craig_enid

Member
Mar 23, 2000
872
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Scott and I left Enid at 5:30AM for a rendevous with the NTSP at Meunster. We found the gate at 10AM and quickly found the NTSPers. Introductions were made and we geared up for the first loop of the day. Sun and spirits were up, wind and dust were down and we followed Enduro_Nut into the vast unknown. tx246 was sweeping the six strong group and we hit the trails north(?) of the gate. Traction was superb for a well paced run through the trails. One mentionable incident was on a rocky, rutted uphill with a caprock shelf at the top. When I approached the bottom and checked the status of the previous riders, I saw Charlie(?) just hitting the the top shelf. His new Husky bounced up to a rear wheel stand. He dismounted to the left side of the bike, still holding the handlebars, pirouetted the bike perpendicular to the downhill and set it down. From there it was an easy ride back down for the next, successful attempt. Heck of a good recovery! :)
We finished the first loop and headed back to pick up any new arrivals.
Second loop started with about 10 riders heading out to Pete's Gate (?). Scott and I were bringing up the rear of the group out to the enterance point. Before we got there, Scott stopped and was looking the the rear wheel. He said it was clunking and then noticed the axle nut and adjuster were gone. I ran ahead and told the rider waiting for us that we would catch them on the next loop. Scott started limping the CR back to camp. We were watching the road to see if we would get lucky and find the parts. My guardian angel was working overtime and we found both parts. ;)
After getting all back in order, Scott and I headed back to the first loop area, hoping we could find our way back easily. All was going well until another rocky, rutted uphill. (There are a few of them!) A link exploded on Scott's chain, stranding him half-way up. There was no damage other than the chain link, and we determined that a master-link would get him back running. I left him on the trail and headed back to camp. tx246 found me and found a couple of extra masters that might do the trick. I borrowed the links and tools and we headed back to try to find Scott. Gene is very familiar with the area and we found Scott right away. One of the links was CLOSE to working and we could see there was a little shoulder on the chain's link that was keeping us from getting the clip seated. If we could grind down the shoulder, or thin down the side plate, it should work. We looked like modern cave men, trying to smooth the side plate and pin shoulder down on various flat sandstone rocks that were handy. We were making some headway, and tx246 headed back to his truck to get a file that he had. One of the funnier comments was tx246's, as he got back to us. From the top of the hill, he shouted, "Hey! I hear there's a repair shop doing business in these woods!"
We finally got the clip to seat, and we headed back to camp for some snacks.
The CR seemed to be holding together, so tx246 agreed to take Scott and me on another guided loop. We were out for a good sized ride, with no further mis-haps.
The riding area is very nice, particularly with that day's lack of dust, and surplus of traction.
Many thanks to Enduro_Nut for showing up, even when he wasn't 100%, and showing us around. Also, many thanks to tx246 for baby-sitting us and making sure our trip down was WELL worth it! (Despite our attempts to sabatage it! Scott owes you a master link...:))
 

Enduro_Nut

~SPONSOR~
Feb 7, 2002
1,155
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Hey Guys - GREAT seeing you! Sorry I had to go. Sounds like everything turned out alright!
Next time I need to try the criuse-o-matic, sounds like the ultimate weapon.

Hopefully I'll head up for the 500 soon - should be in the next 2 weeks if everything goes per plan.
 

tx246

~SPONSOR~
May 8, 2001
1,306
1
yes, mondays at muenster are the way to live!!! no crowds and just your tribe. i got there at 8:15 thinking i might be the first but no way.........stan flemmings had me by 30min. as i rolled thru muenster, the bank clock displayed the outside temp at 26. i had this in mind as i was unloading the bike. it was downright chilly. i had doubts about riding in the cold but knew the day was only going to get warmer. i have two edicts about when i wont ride. i will ride cold and i will ride wet but i wont ride cold and wet. since it wasnt raining, i suited up(with one too many layers)and stan and i hit the trail. as usual he was running away from me and because there was absolutely no dust, it was hard to tell which way he went. as always, stan, would wait and not taunt this old man about how slow he is.....at least not to his face. stans 80% pace is my 104%pace so he was pushing me but for some reason i was rusty. maybe its because i hadnt been on a bike in a month. we stopped once to warm our icy fingers. we then switched bikes and looped back to the truck where the NTSP started arriving. stans ktm was sweet. that ktm fork made my cr feel like the front axle truck that it is. the early morning had lots of riders thinking about the cold because before they unloaded their bikes, they built a fire. i recognized a few of the woods vets. enduro nutt and jmd come to mind. as craig e. said we hit a great loop with the whole crew. one of the boys on an xr 250 ended up with a flat and ended up getting a first class lesson in the art of the flat repair. we hung around the truck for a mini bull session before we headed out again. i rode sweep behind craig and scott because i knew if the pack got broken up i could always get us home. craig knows how to pickem. just like terry, this scott guy is fast out of the box. 3rd time on a dirtbike and he can hang with this woods savy crew is saying alot. its almost scary.
later in the day im at the truck when craig pulled up without scott. uh oh i thought. craig then replayed the broken chain incident for me. i dug out some master link spares and off we went. like craig said earlier, it was quite the comedic effort. all we needed to do was shave off .001 a sidepate to make it work. we were operating a stone age machine shop. craig wore that sandstone out but it worked. as we were inspecting the chain, scott and i noticed that the countershaft had less teeth than an 80yr old hillbilly. i would say there were 6 left on a 13 tooth. i guess thats taking weight savings to a new level. we limped back to the truck and the bike held. after a short break, we decided the oft injured cr would be thrown at the woods again. since it was just us three, i was assigned trail guide. i dont ride muenster that often but did the best i could. i find navigating making me slower than following but they didnt run me over eventhough they could of if they wanted to. what i couldnt make up in speed i tried to make up in duration. i dont know how far we went but we ended up looking in our gas tanks several times. didnt want to pull a tony eeds ya know. i have to say the longer the day went the smoother i got. traction was awesome as the frosty ground thawed a little and there was perfect moisture. i biffed once and still not sure how it happened but scott told me the front washed on a little drop and over the bars i went. nothing bent or broke so all was good. we ended up doing some of the trials loops. all of this was on the west side of the park. we went out on the river flat and i looked at the creek that we needed to cross to get to the east side. im sure they thought my"here hold my bike"routine was funny. i have gotten stuck in 3 inches of water out here. there really is quicksand. after i scooted across the creek on foot checking for bike swallowing pits, we made our way to the east side where we beat on the trails for another 30 min. it was late in the day and they had a 4 hour ride to get home. we made it back to the trucks and after they left i kinda chilled in that post great ride day sort of way. i was tired but in a good way. everybody was loaded up and standing around the fire as the sun was going down. finally, water was dumped on it and the day was over except for the ride home.

brian, did you see those deer on the hill as we left?

only bummer was when i got home and realized that i left my triangle on the ground.............in muenster.

all in all one of those days you live for as a dirtbiker.
 

craig_enid

Member
Mar 23, 2000
872
0
Originally posted by VioletSP
i am the worst daughter ever... i had no idea you were going riding! i'm glad you had fun though!

Well, I figured with carrying 18 upper level hours in the Honors College, and a tuition waiver to keep, that you had 'better' things to do!
BTW, you ARE my favorite daughter....
 
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