I participated in a "Cycle Conservation Club of Michigan" dual sport ride in Geels several months ago, and I wrote a trip report for the October issue of the Great Lakes TrailRider (monthly publication for the CCC). I know that many of you are CCC members, but for those who are not, I thought that I would add it here (minus the photos).
By the way, if they are reading this note, I also wanted to say a belated thanks to WOODSY and YZMAN400. Based upon the information they kindly provided to me some time ago, I rode "Caberfae" this summer, and it was a great section of trail.
I hope that everyone had a good summer.
Tom
Big Bucks (in the Woods) Geels Trail Tour
August 6 & 7
I always look forward to reading the latest Great Lake TrailRider magazine each month. For almost three years, I have been reading accounts of CCC activities. Well, in August I traveled to Geels, and participated in my first CCC ride event. The Friday morning drive from Southeast Michigan was pretty uneventful except for I-23, which was down to one lane. Even though the actual event did not start until Saturday, there were already many people set up at the camp site when I arrived about 1:30 on Friday. My first impression was that I stumbled on to some kind of RV convention, with impressive rigs on display everywhere. I wondered how a tent would go over, but I soon found most people to be very down to earth. I think Ron is typical of the people I met at the event. He had a very impressive rig, but when I asked whether there were any guidelines for setting up camp, he just looked at me with a serious look and said, “the most important thing (and then his face broke into a big smile) is to set up next to people who are fun!”. He said that I was welcome to camp with him and his friends. Truthfully, I would consider myself very fortunate to camp with Ron and his gregarious group at a subsequent event. Since I am a member of the Great Lake Dual Sporters, however, and still had not yet had the chance to meet many of the members, I searched out and camped amidst a small GLDS contingent.
As I was setting up my new 9 x 17 Coleman tent with the built in screened room, troublemaker Frank asked me how many people were going to sleep in the tent, knowing full well that I was camping solo. Well, I may have been tenting, but I still wanted a bit of luxury! After setting up my tent, and doing a bit of socializing, I went into St. Helen to get something to eat. The balance of the evening was spent relaxing in camp. As night fell, the temperature dropped pretty dramatically compared to the hot weather we had been experiencing. There was a dampness in the air, and the campfire felt good. John's large, friendly dog, Duke, was also enjoying the camp atmosphere and camaraderie. About 11:30, I walked the short distance to my tent. About halfway there, Duke glided silently by in front of me in the darkness, and I jumped about six inches. Although I have one of those good quality sleeping bags that keeps you perfectly comfortable in 20 degree temperatures, I found that the damp, 45 degree air was giving me a chill as I got ready for bed. Then I spotted the small bag of potato chips and the not so small bag of cashews that I had purchased earlier in the day. Everyone knows that you are not supposed to eat before going to bed, but in the interest of providing an accurate trip report, I must note that I ate the contents of both bags in a very short period of time. I justified it by figuring that the food would help me ward off the chill. Made perfect sense at the time . . .
The next morning, I went back into town for breakfast, and then readied myself for the ride. At the sound check area, the crew just glanced at my completely stock Yamaha XT225 (factory dual sport), and then tied the appropriate color ribbon on my handlebars. Then it was on to sign up. Just $15 for the day’s riding. Keep in mind that it cost nothing to camp--the CCC took care of getting a group permit. Pretty hard to beat that kind of value. Jeramey Valley handed me roll charts for both the A & B dual sport loops, and a full color map of the riding area. If you have a GPS unit, he can also loads tracks for both routes. The entire process took about 10 minutes.
Frank and John thoughtfully offered to let me ride with them on dual sport route A. I told them that I would be riding at a moderate pace, and they repeatedly assured me that they did not ride at a fast clip. Once they got suited up, we all took off together. Within a minute, they were out of sight. They waited for me several times, and then I asked them just to ride on. Last year, I rode the sandy, whooped Geels south trail in about 2 and a half hours, or about a 10 mph average, The truth is, I ride a dual sport event at not much more than that pace. I like to look around as I am riding, stop and check out the sights, take pictures, and uh, generally smell the roses. I might get up to twenty-five mph on a two track, but the only time that I spool up to 55 mph is on the pavement sections, after I make sure that no four wheeled vehicles are nearby. Like I said, Frank and John were long gone.
