Manchester Ride Report

[truespode]

Yeah, yeah... Scott can damn ride. There I said it. He left me like I was on a quad. He definately was in his element and moving tail out there.

But I have an excuse... I can blame it on the following:

Damn snow.
Damn work.
Damn fence company.
Damn 2nd mortgage paperwork.
Damn. Damn. Damn.

Ok, so last week was a bit frustrating. I'm not going into detail b/c it is all good now. You see... I got to go riding :) Even though Scott whooped me (so did Stumpy but that is nothing new).

Granted I had to drive 3 hours south to find something warm and without snow or ice on the ground so I'm sure my travel time wore me out a little too... yeah, thats the ticket... travel time (great excuse :) ). I left at 8am, picked up my friend Sean in Pelion and marched onward.

We get there and I did a quick (ok, slow) lap on the track. I realized I needed to slow down and save my energy for the trails. I get back to the pits and keep bs'ing with everyone.

There was a crowd at Manchester. One of the people there riding was Jason Raines. I didn't talk to him much but he seemed like a really nice guy.

I think I took him off guard when I offered him some SCORE bumper stickers. He had a look of surprise on his face. I saw him ride a little as he'd go in the woods and he was moving. I also saw him watching some other guys and I think he was helping give them pointers.

The group we had included bscottr, Stumpy and Gomer from DRN as well as Sean, Travis, Hank and 2 other guys I can't remember the names of (mostly b/c I'm out of it right now b/c of the Damn Work part). There was also a kid on a KX80 out there who was FLYING. Not going fast. FLYING! I'll get back to him in a minute.

First, Sean and I did a quick loop on the 2-mile section. I felt ok but I could not control the bike for anything. The whoops have been smoothed over and the trail was deep sand. It was tough for me to get used to b/c I'm used to using the rear brake more but I couldn't in this stuff. I would pull in the clutch and the front end would drop into the sandy turn and I'd be out of control like Sally Struthers going for a cup cake!

I never did get it figured out on how to keep my momentum up well.

We then did the 9 mile loop and I was being left. I mean left by everyone but Sean. Sean only rides 2 times a year if that and he was keeping up with me no problem (and I thought I was moving pretty fast for myself). Anyway, I was way behind.

Near the end of the loop I do not see Sean behind me so I stop. I wait and I hear him crank up but he asks me to wait when he slowly gets up to me. I thought he got hurt at first but luckily he only lost his rear axle bolt and chain adjuster block. He kicked the bolt back in and went out to the road and drove back to the pits. His day was officially over.

Ok, back to the riding. I catch up to someone. It was Travis but he ran out of gas. I was bummed I was so far behind but I still enjoyed the loop.

We bs'd a little and hit the 9 mile again. This time I did much better.

This time I could keep up with the kid on the 80. Now I know what you are thinking... trails are probably easier to ride for a kid on an 80 b/c he can flick the bike around. Well, that is partly true. But, the 9 mile loop has some pretty fast straight aways and I was hitting 4th gear and only able to MATCH his speed!!! The kid was tapped and flying down the straights. The best I could do was pull up on him on the longer straights when his bike just didn't have enough. Other than that he left me behind like a bad habit.

Did I mention he was FLYING! Fastest kid on an 80 I've ever seen in the woods.

When we got back to the pits I did the 2-mile loop on Gomer's bike. Damn that thing is setup nice. The s12 rear / m12 front hooked up really well and the suspension seemed to just carve the corners compared to my bike. Luckily I have the clicker settings from Gomer and am going to make the same mods to my bike.

After that we rested some more and did the 8 mile loop. Gomer rode with the leaders for a little on the 9 mile but on this one he stayed back a little since he swapped bikes with Stumpy. Still, on an odd and heavy bike (sorry Stumpy ;) ) Gomer was still putting a lot of pressure on me. I was moving as fast as I could and he told me afterwards thanks for the pace b/c it wasn't worth it to him to go faster... he just wanted to take it easy. Thanks Gomer :)

I loaded up after the 8 mile loop. I was spent and the 8 mile loop was the hardest of them all for me. My arms really felt like rubber afterwards. After I got back I loaded up and decided to start the long journey homeward.

