B
biglou
We got off to a chilly start yesterday morning. There were about twelve of us meeting up near my house between 530 and 600AM. We loaded up, gassed up, got coffee and headed south for rocky Chadwick, MO. Upon arrival at Kay's General Store, we met up with CAL, his dad and friend, and WFOCrusty. We got our tags and headed for the picnic pavilion. Once there, we stretched our legs, met up with Eddie and Speedy, then suited up for battle. It was still chilly, but the recent rains had not made the rocky terrain any worse for wear. There were roughly 12 of us in one group, led by Crusty. We were rolling along and the amount of water on the trails was incredible. There was easily 1-2 feet of water over the trails for up to 50 feet at a time. It was challenging, but not impossible to ride. At one creek crossing, it was clear that the bottom was too deep to cross. The leaders turned left up the creek to look for a way around. Three of us out of the last six riders decided to take our turn at swimming upstream. GregS was first to attempt. He did his best flounder impersonation by washing out (literally) while executing his left-hander up the creek. As Agent Orange and I were busy laughing (instead of paying attention to where the leaders were headed) we missed Crusty and crew turning left back out of the stream. So once Greg refired his kTm 200, Al and I joined him in swimming upstream. We stopped, three abreast, at what appeared to be a very deep hole with no way through. We quickly agreed that the leaders must have continued this direction because, well, where else could they have gone? (up the bank and back to the left:D) So I said, "Here goes nothin'"! Next thing I know, my bike is making these horrible gurgling noises and dying out quickly. Water is churning up like a geyser behind the rear wheel and I feel water seeping through the seat of my pants-NOT GOOD! In about a nanosecond, the bike is dead, seat-deep in the creek and I am floundering in the water, butt deep. I reached down and grabbed the far side subframe and yanked her up out of the water and headed for shore. It's good to be a big guy sometimes! I was, at that moment, very glad I didn't bring the 426! After about an hour of kicking, leaning, and draining the float bowl, she finally refired, blowing water out the silencer like a shower head! We let her warm back up and blow out all the water then we headed back to camp for some dry socks (and pants). BTW-Many thanks to CAL and Agent Orange for help kicking. Back at camp, we did a quick gear oil change and thankfully the old oil looked clean. Disaster averted. :)
Intermission was filled with many comments about "swimming lessons" and "U-boat commanders". Memories of Papakeith and Lee Wilson were evoked! :debil: Intermission was also filled with lots and lots of great food! Sirloin burgers, marinated steaks and chicken strips, pasta salad, cookies and a couple of birthday cakes for Jamie.
The afternoon session met with a much faster pace, some MONSTER hillclimbs and hillclimb attempts. "Widowmaker Hill" was total carnage at first when all 12 of the riders charged up a near-vertical singletrack climb. There were bikes and bodies strewn about like a war zone. Luckily, being the slowpoke that I am, I was in the rear and missed becoming a statistic! After some evaluation, some of us decided to take the easier route around to the top and spectate the crazies as they attempted, and succeeded, multiple runs at the "Widowmaker". After a few more rocky miles, I managed a slow-speed getoff that actually broke my left Cycra handguard mount, rotated my clutch lever and slammed me to the solid rock floor, knocking the wind right out of me. I also managed to impale my knee onto the rock, literally paralyzing it for a good 4-5 minutes. The pain was unbelievable, and I thought I may have broken it for a short time. I also hung my right wrist during my abrupt dismount. There was a time when I thought it may have been severely hurt as well. After a few minutes of laying there, gasping for breath, the wrist came back around, and the sharp, piercing pain in my knee subsided into a slow, dull burn. A few minutes of "walking it off" and we were back on our way. Got back to the pavilion at about 4PM and decided that we were through for the day. After a change into dry clothes and a quick burger, we commenced loading up, swapping bench racing stories and doing quick bike-swap rides.
After a bit, we realized that we still had three guys out in the woods. Found out that Greg had toasted his clutch and would need a tow back to camp as he was three miles out. TTRGuy graciously volunteered to do it. Once we had everyone back, Al and I shared a quick brew with Speedy and TTRGuy and Crusty, and we were on our way back north to KC. Got home around 930, parked the trailer, took a nice hot shower (screaming when the hot water hit the hole in my kneecap!) and fell into bed and slept like a rock! Woke up today feeling sore, tired, worn out, and totally stressed-relieved. This is just another example of how so many people who may have never met in real life can get together and ride and eat and have a beer and go home with some great riding stories and memories.
Thanks to all, I had a blast!
Members present (Let me know if I forgot anyone):
Big Lou, Agent Orange, CRSwade, Thunder 33, Blue Thunder and friend Jeff, RedXR, GregS, kdx220rm, Junior, TTRGuy and Gospeedracer, CAL, CAL's dad and friend David and tour guide WFOCrusty. Also ran into Knobbyhob and Chadrick and 94ruck and crew.
Reported Missing In Action: Sergeant First Class Crash. :(
Intermission was filled with many comments about "swimming lessons" and "U-boat commanders". Memories of Papakeith and Lee Wilson were evoked! :debil: Intermission was also filled with lots and lots of great food! Sirloin burgers, marinated steaks and chicken strips, pasta salad, cookies and a couple of birthday cakes for Jamie.
The afternoon session met with a much faster pace, some MONSTER hillclimbs and hillclimb attempts. "Widowmaker Hill" was total carnage at first when all 12 of the riders charged up a near-vertical singletrack climb. There were bikes and bodies strewn about like a war zone. Luckily, being the slowpoke that I am, I was in the rear and missed becoming a statistic! After some evaluation, some of us decided to take the easier route around to the top and spectate the crazies as they attempted, and succeeded, multiple runs at the "Widowmaker". After a few more rocky miles, I managed a slow-speed getoff that actually broke my left Cycra handguard mount, rotated my clutch lever and slammed me to the solid rock floor, knocking the wind right out of me. I also managed to impale my knee onto the rock, literally paralyzing it for a good 4-5 minutes. The pain was unbelievable, and I thought I may have broken it for a short time. I also hung my right wrist during my abrupt dismount. There was a time when I thought it may have been severely hurt as well. After a few minutes of laying there, gasping for breath, the wrist came back around, and the sharp, piercing pain in my knee subsided into a slow, dull burn. A few minutes of "walking it off" and we were back on our way. Got back to the pavilion at about 4PM and decided that we were through for the day. After a change into dry clothes and a quick burger, we commenced loading up, swapping bench racing stories and doing quick bike-swap rides.
After a bit, we realized that we still had three guys out in the woods. Found out that Greg had toasted his clutch and would need a tow back to camp as he was three miles out. TTRGuy graciously volunteered to do it. Once we had everyone back, Al and I shared a quick brew with Speedy and TTRGuy and Crusty, and we were on our way back north to KC. Got home around 930, parked the trailer, took a nice hot shower (screaming when the hot water hit the hole in my kneecap!) and fell into bed and slept like a rock! Woke up today feeling sore, tired, worn out, and totally stressed-relieved. This is just another example of how so many people who may have never met in real life can get together and ride and eat and have a beer and go home with some great riding stories and memories.
Thanks to all, I had a blast!
Members present (Let me know if I forgot anyone):
Big Lou, Agent Orange, CRSwade, Thunder 33, Blue Thunder and friend Jeff, RedXR, GregS, kdx220rm, Junior, TTRGuy and Gospeedracer, CAL, CAL's dad and friend David and tour guide WFOCrusty. Also ran into Knobbyhob and Chadrick and 94ruck and crew.
Reported Missing In Action: Sergeant First Class Crash. :(
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