tx246

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May 8, 2001
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This is a dualsport ride that we did up in southeast Oklahoma in early May. The full thread with pictures can be found here:

http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17627

Well, Mike called me up and said "Let's get a dualsport trip to Oklahoma together." The plan was to do a three day "event". I was to lead the group on Friday down the vaunted Indian Nations Trail out of Talahina and Mike was going to show us all the dirt in and around Clayton and Pickens. All we needed was riders. Turned out there were plenty of takers. Like all of these deals, some people had to drop out yet there were others that took their place.

I talked Captian James into coming up with me for this shindig. We go way back riding dirtbikes. His kids and my kids learned to ride together. He didnt have a street legal dirtbike but I did have a vintage 84 xt600 that he could ride. I was going to ride my new to me drz400s. The plan was to go up Thursday night but did not happen due to someone not doing their job at a car dealership 2 mos ago.

Its early (5:00am) when Capt James knocks on my door. We have an appointment in Oklahoma for 9:00am. So its throw the bikes on the truck and make our way north. We get to Talahina a little early and grab some breakfast on the way out to the State Park. Quite a few are already there. Some Ive ridden with before and some Ive never met. We all get the introductions done and gear up. There are seven takers on this portion of the weekend.

Mike gathers up the group and we do a little preride and I give them a preview of what was coming ahead. Im a little nervous as I am the only one who "knows" the trail and will be tourguide for the day. There has been lots of rain and I knew the water crossings might be epic. Ive never had a group this big and wanted to make sure everybody had a good time. The INT is an acquired taste. Either you love it or you hate it. It is that simple. One word that describes the INT is RELENTLESS. You have to be on your toes at all times or you will be on the ground pronto.

First mistake of the day was that I converted a track to a route on the Garmin software. It had too many waypoints and was truncated. For those not in GPSpeak that means it was incomplete. There are lots of intersections on the INT and its easy to get off track. Navigation is, or should I say lack of navigation is the heart of any adventure ride. Either way we hit the trail head and I had a company of calvary following their scout through the woods. I told them the first couple of miles are the toughest. I must of said that 20 times. It was a wet log at 45degrees that got ScottH. He bounced off the ground but came out ok. Off we went to cross many logs and some pretty fun water crossings. I really hope somebody got some pictures as I left my digital on the workbench right beside the chainlube.

Finally, the first gear rock fest was over and it was on to the second act. I missed a turn or two but finally we got through the hard navigation part and the true flavor of the trail was beginning to show itself. We had a bike and body or two that got a little warm on the first part but now the miles were adding up. Its here that I have to do a little background on Capt James and him on the XT. Im 5'8 and weigh 180. He is 6"3 235. I have done the INT on the XT. Not flying mind you but I have done it. Bikes made in 1984 have a little less suspension than the new stuff. It is a comfy bike for me but I bottom it out a bit. When James sits on it, half of that 8 inch travel is gone until he gets off it. That skid plate went to work immediatley but it wasnt too long before it tried to give up. The front strap broke and some helpful types on quads donated a bungee to hold the thing up. The lack of suspension adds up to the big get off for the weekend. He hit the only spot of mud on the trail and bottomed on a g out of sorts. Capt James tackles a tree and leaves a big dent in the ground. Shaken but not broken, he remounts and we ride on. Did I tell ya that we are AA riders? Thats Advil followed by asprin.

The last 5 miles of the INT are mucho fun and we are all blasting and having a good time. Through here there are no navigational decisions, so I sent everybody ahead of me and rode sweep. I like riding in the back to watch riding technique. Lots of uphill and downhill. Im really liking the DRZ as this is the first time Ive had it offroad. The motor makes it easy to dial in power and the suspension is pretty good. Im faster on my CR but it is much easier to ride the DRZ. We finish with a big water crossing at Billy Creek and head into town for food for bikes and bodies.

Capt James eats lunch and decides that the get off has left him in enough pain for the day and opts out for the pavement back. He grins at me and says "there are two more days of riding, right?" You see, he has run the INT before and knows how much it can drain you. He was showered and drinking a beer or two before we made it across the first water crossing. As Greasemonkey said, the trip back always seems smoother and faster. Navigation is mostly right on and everybody is familiar with the terrain. The wet ground made for no dust which is great with a bunch of riders. On the way back, I tried to ride sweep. The others took turns up front blazing trail. At the last break we are all feeling pretty good but I know its the last 3.5 miles that finally kick your butt. Remember those tough miles in the beginning? Theeerree baaack. Nobody waved this and we soldiered on to the end.