As we head out of the area I check the bikes to make sure they didn't bounce around in the trailer. I turn just in time to see Gomer flying into a turn and then go over the bars. I get a thumbs up from the guys who went to check on him so I leave. Turns out nothing broke but the shifter lever. It looked like a hard get off so I consider that lucky.

I finally get home about 8:30pm, take a shower, eat and crash hard. I think I blinked at 11pm and when my eyes opened again it was 7am. I'm tired now, on-call and moody b/c I didn't have my v-8... ok, so I'm kidding about drinking v-8.

I did have a few falls in the woods but nothing bad. One time I hit the radiator and bent it forward. The forks now hit the plastic shield when I turn the bars to the right. I guess I'll order some radiator braces like MXA recommends (you like that one Payer? <g>).

I hope you guys had fun. BTW, temps turned out to be upper 40's and sunny. Not too bad of weather. I had a great time. Thanks to everyone who showed up. I wish I could have kept up with you guys so I could have made fun of your riding escapades in my ride report. Unfortunately, I was just too slow. You guys were HAULIN!

Ivan

 

[High Lord Gomer]

No, the TRUTH about BScottR is:

1. He's a jetting sensation,
2. He rides a junkyard bike,
3. He has the most manly lighter you've ever seen, and
4. It was him that threw dirt in your trailer, Stumpy!

(more later :))

 

[Stumpy]

Odd and heavy.... hmmm.... you talkin' about bike or rider, spodeboy? (or should that be sandspode)

Gomer did prove that anyone with enough bread can get meat in his mouth... a lesson well worth learning.

 

[Stumpy]

Originally posted by High Lord Gomer
No, the TRUTH about BScottR is:

1. He's a jetting sensation,
2. He rides a junkyard bike,
3. He has the most manly lighter you've ever seen, and
4. It was him that threw dirt in your trailer, Stumpy!

(more later :))

OK, let me put an end to that right now.
1. When we got home he said, "I think I should have gone the other way on the needle."
2. His bike rivals that of Bubba Stewart... If we could only get him to wear the pink gear.
3. Speaking of pink... cute lighter.
4. He ain't got no stinkin XR50!

 

[truespode]

Originally posted by Stumpy
Odd and heavy.... hmmm.... you talkin' about bike or rider, spodeboy? (or should that be sandspode)

Ummm... ummm... ahhh... pass me a sandwich :)

I ain't sayin nothin more that may incriminate me :flame:

Ivan

 

[bscottr]

Holeshot by Ivan!

1st of a 4 part series.

THAT was a lot of fun! It’s been nearly a year since Manchester had been groomed and what were DEEP whoops last week is deep loamy sand/dirt this week. Many thanks to SCORE! :thumb:

It took awhile to dial in the suspension to keep the front end from plowing in the turns. Once dialed in, getting the weight back over the seat and grabbing all the throttle you dare, you could get through there at a decent pace.

We used the first 2 mile loop prior to Ivan, Sean, HL Goober, Danny and Travis’ arrival to start the adjusting process. David, DJ, Stump and I were a little wide eyed after that first short loop because you couldn’t predict where your front end was going. One thing you could predict because of the loose sand…..bark tasting! :scream:

Gomer, Danny and Travis arrived shortly after the first loop. We guided the Funmover (Sweet!) into position and Gomer unloaded. We hit the short loop again with Gomer behind Stump and me behind Gomer. Stump was trying to get his suspension dialed in, but was still setting a good pace. Gomer had the 450 rolling right with him and looking good right up ‘til we got into the tight stuff, where he wisely (no bark busters) slowed his pace. Soon afterwards his aging body caught up to him and he pulled off the trail with hand cramps/arm pump. I pulled off with the youngster to make sure he didn’t need CPR from being soooo close to the trees at that speed. David and DJ (impressive on the 85) came zooming by us shortly afterwards. After a few minutes Gomer un-wadded his panties, slipped them back on :eek: and we were off.

