White Rock, Arkansas, Dec 1-2.

[biglou]

Funny thing, this self-abuse we subject ourselves to. It wasn't white, but it was definitely rock! What some consider a challenge, others consider unthinkable, undoable, even impossible (make that "freaking impossible"). Let's just say that the most comfortable riding was just this side of my personal skill level (which is pretty low, I must add). The weekend's riding did challenge me and some others both physically and mentally. I can say without a doubt that I will be a better, more fearless rider after this trip. Keeping in mind that all things are relative to an individual's skill level. Wade's interpretation of an "easy loop" proved to be almost exactly as accurate as his interpretation of the distance from the hotel to the trailhead. Let's just say that there is a multiple of 2 that he keeps leaving out of his equations. The weather was nearly perfect, but the trail conditions were wet and slippery due to the recent ice/snow storm that hit earlier in the week. The mud was very sandy, not the caked-on type that we're used to here in the Show Me State, so that was a plus. There were a lot of water holes that could not be avoided, as well. Oh, did I mention the mountains? These were sure-nuff mountains they have down there! Twisting, slick, snotty, rocky, rooty climbs that went on for hundreds of yards. Definitely challenging to us relatively flatlanders! Not to mention that if the ground wasn't flat, there was water running down it, including the trails. For me, riding this place was like having myself and my bike thrown into a cement mixer along with copious amounts of water, sandy clay mud and various sized rocks/roots/trees. Sometimes just trying to stay upright was the biggest challenge for me!
So let's recap, shall we? Muddy, rocky, mountainous, wet feet, treacherous climbs. Did I have fun? Yes. Did I reach my breaking point and absolutely lose my mind after carrying my bike up one too many impassable impasses? Possibly! Did I learn anything? Absolutely. Did I get to meet another great group of riders? Indeed. Am I plotting revenge against Wade for putting me through two nights on bunkbeds compounded by Jeff's unstopable flatulence? Bank on it!
I realize that this is a wandering, aimless report, but my journalism skills are a bit rusty. Especially after the beating taken this weekend!

The Cast: Myself, Wade, Rick McD. (kdx220rm) Al (Agent Orange), GregS, Sawblade, mx547, WFOCrusty, Clint and his son Sammy, Don, Jeff (aka, "Flatulence Man"), Big Chris F., Perry and Lloyd (meangrn).

Great to see some "old friends" again and great to meet the new old friends.

 

[justql]

Oh boiy it sounds like I missed some fun. We race there each year. The long course about killed me this year. Big Lou, you guys will have to come down and ride at my place this spring. We could also plan one day at Stillwater. You'd love the trails, very few rocks.:D

 

[mx547]

Originally posted by justql
We could also plan one day at Stillwater. You'd love the trails, very few rocks.:D

that's exactly what i told him.

 

[justql]

:) :)

 

[CR Swade]

Aww c'mon Lou, it was done out of love:confused:

So I guess we can count on you being there next time, after all you have got to be the honerary Mountainside Helmet Toss/Goggle Fling judge.

Besides, the fun stuff came on Sunday play-day. Most everybody mastered the backwards hill descent at one time or another that day. :)

 

[the Eel]

Big Lou - there's nothing quite like the feeling of pushing the envelope a bit.

Way to go !

 

[biglou]

Pushing the ENVELOPE?

There's nothing quite like the feeling of pushing your BIKE up near-vertical rock staircases for several hours, either!:debil: Over and over and over again. Towards the end of the big adventure on Saturday, I had to just sit down and rest. I literally almost couldn't raise my arms any more.:scream: After that, we still had many miles of riding before we would find our way back to the trailhead. Not that all the riding was as hard as those few miles of vertical climbs, but it wasn't a cakewalk. And being so tired as we were, bike handling skills were in a rapid decline!
On the plus side, that little afternoon journey has definitely made me a better rider. I can't wait to see how I will handle some of the "rough" terrain around here that I'm used to riding, er, floundering over. Oh, and Wade thinks I'm P.O.'d at him for getting me into that mess.:D So I got that hanging over him!:p

 

[CR Swade]

Naw, I knew you would come around to appreciating it. Now when we go back this spring, you will be a wily veteran of the place:p

 