Bikes on trailers and in pickup beds, we move on over to our new digs. That would be Clayton State Park. Tents set up and clothes changed, we head into town for Simple Simons pizza. I dont know what everybody else thought but James and I got our moneys worth. We reccomend the the large supreme pizza and calzone deal for 14.99. It was easily two days worth of tasty italian as we ate dinner, lunch, and another snack on it. At Clayton, we pick up Thumper as he was already there with his spiffy DRZ and equally spiffy wife Brenda and pup Reno. We sit around after dinner for a bit but most of us retired early due to the long days ride.


Saturday morning has ScottH on the griddle making some flapjacks and Thumper on the Coleman with the sausage and eggs for breakfast burritos. I was all . Another rider shows up and that would be CeeBee. He burned up I45 on a Friday night to get there.

The plan for the day was to turn guide duties to Mike and he was going to lead the group to Pickens and back with a free set of sidetrips thrown in. We gas up and head out on one of the parks ATV trails. Its then that I realize something is not right with the bike. The fork feels like something is loose, then it feels like the steering head bearing is gone and finally I feel the shock topping out way too quickly. We pulled over and I confirmed a rear shock with no compression/rebound controll. Instead of tearing up a 300 dollar shock shaft, I pulled out 10 miles in.

It was still early, and I had a tool box at the truck. On top of that, they wouldnt be back until 6:00 or so. Time to whip out the "what the heck" and do a field strip of my ailing shock. Man, that DRZ has a bunch of crap that connects the subframe to the rest of the bike in the form of wiring harness. The CR is a 4 bolt one carb boot affair. After a lengthy subframe disconnect, I pulled out the shock that damped no more. I pulled it down and it had lost fluid to the point that enough air had created the lack of shock action. I needed compressed air to pop the bladder out so off to town I went. Asking for some Silkolene 5wt and 140psi of nitrogen was not an option so I had to settle for chevron dextron ATF and some really oily/wet compressed air. In the end, it all worked. I knew it was temporary, but I would at least get to ride Sunday. The rebuild of the bike was an afternoon affair and I had good company. Brenda and Reno the pup! Thanks for the margaritas Brenda.

Saturday night found all riders in along with two that just couldnt stand it and made a last minute decision to come on up. That would of been Greengoose and Backspinin. The charcoal fired up and Mike put on the chef hat. Butterflied porkchop sandwiches quickly found their way from plates to mouths in about the time it takes to go from neutral to first gear. Fire burning bright and brownies and beers....what a combo. The BS flew as high as the flames. Sounds like they had a great ride. We jibber jabbered late into the night.

Sunday was the final day of the event and Mike had some good stuff planned. We all skipped breakfast as the previous two days left us a little slower to get up and get moving. We headed to town to find CeeBee who was nowhere to be found. While we were waiting at the gas station, I noticed the tire on the XT going down. Crap. A quick tire takedown was handled by Irondawg and a Greasemonkey provided tube was installed. The XT was quickly on her feet. Thanks guys. Everybody rounded up we headed off to Mikes offroad park called Green Acres. Some very cool terrain for sure. Those jeeps may be slow but they can go over some incredible stuff. CeeBee's bike must of been tired as it layed over on the ground and took a nap. Result was a very hard starting four stroke. A new plug got her running but something wasnt right. (later we found folded up vent hoses with fuel in them). Once we made the ridge, we picked up speed and splashed through countless puddles of varying depth and goo. We made the caves and that was a treat in itself. They were air conditioned and very scenic. A quick run up to Mushroom Rock was followed by school pictures.

By now it was getting late, and lots of folks had many hours to travel home. We hotfooted it down the mountain and back to the parking area. We shook hands and got people loaded up. Capt James and I headed back to the State Park and loaded up ourselves.

A great trip for sure. A big thanks to those who drove considerable distances to take us up on our offer. I hope it was worth it.
 
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