NY Spodefest

[Papakeith]

The NY Spodefest (a.k.a. learning the backstroke)

What a blast! I can't remember the last time I had this much fun!The weather couldn’t have been better. If I remember correctly, there were 14 DRNers and 3 friends in attendance.

Before I get started, I want to send a big “Thank you” out to Wayneo426 for starting the thread that put this ‘fest in motion.

The Arrival
I pulled into the ‘fest site around 10:00am. As I was speaking with the owner (giving him money) a rider on a spotless 426(more on that later) rides up and says “Hi, are you from DRN? I’m Wayne.” He proceeded to tell me where the group was, and that there were only a couple of people there so far. They were heading out for a quick blast, and then would be back.

I parked, unloaded, put my gear on, and after changing out a fouled plug (I knew I should have changed it the night before) on my bike, I was ready to ride. The warm up ride too us out around a lake/pond, through the orchard, and to a gravel pit. It was when we arrived back at our vehicles that I started to notice something weird going on. You see there were puddles on the trails yet somehow Wayne had no mud on his ride.

Anyway, by the time we got back most everyone who was going to show up had. It was about that time that I realized that I hadn’t called my wife to let her know that I had made the trip safely. BRush came to the rescue with his cell phone! (You will get the beer at our next meeting:))

Wayne was still clean. . .

With everyone suited up we went out through the orchard to the pit, then headed to the woods. I really don’t have much of anything to compare the trails with, but I thought they were fun. Rocks, roots, and mud. When we first came out of the woods, we thought we had lost LoriKTM and wayneo426. It seems that they had taken a different route. We headed back to the trucks for some lunch and water.

Wayne was still clean. . .

THE MUD RUN

Apparently the well-worn trails were not difficult enough for a few of our riders. Being the good lemming, I followed along. I think it was WoodsRider (correct me if I am wrong) who set the tone for this loop with his get off at the trail head/end. I had thoughts of turning around when 15 feet into the woods (note I didn’t say trail) we had to dismount to push our bikes under a fallen tree. But, bravado, adrenaline, or a false sense of skill made me continue. I was in a bit over my head, but managed to muddle my way through. What we found was mud, mud and more mud. :) See guys, it’s not even Monday yet, and I’m already smiling about it! I think I flung more mud on that one loop than I have in my whole life. Eventually we made it back to camp intact.

Wayne was still clean. . ..

Papakeith Learns the Backstroke

I am not what you would consider a fast learner. So, after a bit of a rest and some refueling, BRush, Trigger1911, and myself ventured back into the woods. In short order we were off the beaten path again. We rode up to some stream crossings and the like. Well, there was one get off performed by me trying to leap a tall stream in a single bound. Nothing Earth shattering. Nothing that is until we or should I say BRush found some more mud. Trigger and I stayed a safe distance and watched his progress. There was none. It was the kind of mud that you could get off your bike and it would remain standing. After some pulling by all three of us BRush got turned around, and we decided to back track to the trail.
Here is where my day takes a hard left turn.
Omen 1. My bike refused to start.
Omen 2. Just before a stone wall crossing a leaf strategically sticks itself on my goggle lens rendering me blind. stall
Omen 3. My bike refused to start.
Eventually, I got my not-quite-as-trusty-as-I-had-been-led-to-believe-it-was-stead started, and we were off with me in the lead. I was doing pretty well. I wasn’t having too much trouble navigating through the pathways. We had been on this trail earlier in the day so I knew we were close to the orchard. I had forgotten one very important obstacle.

A puddle.
(Writers embellishment mode on)
Now when I say puddle, I am not referring to the garden-variety puddle that most people (except Wayne) blast through without a second thought. What I am speaking of here is a sixty-foot long man eating garden of rocks covered with one to three feet of clay mud water ooze.
(Embellishment off)

I had successfully navigated this puddle earlier in the day and thought nothing of trying to blast through it. The “puddle” had other ideas. I made it about half way when a rock jumped up and grabbed my front wheel sending me and my bike tumbling into the drink. (tuck and roll);)

I think that Trigger was the first on the scene (I would like a third party description of what it looked like when you rounded the corner). The bike was pretty much swamped, and I was floating on my back looking at the blue sky. My riding was done for the day. I pushed the bike about 300 feet to the end of the trail, and BRush got a tow line and pulled me back to the vehicles.

