~
May 20, 2000
287
0
Sounds like a fun ride at Batey Bould FC22. I've ridden there a few times and love it! The Little Pend Orielle & Radar Dome side are really a blast, too. The Radar Dome & Green Mtn loop are epic. You gotta go do those trails: beautiful scenery, fun trails, a bit of technical stuff and zero whoops! The old miltary buldings & stuff up at Radar Dome are really cool, too. Are all the trails at BB open yet? The last couple of years there's been windfalls on the trails there up through June.

Hey Kimi glad to hear you had a fun ride at Shelton. Did you kick my sister's butt?

Lori
 

firecracker22

Sponsoring Member
Oct 23, 2000
3,217
0
This was my first time riding Batey Bould but I ride LPO a lot. I have made the Granite Peak and Radar Dome loops quite a bit, got Bbbom and crew lost on the RufTac trail, and done parts of the Green Mountain trails. I made it a few miles on the Frater Lake trail over past the Radar Dome loop but that was on the day after imbibing MUCHOS tequila so I didn't fare so well. It was a fun challenging trail though, I was just not up to the task. If you check out my photo page HERE I have a few pics of the LPO area, mostly on the Radar Dome trail, and one of the buildings up on top. Sometime I'd like to camp in them and explore around a little more--even bring paint ball guns and chase each other around! That would be killer. I can only imagine what it would be like camping in those buildings and telling stories over beer and a campfire--I bet you could freak yourself out up there pretty good.

The BB trails were BEAUTIFUL on Saturday--only a couple trees, none we couldn't ride over or around, few mud holes, no dust, the ruts weren't bad yet, no snow, it was great. Much better than I expected to be honest.
 

bbbom

~SPONSOR~
Aug 13, 1999
2,094
0
Glad you had a good Batey ride FC22 I haven't been over there in a couple years. One of the PANTRA guys had called Saturday to tell me that it was open, courtesy of him & his son's. He said LPO needs to be cut out still - sad part is the FS has a clearing contract already let but we seem to get the work done before the contractor shows up. Next year we will have our Cost Share Agreement in place so PANTRA can get paid for our members' work instead of the contractor. He can go do some work elsewhere for the FS.

Lori, come on over for the Father's Day Ride at LPO. We will be there June 13 - 16th camping & riding and Firecracker won't be drinking the WHOLE bottle of tequila this time (we hope!!!). ;) We usually camp at Sherry Creek because there's a nice little loop for the kids to ride close to camp while we are kicking back at the campfire between outings. Will firm up the camping spot as time gets closer.

We took our vintage trials bikes & the kids up to Liberty Lake ORV to scope out the loop for our Kid's Poker Run this Sunday. Come on out for the Kid's ride FC22 we'll put you on a checkpoint! We will take a regular ride at Liberty after the barbeque & prize giveaways. We'll be there by 9:00 am and should be done with the bbq around nooon if you want to join us.

Any Memorial Day plans yet FC?
 

MudnRocks

Member
Apr 15, 2003
42
0
Hey Lori,
I was going to e-mail you. Yes, I did come in a couple of minutes ahead of your sister. She was doing better than I at the half way point, then it might of been the special test. Not sure. They didn't camp so we didn't have a whole lot of time to visit, it was so cool to see her out there!! She's always so fun.

Kimi
 

firecracker22

Sponsoring Member
Oct 23, 2000
3,217
0
I have races this weekend, otherwise I'd definitely be at the kids' ride.

Bbbom, we definitely need to get up there again. It was great. As for Memorial day, we can clear trail at LPO, ride in Idaho, whatever--I'm up for anything.

I might go a little easier on the tequila this time. Then again, maybe not . . . we need to find some eye candy for Sharla for these long weekend rides! Everybody is always either older than me or taken! <pouts>

Lori--do you ride the NMA events? Have we met, a couple of years ago when I was dating Steve Haugland?
 

zero_it

~SPONSOR~
May 20, 2000
287
0
LPO on Father's Day sounds like a blast! I'm going to try to make it. The only potential show-stopper is that my husband and I are about to start building a new house and we may be busy with that project that weekend. I'll do my best to keep my calendar clear.

FC22, if you dated Steve, then I've probably met you or at least seen you at NMA events (Lori Taylor ring a bell with you??). I ride a KTM in the 200 A class. Mostly enduros, but also a few ISDE's and hare scrambles. Maybe we met at Reiter at one of the 24-hour races? I raced that in 1998, 2000 and 2001. Anyhow, hope to get to ride with you next month.

Lori
 

firecracker22

Sponsoring Member
Oct 23, 2000
3,217
0
Yep, I remember you Lori. Didn't you have a CR at the time though? Or am I thinking of someone else? I dated Steve in 2001, and I had JUST gotten my KTM then. I went to a couple of the races with him that I didn't feel up to racing--the Jackhammer was the first one. Then I raced the Toasted but crashed in the slop and blew out my knee. I was at the 24 hour and Golden Spike and the enduro at Little Naches (Black Bear? I can't remember) and Cranberry Lake but didn't race any of them. I crashed again at Reiter just trail riding and blew my knee out again later that summer so I didn't race Cranberry and the Black Bear, wish I could have. It looked fun.

So anyway, good to see a semi-familiar face on here and hope you make it to the father's day ride--it is a blast.
 

zero_it

~SPONSOR~
May 20, 2000
287
0
Hey Firecracker - The first 1/2 of 2001 I was riding a KTM 125 EXC and the second 1/2 a 200 EXC. Wasn't me on a CR, my last Honda was a TL 125 trials bike.... offed that to my sister in 1982 to buy a brand spankin' new Suzuki DR 125!

