DYDR do Paragon, again!

[Treejumper]

Guess i will start the "Ride Report" since no one else has.

Left friday afternoon to Red Ridge Campground. Arrived around 4:30 and was the first one there. Started to get setup when Flyin Scot arrived with his buddy Phil to pickup his bike which i still had from Dirtweek. Flyin Scot wasnt able to ride since he was still hurt from his memory lapse at Dirtweek. Guess some people buy KTM's and think they are automatically Grant Langston. :p

They head back to Philly leaving me all by my lonesome. About 3 hours go by and i start to worry about PK and Squeaks as they thought they would be there early. Knobbiethrower and Rohnman show up ensuring me this wasnt a May Fools joke. Next to arrive was PK and Squeaks. They brought with them Dave and Rob to add some new riders to the Paragon victim list. Everyone gets setup, eats supper and BS for abit and off to bed. Weather reports were for thunder showers all weekend starting friday night.

Morning arrives and no rain like forecasted. We all load up for the first day of riding. We arrive to find RM_Guy already setup with Offroad Warrior and LoriKTM there. The rest of the gang shows up, NRB, DaveRS575 and Scooter1130 for the morning ride. A simple easy ride to get use to the bikes and trails again after a long winter. After afew hours we head back for lunch. MrMxer327 and his son Jared shows up for the afternoon ride. I cant comment on that ride as i had a brain fart and left with the group consisting Eugene and Offroadwarrior. First big mistake of my afternoon. They said they were alittle tired and were going to do some easy trails, Wrong!

We head into the park and first thing i know we drop down a 30' rock wall into what looks like a creekbed. Once in there was no turning back for us non hardcore riders. We were trapped and had to proceed forward. I started to think that this wasnt going to be a fun ride and i was semi right. About 15 mins in we lose Knobbiethrower and Rohnman to the other group. Second mistake of the afternoon, not going with them. The group continues on for some fun easier riding with afew difficult sections thrown in. I believe this was done just to keep me from leaving the group. They must of figured if it didnt seem to bad i would stay with them. This was just a decoy til they could get me into the rough stuff! Rattler trail, what?? Yep Rattle snake territory consisting of nothing but rock boulders. Everytime i tried to ride around or over them they kept knocking my shifter into neutral. We make it to the top to rest and watch some jeeps crawl over the rocks. In to the nice woody single track which was fun and fast. I love this stuff but being tired i had a hard time working the controls. This allowed me to taste test some tree back as i tried to ride right through a tree. Atleast i left a nice same of what my front tire tread looks like on the bark. Wish i had a pen. Then i could of autographed it.

Back to the torture! We leave the rock ridge only to go down to the swamp. Nothing like a whooped out single with 16" ruts. An if that wasnt bad they were under 18" of water so you couldnt see them. By this time i was beat! No make that dead! At one point i looked at Rob who seemed to be having just as much fun and told him i think my clutch is going as i could barely pull it in. My clutch wasnt the problem, it was my forearms! You think since they felt like Popeye's arms i would easly be able to pull the clutch lever in, nope. I stalled more times than i cared for. I look at the watch and see we only have alittle over an hour to get back to the parking area. Figured we would be hitting the easy open trails to head back. Nah, one more single track from Hell to finish me off completely. Overall it was still fun and i found out that everytime you ride Paragon and think you rode the toughest trail there, someone will show you another one that's twice as tough. We didnt even hit any of the black 3 trails or guide only trails.

Back to base camp to shower and just plain relax and drink! The fire gets lit, thanks to me. Huh PK! :debil: We laugh and carry on and get know each other alittle better. I think this is probably 80% of why most of us drive the distances we do to ride together. It was great and i told enough stories so i wont repeat them, guess you have to be there to hear them. I do think we have a new club name thanks to PK. It has something to do with zits and ass.

