GETMETOCA

Can't Wait For Tuesdays
Mar 17, 2002
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Velosapiens joined me up at Forresthill this past weekend, lucky me - he's a superb ride bud, because he knows Forresthill like the back of his hand from coming up fairly often to mountain bike/dirt bike. Plus, he's got the necessary patience to ride with me. :confused:

We gel'd plans Friday afternoon to meet at FH around 3:00 pm Saturday. I got there a little early to check out the campsites. I notice a "loud" family taking over a good portion of the Sugar Pine camp sites, lots of bickering, yelling obscenities at the dog, etc. I choose a camp area as far away from them as possible.

We set up our tents, unload our stuff and hang out in the shade til it cooled off a bit. We ride later in the afternoon about 4:30 PM or so. I warn velosapiens explicitly that it's okay to leave me behind (afterall he's pretty fast) but to PLEASE wait for me at forks in the road as I am notorious for getting lost.

The last time I rode Forresthill was during the Training Wheels Enduro June 2nd. We start out just like the start of the enduro and it seems familiar to me again. This time, I seem to be going faster through the rocky stuff or maybe I just think I'm going faster because its familiar this time.

We basically ride all trails except 5&6 and parts of 3 because its closed for logging. I'm having a total blast and feel great. I'm remembering all the uphills, the twisty stuff, and velosapiens is true to his word and waits for me at every fork.

The great thing about riding in the latter part of the afternoon is that we hardly came across any other riders. We came upon one group of three coming down that big rubber treaded downhill. One of them was crashed. That was a little tricky, but I managed to stay upright and get past it and moved on. We end up doing 25 miles this day.

We get back to camp about 6:30 pm and strike up conversation with a family. I've already posted about the inexperienced girl on the YZ426F, so I won't go into detail again here. Well, I'm still kind of sad about that whole thing and it bothered velosapiens a lot too.

The loud family on the other side of the campground stirred up some more ruckus with one another then simmered down and went to bed.

The next day after breakfast, velosapiens asks one of the hooligans-on-a-quad to please stop stirring up dust where we are parked. A few minutes later, we're confronted by Grandpa from the loud family campers. The confrontation, if that, ended well, but we laughed about that all day.

We head out to ride around 9 am and I'm flubbing up on simple stuff, killing my engine on uphills, running off the side of the trail. At one point I was crossing a creek and didn't make it through the uphill twisty stuff on the other side. I crash then try to pick my bike up, but I'm on a steep trail and end up falling over, the bike on top of me. I was too tired and too stuck to struggle for too long. I took a long draw off my hydration system and just layed there looking up at the trees for a good minute til I regain enough strength to use my one free leg to get some leverage and shift the bike off me. I'm free, but roll further down the hill. The bike stayed put.

I end up dragging the bike by the wheel down to a more level spot then pick it up. I'm standing there next to my bike by the time velosapiens comes back for me. Glad he missed that scene!

No worse for wear, we finish 27 miles and head back to camp for lunch. Kali and Kevin are there! :) Its good to see them and we all take a lunch break. Kali's got new plastic and new graphics on her GasGas. Kevin's Husaberg always interests me and he has offered to let me ride it, but again I decline. Maybe another time. The girl on the YZ426F is still fresh on my mind.

We head out again, and this time its mid-day HOT and the dust is very thick with four riders in a row. I hang back and go at my own pace to avoid the dust. I'm glad velosapiens has someone faster to ride with. Kali makes sure I take the right forks in the road.

We get to the section on trail 3 where its this great, long meadow with nice waterbars every 25 yards or so. I used to roll over these in 2nd gear, too cowardly to try to hit them any faster. I decide to take them on in 3rd and get my first real jump. My first jump was very ugly, but air it was and I'll take it. :aj: After that, they got smoother and I was having the time of my life.

We do another 18 miles and head back to camp. Its about 4:30 when we all say our goodbyes and head home. We're all going to the Dave Woods off-road class in two weeks, so we'll see each other again then. Fun, Hot, dusty, tragic, great, tiring, exhilarating, exhausting, totally enjoyable - words that describe this weekend.
 
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zio

Mr. Atlas
Jul 28, 2000
2,291
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Great report! That section with the waterbars was one of my favorites. The water crossing followed by the immediate switchback- that one almost bit me too. Dang, now I'm all jonesing to go back. I'd even put up with the dust. Can't wait for Forresthill after a good rain!
 

treefinder

Sponsoring Member
Jun 4, 2002
176
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Great writeup Nathaline, sounds like you guys had a fun ride. Sorry you had to see a helicopter, I saw a guy get airlifted out of Hollister once and it sure can put a damper on your mood.

Were the steel cable loops still there on that rubber mat section? We've been after the USFS to fix those for a month now and they haven't done anything. :silly:

I'm off to Foresthill tomorrow for a few days of recon work for this fall's Training Wheels, bwaaaa ha ha haaa...:p
 

GETMETOCA

Can't Wait For Tuesdays
Mar 17, 2002
4,768
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Treefinder, sorry you couldn't make it up this weekend! I don't remember seeing the cable loops this time on the rubber tread section, but I was focussed on the crashed rider in front of me so I might have missed it.

See you at the Off-Road school August 10/11!! Have a good time up at Forresthill, wish I was a slacker like you and could go during the week :p .
 

Karna&Justin

~SPONSOR~
Sep 27, 2001
174
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Hey Natalie!

