A chilly, wet day found myself along with YZMAN , Young Ted, Derek – who Ted calls Crane, and a guy on a CRF that I still don’t know his name, we were at the White Cloud Trailhead for a RIDE!! I jumped off my riding position on the couch as I pushed play on the VCR and noticed the sign in Teds Van window that says “WOODSY”S DELIGHT” – I yelled at my wife to come and see – look what they did honey, I said with soggy eyes (my wife knows how bad I miss riding with you guys!!!!) After small talk between Don and I in the parking lot (Don/YZman said “Scott – since you can’t ride we are riding for you!!) and we were off!
The all to familiar White Cloud trail was instantly noticeably wetter then I have EVER seen it in ALL my years of riding it! Don hasn’t shared a name with me for his new bike yet but I am naming that pretty little CRF250X “Skippy” because I noticed she has a tendency to skip over deep water instead of sinking! While Young Ted and his beloved Inca danced with the precision that only the Master of the trail can do – Don and Skippy floated across the small ponds like they weren’t even there!!
Pretty soon we got by Ted and moved into 3rd position to sample some YZ250 roost. I have ALWAYS liked following people (when I was racing Harescrambles I used to do this just for entertainment) and observing their riding techniques. For some reason, Don must have known this as he guided Skippy behind the other riders so I could get a birds eye view of everyone – THANKS YZMAN!!! Derek’s YZ250 was something special for me too because it was the only 2 stroke in the bunch. I found myself yelling at Don as we were following the YZ to get closer – I wanted to not only see the action but I wanted to smell that smoke – ahhhhhhhhh yessssss!!
Don and I got around Derek and FLEW to the leader on the CRF. Don did an EXCELLENT job of keeping the Helmet Cam cleared of CRF mud so I could continue to enjoy the ride! We chased the lead bike thru my favorite part of the trail and the opportunity to actually pass the lead guy appeared. As Don reeled him in he chose the same line to pass as I would have, I actually pressed down on my left foot to drop Kadies shifter into hyper drive and shouted “GOTCHA” loud enough to wake up my daughter sleeping on the couch beside me!!! YZMAN snickered in the microphone as I LAUGHED outloud!! THERE IS NOTHING LIKE OUR BELOVED SPORT!!!
As we all came to a stop at the intersection just before my FAVORITE set of whoops in the whole State of Michigan (ANYONE who has ridden this trail has got to remember the 5 foot sand whoops that Kadie loves to double so much – AWESOME!!) Don swung the camera around and I counted 30 seconds and EVERYONE was there!!! WHAT A GREAT BUNCH OF RIDERS WE HAD WITH US!!! Some small talk about Derek having sand in his carb and Young Ted telling our group about the time his float stuck and gas filled his crankcase – novel idea there Ted – use the crankcase for extra fuel – not sure it will do your bearings any good but still a novel idea!! Don fired Skippy back up and we were off again!!
We all made it thru the whoops just fine and continued heading north. The trail cleared out of water pretty well and the trail speed picked up. Don clicked a tree with a bark buster and I instantly corrected the maneuver while sitting on my couch – Don and I laughed at the same time over this one!! The guy on the CRF was back in front of us and I couldn’t understand how skippy could take all that roost. Kadie would NEVER put up with such nonsense – she prefers to be the rooster instead of the roosted! I must say though that Don REALLY made this “Woodsy Ride” REALLY special by putting up with some roost just for me – THANKS DON!!
We stopped just short of Benton Lake, I had a small seizure (I thought for a minute it was the Narcotics working) and I woke up in UTAH!!
WOW, some beautiful country out there YZMAN!!
I was with the West Michigan Trail Riders (some more friends of mine). I think we were in the MOAB area. My riding buddies included phenoms like pro rider Chris Huber, Joe Daugherty, Keith (wearing the camera this time) and brother Kurt, and of course my tour guide and expert rider Don the YZMAN!
We traversed some really fun rock. Some dust, but not as bad as Michigan gets. Kieth and I had a little challenge getting up a rock formation but we finally made it. Keith has only been riding about 3 years and he has developed his riding skills to MAJORLY advanced levels in this very short time!! Riding on his shoulder was FABULOUS!! We ended this ride at a ROCK ARCH FORMATION that no one was willing to cross. When someone said “well there you go Huby, cross it – and he didn’t do it, I knew it was bad!! My buddy Hubby may be a pain in the neck but he is no chicken – if Hubby don’t do it, it probably shouldn’t be done!!!
Another Vicodin seizure and I wake up at Drummond Island – also with the West Michigan Group! OH THE ROCKS OF DRUMMOND!!! We ran thru some of the roughest stuff known to mankind on the island. It always amazes me what our bikes our capable of in capable hands!! Doing 50 plus over boulders will sure teach you some respect for these capabiltys!!
Along the way we lost Joe and some of us went looking for him (could Joe be a biker after my own heart – I thought I had a monopoly on getting lost!!). Keith led us thru some EXTREMELY rough log invested trail and we finally find Joe – he wasnt lost after all – he was marking trail!! HAHAHAHAHAHAH
Another seizure and I was at the MotoCross races!!!!! Ricky lost the battle but won the war!!
Another seizure and I was looking at my next road bike (yea, right). It was that very bike that I asked Santa for lat year Don!! The Dodge V-10 engine is probably what gave that away to you!!!
Hey Don:
You will NEVER know how much this tape means to me!! I have watched it MANY times now!! I try to be “upbeat” about all this medical stuff I am facing and its friends like you that make staying positive a sinch!!!
Have a GREAT riding summer on “Skippy”!! Oh yea, Skippy - you dont have to take that roosting anymore!!
Also, thanks to ALL you guys who went out on that ride for me!! You are all VERY special people!!
Woodsy/Scott Barnhard
The all to familiar White Cloud trail was instantly noticeably wetter then I have EVER seen it in ALL my years of riding it! Don hasn’t shared a name with me for his new bike yet but I am naming that pretty little CRF250X “Skippy” because I noticed she has a tendency to skip over deep water instead of sinking! While Young Ted and his beloved Inca danced with the precision that only the Master of the trail can do – Don and Skippy floated across the small ponds like they weren’t even there!!
Pretty soon we got by Ted and moved into 3rd position to sample some YZ250 roost. I have ALWAYS liked following people (when I was racing Harescrambles I used to do this just for entertainment) and observing their riding techniques. For some reason, Don must have known this as he guided Skippy behind the other riders so I could get a birds eye view of everyone – THANKS YZMAN!!! Derek’s YZ250 was something special for me too because it was the only 2 stroke in the bunch. I found myself yelling at Don as we were following the YZ to get closer – I wanted to not only see the action but I wanted to smell that smoke – ahhhhhhhhh yessssss!!
Don and I got around Derek and FLEW to the leader on the CRF. Don did an EXCELLENT job of keeping the Helmet Cam cleared of CRF mud so I could continue to enjoy the ride! We chased the lead bike thru my favorite part of the trail and the opportunity to actually pass the lead guy appeared. As Don reeled him in he chose the same line to pass as I would have, I actually pressed down on my left foot to drop Kadies shifter into hyper drive and shouted “GOTCHA” loud enough to wake up my daughter sleeping on the couch beside me!!! YZMAN snickered in the microphone as I LAUGHED outloud!! THERE IS NOTHING LIKE OUR BELOVED SPORT!!!
As we all came to a stop at the intersection just before my FAVORITE set of whoops in the whole State of Michigan (ANYONE who has ridden this trail has got to remember the 5 foot sand whoops that Kadie loves to double so much – AWESOME!!) Don swung the camera around and I counted 30 seconds and EVERYONE was there!!! WHAT A GREAT BUNCH OF RIDERS WE HAD WITH US!!! Some small talk about Derek having sand in his carb and Young Ted telling our group about the time his float stuck and gas filled his crankcase – novel idea there Ted – use the crankcase for extra fuel – not sure it will do your bearings any good but still a novel idea!! Don fired Skippy back up and we were off again!!
We all made it thru the whoops just fine and continued heading north. The trail cleared out of water pretty well and the trail speed picked up. Don clicked a tree with a bark buster and I instantly corrected the maneuver while sitting on my couch – Don and I laughed at the same time over this one!! The guy on the CRF was back in front of us and I couldn’t understand how skippy could take all that roost. Kadie would NEVER put up with such nonsense – she prefers to be the rooster instead of the roosted! I must say though that Don REALLY made this “Woodsy Ride” REALLY special by putting up with some roost just for me – THANKS DON!!
We stopped just short of Benton Lake, I had a small seizure (I thought for a minute it was the Narcotics working) and I woke up in UTAH!!
WOW, some beautiful country out there YZMAN!!
I was with the West Michigan Trail Riders (some more friends of mine). I think we were in the MOAB area. My riding buddies included phenoms like pro rider Chris Huber, Joe Daugherty, Keith (wearing the camera this time) and brother Kurt, and of course my tour guide and expert rider Don the YZMAN!
We traversed some really fun rock. Some dust, but not as bad as Michigan gets. Kieth and I had a little challenge getting up a rock formation but we finally made it. Keith has only been riding about 3 years and he has developed his riding skills to MAJORLY advanced levels in this very short time!! Riding on his shoulder was FABULOUS!! We ended this ride at a ROCK ARCH FORMATION that no one was willing to cross. When someone said “well there you go Huby, cross it – and he didn’t do it, I knew it was bad!! My buddy Hubby may be a pain in the neck but he is no chicken – if Hubby don’t do it, it probably shouldn’t be done!!!
Another Vicodin seizure and I wake up at Drummond Island – also with the West Michigan Group! OH THE ROCKS OF DRUMMOND!!! We ran thru some of the roughest stuff known to mankind on the island. It always amazes me what our bikes our capable of in capable hands!! Doing 50 plus over boulders will sure teach you some respect for these capabiltys!!
Along the way we lost Joe and some of us went looking for him (could Joe be a biker after my own heart – I thought I had a monopoly on getting lost!!). Keith led us thru some EXTREMELY rough log invested trail and we finally find Joe – he wasnt lost after all – he was marking trail!! HAHAHAHAHAHAH
Another seizure and I was at the MotoCross races!!!!! Ricky lost the battle but won the war!!
Another seizure and I was looking at my next road bike (yea, right). It was that very bike that I asked Santa for lat year Don!! The Dodge V-10 engine is probably what gave that away to you!!!
Hey Don:
You will NEVER know how much this tape means to me!! I have watched it MANY times now!! I try to be “upbeat” about all this medical stuff I am facing and its friends like you that make staying positive a sinch!!!
Have a GREAT riding summer on “Skippy”!! Oh yea, Skippy - you dont have to take that roosting anymore!!
Also, thanks to ALL you guys who went out on that ride for me!! You are all VERY special people!!
Woodsy/Scott Barnhard