Sunday morning arrives with a light rain off and on. Great for a day of creek crossing and a puddle playing since your already wet. Everyone really takes it easy today after yesterday's tough afternoon. Guess we had more cases of Monkey butt than the Purple Monkey farm. Mine was more of a Monkey strip than butt. Good thing i came up with the Monkey Hand at the campfire Saturday night. Picture a bustier for your butt. It lifts and seperates for a comfortable ride. If your cheeks dont touch you cant get monkey butt right? To test the idea, grab a cheek with each hand and pull apart. Now sit down and see how comfortable it is. :laugh:
Finally got to ride with MrMxer and i can say this now, he can ride in the woods as good as he can on the track. His son Jared can ride better than the old man! At the rate Jared is going he is going to be one hell of a rider! Only thing he needs to work on now is watching out for other riders. (hint, hint Steve) ;) I did have to laugh at the cut off he pulled on Squeaks. The look on her face was priceless. An speaking of priceless looks the one she had when she did that jump like the guys, WOW! :thumb: I cant wait for the picture so get them developed PK!

We rode for awhile and head back to load up, say our goodbyes, and head home. It was great seeing everyone again and hope we can all get together for some of the outdoor races this year to kick back and relax.

 

[LoriKTM]

Ooohh, aahhh....*groan*....!
The ole bod was protesting in delightful agony this morning after the Paragon weekend. Hey, I know! Let's not ride all winter, and then do a two-day ride in the rocks of PA! Yeah, that will put me in shape! (or in traction...)

It was a near thing with the weather forecast-- hubby was nearly ready to call it off on account of t-storms. My jonesing to ride was too great, and we packed up Friday evening and arrived at our hotel about 11pm. Up early, and we got to the park about 8:30 am Saturday, followed shortly by RMGuy and several others.
We got signed in, and took the safety training on rules of Paragon, where we learned that rattlesnakes won't run up and attack you, and they keep the bears well-fed at Paragon so they're no threat either. :ohmy: :)
We all went out on a group ride in the morning-- about 14 of us at one point. Got familiar with the rocks again, and the feel of riding a 250cc bike on the trails. This was my first ride out since selling my KTM200, and transferring Dave's 250MXC to my hands. Things were going pretty well, and we all returned to camp for lunch. After lunch we split into two groups. OffRoadWarrior decided to take out the trials bike and lead a group of hard core riders. I decided I wanted more seat time, and followed the RMGuy and Scooter1130 on the "easier" trails. We had MrMXer's son Jared with us on his Suzuki 65, so how hard could it be?! :ohmy:
Well, we soon learned that Jared was up for just about anything we could throw at him-- rocks, hills, etc. The kid just kept going. So we did a mix of quad trails, single-track, and more quad trails, finishing off with a trip through some new trail (run backwards) that we had done in the morning. It was 4:30 by the time we returned, and everyone was pretty tired and ready to call it. Still no sign of OffRoadWarrior and his disciples, but I noticed they had returned at some point to exchange the trials bike for the KTM450. About an hour later, they finally rolled in, slowly, with feet dragging and tongues hanging out. Yep, definitely time to call it a day.
We packed up and headed over to the campsite and grilled out some dinner and opened our beverage painkillers of choice. While we were getting organized, some yahoo on a Harley with a stogie hanging out of his mouth comes riding up to the campsite. It was none other than Trigger! He certainly livened up the conversation around the firepit. After Mike left, Treejumper took time to enlighten us with some of his stories. At one point, I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. I looked around at everyone else and noticed a number of other people gasping for air with tears rolling down their face. Chucke, you have a knack for a story, and should take that act on the road! :laugh:

Saturday was such a perfect day, it didn't seem possible that we were going to get rained out, but then Sunday dawned with wet streets and off & on drizzle. We headed back to the park, and since everyone else was getting their bikes out, we decided it wouldn't hurt for a short morning ride. We all headed down to the sand pit for some warming up and hill-climb and jump practice. A few late arrivals joined us, and we were off to ride some trails-- down the infamous "Turtle" trail, and then winding around some others we came up on a creek crossing. Treejumper runs out to the middle to show us the water is only up to his boots, but moving pretty good. Two, three, four, five guys go across. Scooter comes over to the rest of us and says he'll lead us around the water-- after all, we had Jared's 65 with us, and while he may have been willing to give it a go, I don't think his bike would make a good submarine. I said, "I'll go around". And Squeaky says, "I'm going around". And the rest want to go around. I take another look at the river, and start my bike up. But then I was suddenly seized with the urge to cross the creek--darnit, I've been across this before! And Papakeith was on the other side, crouched down, camera in hand, wiggling his fingers at me in a "come on!" So, I went. First gear, into the water, Hey, this isn't so bad! Then, I hit the hole on the far bank, my bike drops fender deep in the water, and I now notice there are also several basketball-sized rocks impeding my exit of the creek. Can't stop now! So, I'm on the gas and that 250 just CLAWED it's way up out of the hole, over the rocks, and up the bank! I was elated, my heart was pounding, and there were cheers of congratulations. I knew I had impressed the heck out of my husband, cause he rushed right over and gave me a high-five, and a "way to GO!".
A few minutes later, my heart rate settles back down to something in the normal range, and we head off to meet the rest of the group that had gone around the creek crossing. A few more trails, and then it was time to head back for lunch. But we had a choice-- take Turtle trail back UP? or take the easy Valley road? It was unanimous-- Turtle hill. By this time, though, the off and on rain showers had started to work on the dirt and rocks of Turtle hill. At just about the half-way point, the carnage started. I was riding up, about mid pack, when I saw two bikes down on the hill about 20 yards ahead of me. That was enough to distract me from my riding, and I pinged off a large rock, bounced to the side of the trail. I tried to grab a tree before I went over the ege of the bank, but missed. My right foot got trapped between the bike and a log, and I ended up dangling, upside down on the bank, unable to move. Ugh. Luckily, I was rescued shortly, as a couple of the other guys pulled the bike off my leg and then pulled me back on to the trail. We waited a few more minutes for everyone and their bikes to get started again, and then finished the climb back up. Back to the parking area, and by that time everyone was pretty tired and ready to call it a day. So we packed up, ate some lunch, and said our goodbyes.
All in all, a very fun weekend, and great start to the riding season! It was great seeing old friends, and meeting some new ones, too! :thumb:

 

[squeaky]

Only 2 ride reports so far...I'm dissapointed in you guys!

Once PK, Dave, Rob, and I FINALLY got on the road Friday it was a slightly hellish trip down to PA. All was well and we were making good time, until we hit rush hour on the Tapanzee Bridge. I was hoping this wasn't a sign of how the weekend was going to turn out. Especially after the t-storm weather forecast I had checked right before hitting the road...

We finally make it to Red Ridge and set up camp. TJ was there along with Knobbiethrower and Rohnman, a much smaller crowd than expected. We chat, have a few icy cold beverages, and call it a night.

Everyone's up fairly early on Saturday, ready to hit the trails. There's not a single cloud in the sky, and the day looks very promising. We arrive at Paragon to be greeted by RM_Guy, LoriKTM, Offroadwarrior, and well do I really need to repeat what everyone else has already said? Probably not...

Anyway...so we're off on the early morning ride, 14 or 15 people in all, and I'm thinking "Are we really going to keep this group together?" We managed to all stick together very well and decided to head up "Turtle Hill" and head back for lunch. I was barreling my way up Turtle Hill, really pushing that 200 to it's maximum capacity, when oops I ran right into the side of the trail. I was so close to making it to the top (about 3/4 of the way up) I was determined that by the end of the weekend I was going to conquer it..well needless to say because of the rain on Sunday that didn't happen.

Saturday afternoon I decided to ride with the "easier" group. Like Lori said, we had an 8 year old on a 65, how difficult could the ride have been?? Boy was I mistaken...Jared is a way better rider than me, sure put me in my place this weekend! All in all, the afternoon ride was great, even though I stalled more times than I care to admit due to severe wrist cramps.

