ride report (long)

[Sourstraw]

I've never actually done a ride report before, so this is thrilling. I haven't actually posted for awhile - I've been too busy at work, ugh... not a good thing.

This weekend I was so excited - my boyfriend, another couple, and one other guy and I all headed up to Tower City - out in the bumbleshoots of Pennsylvania on Sunday. For any of you that remember any of my previous posts - this is the same place that I had the horrible crash last year and where my boyfriend called me a "wuss". NOT A FUN TIME! But I was anxious to get back on the bike, and espescially anxious to get a boost of confidence after that horrible experience.

We showed up, got ready, and headed out to the "playground" area to warm up - there is a variety of terrain there, so it is good to get the limbs feeling stretched out. I was heading up a steep rocky hill and all of a sudden my bike just wouldn't go any further - it felt like it was in neutral... I lost my balance and fell off. Then I picked the bike up, tried to start back out again, it didn't move anywhere, and I fell over again... ha ha, very funny. So Aaron (my boyfriend) comes up and I tell him that I think something is wrong with my bike - he gets it to start and he makes it up the hill for me, and I hike up after him, and as I pass him on the way back (he was coming back to get his bike) and he tells me, "Don't get on your bike, there is something wrong with it." GREAT, right?

So he starts riding it around and it starts making this weird metallic noise - not a good sign. We decide to head back to the campsite where the cars are - I get on his RM 125, which is 100% too tall for me, and I immediately fall off, which was really funny. I hop back on, and floor it back to camp - man, is that bike FUN! talk about some serious two-stroke power, I love it.

Anyway - we get back to the campsite and discover what is wrong with my bike. The front sprocket is dull, and the chain is skipping, so going up steep rocky hills, the bike just slips in and out of gear - BAD NEWS at Tower City, which is basically a maze of rocky hills. So, was just devastated. I sat around and moped for about 2 hours while everybody else went out riding. Of course, everbody harassed my boyfriend for about an hour as well for not ever checking my sprocket... but I wasn't ready to play the blame game.

Towards the end of the afternoon, one of the guys says that Aaron can use his bike (a YZ 250) to go riding, and I can use Aaron's Rm 125. I was really unsure about this - I had only ever ridden the RM on flat ground before - never on a trail - the bike is really big for me. But I REALLY wanted to ride, so I said OK. I got on, and off we went. Wow, powerband on that bike is just so much fun!!! We stuck to moderately difficult trails – not the extreme ones, just for my sake – but we definitely went over some tricky stuff, and I just LOVED it. I felt so much better on the big bike – my bike (an RT 180) I feel like I constantly have to worry about whether or not I can make it over or up something – the RM, I just give it gas, and off I go. Of course, there were points when I gave it TOO much gas – yikes! Not quite used to the throttle response yet, and there was one point when the bike was sliding in the soot and I was trying to stop to let some other bikes pass, and I couldn’t find the ground with my feet (I can only touch with 1 big toe), and I completely looked like a bumbling idiot, but I didn’t actually fall at all while I was riding, and I was able to make pretty decent sharp turns – way better than the 100ft. diameter sweeping turns that I felt like I had to make the first time I rode the RM. When I got off the RM, boy was I exhausted, I am so sore today – but in a good way… J You know how it is!!

Overall, it was a blast, and I am half glad that my bike crapped out on me – I think I am at the point where I need to move up to a new bike. After that last horrible ride at Tower City I really needed a confidence booster, and the fact that I had a good ride this past weekend, AND the fact that it was on the RM125, made it even better than if it had been on my own bike. Small victories each time I ride!

Hope all of you are doing well and riding safe. Ciao for now,
Stacy

 

[LoriKTM]

Stacy, great ride report! My husband and I were invited to ride at Tower City two summers ago-- it was quite the experience! If you can master all the terrain that place has to offer, you will be able to ride just about anywhere with confidence. A nice place to have as your local hangout-- maybe we'll get back down there sometime. :)

As far as having being "forced" to ride a different bike-- the same thing happened to me last fall, and it was my husband's 250 that I rode.
Sometimes we get so caught up in riding our own bikes that we don't appreciate the qualities of other bikes until we are forced into that situation. Had your RT not broken down, you wouldn't have had the thrill of riding a new bike.
And height is not a problem-- any of the modern bikes can have suspension lowered, seat shaved, etc. to help you get a leg up. Lord knows I've done it all to my bikes! ;)

Oh heck-- I just noticed your location! My husband's parents live in West Chester! Everyone sing..."It's a small world after all..." :laugh:

 

[Sourstraw]

Wow, another person on DRN that has been to Tower City - and I thought all of you were too lucky to subject yourself to thank kind of torture!! Let me tell you that after 45 minutes of riding at Tower City, I am more exhausted than after riding all day anywhere else. The rocks, the soot, the slate wall climbs, 7 miles of whoops (now that trail is fun), 7 miles of puddles (also fun), and the endless abandoned quarry roads (also fun), oh yes, and rocks, rocks, and did I mention, steep hill climbs that look like dry rocky riverbeds? ha ha... very fun!! My third time riding EVER in my entire life was on one of the most difficult trails at Tower City - there were literally points were I had NO IDEA how I was still on my bike - espescially when I could see my rear tire in my peripheral vision because my tail end swung around so far b/c of (you guessed it) a rock. Definitely a good place to "force feed" yourself if you want to improve your riding skills quickly.

Let me tell you - I was so stoked to ride the 125. I am not an overly cautious person, but I do make some attempt at being careful (ha ha - you should see my Dainese body armor suit)... I didn't want to push my abilities on a bigger bike on really difficult trails, but I decided that the only way to learn on a bigger bike, is to just suck it up and try. Now that I had such a good time on Aaron's bike, I know for sure I am ready to graduate from "the Yami" (as the RT is belovedly called). Now a 250 - phew, that would be interesting. Aaron loved his chance to ride the 250 - he said it was, and I quote, "really sick" (in a good way).

Wow, and your parents live in West Chester? No kidding! Do they live anywhere near Rt. 3 or Rt. 352? Maybe they have driven by my house while I am driving my dirtbike around the yard in circles like a hamster. :) I have lived in West Chester for over a year now, but I used to live in a small town called Limerick (there is a Nuclear Plant there) for about 13 years... Limerick is about 30 min. from West chester.

Ciao for now,
Stacy

 

[LoriKTM]

Stacy, it's my in-laws that live in West Chester. We go down to see them a few times a year-- takes about 4 1/2 hours to drive there from here. They live near 352, I think. We usually take the Boot Rd. exit when coming in off 220, if that gives you any idea.
Next time I talk to them I'll ask them if they've seen any ladies driving a RT180 around in circles like a hamster. ;)

 

[firecracker22]

Cool report. Congrats on getting hooked on the two stroke! If you're not 100 percent sure about a 125 as the next step, there are lots of people happy with KX100s. (KTM has a mid size too, don't they?) Anyway the same thing happened to me--a friend offered a ride on his RM 250 and I was riding a XR200 at the time. WOW. I scared the crap out of myself, but I was hooked. I didn't get my own until a year after that though.

 

[70 marlin]

SourStraw: Sounds like you had a lot of fun. You fell down picked yourself by the boots straps and keep on going, congratulation to you! You’re the real deal. Sounds like it's time to start looking into a "new bike" If I may, how tall are you? Sounds like a KX100 turned into a woods weapon would be just the bike for you? My son 5' 6" went from a KX80 to a KDX 200, which was too much of a jump for him. I wishes I'd had bought the KX100 instead. The 200 just set him back. So keep up your adventures and go shopping! Check your local kawi dealership out! Remember. New bikes are great deals; used bikes will end up costing the same as a new bike in the long run. (Maintenance, tires, chain & sprockets top-ends etc etc!) :cool:

 

[Sourstraw]

Good advice Marlin - I am definitely going to check out the KX100. A few people that I ride with have the KDX 200 and 220, and those bikes are just a bit too big and heavy for me. I am just under 5'4, and I weigh about 118lbs - so for me to lift up ANY bike is a major challenge. I definitely would struggle to lift a KDX (espescially in the middle of a trail or on a hill), although the RM 125, I lifted off the ground with no problem. Is an RM100 the same as a KX100? What sort of modifications are standard to make a bike more suited for trail riding? I do ride on a track every once in awhile, but usually I am on the trail.

Ciao,
Stacy

 

[70 marlin]

From what I under stand the only difference between the twins is the color of the plastic. The neighbor kid had a KX over @ my house and my son & him were have hill climbing contest down @ my little gravel pit. Two bike were pretty even on the hills the kdx would out power the smaller bike. But the 100 could go more places than the kdx anyday. And could only go places the bigger bike could only wish too! As for turning it into a woods weapon? The only thing I know for sure is a flywheel weight. I’d do a search on kx 100 maybe ask around. I though a couple riders in this forum have modified 100’s? Just ask and you'll receive.