Wow, what a day!
Had a family get-together scheduled for Sunday PM, so the decision was between riding, or the usual Saturday morning tennis play. Mary said she'd go the tennis alone, if I wanted to ride. Turned out to be a good decision, as I got in some great riding and she got in some great tennis.
Met Don and Brian under the new 'covered' parking area near the gate. Chuck wove his skid-steer through an old black jack stand, clearing the ground and the lower branches. Left a large area that vehicles can be driven through, and plenty of dappled shade for the lunch and bs breaks. As we were yaking and catching up, I noticed that Don was standing there in full gear.... helmet, goggles, gloves.... Don HATES hot weather, so this day of unseasonal temps and soil conditions was not to be wasted! Firing up the mounts, we decided to run the west red trail, to get a feel for the dirt. Did I say dirt? Dirt does not adequately describe what we encountered. Maximum traction, minimum dust loamy sand/sandy loam was the order of the day. Even the damp silty clay seemed to have velcro-like qualities. Within the first mile, Don grabbed a handful of throttle, sending a few globs of velvet-feeling soil into my face. The globs smacked into my smiling face, because I had said to myself, 'this is WAY better than dust!', as I prepared for the impact.
All of us were on the top of our game, as the prime conditions turned us into 'A' riders. Every stop was a 'WOW!' event as we agreed that, This Day, all is right in the world. (at least as far as we're concerned) The answer to all the world's problems is dirt bikes. :ride:
We stopped in for lunch, so I checked with Mary to see how tennis went, (and to mention that I had not packed any lunch.) 30 minutes later, I get a great turkey sandwich delivered to our camp. Home-grown sliced tomatoes with home-grown sliced onions added the perfect flavor, complemented by salty chips and a fruit combination of cherries, grapes and seedless watermelon. :) She also left off a couple of extra water jugs that turned out to be a necessity. Thanks, sweetie!
30th Anniversary trip
The extra water was used up getting the coolant leak fixed and the bike back to running form. I had to mooch a liter of drinking water off Brian to feel good about the last loop of the day. All in all, the worst get-offs were Brian's pinball, the 450F guy slamming a blackjack, and the guy we came upon... as Brian said... 'showing us his skid-plate'.
We had a not very often perfect dirt day of riding, and it looks like we all made it home tired, sore and happy!