What a great way to spend a weekend, a dirty one at that.
I managed to get out of work at noon on Friday, gave TrailRyder42 a call in the morning and got to ride with him, picked up my bike, and then back to his place to load firewood, and pick up the camper. Just before we leave I suggest to Derek that he leave the camper, as there was an extra space in the cabin - a suggestion which Derek I think came to regret. he got to share a room, and I snored so loud the walls shook.
Get to the lake at about 2:30pm Friday, and set about marking the poker run. This kept me, Derek and Tim busy till we ran out of tape. Lorin, Butch and Cathi arrived early, and got a little look at some of the trails, and ended up riding the poker run trail backwards ! (with us still on it ..)
On the way back to camp we run into a slightly lost CJRider and CSL coming in, Derek spends a few minutes explaining to them where the ATV camp ground is, before we realize they are staying in the cabin with us :) We also pick up Larry (Person8) as well. Friday night we did our own dinners, and met at the campsite for a campfire later, BS'd about beans and such for a few hours and headed back to the cabin. We discover we share a room with a mouse, and Derek gets no REM sleep for all the snoring.
Thankfully we stay next to the cafe, wake up to a beautiful morning, no wind, blue skies, and a terrific hearty breakfast at the cafe. We just about finish the food before the crew from the campsite arrive. They have to wait for seconds !!
The first trail of the day is quite a challenge, especially for the not so experienced in the group. QT junior is really brave and attempts everything thrown at him, his new bike gets a few well deserved scratches along the way. I come around a bend just in time to see person8 drop his bike almost into a cactus and over a ledge, and at the same time see QT jr wiping out on a steep climb across the gully. Person8's Sony camera goes bouncing down the trail, fortunately no damage to the riders or camera. Unfortunately Larry's KTM damages a return throttle cable and he is left with a sticking throttle. He decides to leave the group and head back to camp alone, the last thing I see is Larry heading for the cliffs, so I head out, leave the group ride, and take Larry back to camp. A 520 with stuck throttle in the ruts looks like no fun. We get back to camp, strip the cable, and the bike runs fine with just the pull cable.
I then take Lorin, and Butch out on a great loop, which takes us up some great hills, dips and loops, up to some white rocky cliffs overlooking the canyon land - we are on the same loop which gave QT jr the ride of his life. We end up riding some really snotty hills, rutted downhill's, and tricky switchbacks - go too fast and you can get into some real trouble. The Pampera hits reserve and we head back to camp. I have to refill when we get back and ride down to the Cafe and forget that my choke is on. Arrive there as the bike runs out of fuel and foul a plug. Spend half an hour trying to get the gas pump to work, only to find that the bike won't start. Luckily for me DanMan is there having a late lunch, and he hauls my bike back to camp. luckily for me, JustQL has a few boxes of spark plugs and get the bike going as soon as a new plug is fitted. Justin and co have just returned from their epic trail ride of the day and are busy working in the TTR.
By the time I am done, the crew has hit the trail again, and I take Larry out on a loop around the lake. This time we take it nice and steady and enjoy a scenic ride through some great twists and turns which pass around and over the cliffs which border the lake - stop at the rock face gully for a break and head on over to the waterfall which overlooks a swimming hole. We then head on back to camp. Later I head out with CSL and CJRider on a real fun loop with lots of fast twists and turns, and get back to camp quite exhilarated. That's it for day one, and I am quite done in, have a fantastic dinner at the marina, spend a few more hours BS'ing at the campfire, and then call it a day.
Sunday is another great day, we roll out of bed around 8am, and 60 seconds later sit down for breakfast. I take lorin, Cathi, Butch, QT jr, and JustQL, on a reverse loop of the lake ride, QT jr does great, and so does Cathi. I am sure they will both remember this weekend for a long time to come.
We get back to camp just as TrailRyder42 is about to take Dan and CSL on one of the tougher rides. I signal to Derek that I will be joining them, and CJRider signals to me that she is riding with me. I wait for her to refuel and turn around to find the others gone. I hear from CJ later that they were talking about a really tough trail, and she had no plans on riding it. We decide to do a final ride together, and I take CJ up the White Cliffs trail. We start on an easy section which takes us through some great scenic canyon lands, and then turn up the cliff trail. CJ does really well, until the final run up to the cliffs, The KX100 tosses her off twice before she makes it up. On the trail back another snotty climb with loose rock and rutted ledges stop the KX and we have to push the bike out. The trail back to camp is a hoot with lots of twist and turns with sandy berms. Some of the riders just love this stuff.
That's it for the day, and we pack up and get on out of there. This was one of the best rides/weekends I have had in a long time. We had great weather, the food was the best, and nobody got hurt.
You haven't had a spodefest, til you've had a heartland Spodefest at lake Mackenzie :)