Ivan and Sean arrived soon afterwards. We did the introductions, the “where are your fender stickers?” questions (confessions anyone?) and had a short BS session. Ivan being the ambassador :) of the sport that he is, was all over the pits handing out the SCORE stickers and doing the goodwill thing, so it took him a while to get suited up. Once he did and had a couple of warm-up rides through the 2 mile loop and on the track we were ready to hit the trails. :yeehaw:

 

[bscottr]

Part 2

I believe there were nine or ten of us on that first 9 mile loop. We jumped in and got on the gas. It took me about two miles or so to get settled in and to stay on the gas hard through the turns. Otherwise it was a stall or a front end tuck that would get ya in that deep stuff. We stopped at our usual gathering place two to three miles in to let everyone catch up and make sure all was good. It was and we hit it again.

We all have a few “favorite” places (not) on the nine mile loop usually where the sand is extra deep through some turns. I’m following Stump coming up to my favorite crash spot and tell myself “self….let it eat coming out of that corner!” I did just that, so well in fact that I couldn’t believe it and promptly stalled it in the very next corner. DAMN IT! Travis (I believe) had no problems passing me there. Catch up time…yee haw, WFO where what would have been second gear last week (MAJOR whoops). Just when I caught up, Stumpy was hitting his favorite corner. I’m sure he’ll tell us about it so I’ll leave it alone. :silly: Anyway we used that for another gathering point.

I asked David (DJ’s dad) if he wanted to jump up front and I’d hang back with DJ. He said he wasn’t “dialed in” yet and to go ahead. OK. Since Travis passed me after the stall I wanted him ahead of me (only fair) and Stump was on point setting the pace. This time it’s time to roll. Stump picks up the pace and the three of us are rolling through the open stuff in 4th/5th gear. Then we get to the tighter stuff back in the pines still rolling pretty good. I think Travis didn’t care much for the pace without bark busters (can’t blame him) and let me by.

I caught up to Stump and knew we wouldn’t stop except for a crash for the next 5 miles. FYI: the 8 and 9 mile loops are much better on the second half of the loops as the sand is not as deep and your tires hook up much better. We picked up the pace some more as we tend to test each other. I followed him through his constant “alternate lines” and early brake checks (takes a lot of time to slow those HEAVY WR 400s) :moon: . It’s a treat for those that haven’t experienced it, but a lot of fun. Even though his front suspension wasn’t working the way he’d like (excuses, excuses) he was smooth and that Bridgestone (plug) was roosting just fine.

The rest of the loop was nearly incident free. The nine mile loop exits the woods with a turn right at the side/base of a jump on the MC track. Just has I’m exiting the woods heading into the turn I see a bike on the track out of the corner of my eye and coming hard. I’m thinking I’m about to get T boned and laid her down right in the exit turn. Of course it feels like I just provided everyone on the track with a little entertainment. :o

Everyone gets back to the pits in one piece, well almost everyone. It appears that Gomer didn’t realize that AIR alone doesn’t have enough octane to insure proper combustion in the mighty CRF 450. Yup…he let his buddy Travis run out of gas 2 miles from the finish. What a guy! :p

Turns out that Sean lost his axle nut as well. Dang… no spares to be found and his day was indeed done. :(

 

[bscottr]

We did the nine mile loop again or was it the eight mile, no matter. This time I went in behind Hank. Hank was letting it roll on his sweet looking CR250 and getting it done nicely when one of those damn trees jumped out in front of him. No big deal as it was fairly small and didn’t hurt anything but pride. Even that was short lived as he was quickly back on pace.

This time David decided he was ready to roll so he and I swapped. He, Hank and Jason on a ’02 CRF450 took off. I hung back with DJ, Ivan and Gomer. Now don’t believe Ivan when he says he’s slow in the woods….he’ not at all slow. Put him back on the hard pack and Ill bet he’ll walk the dog on us.

The three of us were all getting a kick out of watching DJ on the KX85 maneuver through the woods. When we’d get in the tight stuff DJ could start pulling away ‘cause he’d stay on the gas and duck under the limbs/trees. Over the whoops he’s smooth as well. Most of the “alternate” lines are whooped pretty good and DJ was picking that line so he could use the last whoop as a jump to reenter the trail. Pretty cool! :thumb: He’s only been on a bike for about 6 months and he’s going to be real fast soon.