[mx547]

my white rock report

sawblade and i arrived at the holiday inn at the designated time, 7:30 a.m. it looked the ktm riders convention was there. in the parking lot were two hondas (including mine), one yamaha (sawblade's), two kawasakis and 237 ktm's. all the vehicles were still covered in frost. obviously team sleepy-ktm wasn't ready to go. we hung around the lobby as the riders slowly begin to make their way down. apparently there was some sort of rodeo gathering there too as there were several cowboys complete with hats, boots and big belt buckles in the lobby as well. i'm not sure who drew more stares; the cowboys or all us guys in our riding gear (maybe they thought we were in our pajamas). after a few stops for breakfast (i think someone got a date with the waitress but i can't remember who), gas and groceries, we caravaned out to white rock. it looked pretty cool, there must have been seven or eight vehicles with bikes and trailers. we followed a one lane dirt road for what seemed like forever. it was probably only a couple miles but it was slow going (look in the dictionary under b.f.e. and it says "see white rock"). we arrived at the trail head and i was surprised to see a bathroom. i was even more surprised to see that no one was living in it. we unloaded and headed out. within about 100 feet of the start, we had to ride through a boot-high stream chilled by melting snow. sawblade immediately filled his boots since he didn't have a hydration system. wade prompty took us up a rock filled (oh yeah, everything out there was rock filled) hill-side trail about a quarter of a mile long. i was riding next to last in line and dumped my bike in a turn at the bottom. i congratulated myself on being the first to go down. i looked up the hill and big lou was down too so i didn't feel so stupid. after watching big lou struggle up the hill, i gave it a go. i fought the rocks all the way up, bouncing back and forth across them, feet flying every which way but i made it. as i reached the top, i thought to myself "what the f*** am i doing here?". remember, i'm a motocrosser. we made a short, miserable ride then jeff (i think it was jeff) lost his rear brakes. so jeff, sawblade, big lou and myself decided to skip the trail and ride back down the county road. it turned out to be the long, scenic route. we stopped several times to enjoy some excellent mountain-top views. we ran across the most remote cabin ever, no water, no power, plenty of shine. sawblade and i drag raced a little and practiced a few wheelies on the road as we figured this would be the only time that we would be able to open our bikes up. we made it back to the trail head. first ride completed, general concensus-it sucked.
after sandwiches and chips (we eat alot), we took off on the second ride. this time wade picked a much better route. i decided to ride third behind wade and wfocrusty and see if i could stay with them. they rode a pretty comfortable pace and i was able to stay fairly close to them. once i got past the mental block of riding in the rocks, i was all right. i had alot more fun on this ride despite wfocrusty's fondness for throwing roost and splashing through the middle of the puddles. i actually enjoyed it. the third ride was more of the same. it was a good ride until we came upon a bunch of q u a d s that were blocking the entire trail. we had to ride through the undergrowth to find a way around them. it was quite difficult as it was on a sloping area of the trail. i tried to go around them but slid off into the trail right beside one of them. he had to move it so i could get out. i think i roosted the other q u a d pretty good but i didn't care because i was more than a little pissed. the woods riders decided to take an extended tour so sawblade and i rode back to the trailhead concerned about fuel (we were the only ones with "normal" tanks). we made a few smaller rides and played around the trailhead some and laughed at big lou for getting lost (not to his face, of course because he is BIG). it was getting late and the sun was getting low so sawblade and i called it a day and headed for the house. all in all it was a pretty fun ride. i give it a 7.5. it would be great without the rocks. i certainly will be a better rock rider because of it. now if i can find a motocross track with rocks, i should be able to dominate. next time, let's ride at stillwater; lots of good trails, very few rocks. i think lou will vote for that.:D

hey justql, i didn't get any flats.:)

 

[biglou]

Originally posted by mx547:
i congratulated myself on being the first to go down. i looked up the hill and big lou was down too so i didn't feel so stupid.

Ah, it was a rarity, but I actually went down on the climb because I looked up to see Big Chris F. stopped on a short plateau because someone above him had gone down. The embarrassing part was being trapped against the bank by my bike. I couldn't get my left leg around the rear fender so I could have leverage to pull my right leg out from under the bike.:o It's one thing to crash, it's another to get stuck in the middle of a perfectly, albeit a wet and rocky incline, trail!

...laughed at big lou for getting lost (not to his face, of course because he is BIG).

