- May 31, 2002
- 1,229
- 2
The weekend started by arriving at Paragon around 10:00 on Friday, and spent the morning just talking with people from all over who had come for the weekend. Then around noon time, it was time to hit the trails. For the first day of the Jamboree, there were no events scheduled and just open riding. I took the coordinates for Saturdays GPS scavenger hunt, and went out to check and make sure all were properly marked, since the GPS they used to mark them was not the most accurate. When I was through with this, I continued for an afternoon of riding, and chatting with different people. Around 4:30, it started to rain, and there was lightning heading our way. Since dinner was being served under the tent at the parking area at 5:00, this seemed like a good time to head back.
I get back to the parking lot, and head to the truck to load the bike for the day. By now it is a steady rain, but not a heavy rain yet. I head up the ramp into the back of the truck, but with my other bike already in the truck, I had to go slow, and stalled the bike on the ramp. This is no problem, it has happened before, and I have a wide ramp, so I just hop off and push the bike up into the bed......but with the rain, as soon as I stepped off the bike, my foot slipped off the wet ramp, and down I went, along with the bike. My first thought was to get up as quick as i could, and hope nobody saw me. I get up, and there are 2 people on there way over to make sure I am ok, and help me load the bike. I can't have that, so I tell them I am ok, and make my run up the ramp with the bike again.......and it stalls......this time, I am very careful where I step getting off the bike, and with the wet ramp decide to go back down and try again. The third time is always the charm, a little more speed, and i wheelie right into the bed of the truck and somehow manage not to flip it. OK, now thats done and its almost time to eat. As I walk down the ramp, I start to notice a pain in my foot and figure I twisted it when I fell off the ramp....no big deal, so I get cleaned up and ready to head over to the tent for dinner. Now the foot is really starting to hurt, and i wonder if I somehow broke a toe when I fell. Ohh well, there is nothing they can do for a broken toe, and I still have 2 more days of riding to go, so I head over to get my dinner. Paragon has an excellent caterer for their events, so i wasn't going to miss the food.
By the time the food arives, we are in the middle of a monsoon with the wind and rain, and we have a river running through the middle of the tent. So while we eat, Paragon staff is out in the parking lot with their backhoe, digging a shallow trench for the water to run off so we can have dry feet. Then it is time to head out to get a good nights sleep for Saturdays ride.
Saturday morning I wake up and can barely stand. There is no swelling or bruises on my foot, but it is very painful. It doesn't seem like a broken toe now, since the pain is in the foot and I can bend all my toes with no pain, it just hurts when I walk. Well I don't have to walk to ride, so I decide to head out and give it a try.
When I get my riding boots on, I notice that it is easier to walk with the support of the boots, so after breakfast it is off to the trails. The GPS scavenger hunt was the morning event, and those not poarticipating had open riding. Of course for me, that means off to the single track, so I unload the KTM, figuring the lighter, and smaller bike would be easier to handle with the pain of what I believe is a broken bone somewhere in my foot.I offer to take Richard and Ryan, who are father and son both on KDXs, out to show them the single track. We are also joined by Rob on a 500cc Maico, and his son Mikey on a kx65.
Around 8:30 we head off on the trails and toward the single track. I was having trouble shifting with my foot, it was no problem downshifting, but when I would try to upshift, I couldn't pull my foot up high enough to get it in gear......I know that neutral is definitely there, since I found it almost every time I shifted.
Thes kids I meet at Paragon amaze me.....I never expected a 10 year old on a kx65 to ride the complete loop of single track at Paragon. I figured after a few of the tougher sections, he would be ready to stop, but even when given the opportunity to get off the single track and on the jeep roads about half way through, he was willing to stay on the single track.The only section he did not do was the jersey tight woods section, which I offered to take him around while the others continued through. Some of the mud and puddles on the single track were almost as deep as his bike was high, but he kept on going.
About 11:30, we were almost done with the complete loop of single track, but decided to start heading back for lunch since the poker run started at 1:00. So we make a quick stop by the mine to cool off. Richard and Ryan head back a few minutes before us. We leave the mine, and head up Turtle trail. As we are heading up the hill, Mikey's chain looses the master link. So after a quick search of the trail, I head back to their truck to ge an extra link.....at least they had one, even if it wasn't right with them. And then we head back to the lot for lunch.
