Memorial Weekend Ride at "The Farm"

[biglou]

I don't have much for a ride report, since about all I did was wear a 110mm wide groove in Justin's mx track all weekend, but it was great getting to see everyone again, and getting to meet so many new faces-Treetalker & Crys, srellis and family, Double Trouble and family, Craig Enid and family, justql's huge family, and others I am probably forgetting (sorry!). I'm not very good at ride reports, so I will put down my top three list for the weekend and let everyone else tell the riding stories:

3. Sleeping outside during the windstorm/lightning show Saturday night. What a trip!

2. Getting to be the "Missouri State MX Champ" for all of five minutes... :rotfl:

1. Seeing Jay Bissel on a dirtbike again. You don't know how happy I am for you brother. :aj: :yeehaw:

 

[TreeTalker]

The Farm '04, ride report

So how should I start...hhhmmm....Well first let me give a great big T H A N K Y O U !!!!!!!! :worship: to Justin and all his family. I can't even begin to tell you how Justin and his "HUGE" family made everyone feel like part of the family. They made sure we all ate like kings.

Now let me get into the riding and CRASHING..... :aj:

My wife and I had just pulled in when almost everyone came over and said hello. That just started the day off perfect. Being new, we sure didn't know what to expect. In no time at all Big Lou and I hit the track for a few spins around. Let me just say this, I am not a MX guy. But let me tell you I sure tried my butt off to keep up with Lou. It wasn't long I was getting some GOOD air... :laugh: maybe 3 feet if I was lucky. Lou put me in my place real quick though. Great time on the track. Then it was off to the trails after a good break and chatting with some new folks.

Met up with Craig and Anna to hit the trails. Being my first trip around the trails they had pitty for me and took it easy. "THANK YOU"... We had a blast getting stuck and then helping each other up out of the creek crossings. The trails were GREAT !!!! Lot's of creek crossings that were a blast to ride. We had lots of laughs just sitting and watching these creek crossings. At least they sat and laughed at me...but to tell the truth I couldn't stop laughing either. After a few more loops around the trail I it was about dinner time.

Well by the end of Saturday we had plenty of stories to sit and tell over a wonderful BBQ dinner. Some pulled out to head home after dinner. The rest of us spent the evening sitting around a fire and watching a great light show. The weather started to turn bad. The wind blew hard, but we all rode it out well. Some of us kept teasing Lou about his "TENT", I even had a bet with my wife where we would find him in the morning. I think all the tents did well, it didn't rain much at all.

The next morning we all had a great breakfast and then gathered up to hit the trails again. By this time we had all gotten comfortable with each other and wasn't afraid to mess with one another. Justin decided to take us through the trails the opposite direction. Let me tell you, that was tough. I had one rock "CLIFF" :yikes: that I just new I was going to kill myself on. But after watching Shawn make it up by the skin of his teeth, "he did a really nice one leg bike stand" I wasn't about to chicken out. I made it up, it scared the crap out of me though. Well me made it back to camp and by then more riders showed up to ride. By lunch we had a good group of us hitting the trails together.

We all had a great ride the rest of the afternoon. The best moment wasn't a wreck has you might think. There was plenty of those though, mostly by me. It was when Justin got some payback on a cousin of his. He caught his cousin in one of the creeks and just ROOSTED the crap out of him...but not just once......he pulled forward some and then proceeded to roost him a second time !!!!!! You could hear Justin holler from a mile away, "You remember ten years ago". That was the last ride for the weekend.....

We got to hear the rest of the story over a fantastic fish dinner. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard. We ate and listened to Justin's family tell us stories about riding the farm. It made for a great end to one special weekend for my wife and I. As I am sure it did for the others who attended also. No one got hurt bad, and I don't think we had any broke bikes. Sunday night was just perfect, cool weather and good folks to sit and chat with.

