Clayton, OK March 3rd-4th

[Photojojo]

I've been talking with some guys on KLR650.net about doing a Clayton run the first weekend in March. I've never been but hear it's primo riding. Anybody up for it? :rider:

I will be camping and will probably leave Friday and come back Sunday. Should be a good shakedown trip for those going to Arizona to make sure your gear will stay on the bike. :mrgreen:

[backspinnn]

I can probably go guide some of you folks around.

[Sleepy Weasel]

I can probably go guide some of you folks around.

If I can get the 3rd off, what do you think I'd be happier with, Chris? Should I bring the DR (that I'm still getting used to) or bring the lighter nimbler Sherpa?

[backspinnn]

The DR will be a great ride there, since most folks will be on KLRs most likely. The Sherpa would be less work, if you happened to follow me up some goat trails on the KLX. Your Sherpa has already been there once, and it went up some nasty spots that gave the KLRs ****.

[Photojojo]

I would say the Dr, but I've never been. I'm on the KLR and the DR will definatley go anywhere the KLR will. :rider: Just make sure it's past the break in :trust:

[gocatgo]

I'll plan on making that trip if I don't have a schedule conflict that I can't remember at the moment. :confused:
I'd be riding a DR650.

[Sleepy Weasel]

Your Sherpa has already been there once, and it went up some nasty spots that gave the KLRs ****.

Yeah, the headlight still isn't quite straight. :rofl:

[Langly]

Chris,

I'm in.. Any of the 5 W's known? Anyone up for some geo-caching?

Jim from Plano

:rider:

[Photojojo]

I'm thinking camping at the state park, but since I've never been I don't know if there is a better spot. I was hoping someone with knowledge of the area would chime in.

I would be up for soem geocaching http://www.geocaching.com/seek/nearest.aspx?zip=74536&x=10&y=9

I'm off today so I plan on checking out maps of the area before I go splorin some dirt roads later this afternoon.

[Sleepy Weasel]

I'm off today so I plan on checking out maps of the area before I go splorin some dirt roads later this afternoon.

:thpt:


I'm thinking camping at the state park, but since I've never been I don't know if there is a better spot.

Anybody NOT planning on camping and have an idea where to find a room near the trailheads? I've managed to get the 3rd off for this, but don't really want to leave all my stuff at a campsite.

Also, anything we need to know about fees, permits, etc?

[greengoose]

Anybody NOT planning on camping and have an idea where to find a room near the trailheads? I've managed to get the 3rd off for this, but don't really want to leave all my stuff at a campsite.

Also, anything we need to know about fees, permits, etc?


There are 2 motels in Clayton about 6-7 miles from the park they are resonably priced around $45 a night Everyone from the campground usually comes into town for breakfast anyway so it should be easy to meet up. I have never had any trouble with theft/vandalism at the campground the manager is a super nice bike friendly guy and lives on the premises he is always buzzing around on his golf cart cleaning etc. Camping is $8 a night and you will need to buy a $25 offroad use permit or risk a $160 fine (dont ask how I know) some of the area is leased by a hunting club and not supposed to be used by OHVs but Ive found this is only enforced during hunting season even if those areas are closed there are hundreds of miles of other trails. Dont know for sure if I will have to work or not, if not I will be up there.

[Photojojo]

Where do we get the offroad permits? I thought I saw a .gpx file somewhere once but have not been able to locate it.

[ilv2wheels]

I would love to go, and would stay in a motel. Since I just saw this today, delicate negotiations will commence. Hmmmm.... Should I wait for the flowers to get here 1st?

[Photojojo]

Ok I found a Clayton track here.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68254&highlight=clayton

Description says it should take the better part of a day to do 65 miles.:rider:

[greengoose]

Ok I found a Clayton track here.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68254&highlight=clayton

Description says it should take the better part of a day to do 65 miles.:rider:

Thats the 1st track I ever rode up there, the section North of Hyw.144 is oustanding :rider: . South of 144 look for the silver suck trail it is excellent and will lead you over near the town of Pickens which is a good place for gas, BBQ sandwiches, and sittin on the porch.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f237/a17greengoose/pickens.jpg

You can get the permits at any gas station or store in the area.

[klrno2]

Chris,

I'm in.. Any of the 5 W's known? Anyone up for some geo-caching?

Jim from Plano

:rider:

Langly ! :welcome:

I didn't know you are a member here.

Wish I could go, as stated on KLR650.net, but I'm moving outta Texas come the 1st of March...only for a year. Too busy packing to do any riding anywhere til I get settled in the new location.

New Mexico...here I come! :rider:

[Photojojo]

Ok here are some details on the Clayton ride. I want everyone to be clear taht I have never been to Clayton on a DS bike. It is very likeley that I will get lost at least once, but probably more. :mrgreen: I am a fairly new rider on a fairly old KLR.