After lunch, everyone heads out on the poker run. I decide to ride the cannondale in the afternoon since with the extra power, I can keep it in second gear and not have to shift as much. but I found out that the dale shifts much easier than the KTM, and i had few problems with shifting on it. So after a little bit of riding,I go to sit at one of the stops with Reid, the park owner to give out cards. After the poker run, it was time for dinner, so we headed back to call it a day. When I took off my boots this time, I could see my foot was now swollen, and my foot and toes were all kinds of neat colors, so now I am pretty sure something is broken.
After dinner they gave the awards for todays games, and the raffle prizes. They had lots to give away including a helmet, riding pants, Jersey, a bunch of googles, grips, hats, T-shirts, free passes to Paragon and gift certificates from Sidewinder. After the raffle, it was the end of another day.
Sunday morning after breakfast, I hop on the dale, and head over for the morning events. The day starts with the barrel race, where the riders have to weave in and out of the barrels set in an obstacle course. Everyone got 2 runs around the course, and the best time was the winner. The next event was a small loop set up for the little kids where they each ran 3 laps, to see who had the best time. Next was the Woods and Water race, where they had a course set up through the trees and then across a deep puddle. Again everyone had 2 tries at this to get their best time. The final event for the morning was the triathalon which was set up in the play area. The first part of this was a straight section with a small mud puddle in it which took them to the first stop where they had to get off the bike, and roll a barrel up to the next set of cones, and then back again, and then get back on their bike. They would then head down the bank and around a burm towards the jump. There were 2 markers after the jump, if you passed the first marker, they would deduct 2 seconds from your rime, and if you jumped past the second marker it was 5 seconds. This took them to the next set of cones, where they had to get off the bike, and push it to the next section. This was easy for the bikes, but a little slower for some of the ATVs. This took them to the final straight away, and across the finish.(They didn't make the small kids roll the barrel, or push the bike, they just rode through these areas)
The events ended around 11:30, and they gave out prizes to the winners at 12:30. After Lunch, I took some of the small kids up to check out the peewee track that is being built, and close to being completed. By this time, Everyone was worn out after 3 days of riding, and many headed home. I did a little more riding down by the play area, and then headed home myself.
So other than the injury to my foot, it was a great weekend of riding. the swelling is almost gone, and most of the purple on my foot is gone, not I just have 2 toes that are still all kinds of colors, and I can't walk around without shoes on because it hurts too much, but I guess the shoes add enouh support, because it doesn't hurt much with them on.
If you want to see some pictures from the weekend, click my pictures link in my profile.
I get back to the parking lot, and head to the truck to load the bike for the day. By now it is a steady rain, but not a heavy rain yet. I head up the ramp into the back of the truck, but with my other bike already in the truck, I had to go slow, and stalled the bike on the ramp. This is no problem, it has happened before, and I have a wide ramp, so I just hop off and push the bike up into the bed......but with the rain, as soon as I stepped off the bike, my foot slipped off the wet ramp, and down I went, along with the bike. My first thought was to get up as quick as i could, and hope nobody saw me. I get up, and there are 2 people on there way over to make sure I am ok, and help me load the bike. I can't have that, so I tell them I am ok, and make my run up the ramp with the bike again.......and it stalls......this time, I am very careful where I step getting off the bike, and with the wet ramp decide to go back down and try again. The third time is always the charm, a little more speed, and i wheelie right into the bed of the truck and somehow manage not to flip it. OK, now thats done and its almost time to eat. As I walk down the ramp, I start to notice a pain in my foot and figure I twisted it when I fell off the ramp....no big deal, so I get cleaned up and ready to head over to the tent for dinner. Now the foot is really starting to hurt, and i wonder if I somehow broke a toe when I fell. Ohh well, there is nothing they can do for a broken toe, and I still have 2 more days of riding to go, so I head over to get my dinner. Paragon has an excellent caterer for their events, so i wasn't going to miss the food.
By the time the food arives, we are in the middle of a monsoon with the wind and rain, and we have a river running through the middle of the tent. So while we eat, Paragon staff is out in the parking lot with their backhoe, digging a shallow trench for the water to run off so we can have dry feet. Then it is time to head out to get a good nights sleep for Saturdays ride.
Saturday morning I wake up and can barely stand. There is no swelling or bruises on my foot, but it is very painful. It doesn't seem like a broken toe now, since the pain is in the foot and I can bend all my toes with no pain, it just hurts when I walk. Well I don't have to walk to ride, so I decide to head out and give it a try.