Did I mention how jealous I was that you got to go ride and I had to endure a petting zoo with my son, almost getting bit by a cow while chasing after Philip who at the same time was cornering a not so happy chicken? Ah, the joys of motherhood...wouln't change things for the world :) Anyways, can't wait for the class! Sounds like you are moving up the learning curve at a pretty fast rate, huh? SHould I be concerned :eek: ? Well, we are less than two weeks away...hope Justin gets my bike back together soon. Should I be concerned?

Karna
 

GETMETOCA

Can't Wait For Tuesdays
Mar 17, 2002
4,768
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Originally posted by Karna&Justin
I had to endure a petting zoo with my son, almost getting bit by a cow

That reminds me - I was on this one trail and came across this pile of some kind of animal poo-poo....don't know why I could not get 'Bears' out of my mind. :scream: Mark was way ahead of me at this point, and I'm cruising alone and I swear, every burned out tree stump I caught in my peripheral vision sent a jolt of "Ride like heck its a Bear!!" through my mind. When I finally caught up to Mark and asked him about it, he mentioned something about pack mules. :think:
 

IrishEKU

A General PITA.
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Apr 21, 2002
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Great read Natalie, the bit about the poo was great! ;)

Down at Land Between the Lakes, the only wildlife we have to avoid is the occasional deer and alot of turkeys. Hmmmm :think: I guess that explains the OHV parks name:Turkey Bay :)
 
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clutchcover

~SPONSOR~
Feb 21, 2002
367
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If you ever see a bear in the woods, they really aren't that scary. The sound of your engine or just being there scares them. Hopefully next year I'll get to hunt them with my bow. Great report, sounds like you are riding better than my brother. Maybe you should teach him a thing or two. ;) Speaking of cows, never take off your fender when riding near cows. Learned this the hard way on an atv. I never wanted to burn my clothes so bad ;(
 

dirt bike dave

Sponsoring Member
May 3, 2000
5,349
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Originally posted by GETMETOCA


That reminds me - I was on this one trail and came across this pile of some kind of animal poo-poo....don't know why I could not get 'Bears' out of my mind. :scream:

The only time I have ever seen a bear on a trail, it was at Foresthill. He ran on the trail away from me for a while, then bounded up the hill like a deer. That was a long time ago, so he's probably gone now....Or a lot bigger :eek:
 

NVR FNSH

~SPONSOR~
Oct 31, 2000
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Careful, Ret - he might just sneak up on you while you're trail nappin' and add KTM to his diet..... Between you and the 520 he'd be able to hibernate for a long time:D

Brian
 

clutchcover

~SPONSOR~
Feb 21, 2002
367
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No, no,no, you guys have it all worng. They don't like quad riders or dirtbikers, they like hikers. They put up less of a chase. They don't eat environmentalists though, the crap they eat makes them skinny and from what the bears tell me it makes them taste horrible.
 

IrishEKU

A General PITA.
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Apr 21, 2002
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Gawd, I hate granola,bean sprouts and tofu! But a good batch of trail mix ain't bad! Not to mention the "Silm Jim's" I eat like candy. LOL
 

SirThumper

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Sep 9, 2000
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You guys knock it off, GETMETOCA will never want to go back there. Bears would not be my main concern though, I'd be worried about Cougars and Rattlesnakes. :)
 

IrishEKU

A General PITA.
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Apr 21, 2002
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Harumph....Harumph....Harumph!.........I didn't get a Harumph out of SirThumper! :)
 

clutchcover

~SPONSOR~
Feb 21, 2002
367
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Bears, mountain lions and almost all other wild animals are very weary of things that make noise. I have been close to both of these animals and they were very much more afraid of me than I was of them. I didn't mean to scare ya Getmetoca. And besides, they are California bears, they wouldn't want to dirty their guchi handbag killing some motorcyclist. They'de rather eat those expensive blueberries ;) Speaking of food Irish, dinner is almost done. Thanks for reminding me.
Getmetoca good job on the jump, I'm sure it was much more graceful than my first jump/wreck. Keep it up.
 

GETMETOCA

Can't Wait For Tuesdays
Mar 17, 2002
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RetSenior said this in an attempt to scare GETMETOCA
Dave, I think he needs more XR riders. I think I noticed an XR deficiency in his poo poo.

Ret, I'm remembering how it was now.....The poo poo most definitely had some razor sharp, pointy shards of KTM orange plastic in it - that poor bear is probably pissed off about the pain and suffering he endured to relieve himself of his trailside treasure and is most likely up for a little KTM revenge. I think he's gonna bypass the XR for a while..... ;)

Sir Thumper.....Now I have to worry about Cougars and Rattlesnakes? :ugg:

Clutchcover - thanks for the acknowledgment of my first jump! I will always remember that day. :)
 

treefinder

Sponsoring Member
Jun 4, 2002
176
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Bears, mountain lions and almost all other wild animals are very weary of things that make noise.

Then the little salamanders that inhabit Foresthill must be DEAF. Those things sun themselves on the trail until your knobby is about 1 foot from them, then take off down the trail.

And no, I am not bitter because I fell over when I tried to avoid one. No. That's not it at all. Nope. :think:
 

RetSenior

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Dec 15, 2000
264
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Never seen any Rattlesnakes at Foresthill but have seen about 6 of them at Hollister. Only seen one Cougar and that was at Downieville. I like Stonyford they have Bunny Rabbits.

Frank, I must be like a salamander because I sometimes sun myself on the trail too like Brain said.

Nat, keep riding with Kali and you won't have to worry about critters. They won't come anywhere close to her. Have Fun next week.
 
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