Who
This is the list of people that have expressed more than passing interest in going. a couple are maybes and I'm sure some are waiting to see what the weather does. I mentioned my idea to ride in Clayton in a few different spots. http://www.twtex.com, http://www.klr650.net and the Texasds yahoo group so some of these names may belong to the same people

http://www.klr650.net
Greengoose
Krabill
Curtis
JimS in TX
Kasper
KLRaider

twtex.com (http://twtex.com/)
backspinnn
Sleepy Weasel
gocatgo
Langly
ilv2wheels

texasds
Jim Fortner
Ron Criswell

What
Dual Sport ride

Where
In Clayton, OK I will be camping at the state park just south of Clayton on Hwy. 271 http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Clayton,+OK
I called the park about reservations and he said he did not take any for tent camping because he had so many spots. I'll be there Friday to try and get a good spot we can all fit in.

There are hotels in town but I don't know anything about them.

I have a GPS track that I found on the internet I have never done this route but it's creator says it's 65 miles of all day riding with fire road and some trail riding. Here is the description of the ride from the poster on advrider.

You can expect the 65-mile loop to take the better part of a day, especially if you branch off on some of the many trails you'll encounter along the way. I would recommend loading the U.S. Topo (East CD) or Roads & Rec. map set into Garmin's MapSource so you'll be able to see land features and stream crossings.

I feel it's important to note this description
The terrain will vary from high speed logging trails to stream crossings to mountain ridges to tight woods to some fairly technical stuff that you may not wish to attempt on a big GS.

I will have no problem not doing this route if it proves to much for the majority. But I don't have any idea of where to ride up there, but we can certanly explore.

I would encourage anybody with a GPS to load the track from the advrider post as I have no idea of knowing how much slower I am than you.

Here is the advrider thread complete with photos.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68254&highlight=clayton


When
I'm leaving Sherman sometime early afternoon or morning on Friday March 3rd The first day will be just to set up camp and maybe do a little light exploring. Some have mentioned arriving on Friday. ket me know if you plan to do that and I will look for you. I plan on doing the GPS track Saturday unless someone has a better idea. Backspinn mentioned possibly showing us some stuff. :clap: Then on Sunday I plan on doing some geocaching http://www.geocaching.com

This lists the caches in the area
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/nearest.aspx?zip=74536&x=10&y=7

If you've never done any geocaching it's pretty fun. I will probably work my way in a general southerly direction to get home as I look for caches.

That's it for now. If someone has any other ideas please speak up.

You are responsible for all of your own everything. I will not feed you, bathe you, or dress you.

I'm going to post this in the three places I mentioned the ride so I'm sorry if this is a duplicate reading for you.

[gocatgo]

Hey Chris, thanks for the details of the Clayton ride. I plan to be there Friday, shooting for early afternoon. I will be camping in the state park as well.

If you won't feed, bathe or dress any of us, won't you at least wash and wax our bikes? :rolleyes:

[Photojojo]

I guess I could wipe everybody's....seat off after the ride. :moon: :rofl:

[gocatgo]

I guess I could wipe everybody's....seat off after the ride. :moon: :rofl:


Ohhh, I walked right into that one..... :oops:

[Sleepy Weasel]

I'll be happy to ride up with you on Friday, Chris. I managed to come up with another reason why I'm going to just get a hotel room, though. I'm thinking about testing my video camera mount on the ride up, and maybe swapping my still camera onto it for the ride... Depends on whether or not I can get off my butt and pick up gilk's throw away windscreen and fab a rock shield for the camera.

[Photojojo]

Cool, Backspinnn said he would be there Friday afternoon as well. I would like to leave before noon on Friday. Maybe around 10:00? Wait...I just remembered the last time I was supposed to meet you somewhere at 10:00 A.M....:lol2:

We'll talk closer to Friday.

Anybody else? We can ride to Clayton side by side like a motorcycle gang.

:rider: :rider:
:rider: :rider:
:rider: :rider:
:rider: :rider:

[Sleepy Weasel]

I would like to leave before noon on Friday.

Good call... no sense wasting a day off sitting around here to get caught in rush hour traffic.

[Curtis]

Hi Guys, I usually do most of my hanging out on the KLR650.net group.
But, I thought I'd drop in and say hi, and say I'm looking forward to this. If you've never ridden Clayton your in for some fun. This is the kind of place the KLR is made for.
I'll be camping at the park too. Will try and set up near the pavillion.
If anyone has name tags they can wear that would be great. I'm the worlds worst at names. I still call Backspinn Dennis sometimes. Opps! Sorry Chris.
I'll make sure and bring one of mine.
Anyhow, If you don't want to cook you can eat in town no problem.
I'm leaving Friday morning from Rhome and taking an easy ride up if anybody wants to go up with me. I think JimS is riding up with me. I plan to stop in Paris at the Kawasaki Dealership for a few minutes on the way up. Probably around noon. Will stay until Monday and take a little ride into Arkansas for grins on the way back.