The route itself was an enjoyable mix of gravel and dirt roads, grass two tracks, and yes, some very sandy roads. I found it very interesting when one road went right by an oil rig that was busily pumping away. I was also excited to come upon a mother turkey walking with her 7 or 8 gray chicks, all very robust and healthy looking. I stopped, placed my bike in neutral, and took out my camera, but by the time I got set, the chicks had already wandered in to a shady part of the two track, so my photo was not the greatest. Once I clicked my bike back into gear, they all took off to catch up with their mother. Neat. I did a pretty good job of reading the role chart. The only place that I got off track was when I questioned going straight from a dirt two track to a dim grassy track (as was clearly indicated) instead of veering to the right and staying on the dirt two track. Since this section was just after a reset point, and my odometer does not reset tenths, I restarted the section several times before I trusted the roll chart and continued on my way. Jeramey and his team do a good job of verifying the role chart data, and once I followed the chart without question, I was fine. Many dual sport riders only utilize a roll chart, but I would also like to have the added assurance of a following a GPS track, and I intend to purchase a GPS unit.
Since I was not set up to carry any water on my bike, I made a point of drinking several bottles of water before setting off on my adventure. After about an hour, I decided that it would be a good time to stop and er, check out the sights. After Frank and John rode on at the beginning of the route, I had not seen another rider. Of course, just as I was finishing “sightseeing”, I heard the sound of a motorcycle quickly approaching. I walked several steps out of the woods and waved to the rider (Note to self: Next time, sightsee further off the path). One of the cool things about a dual sport route is the variety of scenes that unfolds in front of you. I rode through woods, through areas that had recently been clear cut, through stands of pine trees--just a continually changing landscape. Along one road, there were narrow lines of small purple flowers on both sides, almost like someone had planted them. I finally came to a section of the route that was almost pure deep sand for about 3 or 4 miles. My OEM dual sport knobbies were definitely not the hot set up in this situation, and I had a few dicey moments. A little further along the route, the trail kind of doubled back and paralleled the previous section for a short distance. As I rounded the corner, I noticed several riders coming up behind me at a good clip. I pulled over and stopped to let them ride by me. In a nice display of dirt bike rider fellowship, they both stopped to check if I had an issue with my bike. We ended up taking a short break. I learned that Don and Paul drove all the way from Illinois to attend the event. Paul was riding a Yamaha WR250 2-stroke, and Don was on a new 2005 KTM 200 EXC. Don was not exaggerating about his bike being brand new. When I asked how much time he had on it, he smiled and said, “however many miles since the start of this route”. He even offered to let me take if for a ride. Although I declined his kind offer, it just reminded me again of the generosity of most dirt bike riders. We had an enjoyable conversation, but we were in the open sun, and my mostly black Joe Rocket jacket was beginning to heat up. Don and Paul fired up their bikes and effortlessly ripped down the sandy trail in complete control. Really quite annoying (just kidding guys).
Since it was after lunch time, I decided to take a break and veered from the prescribed route to visit a store marked on the map (that is one of the nice things about a plated bike). Located across the street from a small, picturesque lake, it was one of those nondescript, nonchain establishments that is the modern version of a general store in that it has a little bit of everything. The typical cottage-area customers were strolling in and out dressed in shorts, sandals, and tank tops. There I stood in long pants, work boots, and covered with dust. I purchased some nice cold water and a few things to eat. As I was exiting the store, I asked another customer if there was a public park on the lake. He told me there was such a spot just around the corner. I ate my candy bar right away, found a way to place the bottled water in my inner jacket pocket, and then stuffed my back of Chex Mix into my partially zipped jacket. I started my bike and rode a block to the little park. It was a boat launching area, but included a small beach with spaces for a few cars to park. After my sand riding episode, I was very content to just sit back and relax for a time. Before me was an example of the idyllic Michigan summertime scene. It was very warm and sunny, people were relaxing on the beach, a boat on the lake was towing several children on one of those inflatable donuts, and an older man was sitting on the sidewalk next to me in a chair. The daily work routine seemed a long way off.
