I had one of the most fun rides of my life this weekend!! Here is how it all played out.
Last week a friend of mine who is a member of the Muskegon Motorcycle club invited me to go on a hare and hound. I have a very strong history of MX/HS and really have no interest in getting involved in racing again (it was fun when I was younger but got WAY to expensive and time consuming). I have told Larry (my friend) a ZILLION times of that so now he only invites me to "fun" outings (I hope he reads this!)> :))) I had never never ridin a H/H before so I asked him how it worked - for those of you who have never done one either let me take a second and explain. The "hare", lead rider, leaves out 1/2 hour before the "hounds", craziest pack of Michigan woods riders you have ever seen, are released to track him down. When the rabbit comes to an intersection he puts down a marker if he turns - he then puts down another maker within a couple hundred yards of the interesection to "leave his scent". As in rabbit hunting (it is remarkable how simular to rabbit hunting this all really is hahahaha - I also used to be a rabbit hunter so maybe that is why I enjoyed it so much) the the first hound to find the rabbit wins - its that easy!!!!!! LOL
The GREAT people who put this on chose the Tomahawk system up in Woverine for the event. Another friend and I went up Saturday to ride the MCCCT north and then to ride the H/H on Sunday! EVERYTHING that I have heard about this area (Wolverine MI) is absoulutly true!! I am here to relay a message to anyone who has never ridden this system - IF YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY DONT MISS IT!! THIS TRAIL SYSTEM IS THE ULTIMATE FOR VARIETY OF EVERY THING YOU CAN IMAGINE!!!!!
Saturday my bud and I set out on the MCCCT heading North. We were camped at Weber Lake and left around the west side and headed North. We soon found orselves on the coolest section of roller coaster ups and downs I have ever experienced on a bike (better then Cedar Point!!). Catching air off the tops on my 250 KDX was GREAT!! And it was one after the other!! After experiencing this roller coaster ride we rode up to Indian River on some of the tightest up/down hills you have ever seen (any one ever ridden the tight section of Horseshoe Lake?? - NOT EVEN CLOSE - if you like woods ridin you gotta go!! NO whoops, almost like it hadnt been ridin in months!! Oh yea, I forgot to mention this, it rained the day before and there was NO dust - IT HAS BEEN MONTHS SINCE I HAVE SEEN THIS PHENOMINOM!!!!! We came into this REAL tight section of briar like brush that was literally rubbing on both sides of the bars!! The trail was about the width of a rear tire and was ver winding!! Who ever laid out this section of the MCCCT is my kinda person!!! IT was so COOL!!! Who ever you are my hat goes off to you!! We went up some REALLY rocky BIG hills that liked to roll 8" boulders down the trail at you just for fun! It is pretty tricky climbing verticle in sand and rock mixed but try it when the boulders are moving - man that was great!! Another simular one that happened was a log that seamed to be held in the air by rubber straps! My buddy cleared and it was swinging back and forth across the trail about a foot high when I wheelied over it!! I had been coaching Rich about "trail technique" and he had gotten pretty good at lofting before hitting a log - this one really presented a challenge because it was swinging a good four feet back and forth!!!
We crossed I-75 and started to head back down on the MCCCT and I stopped Rich in the Middle of the gravel road with the most brilliant idea a dirt rider could ever have! It suddenly dawned on me that we were VERY close to the Mighty Mac!! I said, Hey buddy heres our chance to do something really special.....
Within 1/2 hour we were sitting in Mackinaw City looking at the Bridge!! Man those street legal kits are the GREATEST! LOL!! We pulled into a gas station to get gas and warm up (brr it was cold - that chest protector didnt help much but the MX boots really kept the feet warm:). A car pulled in behind us and the guys riding in it started admiring our bikes. They asked where we were from and we gave them the full story. I told the guy that was driving that we were planning on crossing the bridge but it was just to cold!! He asked if we would like to borrow a couple of jackets!! He said that they frequented a little bar in Wolverine (Vicki J's?) and that we could just drop them off there when we got back from our ride!! I could not believe it!! He asked for no money, said that if we got them dirty it was no problem and both Jackets were designer jackets (member only!!). We took him up on his offer and proceeded to cross the bridge on our dirt bikes!! Man what a ride!! I have driven everything from cars to Streetbikes (at least 3 times a year going west on my Venture Royal - I hate Chicago traffic!!) and even have walked across it but this was the greatest!! Maybe it was the third gear wheelie between the spans or maybe it was the look on Riches face when I did it but what ever it was it was the GREATEST (kids dont try this at home)!!!!
The lady at the toll booth asked me whether or not we were suppose to be on the bridge with those "things" (she was looking right at my KDX when she said it - I dont think she liked the "ring-ding sound" - I even run a legal sparky!!). We wnet into St. Ignas and found a taillight bulb for my KDX at the local truck stop (if you read this Mr. Attendant - THANKS A MILLION FOR LOANING ME THE SCREWDRIVER - my was packed tight! Headed back across the Bridge and back towards camp!! We pulled in at about 10:30 and all the MMC H/H riders wondered why we missed the potluck dinner! You could have heard a pin drop there by the camp fire as I wa telling them about crossing the bridge!! Then there jaws really dropped as I announce I had to head back into town to return those 2 jackets!! THANK YOU!! Man what a day and we hadnt even had a chance to go hunting yet!!!
Well thats all for now - its 2am - I will finish this soon though!
If you get a chance to go ride that system DO IT - you will never forget/regret it!!!