We all helped get things packed this morning and decided to let the weekend end without another ride. Saturday was just to good to try and beat. Folks let me tell you, it wasn't the the riding as much as it was the people who showed up to ride. I have never met as great a group as I had this weekend. I would name off people but it would take up another page, and I suck with names. Let me just say thanks to "ALL" who attended the Farm and made it so enjoyable. My hats off to the Heartland Spodes..... :worship:

I hope to ride with you all again soon. Thanks again............Lee & Crys

 

[Zerotact]

Thanks again to Justin and his family for thier hospitality. If anyone needs lessons on how to scale a 3ft rock wall. Please, ask someone else!!! I had to throw that last pair of shorts away. But I bet it looked cool watching.

 

[DoubleTrouble]

Yeah, it was great meeting new people and renewing old aquaintances: Justin, Brian, Lou, Lorin, Sean, Lee & Crys, and a whole bunch of other people. Let me echo the H U G E thank-you to Justin and his family for looking after us as if we were family.

The Dennill clan arived on Friday afternoon and setup camp. This was the first time that we were camping out as a family. We did not get much sleep that evening as the kids were hyped.

Saturday moring Justin took me and Sean, (Zerotact), out to see the milder trails and the MX track. I skillfuly avoided the final double. I spent the morning showing my kids and wife the little track and the farm road loop. Taika (7) on her XR50 and Bevan (5) on the KDX50 had a blast and a couple of spills too. Kam who is still new to riding broke in her new CRF230 and said it is a great learners bike compared to my KDX200 which scares her silly and Alan's (Bundubasher's) Pampera 280. Both which she cannot kick-start. The magic button on the CRF is the answer and the bullet-proof XR motor just the ticket.

I rode with the family all weekend and at the same time regained some confidence myself. After my 10 foot fall in Amarillo in 2002 I have been real gun-shy of cracking my ribs again. Next time I'll take on the tougher stuff. (I put the OD in spode).

The wind and lightning on Saturday night was something else and I expected at anytime to hear a wail from Lou or Sean and they joined Dorothy on their way to Kansas. It was scary stuff. listening to the radio and hearing reports of tornadoes north and south of you didn't help matters either. My kids, they missed it all as they had ridden themselves to a standstill.

It was a great weekend and we had a wonderful time. The kids even got to fish. Another passion of theirs. Biking, Fishing, Camping, and good company. What more could you ask for?!

Cheers,
Neal, Kam, Taika & Bevan

 

[BSWIFT]

Another "Weekend at the Farm" goes down into the history book. First Memorial Day Weekend that I can remember that I did not get rained on. I rode Brutus about 75-80 miles, burned 4+ gallons of fuel and spent one plug(need to jet properly). It was the first time I remember the trails got sandy in places, tacky in others and muddy in spots. Nothing quite like watching all the kids make friends real fast and have fun(the young ones, too).
I got to see a 250X do a wicked whip, the only problem is that it was still on the ground! Good one, Treetalker. LOL He had the wheels above the seat and the bars just about in the creek.
The food was in keeping with Heartland Spode tradition as was the good company. Justql exploded a rear tire on the turnpike Monday afternoon and I think that was the greatest damage of the weekend. Thanks to everyone for joining in and having a good time.
Brian

 

[justql]

Thanks for reminding me about the tire swift :( I do appreciate you and Lee help changing it. My wife commented how fast a change it was. We were like nascar. :cool:

The weekend went well for me. I was more than a little dissapointed in the condition of the mx track. It was horrible. Trails weren't as bad but were too sandy for my liking.

I did have a ball meeting Lee, stinky, Shawn and Neils family. It's been awhile since I had that much fun riding. The new guys fit in great. I especially like the way they like little rock ledges. :laugh:

I loved seeing the two hondas in the creek. Neither running, one facing sideways the other hung up on a root. I told you guys it felt like I had a flat, I guess a bottle of slime solved the problem, and eventually Shawn and I found the leak on the clutch, no doubt unseen damage from two races before.

The old gaurd did a good job as usual, Lorin is faster than ever and OMN is not far behind him. Swift, Derek and I had one good fast loop that was real fun. Craig continues to ride as smooth as ever. And he still makes good homemade Ice cream.