All that know me know that I am as easy-going as they come. The little incident on the last of the impossible vertical rock walls I had to climb was a rare sight indeed. And that was after being pushed repeatedly to the limits of my physical strength and endurance. Not to mention the thought of being lost in the Arkansas mountains overnight in the winter. That is the last time I lost my mind like that since I don't know when. Plus, Agent Orange was the only other one there with me. He was having the time of his life as well and, we've known each other since we were eleven. So I figured, "Why not let it all hang out?!"
The scary thing is, at 6', 230#, I was only the 3rd biggest person in the group. Big Chris F. goes about 6'-4", 250# and Agent Orange (Al) literally looks like the Nebraska Cornhusker at 6'-2", 250# in his overalls (complete with busted strap. Said he was "trying to fit in with the locals"). They ride a 520 and a 380, respectively. They grow'em big here in the heartland.

Did anyone remember to mention how rocky it was?:think

 

[94ruck]

I heard some of the bad things about White Rock. I ride there frequently and usually the place is relatively easy(easier than Chadwick). i understand that the bad weather the week before left the place in a shamble. I do use a GPS when I ride there. when you leave the blue loop there are no trail markers...but I am sure some of you figured that out:o My buddy Emig was down there and he likes it gnarly, he told me that it was treacherous:scream:

 

[biglou]

At last! Validation! If Emig says it's rough, well...
Some of the group ran into Gary down there on one of the days. Said he was just across hwy 23 (I think).

 

[mx547]

Originally posted by BigLou
At last! Validation! If Emig says it's rough, well...

that explains why bswift and justql bailed on us so quick to ride the poker run instead. they knew what white rock was like.:scream:

 

[AgentOrange]

The Goggles

Yes, I was the only one to witness the meltdown. First the goggles get ripped right from the noggin. Next was the helmet, with head in it, slapping the poor little rocks on the trailside. Then it was on!! Lou, at the end of his patience and anerobic threshold, looked like he was competing in a large boulder chucking contest. The worst part was we did not know how long it would take us to get back to the trailhead and if darkness would fall first. Hey, I was tired and dillusional. I had crashed more that day than I had cumulative to that date.


It was foreign conditions which will make me a better rider in the future. As time passes it does not seem so bad. Someday I will return to conquer that place. But not soon.

MX547, stillwater or the dunes sounds great for our next roadtrip. Promise me now that there are no rocks!!

 

[BSWIFT]

that explains why bswift and justql bailed on us so quick to ride the poker run instead. they knew what white rock was like.
:)
If it hadn't snowed that week, I would have joined you guys. I new it would be gruelling but WET and gruelling is a bit much. So you say it is rocky?:scream:

 

[justql]

Re: my white rock report

Originally posted by mx547
[B
hey justql, i didn't get any flats.:) [/B]

Of course not, I wasn't there.
As far as me bailing, Do you remember my comment after your first enduro(Golden Eagle, Stillwater nice trails) that you were now ready to ride a real enduro. I heave raced White Rock several times. No qualifier format. Racing hard for over four hours in those rocks.

My White Rock story is my most embarrassing motorcycle story. I was riding long course, having a great ride, I came to several little limbs laying across the trails. I hit the throttle to wheely across them but ended up going down. The resulting crash broke my clutch lever. This happened at mile 17 of an over 80 mile long race, but it was OK there was a gas stop at the camp around mile 40. I rode hard, still passing riders without a clutch, in the nasty rocks. I made it to camp without dropping a lot of points. I quickly chased down my son who was riding his 60 around camp. With Craigs help I frantically pulled the lever off of the 60 and put it on the RMX. After dropping a bolt in the grass and eventually finding it I was off. Spending an extra seven minutes in camp. I rode like a maniac down the road which was suppose to be an 18 mph section. I was back up to five minutes down when I entered the woods. AT around mile 57 my bike made a funny bogging sound and died. I then realized as I coasted to a stop, alone in the quiet woods, miles from nowhere, no one around, that I had forgot to do the most important thing at a gas stop. YES I had forgot to fill up with gas. I switched to reserve and took off praying I would find an egas. (Gas stop, for people with small tanks that cannot make a long loop in the woods) no luck, they had no egas on the long course. I ran completely out of gas at mile 68. Once again no one around. All you could here was the wind going through the trees. For those of you that have never rode long course, there are not many riders out there, a few did come by asking if I was OK as they blasted by. I Pushed the bike to the top of the next hill and coasted down the other side to a rode. A local gave me a ride back to camp via the rode. The bad part was that as we were going up the hill with me and bike in the back of his truck we met almost every rider I knew at the race coming down off of the mountain. They would of course ask what had happened. I would in turn tell them the truth........I had toasted the clutch.:D

 

[wfocrusty]

This is for Jeff & Clint.........I just wanted to state again that I had a marvelous time this weekend!