Woodsy
Last week a friend of mine who is a member of the Muskegon Motorcycle club invited me to go on a hare and hound. I have a very strong history of MX/HS and really have no interest in getting involved in racing again (it was fun when I was younger but got WAY to expensive and time consuming). I have told Larry (my friend) a ZILLION times of that so now he only invites me to "fun" outings (I hope he reads this!)> :))) I had never never ridin a H/H before so I asked him how it worked - for those of you who have never done one either let me take a second and explain. The "hare", lead rider, leaves out 1/2 hour before the "hounds", craziest pack of Michigan woods riders you have ever seen, are released to track him down. When the rabbit comes to an intersection he puts down a marker if he turns - he then puts down another maker within a couple hundred yards of the interesection to "leave his scent". As in rabbit hunting (it is remarkable how simular to rabbit hunting this all really is hahahaha - I also used to be a rabbit hunter so maybe that is why I enjoyed it so much) the the first hound to find the rabbit wins - its that easy!!!!!! LOL
The GREAT people who put this on chose the Tomahawk system up in Woverine for the event. Another friend and I went up Saturday to ride the MCCCT north and then to ride the H/H on Sunday! EVERYTHING that I have heard about this area (Wolverine MI) is absoulutly true!! I am here to relay a message to anyone who has never ridden this system - IF YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY DONT MISS IT!! THIS TRAIL SYSTEM IS THE ULTIMATE FOR VARIETY OF EVERY THING YOU CAN IMAGINE!!!!!
Saturday my bud and I set out on the MCCCT heading North. We were camped at Weber Lake and left around the west side and headed North. We soon found orselves on the coolest section of roller coaster ups and downs I have ever experienced on a bike (better then Cedar Point!!). Catching air off the tops on my 250 KDX was GREAT!! And it was one after the other!! After experiencing this roller coaster ride we rode up to Indian River on some of the tightest up/down hills you have ever seen (any one ever ridden the tight section of Horseshoe Lake?? - NOT EVEN CLOSE - if you like woods ridin you gotta go!! NO whoops, almost like it hadnt been ridin in months!! Oh yea, I forgot to mention this, it rained the day before and there was NO dust - IT HAS BEEN MONTHS SINCE I HAVE SEEN THIS PHENOMINOM!!!!! We came into this REAL tight section of briar like brush that was literally rubbing on both sides of the bars!! The trail was about the width of a rear tire and was ver winding!! Who ever laid out this section of the MCCCT is my kinda person!!! IT was so COOL!!! Who ever you are my hat goes off to you!! We went up some REALLY rocky BIG hills that liked to roll 8" boulders down the trail at you just for fun! It is pretty tricky climbing verticle in sand and rock mixed but try it when the boulders are moving - man that was great!! Another simular one that happened was a log that seamed to be held in the air by rubber straps! My buddy cleared and it was swinging back and forth across the trail about a foot high when I wheelied over it!! I had been coaching Rich about "trail technique" and he had gotten pretty good at lofting before hitting a log - this one really presented a challenge because it was swinging a good four feet back and forth!!!
We crossed I-75 and started to head back down on the MCCCT and I stopped Rich in the Middle of the gravel road with the most brilliant idea a dirt rider could ever have! It suddenly dawned on me that we were VERY close to the Mighty Mac!! I said, Hey buddy heres our chance to do something really special.....
Within 1/2 hour we were sitting in Mackinaw City looking at the Bridge!! Man those street legal kits are the GREATEST! LOL!! We pulled into a gas station to get gas and warm up (brr it was cold - that chest protector didnt help much but the MX boots really kept the feet warm:). A car pulled in behind us and the guys riding in it started admiring our bikes. They asked where we were from and we gave them the full story. I told the guy that was driving that we were planning on crossing the bridge but it was just to cold!! He asked if we would like to borrow a couple of jackets!! He said that they frequented a little bar in Wolverine (Vicki J's?) and that we could just drop them off there when we got back from our ride!! I could not believe it!! He asked for no money, said that if we got them dirty it was no problem and both Jackets were designer jackets (member only!!). We took him up on his offer and proceeded to cross the bridge on our dirt bikes!! Man what a ride!! I have driven everything from cars to Streetbikes (at least 3 times a year going west on my Venture Royal - I hate Chicago traffic!!) and even have walked across it but this was the greatest!! Maybe it was the third gear wheelie between the spans or maybe it was the look on Riches face when I did it but what ever it was it was the GREATEST (kids dont try this at home)!!!!
The lady at the toll booth asked me whether or not we were suppose to be on the bridge with those "things" (she was looking right at my KDX when she said it - I dont think she liked the "ring-ding sound" - I even run a legal sparky!!). We wnet into St. Ignas and found a taillight bulb for my KDX at the local truck stop (if you read this Mr. Attendant - THANKS A MILLION FOR LOANING ME THE SCREWDRIVER - my was packed tight! Headed back across the Bridge and back towards camp!! We pulled in at about 10:30 and all the MMC H/H riders wondered why we missed the potluck dinner! You could have heard a pin drop there by the camp fire as I wa telling them about crossing the bridge!! Then there jaws really dropped as I announce I had to head back into town to return those 2 jackets!! THANK YOU!! Man what a day and we hadnt even had a chance to go hunting yet!!!
Well thats all for now - its 2am - I will finish this soon though!
If you get a chance to go ride that system DO IT - you will never forget/regret it!!!
Woodsy