 

[tx246]

ok ok. somehow yall managed without me. i am sure there was a lot more food to go around without me there though. i already knew that i missed a good time and the above replies are just a confirmation. did anyone use the shower? TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE JAY FELLA THAT GOT ON A BIKE! thats what i really want to hear about.

 

[Lorin]

Jay was actually seen riding my 98 yz for awhile, and then moved on to Dwrecks KX for some more track time. What little that I saw looked pretty good. Last I heard, he was trying to talk Kendal into a 250f (probably hoping to share a bike with her). My thanks go to Justin as well. Gavin got some riding time in, as well as Kathi. We even managed to catch a dozen or more fish in the pond by the house. All that, capped off with a good dinner, and a dark, windy, scary trip back home (in front of the storm & tornado) made for a great weekend, especially for my son. This is the stuff that makes memories. Many thanks, Lorin.

 

[BSWIFT]

Getting to be the "Missouri State MX Champ" for all of five minutes...

That was the best gag pulled all weekend. Trent was ready to watch a "pro" in action. Lou, you just had the "look" to pull it off.

 

[mx547]

i had an excellent time even though i was only there for saturday afternoon. i got to meet a few that i had never met before: zerotact, treetalker and double trouble. i missed all the dfw boys (oh yeah, they didn't show). i spent the first couple hours b.s.ing-kendall was being a spoil-sport and wouldn't get out and ride. she can be such a downer sometimes, maybe it's a female thing? finally, after violet and srellis bugged her long enough, she did a little riding.

i put on my gear for the first time in nearly two years. the exact same gear i was wearing when i had my little village creek/hospital trip with tx246-no superstitions here. just think, if it wasn't for me and tx246, jeff gilbert wouldn't have a sig. i started out on lorin's yz, nice bike. i think it was the first time i had ever ridden a bike with an enduro tank. i rode several laps on the mx track but never ventured to the trails. later, i borrowed dwreck's kx and ran about 30 more laps on the track. i got pretty comfortable riding and really enjoyed it. before i went back to camp, i had done every double on the track (all three of them ;) ). dwreck's kx is a good bike but he has terrible taste in front tires, might as well be riding on ice. :ohmy: later, i bummed a ride on biglou's 450. i didn't spend much time on the track. instead, i went and pulled wheelies in the field (i kinda like wheelies). the only problem is when you do wheelies on lou's bike, you drop the front wheel at about 60 mph. okay, i'll say it again lou, it's the fastest bike i have ever ridden .

before dinner, kendall and i fished in the pond by the track. i caught a nice little crappie and she caught a crappie and a perch. she really likes fishing. i should take her more often.

the dinner was five star, as usual. justql and family know how to do it right. words do not do it justice. i don't understand why more people don't come to this ride. it's the best. we'll be back next year and the year after...

i'm bummed that we could only stay one day. kendall had to race sunday in the state race at ponca city. i wish they would change the schedule. they always race on memorial weekend. srellis and family raced too. susan looked pretty good on that new honda. :cool:

 

[High Lord Gomer]

Sure is nice to see a Ride Report by Jay!

 

[XRpredator]

. . . bummed a ride on biglou's 450. i didn't spend much time on the track. instead, i went and pulled wheelies in the field (i kinda like wheelies). the only problem is when you do wheelies on lou's bike, you drop the front wheel at about 60 mph. okay, i'll say it again lou, it's the fastest bike i have ever ridden .

Lou wouldn't let him off the bike until he said that . . . :rotfl:

 

[srellis]

susan looked pretty good on that new honda. :cool:

Gee thanks for trying to make me feel better. We should have gone back to the Farm Sunday instead of going to Ponca. All five of us ended up on the ground at least once. I got a great close up of the face of the small tabletop. Did a highside face plant right into the face of it coming around the corner. The Spodes would have been proud!!! I just didn't feel comfortable out there. The boys had a great time Saturday. I have washed the bikes twice now and they still aren't clean. :ugg:
Until next year....
SusanE