Wayne was still clean. . .

His bike however, got a hand-full of mud thrown at it by (no names, but it wasone of the women in attendance. :p

I hope that everyone had as good of a time as I had. Seriously, if the rest of the DRN membership are even half as nice as the ones I met this Friday, Dirtweek is going to be a hoot!
Right now I’ve got the engine out of the frame and I am in the process of removing the water and mud that I took home with me.

So, when is the next one?

 

[wayneo426]

Oooh, whats that smell???

Well, I guess my only defense is that none of the DRN crowd kept up long enough to see that the MIGHTY 426 doesnt sink in anything. Theres WAAAAAY too much torque for the beast to even think about submarining! When you combine that much raw speed, torque, and heat friction, its easy to see why she doesnt get dirty! Combine that with a coating of WD40, and nothing sticks! I guess I will be known from now on as the "Teflon Don of DRN"!

Seriously folks, were glad everyone had a great time, (sorry bout that swamp eating the 5-hundy, Papa!) Lets do it again soon, I'll be there, WD40 and all!!:)

 

[WoodsRider]

wayneo - You'll need to mount up some handguards and cut the bars down a tad. Next time I ride that beast of yours I want to give it the full WoodsRider test... complete with mudbath. :eek:

Papa - You're right, the regular trails weren't challenging enough for me. The first get-off I did was to point that rock out to you lemmings... er... others. Of course after that little blast through the rocks and mud you probably think I'm some sort of a sadist, but OffRoadWarrior was the one grinning from ear to ear. :scream:

RM_guy - Looks like Lori was the winner of the "roost you" contest. I truly enjoyed your comment about my radiator catch tank, especially when a certain Suzuki rider had to keep stopping on our last trail ride because his bike was overheating. Next time I'll bring my cell phone so we can call the WAAAAAAmbulance for you. :p

OffRoadWarrior - I truly enjoy riding with you, especially since I've quit taking my medication. You and Lori need to come out this way and do a little riding at Catraland. I know you'd enjoy it.

Lori - I got to hand it to you. You followed us on that last trailride and I didn't hear so much as a peep out of you. Of course we all know Nancy... er... RM_guy was the one wearing the skirt on that ride. ;)

drtybkr & MCasale (Mike) - It was great finally meeting you guys. As close as we all live to eachother, we need to go riding together soon.

Trigger - BRush was telling me you don't have any riding buddies down there. Come on up NY sometime. I promise to take it easy on you.

As I was pulling out I talked to a couple of other DRNr's (sorry, can't remember the names). They mentioned something about a fall ride in the Berkshires (western Mass.) Any thoughts?

Well Friday just reinforced my statement that I've never met another DRN'r I didn't like. It's nice to finally put faces and names together. Well I'm going to go recover from the Tri-State Enduro now.

 

[RM_guy]

Lessons learned at the NY Spodefest

17 people in all showed up and we all had a great time. I look forward to doing it again even though it took me over three hours to clean my bike and gear. Thanks Wayne, for getting it started. I won't get a chance to email everyone the list until tomorrow. Mondays suck.

