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ScottH
0
My kids have been nagging me for months to take them to Clayton. I have 6 kids. 3 of them ride. Liz 16 TTR125, Nick 11 CRF70, Grant 7 has stolen his brothers CRF70.
After 3 trips with some of you guts and some GPS tracks to keep my bearings I decided it was worth trying. I settled on an "easy" loop to Pickens & back. My plan was to leave Saturday about noon, let the kids play, set up camp, ride Sunday, drive home Monday.
I ended up working Saturday morning & didn't get loaded till about 3pm. I get this panicked call from my wife. She manages a pizza store. Seems their oven has some terminal problem & they've had to close till they can get a repairman. She wants me to bring the van & move all of the dough & sauce they have prepared for Saturday night over to another store. Have you ever seen a Dodge Caravan loaded to the ceiling with dough balls? Anyway, it works out that she can go with us. She doesn't ride but is going to bring the rest of the kiddos in her own car & let them swim & throw rocks at the turtles & geese.
We arrive at Clayton State Park around 11:30 pm & opt for sleeping in the vans in the A/C.
After sleeping late, letting the 3 yr old chase the flock geese around the campground (this was the highlight of the trip. he would chase the geese yelling DUCKIES!!, when he got close enough they would turn and chase him), and eating breakfast we headed to Pickens about 11 am.
Three bikes, me on the KLX250S, Liz an her TTR125, Nick on the CRF70 & Grant on the back of my KLX. The trip to Pickens was excellent. 44 miles according to the GPS & took right at 3 hrs.
The CRF70 did just fine. We were able make 35 to 40 mph most of the time. The wife drives the long way around to Pickens & eats lunch with us. Grant decides to ride back in the van.
We head out of Pickens around 3:15 pm head up the Siver Suck trail. There were quite a few mud holes. Nick hits one on the CRF & it is quite a bit deeper than anticipated. He comes to an abrupt stop & falls over in the mud. His sister, following a little to closely, runs over his right arm. OUCH!!
This is one of scenarios I really was afraid of. Nick's hurt & unable to ride and we are 30 miles from the pavement. And of course cell coverage is nill. We fashioned a sling from a t-shirt, zip-ties, and a piece of rope (worked quite nice actually, I thank Liz for her design). I stashed the bike in woods, marked a waypoint on the GPS and left a bottle on the side of the trail for a visual reference.
I put Nick on the back of my bike. I'm really thankful that Grant opted for the ride home in the van. We head out for Clayton around 4:45. I was concerned about Nick hanging on with one hand & the other in a sling. Not to mention he was in quite a bit of pain. We did give him some Alieve that I carry in the first aid kit but that just took the edge off. He was a real trooper. We stopped twice for him to rest & get off the bike.
On the first stop Liz said she thought she "heard" air coming out of her tire when she hit a rock earlier. I examined the tire & all seemed to be ok. At the second stop I looked down & she was running on the rim. NOT GOOD. I neglected to bring spare tubes for the kids bikes.
I was planning on an easy ride. I've ridden some VERY rough stuff & never even come close to pinching a tube. I figured an afternoon cruise on dirt roads was no big deal. WRONG! 
I break out the CO2 cartridge & air up the tire. Miraculously, it holds! I had 4 or 5 cartridges total. I figure I can duplicate that a few times & make it back. The tire actually held all the way back on the first charge.
We bump into my wife, oddly enough, cruising the backroads in the van on the Clayton side about 1 mile from the pavement. We put Nick in the Van so he can get to the Dr. it is 6:05 pm.
The aftermath:
Nick has two broken bones in his right hand. Bone behind the knuckle on his thumb and the bone behind his middle finger. Just behind the knuckle. Both are through the growth plate on the end of the bone. No more motorcycles for the summer. He is very disappointed that he can't ride. Both he and Liz had so much fun they were planning on going back in a couple of weeks.
Liz and I drive to Pickens in the rain on Monday morning in the van. I drove to the bottom of the Silver Suck trail & we rode two-up to get the stashed bike. It was a short 15 minute ride to the bike & 15 minutes back. About 1/4 of a mile from the van Liz catches a rock with the rear tire. When we get back to the van, I'm getting off the bike & I hear hissing. She popped the rear tire of the 70.
What did we learn:
1. No such thing as an afternoon cruise with the kids. Take every ride as seriously as the next. However, I will do it again. It was the best time I've had with my kids in a long time. I will be prepared next time.