My reverie was broken by the bark of a dog, specifically, the unmistakable “bah roo roo” of a beagle. He was sitting in the open bow section of a boat that was tied to a dock by the shore. A man in the boat shouted, “Rusty!”, but to no avail. Rusty had clearly already made up his mind, and he hopped off the front of the boat and trotted through several inches of water on to shore. I was not immediately sure what had prompted this blatant rejection of authority, because a parked vehicle was blocking part of the scene. Then a larger black dog walked into view, and Rusty was doing the “smell the other dog” routine. The man in the boat quickly came ashore. He gave Rusty a mild pat on his rump, and then gently placed him back in the bow of the boat. Rusty momentarily displayed contrition, but then sat down and surveyed the scene with a look of calm contentment. His demeanor very clearly said: “Oh yeah . . . that was sooo worth it".
After relaxing for awhile, I decided to do some exploring on my own, utilizing the dual sport map provided by the CCC. I was mainly riding on gravel/sand roads, and eventually headed to St. Helen. I ended up at a park right on the lake. This was also a boat launching area, but based upon the entrance sign, there was a fee for entering the area. Since I had no intention of visiting the park for any length of time, I just sat by the side of the road for several minutes and then moved on. I finally decided to head back to the CCC staging area, and the most direct route was on Old 76, basically a two lane highway. I try to avoid traffic even on the relatively short stretches of pavement in a dual sport route, so I was a bit unsure about what to expect on the 5 mile ride. Fortunately, there was almost no traffic. In fact, there was no one behind me, and only two or three vehicles went by in the other direction. A rider on a large cruiser motorcycle actually gave me and my little dual sport motorcycle the Hi sign. It was only a half wave, but hey, still counts. Truth be told, I actually enjoyed the brief pavement ride back to camp. I just set my XT225 at a smooth, easy 55 mph and enjoyed the sunny weather and the scenery scrolling by.
Since I was not going to ride on Sunday, I packed up my tent and got on the road about 4 o'clock. On this particular Saturday evening, traffic was fine all the way back home except for some bright road repair idea that had I-94 down to one lane near Rawsonville Road.
Overall, I enjoyed my first CCC event. A bunch of outgoing motorcycle enthusiasts, northern Michigan scenery, good riding, and all at a bargain price. What's not to like?
By the way, if they are reading this note, I also wanted to say a belated thanks to WOODSY and YZMAN400. Based upon the information they kindly provided to me some time ago, I rode "Caberfae" this summer, and it was a great section of trail.
I hope that everyone had a good summer.
Tom
Big Bucks (in the Woods) Geels Trail Tour
August 6 & 7
I always look forward to reading the latest Great Lake TrailRider magazine each month. For almost three years, I have been reading accounts of CCC activities. Well, in August I traveled to Geels, and participated in my first CCC ride event. The Friday morning drive from Southeast Michigan was pretty uneventful except for I-23, which was down to one lane. Even though the actual event did not start until Saturday, there were already many people set up at the camp site when I arrived about 1:30 on Friday. My first impression was that I stumbled on to some kind of RV convention, with impressive rigs on display everywhere. I wondered how a tent would go over, but I soon found most people to be very down to earth. I think Ron is typical of the people I met at the event. He had a very impressive rig, but when I asked whether there were any guidelines for setting up camp, he just looked at me with a serious look and said, “the most important thing (and then his face broke into a big smile) is to set up next to people who are fun!”. He said that I was welcome to camp with him and his friends. Truthfully, I would consider myself very fortunate to camp with Ron and his gregarious group at a subsequent event. Since I am a member of the Great Lake Dual Sporters, however, and still had not yet had the chance to meet many of the members, I searched out and camped amidst a small GLDS contingent.