When I get my riding boots on, I notice that it is easier to walk with the support of the boots, so after breakfast it is off to the trails. The GPS scavenger hunt was the morning event, and those not poarticipating had open riding. Of course for me, that means off to the single track, so I unload the KTM, figuring the lighter, and smaller bike would be easier to handle with the pain of what I believe is a broken bone somewhere in my foot.I offer to take Richard and Ryan, who are father and son both on KDXs, out to show them the single track. We are also joined by Rob on a 500cc Maico, and his son Mikey on a kx65.
Around 8:30 we head off on the trails and toward the single track. I was having trouble shifting with my foot, it was no problem downshifting, but when I would try to upshift, I couldn't pull my foot up high enough to get it in gear......I know that neutral is definitely there, since I found it almost every time I shifted.
Thes kids I meet at Paragon amaze me.....I never expected a 10 year old on a kx65 to ride the complete loop of single track at Paragon. I figured after a few of the tougher sections, he would be ready to stop, but even when given the opportunity to get off the single track and on the jeep roads about half way through, he was willing to stay on the single track.The only section he did not do was the jersey tight woods section, which I offered to take him around while the others continued through. Some of the mud and puddles on the single track were almost as deep as his bike was high, but he kept on going.
About 11:30, we were almost done with the complete loop of single track, but decided to start heading back for lunch since the poker run started at 1:00. So we make a quick stop by the mine to cool off. Richard and Ryan head back a few minutes before us. We leave the mine, and head up Turtle trail. As we are heading up the hill, Mikey's chain looses the master link. So after a quick search of the trail, I head back to their truck to ge an extra link.....at least they had one, even if it wasn't right with them. And then we head back to the lot for lunch.
After lunch, everyone heads out on the poker run. I decide to ride the cannondale in the afternoon since with the extra power, I can keep it in second gear and not have to shift as much. but I found out that the dale shifts much easier than the KTM, and i had few problems with shifting on it. So after a little bit of riding,I go to sit at one of the stops with Reid, the park owner to give out cards. After the poker run, it was time for dinner, so we headed back to call it a day. When I took off my boots this time, I could see my foot was now swollen, and my foot and toes were all kinds of neat colors, so now I am pretty sure something is broken.
After dinner they gave the awards for todays games, and the raffle prizes. They had lots to give away including a helmet, riding pants, Jersey, a bunch of googles, grips, hats, T-shirts, free passes to Paragon and gift certificates from Sidewinder. After the raffle, it was the end of another day.
Sunday morning after breakfast, I hop on the dale, and head over for the morning events. The day starts with the barrel race, where the riders have to weave in and out of the barrels set in an obstacle course. Everyone got 2 runs around the course, and the best time was the winner. The next event was a small loop set up for the little kids where they each ran 3 laps, to see who had the best time. Next was the Woods and Water race, where they had a course set up through the trees and then across a deep puddle. Again everyone had 2 tries at this to get their best time. The final event for the morning was the triathalon which was set up in the play area. The first part of this was a straight section with a small mud puddle in it which took them to the first stop where they had to get off the bike, and roll a barrel up to the next set of cones, and then back again, and then get back on their bike. They would then head down the bank and around a burm towards the jump. There were 2 markers after the jump, if you passed the first marker, they would deduct 2 seconds from your rime, and if you jumped past the second marker it was 5 seconds. This took them to the next set of cones, where they had to get off the bike, and push it to the next section. This was easy for the bikes, but a little slower for some of the ATVs. This took them to the final straight away, and across the finish.(They didn't make the small kids roll the barrel, or push the bike, they just rode through these areas)
The events ended around 11:30, and they gave out prizes to the winners at 12:30. After Lunch, I took some of the small kids up to check out the peewee track that is being built, and close to being completed. By this time, Everyone was worn out after 3 days of riding, and many headed home. I did a little more riding down by the play area, and then headed home myself.
So other than the injury to my foot, it was a great weekend of riding. the swelling is almost gone, and most of the purple on my foot is gone, not I just have 2 toes that are still all kinds of colors, and I can't walk around without shoes on because it hurts too much, but I guess the shoes add enouh support, because it doesn't hurt much with them on.
If you want to see some pictures from the weekend, click my pictures link in my profile.
