Trail riding instead of racing this year :(

[MXGirl230]

Well Phil and I have looked at what we owe on our school loans and decided we want them paid off ASAP. This was kinda after my mother-in-law mentioned that Phil (we) owe her $8,000...ugh. On top of the ones we both already have. So to cut expenses this year, racing was one of them :( We move up to Hart in May and will have 80 acres to play on. So that will keep us mostly entertained. We also have to start saving money to build a house in 5-6yrs...



So...it looks like we'll be spending a lot of time on the trails this year. Which is okay...I just don't get along very well with trees :think: What are some good trails up in that area? I know Whiskey Creek is somewhere up there...

 

[YZMAN400]

I know Whiskey Creek is somewhere up there...

Its not somewere up there... It is right there. Is actually the Big O/ Little o trail system. Farther to the east is the Lincoln Hills/ Little Manistee system. A little south of that system is Tin Cup. You are on the west side of a lot of trails. The only one that you will need a plate for is parts of the Big O. The rest can be ridden un platted.

 

[MXGirl230]

Unplated is good! I've heard of the Big O/Little o trail system, and tin cup. Nice trails, or are they whooped out? Are they tight? Well, guess we'll have to check them out for ourselves. I'm really not big into trail riding. We are attempting to put a trail through the woods on our property...I'm sure that will get boring after awhile.

 

[YZMAN400]

Your gonna encounter woops prety much anywere you go in Michigan. Its just the nature of the beast. Yep there are some trails that are better than others. But woops are pretty much a plenty anywere you go.

 

[MXGirl230]

Whoops are ok I guess...will get us ready for racing again next year! Some of them are bad though, and cause trees to jump out in front of you...

I thought the CCC maintained some of the trails?

 

[TCTrailrider]

Whoops are a wonderful thing and created for your safety. They keep your speed at a survival level while hitting that leaping tree. We rode the Little O last spring after grooming, no whoops. 40 mph on single track gets scary. YZman rounded a blind corner, had a close encounter with a golf cart (looking for the 19th hole). Only thing that saved him was extrordinary natural talent, lightening fast reflexes and rear brake pads that had 3 more stops left in them. Whoops keep you safe.

 

[YZMAN400]

.........YZman rounded a blind corner, had a close encounter with a golf cart (looking for the 19th hole). Only thing that saved him was extrordinary natural talent, lightening fast reflexes and rear brake pads that had 3 more stops left in them. Whoops keep you safe.

TCT is laying it on a little thick...The only thing that saved my :moon: from becoming a hood ornament on that golf cart is dumb luck :ohmy:




Hey cool... We have new smilies... :blah: ....and... :boss:

 

[Smit-Dog]

I dunno.... never ridden a track myself. But 3-5 straight hours out in the woods seems like a better deal than standing around for a few hours only to ride a 20 minute moto. :blah:

And all for the smokin' deal of $16.25 for the whole year! :cool:

 

[woodsy]

Ditto with the Dog on this one!!
Also, I came from the 60's/70's MX tracks and have totally lost track of the folks who mx'd back then.. Thankfully I also had Harescrambling and just good old Trail riding in my blood and never quit riding like most of my buddies from that era..
The other side of that note is that there are still plenty of trail riders/Enduro Riders of that era and "newbies" alike - a Family that I am proud to be part of... ;)
Ironically MXgirl, one of the tracks that I frequented on a regular basis back then was McDonalds Farm - it use to be located 25 minutes southeast of Hart... Small world aint it....

 

[Godzuki]

ahhh you will learn to like the trails, get some hand gaurds though and not the plastic ones that only mount to the center of the bar (because those bend all the way back to your fingers when you clip a tree) get the kind with a metal bar going from the end of the bar alllll the way to the center portion of the bar, they help out alot let me tell you, hehe i still run a FULL length moto bar in the woods, and i havent yet cut a bar down a few inches for better bark clearance, which causes me to lightly snagg trees here and there. the up side to the trails is it will give you better endurance on the track when you start riding for hours at a time instead of minutes at a time in a moto. i myself love doing both the track and the trails because it gets boring inbetween riding either one or the other.