As I was setting up my new 9 x 17 Coleman tent with the built in screened room, troublemaker Frank asked me how many people were going to sleep in the tent, knowing full well that I was camping solo. Well, I may have been tenting, but I still wanted a bit of luxury! After setting up my tent, and doing a bit of socializing, I went into St. Helen to get something to eat. The balance of the evening was spent relaxing in camp. As night fell, the temperature dropped pretty dramatically compared to the hot weather we had been experiencing. There was a dampness in the air, and the campfire felt good. John's large, friendly dog, Duke, was also enjoying the camp atmosphere and camaraderie. About 11:30, I walked the short distance to my tent. About halfway there, Duke glided silently by in front of me in the darkness, and I jumped about six inches. Although I have one of those good quality sleeping bags that keeps you perfectly comfortable in 20 degree temperatures, I found that the damp, 45 degree air was giving me a chill as I got ready for bed. Then I spotted the small bag of potato chips and the not so small bag of cashews that I had purchased earlier in the day. Everyone knows that you are not supposed to eat before going to bed, but in the interest of providing an accurate trip report, I must note that I ate the contents of both bags in a very short period of time. I justified it by figuring that the food would help me ward off the chill. Made perfect sense at the time . . .
The next morning, I went back into town for breakfast, and then readied myself for the ride. At the sound check area, the crew just glanced at my completely stock Yamaha XT225 (factory dual sport), and then tied the appropriate color ribbon on my handlebars. Then it was on to sign up. Just $15 for the day’s riding. Keep in mind that it cost nothing to camp--the CCC took care of getting a group permit. Pretty hard to beat that kind of value. Jeramey Valley handed me roll charts for both the A & B dual sport loops, and a full color map of the riding area. If you have a GPS unit, he can also loads tracks for both routes. The entire process took about 10 minutes.
Frank and John thoughtfully offered to let me ride with them on dual sport route A. I told them that I would be riding at a moderate pace, and they repeatedly assured me that they did not ride at a fast clip. Once they got suited up, we all took off together. Within a minute, they were out of sight. They waited for me several times, and then I asked them just to ride on. Last year, I rode the sandy, whooped Geels south trail in about 2 and a half hours, or about a 10 mph average, The truth is, I ride a dual sport event at not much more than that pace. I like to look around as I am riding, stop and check out the sights, take pictures, and uh, generally smell the roses. I might get up to twenty-five mph on a two track, but the only time that I spool up to 55 mph is on the pavement sections, after I make sure that no four wheeled vehicles are nearby. Like I said, Frank and John were long gone.
The route itself was an enjoyable mix of gravel and dirt roads, grass two tracks, and yes, some very sandy roads. I found it very interesting when one road went right by an oil rig that was busily pumping away. I was also excited to come upon a mother turkey walking with her 7 or 8 gray chicks, all very robust and healthy looking. I stopped, placed my bike in neutral, and took out my camera, but by the time I got set, the chicks had already wandered in to a shady part of the two track, so my photo was not the greatest. Once I clicked my bike back into gear, they all took off to catch up with their mother. Neat. I did a pretty good job of reading the role chart. The only place that I got off track was when I questioned going straight from a dirt two track to a dim grassy track (as was clearly indicated) instead of veering to the right and staying on the dirt two track. Since this section was just after a reset point, and my odometer does not reset tenths, I restarted the section several times before I trusted the roll chart and continued on my way. Jeramey and his team do a good job of verifying the role chart data, and once I followed the chart without question, I was fine. Many dual sport riders only utilize a roll chart, but I would also like to have the added assurance of a following a GPS track, and I intend to purchase a GPS unit.
Since I was not set up to carry any water on my bike, I made a point of drinking several bottles of water before setting off on my adventure. After about an hour, I decided that it would be a good time to stop and er, check out the sights. After Frank and John rode on at the beginning of the route, I had not seen another rider. Of course, just as I was finishing “sightseeing”, I heard the sound of a motorcycle quickly approaching. I walked several steps out of the woods and waved to the rider (Note to self: Next time, sightsee further off the path). One of the cool things about a dual sport route is the variety of scenes that unfolds in front of you. I rode through woods, through areas that had recently been clear cut, through stands of pine trees--just a continually changing landscape. Along one road, there were narrow lines of small purple flowers on both sides, almost like someone had planted them. I finally came to a section of the route that was almost pure deep sand for about 3 or 4 miles. My OEM dual sport knobbies were definitely not the hot set up in this situation, and I had a few dicey moments. A little further along the route, the trail kind of doubled back and paralleled the previous section for a short distance. As I rounded the corner, I noticed several riders coming up behind me at a good clip. I pulled over and stopped to let them ride by me. In a nice display of dirt bike rider fellowship, they both stopped to check if I had an issue with my bike. We ended up taking a short break. I learned that Don and Paul drove all the way from Illinois to attend the event. Paul was riding a Yamaha WR250 2-stroke, and Don was on a new 2005 KTM 200 EXC. Don was not exaggerating about his bike being brand new. When I asked how much time he had on it, he smiled and said, “however many miles since the start of this route”. He even offered to let me take if for a ride. Although I declined his kind offer, it just reminded me again of the generosity of most dirt bike riders. We had an enjoyable conversation, but we were in the open sun, and my mostly black Joe Rocket jacket was beginning to heat up. Don and Paul fired up their bikes and effortlessly ripped down the sandy trail in complete control. Really quite annoying (just kidding guys).
Since it was after lunch time, I decided to take a break and veered from the prescribed route to visit a store marked on the map (that is one of the nice things about a plated bike). Located across the street from a small, picturesque lake, it was one of those nondescript, nonchain establishments that is the modern version of a general store in that it has a little bit of everything. The typical cottage-area customers were strolling in and out dressed in shorts, sandals, and tank tops. There I stood in long pants, work boots, and covered with dust. I purchased some nice cold water and a few things to eat. As I was exiting the store, I asked another customer if there was a public park on the lake. He told me there was such a spot just around the corner. I ate my candy bar right away, found a way to place the bottled water in my inner jacket pocket, and then stuffed my back of Chex Mix into my partially zipped jacket. I started my bike and rode a block to the little park. It was a boat launching area, but included a small beach with spaces for a few cars to park. After my sand riding episode, I was very content to just sit back and relax for a time. Before me was an example of the idyllic Michigan summertime scene. It was very warm and sunny, people were relaxing on the beach, a boat on the lake was towing several children on one of those inflatable donuts, and an older man was sitting on the sidewalk next to me in a chair. The daily work routine seemed a long way off.
My reverie was broken by the bark of a dog, specifically, the unmistakable “bah roo roo” of a beagle. He was sitting in the open bow section of a boat that was tied to a dock by the shore. A man in the boat shouted, “Rusty!”, but to no avail. Rusty had clearly already made up his mind, and he hopped off the front of the boat and trotted through several inches of water on to shore. I was not immediately sure what had prompted this blatant rejection of authority, because a parked vehicle was blocking part of the scene. Then a larger black dog walked into view, and Rusty was doing the “smell the other dog” routine. The man in the boat quickly came ashore. He gave Rusty a mild pat on his rump, and then gently placed him back in the bow of the boat. Rusty momentarily displayed contrition, but then sat down and surveyed the scene with a look of calm contentment. His demeanor very clearly said: “Oh yeah . . . that was sooo worth it".
After relaxing for awhile, I decided to do some exploring on my own, utilizing the dual sport map provided by the CCC. I was mainly riding on gravel/sand roads, and eventually headed to St. Helen. I ended up at a park right on the lake. This was also a boat launching area, but based upon the entrance sign, there was a fee for entering the area. Since I had no intention of visiting the park for any length of time, I just sat by the side of the road for several minutes and then moved on. I finally decided to head back to the CCC staging area, and the most direct route was on Old 76, basically a two lane highway. I try to avoid traffic even on the relatively short stretches of pavement in a dual sport route, so I was a bit unsure about what to expect on the 5 mile ride. Fortunately, there was almost no traffic. In fact, there was no one behind me, and only two or three vehicles went by in the other direction. A rider on a large cruiser motorcycle actually gave me and my little dual sport motorcycle the Hi sign. It was only a half wave, but hey, still counts. Truth be told, I actually enjoyed the brief pavement ride back to camp. I just set my XT225 at a smooth, easy 55 mph and enjoyed the sunny weather and the scenery scrolling by.
Since I was not going to ride on Sunday, I packed up my tent and got on the road about 4 o'clock. On this particular Saturday evening, traffic was fine all the way back home except for some bright road repair idea that had I-94 down to one lane near Rawsonville Road.
Overall, I enjoyed my first CCC event. A bunch of outgoing motorcycle enthusiasts, northern Michigan scenery, good riding, and all at a bargain price. What's not to like?