When we got back to the staging area, I noticed the hard core riders were still out..."Man, they're crazy" I think to myself. They arrive shortly thereafter looking like they had just been put through the wringer. Especially since Dave and Rob had never been to Paragon before, they didn't know what they were in for!!! They came back bruised and battered, but you could tell they had a great time!

Back to camp for dinner and showers! I return from the shower and who's standing there..none other than Trigger! It was good to see my crazy buddy from last year! We chatted, I fell asleep in my chair and missed Chucks groundhog hole shooting stories, but I got to hear them again out on the trails!

Then along comes Sunday...rain, just as forecasted. Well we geared up and headed out for the trails anyway. I figured, I paid for two days I might as well do something! Off to the sand pit area for a little play riding while we wait on a few people. I decide that the jump the guys were doing looks like lots of fun. So I ran it a few times, got the 200 off the ground, but nothing impressive or spectacular. Next run I hit it and just feel myself fly up in the air, my hearts racing, I thought I was going to die!!! According to PK I got at least 6 feet up in the air. I could see the looks on everyones face...it was pretty amusing actually. But, ONLY after I landed safely without cracking my skull or breaking any bones!!! I must say, if I never do that again , it'll be okay. People actually saw it, it's documented on camera (if the pic PK took is of my and not just my wheels), and that's all I need!

Well, I'm done writing my book now. We had a great weekend and I can't wait to ride with everyone again!!!

 

[Trigger1911]

Did you guys really think that I would miss the chance to see all of you when you are so close to my house! If you think my stories of my limousine and UFO (aka-kite with an LED on it with 5 cops staring up at it) stories are enlightening, next time I will bring the videos! Man, I should write a book!

My stay was short but well worth the trip. I had a beautiful night ride thru the mountains to get home in perfect riding weather. Once again I am reminded that bikers are the best people! There is hope for the human race afterall. They just all need to be riding bikes!

Take care my friends! For those that I missed, I shall return!

Signed,
The coolest guy to ride a Harley from Catasauqua!
Trigger.

 

[eugeneorange]

Great reports! :thumb: Too bad I wasn't able to stay the second day.
Chuck, sorry to hear you got the "blues" (purples actually). Your innovative thoughts on prevention - "the bustier" - just cracked me up. ..."lifts and separates... :)
Hats off to the girls. You guys did great! I don’t know how you do it. I’m sure that many of your non-riding friends/colleagues are wondering when they see you drag butt on Monday: “...what’s so hard, you just sit on a motorcycle...”. Right. ...and deep inside you wish that one day you could take them to this beautiful garden blooming with TV-sized rocks and boulders...
I had a very good time on both, the AM and the PM rides. Early on I received some generous amount of friendly mudwater showers, courtesy of Knobbiethrower (and others?).. :| I tell you, even a garlic-flavored Listerine probably tastes better than that muck. I still think it was a conspiracy, because it was too perfect. These things take team effort - the right timing, speed, distance, maybe even some unresolved childhood issues..... ;) I mean I was SOAKED head to toe 3-4 times within one hour.
Afternoon ride with Dave and the rest of that group was great too. The conditions were superb. Good traction (even with my rear tire in severe need of "re-tirement"), moist soil, gripy rocks, no face-slappers or greenery covering the trails, plus the cool temperatures with pleasant breeze - it all just worked out. Some of the latter trails became a bit more challenging in places, but I'm sure those will be the memorable highlights of the ride.
I hope to see you guys soon at another Pa. Dirt/Rock/Mud fest.

Eugene

P.S. Are there any pictures posted?

 

[RM_guy]

I haven't read any of the above reports but I have to say I had a blast!! I MISSED TRIGGER!!! WTF!!

Needless to say it was great seeing and riding with everyone again. I'm looking forward to next time.

 

[JasonJ]

Sorry I missed it but glad you had good weather! I made it home safe from the cruise but man I have some airport stories :ugg: . Looking forward to riding with you at Paragon soon.