Anyway back to the pits for a little bench racing and lunch. Ya know, you find out all kinds of information about folks in this situation. Some things you just don’t want to know. Well….Gomer comes out of the Funmover with a huge sandwich…I mean big. Sits down and confesses how he likes his ****, all it takes is a little *****. (Gomer, you’re lucky this is the public forum. Too late, Stumpy hooked you up ;) ). Now what in the world prompted him to spill his guts to everyone in the pits is beyond me. Have you shared this little problem with Lori yet Gomer? :think:

Well back to the last loop of the day, we’re doing the eight mile for the last time. Hank, David and I jump in the woods well ahead of the rest of the group (didn’t know this at the time). Evidently they let some other guys go before they jumped in.

At some point about half way through the loop I heard some bikes coming up behind me. Little did I know that these were pro level guys hauling the mail! They had been practicing with Jason Raines earlier in the day. Well they are nearly on my arse when the trail splits on either side of a tree. I knew by the rate they closed on me that they were faaast! So here I am approaching this split thinking right or left, right or left, right or left….BAMM! I hit that tree dead center as those boys passed to my left. Guess I should have gone right. :|

Since I hit the tree square on and I was going over the bars….. the top of my helmet also hit square on the tree. This just bounced me right back into sitting positon on the bike and all was good again. Good tree indeed! I restarted and headed down the trail.

About a quarter mile down I found David sprawled out in the trail. He’s getting the bike up and he looks OK. He gave me the hand signal as to what happened. Evidently one of the fast guys took him out in a turn. There are two lines in and one out. David didn’t know that these guys were that close to him and he took the inside line. The other guys were railing the outside, they met at the exit. At least the pro went down too! All was good and the pro asked if David was OK. Ride on.

David was back at it flying down the trails. Fatigue and the simple fact he’s faster than me prevented me from staying with him. After blowing through a berm I decided I better slow my happy ass down. Once I start looking at the trees and obstacles I know I better start trail riding again before I have the big crash. It took many hard get-offs to learn that lesson.

Oh but the day wasn’t done. Yes…. fouled a plug ‘cause I went the wrong direction on the needle clip. Big deal Gomer. :moon:

 

[bscottr]

But the BIG event (read KA-RASH ) came as Hank was flying through a whoop section on the MC track. Gomer…about 400+ yards behind Hank comes flying down the whoops as well. Well Hank had pulled well off the track when Gomer comes to the end of the whoops, exits the track and just blasts Hank from behind. And the crowd groaned in agony for the fallen riders. But wait…there’s only one rider on the ground and it ain’t Hank. (Say that fast with a southern drawl).

Well from about 200 yards away we see Hank just looking down at Gomer doin’ the fish out of water routine under his 450. We thought everything was fine until what seemed like 5 minutes had passed and Gomer is still down. :eek: So we trot on over to check on the big lug. Turns out the 450 had put the full nelson on him and he couldn’t get up. We picked him up and made sure he was alright….no…..well, normal….no that’s it either…well, we just made sure it was Gomer (definitely not alright or normal). :p

He was fine in relation to Gomer normalcy and well rested from lying there so long :whiner: , but the CRF had a severely bent shifter. We decided at that point we’d had enough riding for the day. So we headed back to the pits and began loading up.

Man what a great day, I had a blast riding with all these guys. In case you don’t know this already….DRN folks are the best. Thanks to all for a great time! :aj: :thumb:

Scott

 

[bscottr]

Originally posted by High Lord Gomer
No, the TRUTH about BScottR is:

2. He rides a junkyard bike,

I gotcha your junkyard! :moon:

 

[High Lord Gomer]

Pfffttt!!!! I see dishwater spots on that pipe! I bet you didn't use Cascade!

BTW, my TruthOMeter says that 98.6% of what Scott posted was untruth...I'll set it straight sometime after my next beverage!

 

[High Lord Gomer]

626???

Were you born in June of '26?

Is your dream car a Mazda?