I know I’m not going to get everything but here it goes:

- DRNers are the best bunch of people around
- 2.5 hours isn’t too far to drive to ride with friends
- A certain WR426 either repelled mud or the rider was afraid of the mud
- If a trail (?) is overgrown then it’s probably for a good reason.
- When doing a hill climb that ends with a completely vertical section, the bike stops traveling in a forward direction and your bike simply falls out of the sky
- I’m SO glad I put new tires on my bike. 756 on the front and S12 on the rear. Good choice.
- When following someone through knee deep mud, don’t take the same line that they got stuck in
- If WoodsRider calls you a Nancy or a Sally it’s his way of saying, “I’m an idiot. Follow me and we can be idiots together”
- If you follow OffRoadWarrior through the trails, you WILL be greeted with water, mud (deep mud), a dead end trail, fear that you will never see your loved ones again, did I say mud?, more mud, large rocks, logs, rock walls, mud…
- When you’re stuck in the mud and the person in front of you starts to spin their rear wheel, accept your fate, lower your visor and get roosted.
- 60 foot long water holes that are deep enough to float Papakeith are not meant for a motorcycle. They do help to wash off some of the mud though.
- Who’s bright idea was it to make a trail through tightly spaced, half buried bowling balls?
- It was funny watching WoodsRider crash right in front of me on a trail that clearly had been abandoned but he felt the need to enter anyway. (I hope the arm feels better)
- LoriKTM won the roost contest, handsdown.
- A MX track that crosses it’s self about 20 times is NOT fun
- Large clouds of dust can render you blind and make it easy to fly off the trail at the most inopportune times.
- Hitting a tree branch, loaded with apples, at high speed is not fun
- Hand guard are a wonderful invention
- A ’01 RM250 with out a flywheel weight is NOT the hot setup for the woods
- Eric ‘s port job is a god send in the woods and helped make up for the lack of a flywheel
- I’m MORE pumped than ever to go to DirtWeek in September

 

[Trigger1911]

All I have to say is that I had a BLAST!!! bIke people are the best people. i had been out of the sport for ten years up to this ride and I had missed a lot in those 10 years.

Here are my thoughts:

Hats off to RMGuy for the best mud paintjob on a new bright yellow bike!

Waynes new screenname is" MR. CLEAN!"
( Extra credit for starting the thread though!)

PapaKeith- What can you say? That cold beer must have tasted better than the mouthfull of swampwater you sucked up from the water filled crater you swam in! Did'nt you figure out that CR500's don't float?

Cudos to LoriKTM who proved that women ARE just as good riders as guys!


SilverBullet: I hope that finger of yours is OK(It was you correct?)

Woodsrider: I am leaving for Sturgis with my Harley on August 3rd but i will come North anytime to ride! Thanks!

As for everyone else, it was awesome. I might be persuaded to go to the big get together in Illinois. Count me in for any ride. You were a great bunch of people i am glad I met!

Check out www.big2resorts.com, Maybe we could get together and do a campout/blowout there some time. Take care and thanx!

 

[LoriKTM]

Hey guys it was great putting more faces to DRN names! As Woodsrider mentioned, I've never been disappointed when meeting and riding with DRN members. (Although I think most of them are the biggest bunch of lying, sandbagging, non-spodely types I've met!! ;) )

Woodsrider, I guess I'm just going to have to separate you and OffroadWarrior from riding together and sucking in whoever's behind you. You seem to feed off each other and try to outdo yourselves in the "find the ugliest trail" contest. Woe betide those who follow.

RM_Guy, you spent 3 hours cleaning your bike? Did you have to run out for another supply of toothbrushes and Q-tips? ;)
Add a flywheel weight to that RM and we'll turn you into a harescrambler in no time...

Wayneo, thanks for starting the NY spodefest rumors-- great idea, and a great time. You'll have to post pictures of your bike when it gets dirty. (If it actually does! ) That little glob of mud I threw at it was just my way of sharing the wealth!

BRush-- nice to finally meet you and ride with you. Woodsrider's been telling us all about Catraland, hopefully we'll get up there sometime soon!

Papakeith-- I forsee a big bore four-stroke in your future! (Or Okie's AF!) Hope you and the CR survived your swim in the "puddle" without major problems! I give you credit for being a trooper and following those sick trail monkeys Woodsrider and OffroadWarrior into the unknown. Next time, you'll know better!