 

[RM_guy]

Well here’s my ride report. I have to admit that I was a bit skittish about a long ride in the rocky mountains of the east after getting over pneumonia just a few weeks ago! Especially since I hadn’t even started my bike yet for the year. All my worries were for naught because my bike started on the second kick and had no problems on the 35 miles that we rode Saturday. I did have a nasty leg cramp and I couldn’t put my one foot on the peg for the last ½ hour but even that loosened up by the time we got back to the trucks.

I rolled into the parking lot by 8:30 with my friend Bob. I had just met him a few weeks ago and the day before the ride he decide to come along. Dave and Lori and Nate were already there and none of the campers had arrived yet. Once most of everyone showed up we learned about snakes and bears and how to call for help at the training class. Little did they know I already know how to call for help :eek:

The morning ride was a real nice warm up. Dan did a nice job of keeping us on some easy trails. I did talk him into hitting Howie Hill before we went back for lunch though. Before I let any fear of failure creep into my mind, I gassed it and was the first up the hill. My Eric Gorr tuned RM250 had little difficulty walking up the hill and I was anxious to see the carnage behind me. Unfortunately there was none! Everyone that tried the worst part of the hill made it…except for Dan. Seems he had some trouble but nothing as dramatic as I was hoping. I guess it’s time to find Howie Hill II. The real drama was getting going after the hill. That’s where the carnage was. I hope someone got some good pictures.

After a quick ride up Turtle Hill we stopped and when we started again I didn’t have my helmet on and was in the back of the pack. Not to be left behind I threw on the helmet and raced through the pack. The trail we were on has some nice long and deep water holes and when I came up to a group that was picking there way around the water I just couldn’t resist the temptation and I wheelied right through the water in 3rd gear. I know I got Keith good cuz he let me know but I really never found out who else I nailed with a wall of water. That was fun. Now I know why everyone likes to roost me :)

After lunch we decided to split up into a leisurely group and a sadistic group. Naturally OffRoadWarrior led the sadistic group. There was no way I was going to follow someone leading a trail ride when the leader is on a trials bike. That’s just crazy. It’s bad enough when he’s on a regular bike. Interestingly enough, we picked up a few from the sadist’s group when our paths crossed.

I led the leisurely group on some trails that were a little tougher than the morning ride but still not too bad. MrMXer and his son Jared were in my group and we were concerned that the little guy on a RM65 might have some trouble. After riding on the bunny loop and some hills it was very evident that this 8 year old was not going to have any problem. You’d never know that he’s only been on the bike a few weeks and it’s his first one with a clutch. Every place that I thought he might have trouble I’d stop to look back at him. Although his legs were flailing around, he just kept coming. The funny part was when we stopped to wait for the rest of the group. The first thing out of his mouth every time was, “Where is everyone??? What’s taking them so long??”.

I had a great time and really enjoyed seeing and riding with everyone again. I wish I could have stayed over but, well it just wasn’t in the cards :( I’m very disappointed that I missed the Trigger. You’d at least think he would have taking his Harley out on some of the trails. There were plenty of nice deep water holes for him.

I also regret not getting a chance to say goodbye to the sadist’s group. Apparently they hadn’t felt tortured enough and stayed out on the trail until the last possible moment. I am glad that we all rode together for the morning ride so we can truthfully say we did ride together.

I brought with me a bunch of stickers that was to be awarded to the rider performing the most bizarre stunt, not necessarily intentional. It had to be witnessed by at least 2 people. Well I guess no one wanted the stickers because it was pretty much an uneventful day in the crash and burn department (which turns out to be a good thing since no one got hurt all weekend :)) So we decided to award them to someone that showed determination, grit and unending energy. That had to be Jared. He never said never and didn’t question anything that was thrown at him. He is what the sport is all about. I’ve always gotten a kick out of watching the kids ride. Talk about a permanent smile:)

I’m really looking forward to the next time we can get together.