Do you own a 929 that is now upside down in a ditch beside I-95?

Do you consider your ideal dimensions to be 6'2" and 600 lbs?

Have you been 62 for 6 years, now?

What is it?!?!?!?

 

[High Lord Gomer]

BTW, from that picture it looks a little fat in the midrange...I'd definitely drop the clip a notch or two. :p

 

[High Lord Gomer]

For those that weren't there, this is approximately .626% of the **** I gave Scott while we were there. See, he can handle it and Lori likes him (which means there is *definitely* something wrong with him!)

 

[bscottr]

Originally posted by High Lord Gomer
BTW, from that picture it looks a little fat in the midrange...I'd definitely drop the clip a notch or two. :p

:o
:moon: :moon:

Want some bread big boy?

:)

 

[High Lord Gomer]

OK, I guess I'll finally get around to posting the TRUTH!

Saturday I made 42 calls and arranged for several of us to be there.&nbsp; Saturday night I got drug out to a biker bar where I played pool and was *not* the one who got a knife pulled on them!

Sunday morning at 8:30 (approx 2 hours too early) Travis called to see if I had left at 8:00 like I said I was going to.&nbsp; Amazingly he understood the grunts and groans I made and was able to meet me at the truck stop at 10:00.&nbsp; Filled up the propane, topped of the tank, filled up the cans, and hit the road.

Shortly after that we pulled into the local meat market (Piggly Wiggly) and got some meat (ham), Gatoraide, Advil, and Hot Pockets.&nbsp; We fired up the generator in the parking lot and prepared the hot pockets.&nbsp; While sitting there we smelled gas and the gas alarm in the RV went off.&nbsp; Looked around but couldn't figure it out.&nbsp; Went about 20 miles down the road and it dawned on me that one of the gas cans had "imploded" from the cold weather and the crease from folding in on itself turned into a crack.&nbsp; Dumped what was in it in the tank and headed for the ranger station.

Got to the ranger station and the envelopes were gone.&nbsp; We wrote a note with our names and dropped $15 in the slot and headed to the trailhead.

Got there and with the obvious expert guidance of Scott (he know A LOT about backing up) got the RV parked and ready to unload.

 

[High Lord Gomer]

Got unloaded and sent Danny and Travis out while I was pretending to get ready while I was really hoping to feel better.&nbsp; Travis is a good friend who is between bikes because of job changes, has only ridden 2 or 3 imes in the last year, and was riding for the first time since a job related broken hand two months ago.&nbsp; He still rode longer and faster than I could...bastage!

Danny rode one loop with the woods wackos and decided to stick to the MX track...smart boy.&nbsp; The track was whooped out, but at least there weren't any trees!

I finally got dressed and on the bike and followed Stumpy into the 2 mile loop with Scott right behind me.&nbsp; The first mile and a half is 6-10 feet wide and FAST!&nbsp; We were screaming 3rd and 4th gear.&nbsp; When it tightened up a bit I realized I couldn't feel my hands and pulled over so Scott could go by.&nbsp; He stopped and kept me company while the other David and DJ went by.&nbsp; After 2 or 3 seconds (he exaggerates) we finished the loop and I collapse...er, took a rest at the parking area.

Everyone else went back into the woods and the other David...I really need to come up with a better name for him since Stumpy doesn't even use the name David...came back and told me that Travis had run out of gas on my bike.&nbsp; I borrowed Jason's truck and went out to refill it...he'd&nbsp;already pushed it a 1/4 mile in the sand.

 

[Lemming]

Geez, it sounds like fun, I need a roadtrip so that I can tell lies :p

 

[High Lord Gomer]

We then went out for the 9 mile loop.&nbsp; They have a 2 mile loop, an 8 mile loop, and a 9 mile loop.&nbsp; I started out up front with the fast guys (Stumpy, Hank, and Scott) but realized after about a mile that, although I could travel at that speed, I was riding on the edge and I decided to back off and ride sweep (yes, I was skeered).&nbsp; I rode behind Ivan and DJ.&nbsp; They left me in the wide open fast sections but I caught them in the tigher stuff.&nbsp; I just didn't want to run 4th gear pinned in the soft sand of the open areas.