 

[BigEasy]

There are a couple loops near Muskegon Mich, Cedar Creek Motorsports trail in Twin Lake. The wifey will be glad to hear there are few girls out riding as well. She rides a 03 CRF 230, she is a tad gunshy as she hooked up good last fall and found one of them tree's. She is ready for spring, a novice rider but tough as nails, and aggresive.

 

[YZMAN400]

.................... i still run a FULL length moto bar in the woods, and i havent yet cut a bar down a few inches for better bark clearance, which causes me to lightly snagg trees here and there.

Im gonna take a sawszall to your bike one of these days :nener:

Cut them suckers down at least to 30". They will still work fine on the track. I'm running 29" bars on my YZ and CRF. They work fine on the track and trail.

 

[KTM Mike]

We are attempting to put a trail through the woods on our property...I'm sure that will get boring after awhile.

Dont be so quick to assume your own trail will get boring! Ask Fred T, 2Big, Creeper and others that have ridden here at my place if the trail is boring! :cool: If anything, some of them think it is simply :pissed: a pain in the :moon: !

I have 40 acres with around 4 miles of trail on it (distance varies depending on my latest re-route) I have found it quite easy to vary the trail with a quick re-route - make for something new etc. This is not to say you wont want to get out on the big trail system, but with 80 wooded acres - you can have many many hours of fun!

The way I laid mine out was quite simple. I stuffed a few barley pops into my pockets, and wandered around my woods for several hours. I did this two or three different afternoons. I kept in mind the worst most difficult enduro I had ridden, and found spots to mimic them. After a few times of doing this, I had an idea of where to lay out the trail. Then I grabbed some cans of spray paint and started marking, walking off a course in the woods. If there was a log there, I didnt mark around it, i marked going over it. So what if there was no room for an approach up that steep rough hill...mark that tree too....

Part of my trail is grass track (approx 1 mile long...very tight curves), which i laid out by simply putting the brush hog on the Kubota and wandering around out in the field - I made it so tight as I wanted it to be a challenge for my kids, then on a 50cc and a 80cc - it is major tight curves for a 300. this helps keep top speeds down to, so crashes are "laugh them off" variety.

Then I simply started riding it. I then suckered a few friends (former friends? :nener: ) to ride it with me to get a groove laid down. Early on, before the trail is well established it can be hard to follow, but once you get enough traffic on it, it become much easier and more enjoyable to ride. Invite a bunch of crazy MTR folk over - I am sure they would be happy to break in some virgin trail!

Over time, I have re-routed various sections - I have some rather wet spots that were getting all torn up, and an erosion issue started near the creek my trail crosses. I even built two bridges for the trail...one is only like 18 to 24" wide in one spot..just to make it interesting! So I made sure to route around those spots as I didnt want any issues with the creek. I also did re-route some spots that just were about impossible to ride enjoyably - based on the number of complaints I got, plus the number of crashes on those spots!

I have now added some regular course marker arrows (which have mostly all faded away already), and some yellow ribbon to clarify some spots it seems some guys that are directionally challenged cant seem to find (Creeper...sound familiar?). It is a blast to ride!

One thing you will find, is that as the volume of bikes on it will be dramatically lower than the public trails, whoops will take forever to develop, and in the spring and fall, the trail seems to disappear with the leaf cover. This adds yet another challenge to the trail!

Have fun laying out the trail, if you dont like a section it is easy to change!

 

[YZMAN400]

Ive got a little 1/4 mile single track in the woods behind my folks place. Its amazing what fun you can have in such a small area of trees. I started the trail as a training area for my son to get him used to riding in the woods. I found all kinds of nasty's to send him thru. At 8 yrs old I have him going over logs, thru ditches, and over hills. He loves it. We also have a small chunk of trail at our cabin up by Wallhalla. the kid loves that trail and tears it up every time we are there.