Trigger-- glad your return to the dirtbike world was a good one. Now that you've found DRN, there will be no limit to the places you can go and the people that you meet. Watch it, it's very addicting! Better start making plans for DirtWeek01!

eldrm, KTelmo, Silver Bullet, jib,dirtbyker and friends-- it was great meeting all of you and riding with you, when possible. A single day event just isn't long enough to get to know everyone and ride with everyone. I guess that's why we'll have to do this again soon!

I'll try to get some pictures scanned in and post them in the next couple days.

 

[Papakeith]

The 500 should be ok. It's looking more like an engine and less like a play dough fun factory with every cleaning. You should have seen my face when I dumped the liquid clay out of the engine!:scream: But, a whole lot of kerosene, wd40, and carb cleaner later, it is almost ready for reassembly.

Trigger1911- Jack Frost & Big Boulder look pretty sweet. And yes- the beer was much more palatable

LoriKTM- I would love to swing a leg over an AF, :think or maybe the crf450. But, I've already got the 500 four-stroke in the shed. The CR just gives me more grin factor. Anything that can pull a third gear wheelie with me on it can't be all bad. I've just got to work on the control factor now!;)
As far as following WoodsRider and OffroadWarrior, I may know better next time, but that won't necessarily stop me.:eek:

wayneo426-"none of the DRN crowd kept up long enough to see that the MIGHTY 426 doesnt sink in anything. " LOL

 

[BRush]

Big fun was had by all.

It's not everyday that you get to see a CR500 play submarine! When I came around the corner Papakeith and his bike were in the drink. When he stood up and lifted the bike, they were the same milky-brown color. At the other end of the spectrum, you have wayneo426. He must have coated his bike with a case of "Mud-B-Gone"! How a bike could stay so clean in so muddy an area will remain one of the day's greatest mysteries.

My one big regret is missing LoriKTM's winning performance in the "Roost RM_Guy" contest (that pristine neon-yellow bike was a tempting target), but you all left us in a cloud of dust and we couldn't figure out where you went. That's ok though. Me, Papakeith, and Trigger1911 managed to find mud and get stuck all on our own (ok, *I* got stuck and they helped me get out).

It was great to finally meet some more DRN'ers

The one negative in the whole day was lending WoodsRider my cell phone and then leaving in on the hood of my van when he handed it back to me. I had to drive back seven miles from New Paltz to get it. Since I was the one who left it on the hood, the magnanimous thing to do would be for me to acknowledge fault.

I blame WoodsRider :p

 

[RM_guy]

Originally posted by BRush
... and we couldn't figure out where you went. ...

Don't feel bad, we didn't know where we were either:confused: Once the trail ended we just forged ahead in the general direction that we figured would take us back to the trucks.
If it makes you feel any better, I think I got stuck in the same mud hole that you did:o

 

[WoodsRider]

We forgot to elect a spode!

wayneo426 - Before the SF he bragged about throwing roost over everyone with the monster 426. Somehow he managed to avoided riding through anything that contained moisture. At the end of the day his bike was cleaner than most of ours were when we arrived.

RM_guy - Who got a lesson in real woods riding... we don't need no stinkin' trails! I particularly enjoyed the comments about the catch tank on my GG, yet I kept hearing about an overheating Suzuki on our last ride of the day. Perhaps it was just the rider overheating.

Myself - Yes, three times I found myself separated from the bike. The first time I tagged a hidden rock. The second time I ghosted up the short verticle bluff. The third time I was mimicking RM_guy's crash climbing that same bluff.

 

[Papakeith]

Re: forgot to elect a spode

Can I be added to the nomination list?:eek:

 

[WoodsRider]

Nominations are open!

The elected spode has to organize the next 'Fest in order to defend his/her title. ;)

 

[Trigger1911]

Superspodely!

Here are my nominees:

BRush- for showing us how well that GPS you have inside your head works by finding the trail from hell! I never thought you could sink a bike that deep in swamp muck that it would take 3 guys to lift and pull it out!

PAPAKEITH- for the superspodely over-the-bars-doubletuck-spinflip-dismount into a slimy, stinky swamphole from hell. God that was beautiful, but i think WayneO may have you beat?