I had an awesome ride today at Hamilton/Camp 18 with my buddy Carol. We hammered out a way-fun 40 miles and then had a good BS session while soaking up the sunshine. The trails are in pretty decent shape and, since you have to have a permit to ride there, there were only a few other people out there. Good stuff. It's nice to get out and just ride without doing trailwork. Our club does trail work throughout the winter months here, so spring is a happy arrival for us.

This coming weekend is the NMA Ladies Trail Ride at Tahuya (5/17). We typically get about 50-60 women and girls who come out for the ride. It's always a lot of fun. Let me know if you plan on coming.
 

bbbom

~SPONSOR~
Aug 13, 1999
2,094
0
Hope you can make it for Father's Day Lori bring Carol along! I've never met either of you but I've heard of both of you (I'm assuming Carol is Ms. Williams), the more the merrier for the LPO campout. Drag Mace & Dave Hiatt over here too - more people I've corresponded with but never met!

Ladies ride sounds like a good time, too bad my son has a soccer tournament that weekend.

This weekend was beautiful here too! Karl & I hosted the Kid's Poker Run at Liberty Lake ORV and everyone had fun. We had about 15 kids ages 5 - 18 show up for the ride. Everyone got prizes & we went through about 100 hamburgers & hotdogs. We were worried that Mother's Day would put a damper on kid's attending but we had a great turnout with lots of volunteers to help out and whole families showing up to ride & hang out. Even had two more moms riding this year and one mom that will be riding next year since her littlest one is getting old enough for her to get back on her bike.

Nothing more fun than watching the little one's learn how to negotiate the trails and having the bigger one's willing to help take care of the little ones along the way. For some reason dirtbike kids just seem to be good kids!
 

firecracker22

Sponsoring Member
Oct 23, 2000
3,217
0
Hmm, so was there a Lori who rode a CR 250 also? Or am I just being a ditz?

Do come if you can and bring as many of the NMA crew as possible! I know it's a long drive but it's worth it (I think so anyway).
 

zero_it

~SPONSOR~
May 20, 2000
287
0
You guys are starting to put together who we all are over here on the "wet side" of the state. The CR 250 rider Firecracker22 is thinking of is most likely Laurie Jackson, Carol Williams' sister. That Laurie is also riding a KTM 200 EXC these days (with a Rev-Loc clutch), she is one of the organizers of the NMA Ladies Trail Ride this weekend. Too bad you can't make it to that event. The riding on Saturday will be fun, but the Saturday night party may be even better! We tear 'em up pretty hard Saturday night and end up a little cross-eyed on Sunday morning. Needless to say, Sunday start time is always later than Saturday start time at the LTR!
 

firecracker22

Sponsoring Member
Oct 23, 2000
3,217
0
I SO wish I could make it! When is the next event where there will be both riding and tearing it up? Who all is going to the Buttstomper?

Ok, that Laurie is the one I was thinking of. That sounds like a sweet set-up for her--I bet she loves the RevLoc.

I know I have heard your name though Lori, just can't seem to put a face to it yet! (ditzy blonde side showing through)

You guys going to the WORCS race?
 

zero_it

~SPONSOR~
May 20, 2000
287
0
No can do on the WORCS race at Washougal since I'll be in Belfair all weekend at the Ladies Trail Ride. The following weekend a bunch of us will be at Reiter for the AMA National Trials. It's on Sunday & Monday. Should be awesome!

I've raced the Buttstomper 3 times and every time ended up saying I'll never do it again. The first year, in 1998, I rode an an RM 125 and my team got 3rd overall. It was pretty fun, but a little rough with no pit crew to keep us going and organized. I was supposed to be on an all women's team then in 2000, but 2 backed out. Ended up being me, another woman and two guys. One guy hurt himself on his first lap, ended up at the emergency room and we were down to 3 riders for the remaining 20 hours. Then the other guy puked a crank seal in his RMX and we were down to 3 riders with two bikes. He and I shared my DRZ 400 the rest of the race. It rained all but a few hours that year and it pretty much sucked. Somehow I forgot about some of the misery and anxiously gathered up a new team to race the Buttstomper in 2001. I had two guys from my motorcycle club lined up right off the bat and then spent some time trying to bribe a 4th willing soul. The guy who finally said "yes" had just bought a brand new WR 426 and hadn't ridden at Reiter in awhile. I'm not sure if he's forgiven us yet! He bonked bad in the middle of the night. His last lap was close to an hour longer than it should have been due to his physical & mental fatigue induced crash-fest. When he got in to the pits he collapsed in a bike trailer around midnight and wasn't seen again for about 10 hours. Once again I was on a short-handed team. That pretty much took the fun out of it. One of my 2001 teammates is trying to get me to do it again this year, but, surprisingly, my memory has improved and I keep telling him "NO!"

I'm working on recruiting a riding buddy from Belfair to go over to LPO on Father's Day weekend with me. Hopefully it all works out.

Later!
 

firecracker22

Sponsoring Member
Oct 23, 2000
3,217
0
Reiter during the day is a big NO for me--that is where I blew my knee out the second time (the first time was at the Toasted Scramble in 01, right in front of Tory Briggs no less). During the night--double no. On a DRZ--triple no. You are a bad ass, Lori. ;)

I was there in 2001, cheering for Team PAMF--Steve, Kevin, Rob and Phil. We had a blast.
 
Top Bottom