 

[MXGirl230]

There are a couple loops near Muskegon Mich, Cedar Creek Motorsports trail in Twin Lake. The wifey will be glad to hear there are few girls out riding as well. She rides a 03 CRF 230, she is a tad gunshy as she hooked up good last fall and found one of them tree's. She is ready for spring, a novice rider but tough as nails, and aggresive.

We have ridden at Cedar Creek quite a bit. Actually, may have seen you guys there the last time we rode. Same bikes, can't remember the vehicle...1/2 ton pickup maybe? We had a white Explorer w/a three rail trailer loaded w/a CR125 and a YZ125. Had a hard time starting the 230...was that you guys? I was kind of following the Rooster around, trying to feed him cheese nips.

KTM Mike, about 10 or less is wooded...the rest is open field (with rolling hills :) ) and Asparagas fields. We kinda carved a trail out in the fall, but haven't been out that far since then.

I don't know about cutting down bars. My moms are cut an 1" on both sides. I sat on it, and it felt really, really weird. Messes w/my head too much... :think:

 

[BigEasy]

We would have rode in the back side as we live close enough, so the hard starter was not us. We usually ride crack of dawn as we both work third, and like to wrap it up before it gets real busy and hot.

 

[MXGirl230]

Crack of dawn?? ugh...yeah it does get busy. We used to go after work (around 6ish) and it was pretty packed at that time.

 

[woodsy]

MXGIRL - you had to bring up the Rooster didnt you - waaaaaa :( I want our mascot back.... If only we would have taken better care of him :bang: Well, at least he had the chance to eat all of those yummie maggots off those dead fish.... I REALLY miss him - he was one cool Clucker...

 

[YZMAN400]

We would have rode in the back side as we live close enough, so the hard starter was not us. We usually ride crack of dawn as we both work third, and like to wrap it up before it gets real busy and hot.

We have definately got to hook up when the snow melts. I am an early morning rider also. Not necessarly by choice but from necesity. The wife works evenings and I gotta watch the kid all the time. So early is my time to ride.

 

[MXGirl230]

MXGIRL - you had to bring up the Rooster didnt you - waaaaaa :( I want our mascot back.... If only we would have taken better care of him :bang: Well, at least he had the chance to eat all of those yummie maggots off those dead fish.... I REALLY miss him - he was one cool Clucker...

:( Sorry woodsy!! I miss him too, and I only saw him a couple of times...as soon as I can find the junky camera (the digital was in the shop at the time) it has a few pics of the Rooster. I'll post them when I can find that camera...hmm...where is that thing...

We'll probably see ya in the woods this year. If you see us, though..go ahead and ride ahead. I don't ride fast in the woods!

 

[BigEasy]

We have definately got to hook up when the snow melts. I am an early morning rider also. Not necessarly by choice but from necesity. The wife works evenings and I gotta watch the kid all the time. So early is my time to ride.

Sounds like a plan, can be ready at 7 am. I also have an eight year old boy and a 6 year old girl that should get on two wheels this year.

 

[Godzuki]

I don't know about cutting down bars. My moms are cut an 1" on both sides. I sat on it, and it felt really, really weird. Messes w/my head too much...


well if you dont cut them down, then yzman may sneak up on you with a sawzall when your not looking hehe, ohh and you realy want to make bars feal wierd jump off a sport bike onto a dirt bike hehe.

and stay away from my bars im a working on getting them thiner. i had a few moments of level 10 pucker last year from the bars snagging at a inopertune moment

 

[MXGirl230]

well if you dont cut them down, then yzman may sneak up on you with a sawzall when your not looking hehe, ohh and you realy want to make bars feal wierd jump off a sport bike onto a dirt bike hehe.

Been there done that!

I haven't had too many problems with them not being cut down.

 

[ACP#45]

if you have 80 acres why dont you bild a small mx track I live on a ranch with 56 acers on it and thats what i did because gas prices are high and i live 45 minutes from basically everyware

 

[Masterphil]

You do realize that this post is over a year old, don't you? They've since bought a new pair of '06's.