WayneO- Your ultra super manly spodiness for finding the secret formula to keep your bike spotless despite the best efforts of us all! You must have a secret pact with god(or satan).

All and all i would'nt trade that day for anything!!!

 

[Silver Bullet]

Hi fellas (& lady). I haven't been on DRN since the 'fest. It was good to meet all of you. I had a great day even after my "injury". I wish I could have joined you guys in the woods but that wasn't gonna happen. I was glad to be able to keep riiding anyway. The finger is still out of commision so I'm still typing with my social finger. No major damage, I'll live. Unfortunately it was my trigger finger so I had to pretend it was fine in order to make it to work.

Keith, that is one heck of a bike you got there. Brought back memories. Wish I could have seen you surfing with it.

Trigger, consider yourself lucky that Goober the caretaker didn't try to "snuggle" with you when you stayed over the night before. He's touched for sure.

It was great meeting the rest of you. We should try to do something else in the future. I have to speak up for Wayne. I've ridden with him before and I can say that his bike actually HAS seen mud before. Last time we were at Modena we went home filthy. Maybe next time he'll bring his "gettin' dirty" leathers. Wayne when the finger heals we'll have to hit Yaphank

One final thought........I need a set of handguards:scream:

 

[Trigger1911]

Hey there Silver Bullet! if that Howard Stern sideshow freak would have tried anything with me he would have found out why they call me 'TRIGGER'. Anyway, I hope the finger is OK. Handguards are cheap, don't wait. You might hit a tree and hurt your finger.Well, you know what I mean.

 

[LoriKTM]

Pictures are up!

I've uploaded some shots from the digi-camera. I think there's a few more left that I can bring in. Sorry, no action shots. Too busy riding!

NY Spodefest photos

 

[Trigger1911]

I withdraw from the race. I don't deserve any credit. My vote has to go to PapaKeith. He EARNED it. Well done Pop!

 

[dirtybkr]

First off let me say that spode fest NY was great fun. It was great riding with all of you . As for the Spode of N.Y. contest , it is not an easy decision . I am having a battle with what little conscious I have . I could vote my heart for the true spode , or I could be practical and vote for the spode who lives closest to me in the hopes that the next Fest will be a short drive for me . Or I could tell of some pretty spodely moves made by myself and not caught by anyone else ( well that ain't gonna happen ). Well, I guess my vote is a 2 way tie , BRush and Woodsrider for they are from Schenectady NY . Anybody want to guess were I live ? :p

 

[BRush]

While it’s true that my mud bog episode was an impressive display of spodelyness, my vote has to go to Papakeith. Anyone who would go to the extreme of sinking their bike in a body of water deserves to win the title ;)

 

[wayneo426]

Spodeliest Spode

My vote goes to the Spodeliest guy Ive ever met-PAPAKEITH!
Hope you can get that beast running for the next ride! ;)

 

[dirtybkr]

Rhoadie Spode Fest

Oh Oh , a couple of more votes for the swim instructer and we may be rideing in RI.

 

[wayneo426]

this is the NY SPODEFEST!

Just remember Keith, this is the NY Spodefest after all. If you want to start a R.I. Spode Fest, I believe you may have to start another thread. :scream:

 

[dirtybkr]

Besides , who wants to be called a Rhoade Spode ??? Would we have to ride Rhoade bikes ?

 

[eldrm]

that 500 of yours is a real rhode island red eh keith ?(state bike,no?)

 

[Papakeith]

I know that I could have won by a landslide (or mud-puddle;) ), but I have to respectfully withdraw my name from consideration for the NY Spodefest '01 Spode Award.
I agree with Wayne. The fest should stay in NY. Since I don't know of any riding area's in New York (other than Lembo Lake) I wouldn't be a very good choice for organizer.

eldrm- I do work at the State House. :think Maybe I could slip someone a citation making my bike the state bike! :)

The bike is almost done. I've got the engine back together, and just finished greasing every bushing, and bearing. The test might be tomorrow!:)