- Jan 20, 2001
- 1,517
- 0
Well with my big bike broken (YZ250) I haven’t been riding much lately. But after hearing about a ride in the Piutes I was hell bent to go ride and blow off some steam. My ride? A SDG Pit Bike...
So after an adventure of a trip to drive up there (this seems to be a recurring theme with me and driving for some odd resin) I pull in to the camp around 8:00pm on Friday night. I meet some new people and some old friends and shoot the bull for some time. I decide to sleep under the stars in the bed of my truck and honestly that was the best thing ever. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that many stars and the weather was perfect.
The next morning I wake up and mill around for a bit. I decide to go riding with some of the people I had met the night before. It was a family that had come up for the weekend. The oldest son Seth was on a YZ450F, the two younger boys were on CRF100’s and the father Mike was on a TTR230. Seth takes the point with his littler brother behind him and I run mid-pack sweep. The youngest son and the father road in the back. As we started off we hit a creek crossing and Seth stalls out with me right behind him. I look down and see that the water is 1/2 of an inch below the air filter on the mini. After getting out of that we hit some nice fun single-track with the odd rock here and rut there. Honestly I was truly surprised how well the mini did in the woods. That thing corners on rails. After a short bit we start hitting some nice hill climbs. Normally they would not be a big deal but I’m on a pit bike. And well... it’s tiny. So after dogging the clutch I end up bulldoggin’ the bike up the hill.
We continue on and Seth takes us though deeper into the woods. We hit up some rocker sections and I notice that the rocks are starting to get bigger then my tires. It makes for some harsh riding, but good practice on picking a smooth line none the less. After some small drop-offs and more hill climbs we take a brake to let the youngest son and the father catch up. Seth and I are talking and he is laughing about some of my rock garden antics. After a brake we’re off again into some sweeping single track. What a blast! With as low and light as the bike is. It just cruises between the trees and sticks like glue to the ground. Well almost, I did come into a corner too hot and got tossed out into a tree. But other then that I had no issues, save for the hill climbs. They were a ton of work, and I was clutching it big time. The jump between 1st and 2nd get is a big gap. But I was able to use 1st as a great granny gear.
Seth decides to take the fire roads back to camp to give his youngest brother a brake. This was his first experience with the woods. On our way back we get stopped by the Rangers and the do a sticker and S/A check. After that we chat it up with them for a wile and get some good gouge on the area. On the way back I’m cruising along in 4th, and out of nowhere my rear tire decides to become the front tire. I’m not sure how or why, but that’s what happened. So I got sliding down the road on my side about 40 feet and am laughing the whole time. It didn’t hurt at all; it was like sliding down a slide at a park.
All in the entire ride was a blast. And it was a great lesion in riding smooth to keep my speed up. And a lesion in line selection. I did get a lot of odd looks, but so what, I had a blast! But I do need to either move the bars forward, or get taller ones. Every so often my knees would hit the handle bars going into a corner, making for some interesting riding.
So after an adventure of a trip to drive up there (this seems to be a recurring theme with me and driving for some odd resin) I pull in to the camp around 8:00pm on Friday night. I meet some new people and some old friends and shoot the bull for some time. I decide to sleep under the stars in the bed of my truck and honestly that was the best thing ever. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that many stars and the weather was perfect.
The next morning I wake up and mill around for a bit. I decide to go riding with some of the people I had met the night before. It was a family that had come up for the weekend. The oldest son Seth was on a YZ450F, the two younger boys were on CRF100’s and the father Mike was on a TTR230. Seth takes the point with his littler brother behind him and I run mid-pack sweep. The youngest son and the father road in the back. As we started off we hit a creek crossing and Seth stalls out with me right behind him. I look down and see that the water is 1/2 of an inch below the air filter on the mini. After getting out of that we hit some nice fun single-track with the odd rock here and rut there. Honestly I was truly surprised how well the mini did in the woods. That thing corners on rails. After a short bit we start hitting some nice hill climbs. Normally they would not be a big deal but I’m on a pit bike. And well... it’s tiny. So after dogging the clutch I end up bulldoggin’ the bike up the hill.
We continue on and Seth takes us though deeper into the woods. We hit up some rocker sections and I notice that the rocks are starting to get bigger then my tires. It makes for some harsh riding, but good practice on picking a smooth line none the less. After some small drop-offs and more hill climbs we take a brake to let the youngest son and the father catch up. Seth and I are talking and he is laughing about some of my rock garden antics. After a brake we’re off again into some sweeping single track. What a blast! With as low and light as the bike is. It just cruises between the trees and sticks like glue to the ground. Well almost, I did come into a corner too hot and got tossed out into a tree. But other then that I had no issues, save for the hill climbs. They were a ton of work, and I was clutching it big time. The jump between 1st and 2nd get is a big gap. But I was able to use 1st as a great granny gear.
Seth decides to take the fire roads back to camp to give his youngest brother a brake. This was his first experience with the woods. On our way back we get stopped by the Rangers and the do a sticker and S/A check. After that we chat it up with them for a wile and get some good gouge on the area. On the way back I’m cruising along in 4th, and out of nowhere my rear tire decides to become the front tire. I’m not sure how or why, but that’s what happened. So I got sliding down the road on my side about 40 feet and am laughing the whole time. It didn’t hurt at all; it was like sliding down a slide at a park.
All in the entire ride was a blast. And it was a great lesion in riding smooth to keep my speed up. And a lesion in line selection. I did get a lot of odd looks, but so what, I had a blast! But I do need to either move the bars forward, or get taller ones. Every so often my knees would hit the handle bars going into a corner, making for some interesting riding.