2. Spare tubes, no exceptions.
3. Never leave home without the GPS.
4. You need all of that crap you carry in the bag strapped to your bike. Don't leave home without it.
5. It harder to get to Pickens on the pavement.
6. Next time, don't bother moving the pizza dough. It rose to quickly & was ruined & they tossed it all.
7. Take the camera. Seems I always leave it at home. Sorry no pics.
After 3 trips with some of you guts and some GPS tracks to keep my bearings I decided it was worth trying. I settled on an "easy" loop to Pickens & back. My plan was to leave Saturday about noon, let the kids play, set up camp, ride Sunday, drive home Monday.
I ended up working Saturday morning & didn't get loaded till about 3pm. I get this panicked call from my wife. She manages a pizza store. Seems their oven has some terminal problem & they've had to close till they can get a repairman. She wants me to bring the van & move all of the dough & sauce they have prepared for Saturday night over to another store. Have you ever seen a Dodge Caravan loaded to the ceiling with dough balls? Anyway, it works out that she can go with us. She doesn't ride but is going to bring the rest of the kiddos in her own car & let them swim & throw rocks at the turtles & geese.
We arrive at Clayton State Park around 11:30 pm & opt for sleeping in the vans in the A/C.
After sleeping late, letting the 3 yr old chase the flock geese around the campground (this was the highlight of the trip. he would chase the geese yelling DUCKIES!!, when he got close enough they would turn and chase him), and eating breakfast we headed to Pickens about 11 am.
Three bikes, me on the KLX250S, Liz an her TTR125, Nick on the CRF70 & Grant on the back of my KLX. The trip to Pickens was excellent. 44 miles according to the GPS & took right at 3 hrs.
The CRF70 did just fine. We were able make 35 to 40 mph most of the time. The wife drives the long way around to Pickens & eats lunch with us. Grant decides to ride back in the van.We head out of Pickens around 3:15 pm head up the Siver Suck trail. There were quite a few mud holes. Nick hits one on the CRF & it is quite a bit deeper than anticipated. He comes to an abrupt stop & falls over in the mud. His sister, following a little to closely, runs over his right arm. OUCH!!
This is one of scenarios I really was afraid of. Nick's hurt & unable to ride and we are 30 miles from the pavement. And of course cell coverage is nill. We fashioned a sling from a t-shirt, zip-ties, and a piece of rope (worked quite nice actually, I thank Liz for her design). I stashed the bike in woods, marked a waypoint on the GPS and left a bottle on the side of the trail for a visual reference.
I put Nick on the back of my bike. I'm really thankful that Grant opted for the ride home in the van. We head out for Clayton around 4:45. I was concerned about Nick hanging on with one hand & the other in a sling. Not to mention he was in quite a bit of pain. We did give him some Alieve that I carry in the first aid kit but that just took the edge off. He was a real trooper. We stopped twice for him to rest & get off the bike.
On the first stop Liz said she thought she "heard" air coming out of her tire when she hit a rock earlier. I examined the tire & all seemed to be ok. At the second stop I looked down & she was running on the rim. NOT GOOD. I neglected to bring spare tubes for the kids bikes.
I was planning on an easy ride. I've ridden some VERY rough stuff & never even come close to pinching a tube. I figured an afternoon cruise on dirt roads was no big deal. WRONG! I break out the CO2 cartridge & air up the tire. Miraculously, it holds! I had 4 or 5 cartridges total. I figure I can duplicate that a few times & make it back. The tire actually held all the way back on the first charge.
We bump into my wife, oddly enough, cruising the backroads in the van on the Clayton side about 1 mile from the pavement. We put Nick in the Van so he can get to the Dr. it is 6:05 pm.
The aftermath:
Nick has two broken bones in his right hand. Bone behind the knuckle on his thumb and the bone behind his middle finger. Just behind the knuckle. Both are through the growth plate on the end of the bone. No more motorcycles for the summer. He is very disappointed that he can't ride. Both he and Liz had so much fun they were planning on going back in a couple of weeks.
Liz and I drive to Pickens in the rain on Monday morning in the van. I drove to the bottom of the Silver Suck trail & we rode two-up to get the stashed bike. It was a short 15 minute ride to the bike & 15 minutes back. About 1/4 of a mile from the van Liz catches a rock with the rear tire. When we get back to the van, I'm getting off the bike & I hear hissing. She popped the rear tire of the 70.
What did we learn:
1. No such thing as an afternoon cruise with the kids. Take every ride as seriously as the next. However, I will do it again. It was the best time I've had with my kids in a long time. I will be prepared next time.
2. Spare tubes, no exceptions.
3. Never leave home without the GPS.
4. You need all of that crap you carry in the bag strapped to your bike. Don't leave home without it.
5. It harder to get to Pickens on the pavement.
6. Next time, don't bother moving the pizza dough. It rose to quickly & was ruined & they tossed it all.
7. Take the camera. Seems I always leave it at home. Sorry no pics.
Sounded like a good gspd ride !!