 

[Hucker]

Well the RM is sold and a '99 YZ250 is being picked up this weekend. You better watch out for myself and James on the next Paragon trip.. Sounds like you folks had a awesome time!!!

 

[FLYIN_KAW]

This hurts reading the posts.
I thought it was this weekend!!!!!
I was ready to go in 2 days from now.
Next time guys.
Got to get the Kaw out of the barn and do some riding.
cheers to all
Hey Trigger, you are so right. If only everyone rode bikes. :)
Outta here

 

[FLYIN_KAW]

ya Hucker and I will be there.
Hopefully we can drag Scott along

 

[LoriKTM]

Wow, did we really do 35 miles on Saturday, RMGuy? I wouldn't have figured it.

Let's start planning the fall event-- what about September 4-5? (And that's NOT Sept. 11-12 in "Canadian" time, either! :laugh: )

How's that weekend work for everyone?

 

[Treejumper]

Might be able to make it on the saturday of that weekend Lori. I leave for Florida the following weekend so will have alot to do the weekend before. If we do make it that weekend i will have one busy month of driving. September 4th- 210 miles to paragon and 210 miles back. Sept. 10- 1100 miles to Florida Keys and Sept. 19- 1100 miles back. Sept. 25- 1200 miles to Dirtweek and Oct. 3- 1200 miles back. Add in the 600 miles a week i drive for work puts me at 6220 miles for one month. I do believe that would be a record for me. :)

 

[LoriKTM]

Should we call you a Whaaambulance, Chucke? :laugh:

That was merely a suggested weekend, after checking the WNYOA, ECEA, and NETRA event schedules for major conflicts.
I didn't want to get it too close to DirtWeek, and if we wait until after DirtWeek, who knows what the weather will be?!

 

[RM_guy]

Yep, 35 miles. We were having so much fun you just didn't notice. Besides, you weren't following your hubby at .004 MPH through God knows what :eek:

 

[Treejumper]

Besides, you weren't following your hubby at .004 MPH through God knows what :eek:

I was following him and it was fun up to a point. :ohmy:


Yep, call me the Whaaambulance Lori. Atleast that way i wont have to drive. :) That weekend might work but i think Steel City might be that weekend? I agree with nothing too close to Dirtweek but last years 10/19 ride worked good too.

 

[BSWIFT]

:worship::worship::worship:

 

[CaptainObvious]

I'm SO SORRY guys that I missed the ride.

I had been trying to get a friend to do some work on my home track for the last six weeks. As luck would have it..he called me Friday night while I was packing the truck. Although we had been over the plan many times, the guy told me when he got here that he wouldn't do the work without me on-site. It took all day Saturday and Sunday with a D5 dozer - and I'm still only half way done!

Sunday night I was off on a business trip and didn't have time to respond. I just got back tonight.

I was really bumbed-out that I couldn't go. I had the truck all packed...bikes, camping gear, food - I even had the ice in the freekin' cooler - but I had to stay for the construction. It really was a big job.

Connor was really disapointed (until he saw the 65' foot table top and the other 10 jumps we made). I'm going to try to get him out there soon for a camp-over ride. Oh, BTW, someone mentioned the guy and the kid on the XR's...that was my neighbor. I told him about the ride, but never told him to tell anyone that I couldn't make it. Yes, I am a dumb a$$.

I hate to say "I'll see you guys next time" because I know that will be DW04. Anyway, I'll post when I'm going to Paragon again.

 

[Treejumper]

Well i'm just glad your OK. Must be nice to have a track with "jumps". I have a track but only one jump. Need to find a friend with a dozer too. :)

 

[scooter1130]

Sorry I wasn't able to get on earlier to post a ride report, but I still have trouble getting into DRN. I will post a ride report later tonight as long as I can get in here again. For anybody who hasn't seen the pictures from this ride yet, Click here

:ride:

 

[LoriKTM]

Yay, Scooter made it back on the boards! :)

I DID check out the pictures, Dan! (And even downloaded a couple). Thanks very much for being so handy with the camera. :cool: