SpeedyManiac
Member
- Aug 8, 2000
- 2,374
- 0
After school my dad and I went for a ride. There is still snow at higher elevations and mud is everywhere. I don't mind mud, but my dad's bike with dual sport tires is really tough in the mud. We decided to take a small chainsaw with us and headed out to cut out some trees that had fallen over the winter. We went along and cut out the first tree, which wasn't too bad. We then headed up the railgrade to see how far we could get, and on finding that the snow had melted a lot over the past weekend, we checked out a tight, steep, rocky mountain bike trail to see if any trees were down. We found about 3 more trees on the up part, one rather large one. We came to the junction, which had about 2-6 inches of snow at it, and decided to check out the upper trail that goes to the upper switchback on the railgrade. We had went off the lower switch back. About 75 feet along the trail there was a big tree across the trail. We cut that one out, cleared out all the branches, and continued on. There were no more downed trees on that trail, so we headed back down the railgrade. We met up with a father and two sons riding on some brand new XRs, the father on a 200, the kids on bikes between 50 and 80cc's, I think. We continued down the railgrade, stopped to clear another log, then went back to a trail that connects the wagon road and railgrade where we had cleared a tree at the beginning of the ride. We headed up this trail, which was pretty interesting. There was a creek running down the trail, between larger rocks, as on most of the other tight trails we had been on. I was WFO and was crawling, there was no way I could get traction in the combination of mud/pine needles/rocks/stream to move fast. My dad took a slight detour when his bike suddenly hooked up, causing him to shoot partway off the trail. We continued up the trail onto the wagon road and headed up (towards Rossland) to clear a tree I had encountered on a previous ride. We cut that tree out as a couple mountain bikers went by, who thanked us very much, then we continued up the wagon road. We cleared another tree or two, then headed back down to home. We cleared 7 trees in total, along with numerous branches and and other debris. It was time well spent, and if any mountain bikers try to kick us off of these trails, which officially we aren't supposed to be on, I'll be mad, as my dad and I have cleared many trees in the past and present. The mountain bikers never clean up fallen trees or other debris, they just ride around it or bunny hop over it. I did enjoy the day, and now I can ride on many more trails.
Today (Saturday) my family and I went for another ride up the Pend'oreille (sp?) river. The ride was very enjoyable. We left the house around 1pm, arrived home shortly after 6pm. We decided to go up the pend'oreille river, which is a short drive from my house. We explored mostly fire roads, but found a hill climb and some mud, etc. We found the hill climb about 15 minutes into the ride. It was below the road that we were on, coming up to the road from a field. We went down a different road to the field, then tried the hill climb. It was very easy for my dad and I, we did it a couple times, going down the hill we came up. My mom, who has been on two other rides this year, is a beginner with no confidence. She decided that she could make it up the hill and was going to try. I scooted up the hill and waited for my mom to go. I told her to use second gear and just go up the hill. She was perfect, with the exception of a small wheelie. She really did do well. We continued on and explored many roads, and ended up riding through snow at the higher elevations in the shade. My dad and I have ridden in snow before but my mom hasn't. She did quite well in it. We went back down a road to the river, then continued up the river another 12 kilometers. I found some mud to play in, and the road was a blast. It was winded along the river bank, verticle dropoff on one side, and had lots of pot holes. I practiced wheelies over pot holes and other bumps. I can now keep the front end up for about 10-20 feet. On the way back we went to the hill climb again to get some pictures. My mom went up fine, so did I. I pulled a nice wheelie at the top but my dad forgot to wind the camera, so I had to try the hill again. I went again, just fine but didn't do a wheelie at the top. We then headed back to the van to head home, as it was after 5pm. In the field where the van and trailer was parked, we found a bump with a steep jump/hill. My dad and I went up it just fine, I got some air, got sideways but didn't crash. This bump was tough, because it went from flat to near verticle. We all enjoyed the day, and my mom gained loads of confidence. :confused:
Today (Saturday) my family and I went for another ride up the Pend'oreille (sp?) river. The ride was very enjoyable. We left the house around 1pm, arrived home shortly after 6pm. We decided to go up the pend'oreille river, which is a short drive from my house. We explored mostly fire roads, but found a hill climb and some mud, etc. We found the hill climb about 15 minutes into the ride. It was below the road that we were on, coming up to the road from a field. We went down a different road to the field, then tried the hill climb. It was very easy for my dad and I, we did it a couple times, going down the hill we came up. My mom, who has been on two other rides this year, is a beginner with no confidence. She decided that she could make it up the hill and was going to try. I scooted up the hill and waited for my mom to go. I told her to use second gear and just go up the hill. She was perfect, with the exception of a small wheelie. She really did do well. We continued on and explored many roads, and ended up riding through snow at the higher elevations in the shade. My dad and I have ridden in snow before but my mom hasn't. She did quite well in it. We went back down a road to the river, then continued up the river another 12 kilometers. I found some mud to play in, and the road was a blast. It was winded along the river bank, verticle dropoff on one side, and had lots of pot holes. I practiced wheelies over pot holes and other bumps. I can now keep the front end up for about 10-20 feet. On the way back we went to the hill climb again to get some pictures. My mom went up fine, so did I. I pulled a nice wheelie at the top but my dad forgot to wind the camera, so I had to try the hill again. I went again, just fine but didn't do a wheelie at the top. We then headed back to the van to head home, as it was after 5pm. In the field where the van and trailer was parked, we found a bump with a steep jump/hill. My dad and I went up it just fine, I got some air, got sideways but didn't crash. This bump was tough, because it went from flat to near verticle. We all enjoyed the day, and my mom gained loads of confidence. :confused:
