Trail Report(s) - 3 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF WOODSY

[woodsy]

I am sure that most of you have heard the saying “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH”. Well, that saying has NO meaning to my love for riding, I proved that point over 3 days of riding this last weekend!! Lets go back to where it all began…
During the middle of last week I received an E-Mail from Fred T. asking if I would show him around the Horseshoe Lake area on Saturday. I agreed to meet up with him and his son Fender and show them around (funny, it never occurred to me to name my kids after bike parts – my Jason could have been named Reed Valve or Clutch Plate).
We agreed to meet at Cedar Creek and depart from there. By the time I got there the place was PACKED and, as usual, I knew 90% of the people there.. By the time I finally hooked up with Fred (he was on the trail) I had already conversed with a bunch of old friends and some new.
The first pic here is of YZman (on the right) and his riding bud for the day, Kirk (maybe Kurt). YZman got missed on my last trail report so he gets first shot on this one!!
While I was chatting with YZman, Mwessein came out of the south loop – saw me and starting shaking his head.. He pulled up and sadly announced that his son had fallen – he said that Andy was OK (thankfully) but the bike was going to need some work. Not far behind came Andy with that look of remorse that ANYONE who has ridden is familiar with.. Andy said he had looped out and launched the bike into a tree – yea, those CR’s have a hit!!! The second pic here is of Andy and his damaged bike (I don’t normally post accidents but FRED already picked on him – DON’T WORRY ANDY, FREDS TURN IS COMING!) – we are ALL glad your OK buddy!!!

 

[woodsy]

Fred T. shows up and proudly announces that he has a new auto clutch – CHEATER!!! After making it clear how unfair I think this is my next words were – CAN I RIDE IT (and I did later in the day)??
I invited everyone to come over to Horseshoe with Fred and I but no takers. I was beginning to think that maybe everyone had heard of my “advanced skills of getting lost”, even Tall1 turned me down and he had only ridden with me one time – WORD SPREADS FAST!! Thankfully I was able to get Fred T. and Fender out of there before they were corrupted!!
The 3 of us got to Horseshoe, unloaded and headed south.. One always wonders how “guests” are going to take to “nasty, narley, wet log infested, handle bar crunching Woodsy terrain” on their first trip. It all came out at the first rest stop – Fred T.’s eyes were like SAUCERS – AWESOME he says!! Fender was carrying on about how he LOVED his KDX, now I knew was in the right place with the right people!!!
We rode out the Horseshoe and headed down to the West end of the Holton Loop. The Holton loop is showing it’s age with lots of whoops but we rode it down to the South end anyway.. We all agreed that the lack of “the high speed chase at Cedar Creek” was refreshing! THEN IT HAPPENED! Fred had a GREAT BIG MEAN KTM EATING TREE JUMP RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM!! He had to protect himself by donating his front fender to the occasion. Fred, I really wasn’t going to post this pic but you picked on poor Andy so your bike gets the first pic on this page!! Fred came up to me at the next stop after the accident, we removed the remainder of his fender and placed it in the proper spot!
We got back to the rigs and Fred let me take his bike for a ride. Did I already say that the auto clutch is another form of CHEATING? Fred said that he felt like a hero all day and I could certainly see why!! Just picture yourself not having to clutch AT ALL!!
That was LAZY Freddy ALL DAY!!! Fender and I agreed that Green bikes are still AWESOME even if they don’t have auto clutches and therefore our bikes won the closing picture here!!

 

[woodsy]

Day 2: I woke up at 5:30 am (that’s right Ted – your not the only one to get up that early!!) to try and catch up on my work so I could ride with some NEW DRN friends! I read a post by Bbarel at 6:20 that they wouldn’t make it cause of rain.. I went ahead and headed north for my early morning pickup and was home by 12:20. I jumped back on line and checked DRN for any ride news and noticed that Bbarel had reposted that they WERE riding. I loaded Kadie and headed for Horseshoe. When I got there I was surprised to NOT see the Red Pickup Bbarel had posted would be at the trailhead.
I thought, “I wonder of they may have gone to Cedar instead”.. I then noticed a KTM sticker on the back of a truck in the lot parked next to a red van.. I thought maybe I misread the post.. In a total state of confusion I decided to ride the trails/two tracks in my van back to Cedar Creek with a chance of bumping in to Bbarel in the process (now think about that a moment – I am looking for 4 riders of which NONE of them I have EVER met, on a trail they have never ridden at 2 hours past the time they were leaving – NO CHANCE!!).. I was about half way down the connecting Holton trail and here comes a rider on a KTM. I stopped the van and he stopped. I rolled down the window and said “how many more ya got coming? He says 2. He says “any idea how to get to Holton? I said sure, why? He said “we need air for one of our bikes. I said “I have a can of fix a flat if it would help. He said “nah, we really need to get to a pump. I said, “is there a guy in your group named Bret? He sais – I am Bret – WOODSY hahahaha!!! Bret said - “have you got your bike with you? I said “of course”. I then pulled the Van over on the side of the Trail and unloaded right there.. The first pic here is of these riders who came all the way over from Livonia to ride with ol Woodsy!! Left to right are (Bbarel) Bret, Dave Krick and Steve Carver.. NONE of us could get over this chance encounter (and I am sure we NEVER will!!). We left the parked van and headed toward Holton for air. We hadnt gone very far and I recalled a person in the area who had been a customer of mine. We stopped there and got some air – this made for more ride time!!! Being a complete gentlemen, I asked my guest what type of terrain they would like to ride. Funny how they seemed to be out of the same mold as Woodsy and said – woodsy and TIGHT!! I gave them the grand tour of the area and believe they REALLY enjoyed themselves.. After a short excursion of night crawler hunting with my face I was VERY glad to have these 3 GREAT riders with me – they came with TOOLS and PARTS enough to put Kadie back together again so we could keep riding (THANKS YOU GUYS!!)..
I had to slow the pace down over the whoops (riding with a broken bar saddle gives me the willys) but we were still able to keep it entertaining for another 17 plus miles.. We found our way back to the Trailhead (no small accomplishment with yours truly) and said our goodbyes. Of course, we traded phone numbers and I told Dave about DRN (I see he already posted – way to go Dave!!). I didn’t leave until I got some info about special riding places of theirs and also info on riding enduroes (never done it myself but you never know about ol’ Woodsy!!). I parted company and rerode the bottom loop of Horseshoe alone, thinking about what a great day it had been. Made it back to the van and thought to myself – I am not to far from where Fred T. had placed his fender in the stop sign and it would serve him right (after teasing Mweissen about Andy’s mishap) if I stopped and got a pic of it – SOOOOOOO – HEY FRED, does this last pic look familiar? Ahh, home in time to prep for our Monday ride and YOUNG TED is coming!!!!!

 

[woodsy]

Day 3:
Got a e-mail from my friend and hero Young Ted (AKA: Father Nelson) that it was 7:30 and he was hitting the sack so he could depart Chicago at 4:30 a.m… Of course I thought – WHAT, IS HE NUTS?? Now here is a guy that is 75 years young, getting up at 4:30 in the morning to come and ride with someone who is known to get groups of people so lost that they are never heard from again – yep, HE IS NUTS!!
I met up with Ted at Cedar Creek at 9 am on Monday morning.. Randy was already there ( he had ridden his bike up from Spring Lake and was READY to roll). Larry, another looser – I mean friend, soon showed and we were on our way!! Well, not yet, Larry springs breakfast on us (that Larry is always surprising us with something). I told Larry that the cold eggs were better then the 2 Bologna sandwiches that I had eaten at 7:30. I don’t think Father Nelson was real impressed with the food cause I couldn’t talk him into indulging himself. Randy on the other hand NEVER turns down FREE food and somehow always gets his fill hahahaha.
So we head out, well not yet. A beautiful morning with GREAT friends requires LOTS of picture taking. I talked everyone into coming over to the picture pole (there is a set of lot poles that have flat tops – PERFECT for setting a camera on it – that’s important info!!). I took pics for this report and Father says “should we take some with mine just in case - I said GOOD idea – we did and it was a good thing we did cause I lost all my pics later in the day – ERRRRR!! All of the pics in this report that are WELL DONE with wording, are the masterful accomplishment of Young Ted himself.. The first pic here is of our Monday group left to right , Father Nelson, Woodsy, Larry and then Randy.
Now we head out for a hard day on the trail. In the lead where he should be is Woodsy riding Kadie, followed by Larry (the General) riding his CR250, Young Ted on INCA and (the Lieutenant) Randy on his XR200.
I had warned Young Ted ahead of time about the type of riding we did (cross country). All of us were shocked at how quickly he caught on to our game. That being, lets all pick on Woodsy. We got up onto the entrance of the South Loop of Horseshoe Lake and I looked down on the trail and saw a NAIL laying in the trail – NO KIDDING. I stopped, picked it up and showed it to the guys. Now you would think that an act of spotting a NAIL laying in the dirt while riding a KX500 would mean you are some kind of AWESOME dude or something. Not with these yo-yo’s!! Larry and Randy started teasing me - no thanks from either of them losers – but Ted, I couldn’t believe what he did. He says, HEY WOODSY – YOU FOUND THE NAIL, NOW HERES THE FINGER and he flips me off – he learns fast!!
I assume by now some of you are asking where the name Father Nelson comes from. Well Ted, I AM GOING TO TELL THEM ALL – HAHAHA, sucker, the jokes on YOU!! I had just got done explaining to the group why I ride so slow (bad back) when Young Ted says “I have a cure”. First he gets behind me and puts his arm on my shoulder and says to Randy and Larry – whats this – they answer – a Half Nelson. Then he puts his other arm on my other shoulder and says “and this” – they answer – Full Nelson. Then he pokes my leg with a stick about 1 inch long and ¼ in in diameter and says – this is Father Nelson. They all laughed, I didn’t though cause my back still hurts!! Not much of a healer that Father Nelson, but he tried…
At this point on our DAY LONG trip something was mentioned about me getting lost anywhere farther north and LT started leading. We broke out on a 2 track – Randy, Larry , Ted and then another rider went by on a KTM400 in front of me. I rolled Kadie on and went by that putsy little bike – ooops – I mean gently passed him and waved as I got back in line with the other riders. We turned onto the next section of single track and the guy behind followed us in. We came out to our next 2 track and turned and he kept following. Being the inquisitive type I stopped and introduced myself to him. He said I am Dan Smith from Chicago. He told me a little about himself – always one to enjoy company I invited him to ride with us for the day and he did – WAY COOL!!
When we stopped at the next rest stop Dan pulled up by Larry and Father Nelson (at this point I was the only one who even knew there was another rider with us). They both turned and started talking to Dan. I interrupted them and boldly said: “oh yea, I gotta introduce you guys to my good friend Dan Smith from Chicago hahahahahha. Larry just shook his head (he is getting to know me to good) but I got Ted REAL GOOD – he had the most confused look on his face that I have ever seen on ANYONE – Father Nelson me will ya – hahahahah)!
The 5 of us made our way North and ended up at Bitely for lunch (fitting name for a town to have lunch in). We all laughed, joked and told stories while we ate. I think I introduced Dan to everyone about 10 times while we were there just to make sure they all knew him – actually, Ted sat next to me and I think I intro’d him to Ted about 50 times – Father Nelson me will you!! This second pic in here is of Dan on his KTM.

 

[woodsy]

On our way back home we discovered this small water hole in the trail. LT drove into it and discovered it to be pretty deep haha. The first pic here is of him showing everyone how to get wet. The Second pic is of Larry showing his skill at locating shallower ground – NOT – this sucker was over Larry’s front fender!

 

[woodsy]

The first pic here is of Ted showing all of us how REAL enduro riders traverse this kind of mud hole – THEY CHEAT and find away around it – good idea, hey LT why didn’t you think of that!! The second pic here is of myself getting wet – like a duck to water!!

 

[woodsy]

I broke a tranny spring on the way home so we had to take it easy. The 4 of us (Dan had to head in early) made it back to the vehicles in one piece and closer friends then we were when we left – and that’s the way it should be!! Now made famous after 133 miles of time well spent – here are pics of the four of us!

 

[woodsy]

To ride is to live -to ride with my brothers is to live fulfilled.
Woodsy

 

[YZMAN400]

Very cool woodsy. I have been anxiousely waiting for your ride report. :yeehaw:

You have another epic trip planned for next Monday? I might be able to get out of work monday (Wife and kid are out of town for 5 days) I'm a batchler :thumb:

Maybe a night ride next week sometime??

Good friday is coming up. Do I sence a Boone run again! Were is Huby!

 

[UP Magoo]

Whew, Woodsy, your trip report is as long as your rides! Sounds like good times!
Some of us Yoopers are heading south this weekend to ride. Sounds like Horseshoe is THE place! Anyplace North of that ready to ride yet? Usually our early season rides are Laota (Houghton Lake) area, I wonder how the trails are around there? We'll sort out our destinations on Thursday or Friday morning based on reports and info you (and any other DRNers) can supply us!
Magoo

 

[bbarel]

Yes Woodsy we did have a "REALLY" great time.
Thanks Woodsy for the guiding and nice report!
And you didn't even get us lost either.
Looking forward to doing it again...

 

[KTM Mike]

Woodsy - keep up those great ride reports! One of these days I will make it on one of your great adventures!

Magoo - Houghton Lake (Leota) should in be good to go, maybe some minor snow in the trees. Farther north (and east slightly) - Atlanta area - still snow in the woods, but actually would be quite rideable I would think (I have not ridden locally yet). Mio/Hunt Creek should be a go to - but again, expect some pockets of snow here and there.

Nick had asked about Wolverine in a different post. As that area would be much more into the snow belt than around here, I would bet there is still significant snow in the woods there.

 

[Smit-Dog]

:thumb: Awesome ride report Woodsy! And sounds like you had a crack photographer on hand to help with some in-focus shots. I can tell your throttle hand was twitching from a single-track high.

And BTW, I found another shot of Fred T soon after the "fender" incident. I suspect that with the new auto-clutch, Fred thinks his bike has an auto transmission and auto brakes. When do you think he'll install the cruise control and CD player?

-->> Fred T worrying about his fender (but not worrying about his clutch)...

:uh:

 

[2TrakR]

Woodsy - great as always!

That water hole you have picts of there - is that just west of Bitely? Looks real familiar (see below).

Our Rites of Spring Dual Sport courses run through there. Well, not through that particular hole. We found a nice two track around the north side of it. The pict is a buddy on his CRF in 2002. He was on the shallow side, I just came through and found the deeper side (hence the water on the camera lense).

 

[INCA]

The fat lady has not yet sung. The water in that trough has done more than get you wet. It is now hot and you're in it. I may have to borrow some of it to calm the sore stomach muscles from laughing.
Amen, Father Nelson

 

[woodsy]

Bring it on INCA!! Woodsy likes hot water alot more then that ice cold stuff we swam in up North!!
Magoo, it appears that my Saturday is going toward business.. I scouted last week up at Baldwin and found everything South of town was CLEAR (I did a trail condition report)! I think you would be fine to ride Lincoln Hills loop and it is AWESOME if it is clear - just gotta know you way around up there - if you need directions to the good stuff let me know! Horseshoe is PERFECT now as well as White CLoud.. What type of action are you guys looking for? You should try and post where you decide to ride - I have met LOTS of interesting folks that way!!
YZman: At this point in time, I am planning our Monday outing around the 32nd Street Trailhead just North of Baldwin. I believe we can make Boon area for lunch (maybe in the woods - campfire squirrels if I can get us lost :) ) Looks like Young Ted, Randy, Larry and myself right now.. BE GLAD TO HAVE YOU AND OTHERS!! ANyone showing for these Monday rides will want to be practicing "streetlegalism" for sure (not that I care if you go to jail but your wifes/bosses might :) )!! Yea, come on Don - you would have a ball!!
2trakr: Yes, that water hole is just west of Bitely!! Different spot then you showed - Looking at your pics though I think I recognize that area - I watered out in that spot one time!! The spot we were at is in behind Walkup Lake...
SmitDog: OH YEA! That photographer was definitly a crack or on CRACK or something - he has, shall we say, been out in the woods to long :) Next time you see Young Ted you should ask him to show you his "Father Nelson routine".. Just dont turn your back on him :)
Thanks for the report accolades guys!!
Woodsy

 

[2TrakR]

If you're up north & west of Walkup Lake, that's designated as non-motorized, east side is ok (east of that USFS marked road that runs north of Cleavland Drive). We were running through there, but have been re-routed this year by the USFS. Just an FYI in case you didn't know. Our DS course has been through there for several years now, this is the first year there was an issue so I don't know if the designation is new or what.

As for the spot being a different one, hmmm. Do you come into this spot off of Cleavland Drive heading to the east/north east over the north side of Walkup Lake? If so, the two track you head in on has another route more to the north that will get you around that water hole. Anyway, see map below. The stuff west and north of Walkup has been removed on our final map.