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Labor Day at Cherokee

WoodButcher

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Admin
Joined
May 20, 2004
Messages
12,828
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655
Location
Austin, TX
First Name
Rusty
Last Name
Myers
Well, it was some good riding. Hardly any sign of mud out there, but the sand and dirt in the woods was extremely sticky. Out in the open, the thinner sand was good, but dried out as the day went on. The deep stuff was pretty firm all day.

I had a good time. Not too hot, with cloud cover most of the day. I've got a good, all over soreness. Probably will be worse tomorrow, but nothing pulled, bruised, or otherwise damaged.

Quick-Silver (Jerry) had a good time and did many miles on the road, plus at least one trail. Said he dropped the KLR on the trail 3 times and still had fun. If I dropped the DRZ on the trail 3 times, fun would not be in my vocabulary and its lighter.

I'm definitely getting slower as I get older. I'm faster on the WR than I was on the DRZ out there, but everybody is still pulling away from me. I need slower friends to ride with. Maybe that's why I'm always willing to ride with the new offroaders. :rofl: They're my speed.
 
I'm definitely getting slower as I get older. I'm faster on the WR than I was on the DRZ out there, but everybody is still pulling away from me. I need slower friends to ride with. Maybe that's why I'm always willing to ride with the new offroaders. :rofl: They're my speed.
Well, *that's* good to hear 'cause some of us northern'er bunnies and dirty rats may come down there to invade! ;)
 
Sorry I didn't make it. It was REAL hard to leave the beach early, the water in Galveston was as clear as I have ever seen it until the red tide monday afternoon.
 
Have you ever had one of those nights before a special event where you were so anxious you did not sleep well? Sunday night was one of those nights for me. I awoke fully awake at 2:00 am yesterday morning. My plan for the day was to be on the road by 5:30. I filled in the 3 1/2 hours between 2 & 5:30 with making coffee, having breakfast, checking the weather on the Internet (70-80% rain for Milano on Monday) and packing a small cooler for the trip with water, soft drinks & a couple sandwiches & chips. I had packed the bike, tools, extra gas containers, & gear Sunday afternoon.

By 5:40 I was driving out my driveway in the rain. It continued to rain until I got to Bastrop where I got gas for the truck and filled the extra gas containers. As it turned out the extra gas was not needed since the Beast was filled with 6 gals which was more than enough to get us thru a full day of riding the rough stuff. Next time I’ll leave the extra container at home.

Daylight didn't come until well passed 6:30 due to the rain so the 1st part of the drive was some what slow. I had the cruse control set on 55. The plan was to turn on Loop 344 about 12 miles north of Caldwell off 36. I made the turn all right except 344 didn't make a loop as shown on MS Streets & Trips. It intersected 364 at an angle and I took the right fork which was the wrong way. Fortunately, I met Texas Dr (Ken) and Kawa450r a mile or so down the road. They let me know I was heading in the wrong direction so I did a 180 and off we went. We pulled in to Rusty's camp at 8:50, about 30 minutes later than I had planned.

We visited a few minutes and then it was time to unload the bikes. First drop of the day! As we were rolling the Beast off the truck, my left foot slipped off the ramp dumping the bike onto the ramp with my right foot pinned under it.:eek2: Once we got help to lift the bike up so I could pull my foot out it lifted up easily and we rolled it off.

The unloading….

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Rusty, thanks for getting me started and showing me the lay of the land. The riding tips and advise proved to be invaluable as the day worn on. The times I laid the bike over were the times I did not do exactly as you had instructed me. BTW, the lay downs were good learning experiences.

After I got more of a feel of the bike, I really enjoyed running the fire roads with a little speed. That was fun and the bike felt stable. The forest, however, is a little different story for me, at least until I gain a little more experience. Don't get me wrong they were exceptionally fun.:rider: :rider:

Thanks also, guys, for taking me on the "easy" number 5 trail.;-) I feel like I have been duly initiated. :lol2: Only 3 drops on this loop.:)

At my experience level the KLR and I found Loop 8 a little more to our liking. Blasting thru the soft sand ruts was fun. The roots in the deep trenched & gullies were not so much fun though.:trust:


A few shots of some of the younger KIDS….

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Thanks again, Guys. I had a fantastic time and can't wait to do it again.
:sun:

ps: Squeaky, if you read this post you must know the Olympia gear did good protecting me from when I laid the bike over. The hard padding was good to have. There are some green grass staings on the knees & elbows, however.:)
 
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Thanks Rusty for organizing the ride!
I had a blast of fun!

Here are some photos from the ride. I did not take pictures of the most fun part as I was too busy having fun...

Jerry (Quick-Silver) checking up his KLR right before the ride, and Sydney (Kawa450R) with his ATV.
1.jpg


Jerry's first trail ride.
3.jpg


Rusty (WoodButcher)'s friend, Terry. He got the bike within a week, and this was his first ride of the WR.
2.jpg


Also Rusty's friend, David. He is a real fast rider, but lead and watched us all patiently.
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Jerry & David. Jerry went thru the tight & narrow trail with the big KLR. You said you were the first timer, right?
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Rusty,
Please extend my appreciation to all of your friends. It was very nice to riding with you guys, and looking forward the next one in the near future.

Thanks!
Ken
 
I didn't realize how close Cherokee was, for some reason I thought it was much farther. Next time you guys go, I will tell Mark and maybe we can go too. I haven't really ridden the XT yet, just been too durned hot.
 
Hey Guys!

Just wanted to say that it was a pleasure meeting you and a real blast riding with Y'all.

Jerry, Hats off to you for taking that KLR on loop 5. I promise, the last time I was there it was much easier. ;-)

Ken, Talk about fast. I have never seen anyone get that much performance out of a 250 dual sport. We need to make sure you never get on a full time dirt bike or you will be gone! :-)

Let's do it again some time soon. Check out our website at www.torchriders.org for upcoming rides.

Later,

Dave
 
Hey Guys!

Just wanted to say that it was a pleasure meeting you and a real blast riding with Y'all.

Jerry, Hats off to you for taking that KLR on loop 5. I promise, the last time I was there it was much easier. ;-)

Ken, Talk about fast. I have never seen anyone get that much performance out of a 250 dual sport. We need to make sure you never get on a full time dirt bike or you will be gone! :-)

Let's do it again some time soon. Check out our website at www.torchriders.org for upcoming rides.

Later,

Dave


Hi Dave!

I really enjoyed riding with you!
looking forward riding with you guys again!

Ken
 
I didn't realize how close Cherokee was, for some reason I thought it was much farther. Next time you guys go, I will tell Mark and maybe we can go too. I haven't really ridden the XT yet, just been too durned hot.

Georgia,

Yeah, you should have come!
Cherokee has a lot more up & down compare with Outlaw, but most are doable for you.
Let me know when your family is going to go there. I would like to join as long as my schedule allows!

Thanks!
Ken
 
Hey Guys!

Just wanted to say that it was a pleasure meeting you and a real blast riding with Y'all.

Jerry, Hats off to you for taking that KLR on loop 5. I promise, the last time I was there it was much easier. ;-)

Ken, Talk about fast. I have never seen anyone get that much performance out of a 250 dual sport. We need to make sure you never get on a full time dirt bike or you will be gone! :-)

Let's do it again some time soon. Check out our website at www.torchriders.org for upcoming rides.

Later,

Dave

Hey Dave, wondered when you'd show up here. There's an introduction forum, so when you get a chance, post up a little bit about you and your ride(s).
 
Hey Guys!

Just wanted to say that it was a pleasure meeting you and a real blast riding with Y'all.

Jerry, Hats off to you for taking that KLR on loop 5. I promise, the last time I was there it was much easier. ;-)

Ken, Talk about fast. I have never seen anyone get that much performance out of a 250 dual sport. We need to make sure you never get on a full time dirt bike or you will be gone! :-)

Let's do it again some time soon. Check out our website at www.torchriders.org for upcoming rides.

Later,

Dave
Dave, Welcome to the board. It was nice meeting you & the other guys and thanks for lending me a hand on Loop 5.

The next time I do Loop 5 the bike will be 3" lower and hopefully the seat will be dished out 1 1/2 " putting my feet 4 1/2" closer to the ground. It will be interesting to see how the Beast rides the trails with a lower center of gravity. Also, I plan to look into getting some boots & gear like the rest of you guys ware. This should help the ride as well.

SEYA
:sun:
 
Honestly Rusty, I am not sure why I didn't come out here sooner. Seems to be alot of content and a lot of great folks. I will post an introduction soon.

Hey Dave, wondered when you'd show up here. There's an introduction forum, so when you get a chance, post up a little bit about you and your ride(s).
 
Jerry,

Whe you are ready to get some gear let me know. I am pretty good at finding deals. You dont really need a whole lot.

Dave

Dave, Welcome to the board. It was nice meeting you & the other guys and thanks for lending me a hand on Loop 5.

The next time I do Loop 5 the bike will be 3" lower and hopefully the seat will be dished out 1 1/2 " putting my feet 4 1/2" closer to the ground. It will be interesting to see how the Beast rides the trails with a lower center of gravity. Also, I plan to look into getting some boots & gear like the rest of you guys ware. This should help the ride as well.

SEYA
:sun:
 
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