Hey mx547, you shoulda had Sawblade help you count....there were 238 KTMs! The worst part of the trip for me was waiting outside Wade's restraunt freezing my #%^ off for two hours because I left my jacket in the hotel room and having to share the atmosphere with Jeff's rotten butt!

The BS session later at the hotel made up for it. However, next time we'll have to give Clint instructions on how to operate the thermostat!!!! I know Lou was nervous when I got in that top bunk. But, look at it this way, your lucky that farts rise instead of fall.

You all are cordially invited to my playground the weekend of the 15th for an easy trailride. Don't listen to 94ruck.....Chadwick is a piece of cake!!! Well, parts of it. I can assure you that I won't abuse you like that sadistic Wade person.

As I told the holdouts before we left, I'll work on getting a ride together for Little Sahara early in the Spring. If you've never been, I guarantee ya you'll be hooked. You can fall down all day and not bust yer #%$!!!! Plus, it's just an awesome experience. And Rick....you won't get yer bike dirty! LOL!

You guys ROCK!!!!! (Sorry, I couldn't help myself)! ;)

 

[Sawblade]

Hey guys I've been out traveling this week due to work. Don't have time tonight to post a full ride report, as I'm going back out tomorrow. I had a great time last weekend.

Lou - Your never lost, ya just haven't got were your gong yet! ;)

 

[mx547]

Re: The Goggles

Originally posted by Agent Orange
MX547, stillwater or the dunes sounds great for our next roadtrip. Promise me now that there are no rocks!!

no rocks at the dunes. very few rocks at stillwater and they will seem like pebbles compared to white rock. if you really desire more punishment, you could ride the supercross track only.:D

 

[CR Swade]

Who was this weiner Wade? Besides, am I the only one who was having some fun? Rocks, shcmocks....the downed trees from the ice storm were more of a pain.

C'mon, admit it... we were riding in God's country. That was fun, I thought. But I also enjoy CR's in the woods!:p

 

[CR Swade]

Oh, ummm did I mention that we are returning in Feb/March? "We" would be myself, Clint, Don, Jeff, Sammy, Greg(you guys do what?!!) and possibly Blue Thunder and whoever else feels like "exploring". It will be a leisurely trek in search of cool singletrack over a two to three day excursion. We really didn't ever get over to the really cool stuff on Saturday, with just a taste on Sunday. Should be a hoot!

I would like to think that WFOCrusty will want to uphold his name as one of the Stinky Creek Rider brigade. I would also think that you other guys (Lou, Agent Orange, Big Chris F., Sawblade and MX547) will be missing the place as time does make the heart grow fonder of your experiences in "God's Country".

 

[wfocrusty]

Sir Wade!!!

I had a most enjoyable excursion....and would love to tag along on the next one. Anything rough, nasty, vile, or humiliating (except when it's my old lady) :D I am always game for.

Jeff & Clint both called me yesterday and were talking about some place called Merwin or Millwood or some such. If its got trails or a track I'll try it. I've never ridden up in your neck of the woods and would welcome the chance.

 

[biglou]

Merwin is my favorite place around here. Not too difficult in the woods (although there are a couple of challenges) and they have a great MX track that is very beginner-friendly. Millford is a lake area that I haven't ridden at yet but everyone up here raves about it. Heck, even Rick M. likes it so how bad could it be!

 

[94ruck]

Don't listen to 94ruck.....Chadwick is a piece of cake!!! Well, parts of it.

Please don't misunderstand me ....I think that both of these areas are "easy'! I take my son out on all of the trail at both locations and he rides an 80cc(albeit probably better than most). I do think that White Rock is easier than Chadwick as a whole. I don't ride up and down 101 at Chadwick. I am talking about the harder single tracks and the rough rocky stairsteps..I believe there are more at Chadwick than White Rock IMO>
Again, I have had my son up Dairy Queen and the Hill beside the old hill climb right off pipeline at WhiteRock. yes, we did have to help him up both!
:eek:

 

[wfocrusty]

Sounds like a great time. Lou, does he wash his bike in the lake after each ride??? :think Sorry Rick....I didn't get a chance to harass you enough while we were there....it's all in fun!

94ruck....I was being sarcastic. Chadwick is an easy ride for some of us, but for some newbies it's an %#$ kicker on certain sections. I was just trying to "soften" it up for the more, how should I say it....gentile riders that may come down to visit.

By the way...camping is great now that the campground was expanded. Water / electric hookups and updated crap houses. Hmmmmm, that reminded me of Jeff for some reason!