We got back, rested, and I had a sammich.&nbsp; I caught all kinds of grief about how much meat I put in my sammich.&nbsp; I guess it was all sammich envy.&nbsp; I'm thinking about going back and editting a few posts...maybe tomorrow.

We then went out and did the 8 mile loop.&nbsp; It is tighter than the 9 mile loop and ends up taking as much, if not more, time.&nbsp; Ivan and I were both beat by this point and floundered around behind everyone else.&nbsp; For the first 5 miles I traded with Stumpy so he could try my CRF and he wanted to see if I could figure out the handling problem with his WR.&nbsp; We had to wake him when we finally got there and he asked if his WR felt heavy.&nbsp; I told him that it wasn't *quite* as heavy as the RV and that it turned almost as well.&nbsp; I can't believe how fast he was making that barge go through the woods.&nbsp; I'd love to see him on a YZ250F.

Ivan and I finished the loop way behind everyone else and emerged to the track to find Scott chaning a plug.&nbsp; I rode up and offered all sorts of helpful advice like, "I don't even know where the plug is on this thing!"

Jason and I played on the track while I tried to convince him that I was almost as capable on the track as he was in the woods.&nbsp; I then saw Hank come out onto the track.&nbsp; When he went by I jumped out to follow him.&nbsp; At the end of his first (and apparently, only) lap, he slowed way down to exit the track.&nbsp; I was catching up at the top end of 4th gear and was hard on the brakes when I realized he was barely moving.&nbsp; Thinking back now I think I could've gotten back on the gas, driven around him, and jumped the berm off the track, but at the time I was committed to the brakes so I could make the turn.&nbsp; I ended up running into the back of him and going over the bars and landing on my head.&nbsp; The only damage was a pretzled shifter.

When I got home Lori saw the imprint of my helmet on my forehead and cheek and she added a few bruises of her own to my head.&nbsp; She must love me!

 

[High Lord Gomer]

In summary:

Stumpy, the other David, Hank, and Travis all went faster for longer than I wanted to try in the woods.

Ivan was opening it up in the fast sections more than I wanted to.&nbsp; (Must have been his steering damper) :)

DJ was by far the fastest rider on an 80 in the woods that I have ever seen.&nbsp; Considering that it was the worst possible conditions for an 80, and that he has only been riding for 6 months, that kid is scarey fast!&nbsp; (Please tell me that he really has been riding for much longer?!?)

Ivan enjoys solicitation.

I found that with the 450 in deep sand that I had to brake early and get back on the gas at the entrance to a turn, then power&nbsp; all of the way through it.&nbsp; That was fine...but then I was going way faster than I felt comfortable.

Scott and Stumpy were amazed at how much meat I had.

Ivan's friend is as bad about maintenance as I am.

Stumpy's drop-down trailer door wil hold 22.7 cubic feet of sand.

Tommy (who wasn't there) enjoyed spinning the tire of his XR50 to find out the previous fact.

Ivan is 4 times faster than 2 years ago.

Scott can take more **** than I can sling.

I can't wait to ride with these goons again!

 

[High Lord Gomer]

Tim, you come for a ride with these boys and I gaurantee they'll keep you honest! More than I can handle, but I look forward to getting you, them, and FlynBryan together.

 

[bscottr]

Originally posted by High Lord Gomer
In summary:
Scott and Stumpy were amazed when I stated openly "how much I enjoy ..............and all it takes is a little bread."

The TRUTH! :laugh:

OK...I was feeling guilty. :ugg:

 

[truespode]

Originally posted by High Lord Gomer
In summary:

I can't wait to ride with these goons again!

Mega-dittos!!

That sure was a great day.

Thanks everyone.

Ivan
PS... DJ's only been riding 6 months? Danggggg!

 

[High Lord Gomer]

bscottr...youi might want to switch to an even bigger font, maybe your quote feature will work better!

I forgot to mention that I finally got to meet Neil Hamilton out there. Never did get to ride with him, though.

 

[bscottr]

Was Jason on the '02 CRF?