See ya'll there.

Curtis

OH yea, you will want to bring a Camel Back if you've got one.

[gocatgo]

:welcome: Hey, Curtis. I'll be coming from Boyd. What time were you planning on leaving Friday morning? I still haven't decided yet for sure if I'm going to ride or trailer to Clayton - I'm waiting on some backordered bags and duffle to arrive for the DR. If they don't get here I'll trailer. Otherwise I'd like to meet you for the ride there. :rider:

[Curtis]

:welcome: Hey, Curtis. I'll be coming from Boyd. What time were you planning on leaving Friday morning? I still haven't decided yet for sure if I'm going to ride or trailer to Clayton - I'm waiting on some backordered bags and duffle to arrive for the DR. If they don't get here I'll trailer. Otherwise I'd like to meet you for the ride there. :rider:

Oh I don't really have a departure time set in concrete. I just don't want to fight comuter traffic on my day off. I do enough of that during the week.
I'm thinking probably of pulling out the driveway around 9 AM.

Your welcome to ride up there with me. If it's pouring cats and dogs then I'll probably trailer mine up there too. Got room for three.

I've got some panniers from my cross country cycling days you can use if yours don't show up. They're just hanging around in the shop doing nothing. So your welcome to use them if you need soime bags,I've got some pictures of them on my KLR should you want to look at them Just in case.

Curtis

[gocatgo]

Curtis, thanks so much for the offer of use of the panniers - I have tank panniers for the DR, and was going to use the Wolfman rear bag but decided on saddlebags and thus the current ongoing exchange.
I'll let you know about riding up, when i know something!

[Photojojo]

So you guys will be riding through Sherman?

I see potential for a hook up.

[Sleepy Weasel]

Curtis, thanks so much for the offer of use of the panniers - I have tank panniers for the DR, and was going to use the Wolfman rear bag but decided on saddlebags and thus the current ongoing exchange.
I'll let you know about riding up, when i know something!

I've been looking at tank panniers since my magnetic tankbag won't stick to the IMS. Which ones did you go with? I've only looked at the Aerostich & Wolfman stuff, and those were just online. I'm curious to see some up close.

And howdy, Curtis!

[Curtis]

Have you guys thought about building your own Saddle bags?
Here's some hard case bags I built over the winter.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c369/Curtis-J/Mvc-014s.jpg
I used some Large Doskocil Pistol Cases and made my own mounts.

Here's what my soft bags I used before the hard cases.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c369/Curtis-J/Mvc-002s.jpg

This was from a trip to Clayton last year. Way to much stuff I know. I wanted to see how it would carry too much. So I over packed.

Curtis

[gocatgo]

I got the Wolfman tank panniers. I haven't tried them out yet, I'll be using them on the Clayton ride.

Chris, I see the makings of a motorcycle gang to Clayton.....:rider: :rider: :rider: :rider: .....

[Photojojo]

cute girl asks: What are you rebeling against Chris?

Chris answers: Pavement man, pavement.

[klrno2]

:welcome:

Hi Curtis !

Y'all have fun on your Clayton trip. I'm looking forward to a ride report...from somebody..anybody...since Scott and I can't go, we'll have to live through y'alls pictures and words.

[ilv2wheels]

Well, the negotiations fell through, since wife was sick on Valentine's weekend, we have designated this coming weekend as best for catching up on us. :party:
I'll have to pass on riding this time, but I'll be watching for an opportunity to ride with you guys soon.
Thanks for the invite Chris, it sounds like a great place to explore. :rider:

[Sleepy Weasel]

It looks like I've got some other things I have to take care of this weekend. Sorry, I'm out guys.

Apparently the trick is for me not to post that I will attend a ride. That seems to increase my chances of an open schedule, etc.

[Photojojo]

Since the entire state of Oklahoma is still under a burn ban I'll be eating most of my meals in town. I will probably have some no-cook stuff to snack on.

[Photojojo]

Who's still planning on going?

[backspinnn]

I'll be there and I know Dennis and Curtis will probably be there.

[Curtis]

Who's still planning on going?


Holding my hand up!!:trust:

Will be leaving my shop around 9 am. tomorrow.

I generally get up at 5am. so 4 hours ought to be plenty of time to pack.\\

Rain or shine. I'll be there. IF it's raining hardin the morning I'll put it on the trailer. If not,,,, I ride....\\\

Curtis

yea, I just got back on line!!!!

[gocatgo]

Sorry I'm posting so late but I just got home. I've had an emergency come up and won't be able to leave town this weekend.:-(
You guys have fun and ride safe.

[Langly]

Who's still planning on going?

I'm in...

Jim from Plano