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Barnwell Rides

Joined
Oct 16, 2007
Messages
736
Reaction score
286
Location
Longview, TX
First Name
Richard
I sold a my XR650R a few months ago and picked up a gently used '12 250 XCW and a 250 FreeRide for the wife. I've gotten some seat time on the XCW to get it dialed in at Barnwell and expect to continue to make it out there 1-2 times a month. Riding alone is a big no-no for me, so hopefully we can organize a few group rides.

If you haven't been to Barnwell it has plenty of trails for the jeep and RZR crowd as wells as a fair bit of single-track to keep us entertained. The hill-climbs will get your blood pumping and the rock garden, logs, and other obstacles will keep you entertained. Hope to see some of you out there. I'll post up next time we're heading out. Feel free to use this thread for same.

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Click to be entertained...

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We had some company there on 9/9, but no RZR's ever came out of them. One of the trucks pulled up while we were getting our gear on.

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Have to admit I get a little peeved just seeing those trucks. Never been there, those arrows left over from an event?
 
One nice thing is the trails are well marked. There's moto trails and trails for sxs/jeeps.

I spoke to one of the guys out there when I went trying to scout some easy trails for my wife and son. He told me "At Barnwell it's easy to make hard trails, but hard to make easy trails." He's right, that's some tough terrain out there. If you like hard stuff, you should be satisfied there.

Oh yea, and my wife is still mad at me because I "Made her crash" at the playground. :D
 
Never been there, those arrows left over from an event?

We found Blue, Yellow, and Red arrows. The blue seemed to note the "adventure trail" that rims the park. It's two track and could be driven in a RZR, but is a fun warm-up on a bike. There are also plenty of brown signs that name the trails with diamonds indicating difficulty.


"At Barnwell it's easy to make hard trails, but hard to make easy trails."

That quote describes the place well! As long as you're moving at a constant grade the trail can be flowy and smooth, but go up or down "the mountain" and it gets fun fast! Ledges, rocks, and gulleys will stop you in your tracks or keep you on the throttle looking for that 3" line that is smooth to the top. :rider: I'm taking my wife out to get some seat time on her FreeRide and want to have a "smooth" route for her. :trust:
 
Irish... The arrows are permanent. Bud or the board members usually changes the direction every now then, but they they are for navigation. Its well marked. They hold events there for 4wd, 4 wheeler and SXS. The trucks were likely from a demo. I have seen them layout trail and give guided demo rides there before. They occasionally close the park to everyone, but the promoter who pays to rent it out. Its marked on the calendar. Call before you haul!

The first time out... My wife hated it. We probably didn't go back for several months. I started her out a "blue trail" which is the adventure loop. It used to include some single track, but they just made that all yellow. We got to where we could make that pretty easy. The red loops that split off are the hardest. The diamond ratings are more for the 4 wheeler roads or 4x4 roads and usually reserved for the stuff that both go on.

As time went on I started her on more and more single track. Mostly stuff I know. Now we just follow the yellow trail and get as far as we can. I some times split and do the red. She has done some of them. Sometimes we get farther sometimes we don't. I have been wanting to start in the middle and toward the end so we can mix it up. Not to say that she doesn't struggle, but she is a trooper. I just wish I could get her consistently riding it. It has defiantly made her a much better rider. She wants to do it all. Its hard to watch her get unstuck or struggle, but she is determined. :giveup:

Hope to catch you guys out there. Winding down some house projects and hope to see you guys on the trail this fall and winter. We usually slow a bit in the summer, but ride often as we can the rest of the year.

I heard that saying about Barnwell and its pretty true. You can mix up the yellow and the Blue to make it harder when she is up for a challenge. To hard... it won't be long until you hit a road and can let up for some easy riding. It's kinda cool like that.

Hope to dust off the bikes and maybe the risk tool will work on my leaky seal for this weekend. The cooler weather and moist conditions have me itching to get out really bad. Also the we need the seat time as we might hit up the Callisburg enduro mid oct...
 
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A group of us will be headed there as soon as it stops raining and it's cool enough to camp. 2 or 3 weeks.
 
Vinnie.... It was mostly dry yesterday. It hold water pretty nice. Just the roads had a large muddy puddles in some of the larger low spots. Single track was nice from what we got to ride of it. Had a mechanical with the wifes bike.
 
Wife got out on her KTM 250 Freeride for the 1st time on Saturday and had a ball. Getting it lowered was worth every $.

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Glad she's happy, sure like that picture. Phone or camera?
 
Yup, Iphone 7.

More pics @DualSportDispatch on instagram.

Woodsguy. Exif detail here.
 
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Glad your wife is enjoying her new ride. We just upgraded my wife to a 200. She is having some teething issues we are trying to work out and tame it down a little for her.
Interested in your cargo trailer conversion.... Saw it on your instagram account. What size are you doing? Goose neck I assume from looking at the inside.
 
Interested in your cargo trailer conversion....

It's an 8'x18' v-nose bumper pull, but we're trying to be efficient with the space. The queen bed-over setup is above the shorty portion of the "garage".

A lot more info and pics on my TNTTT thread here.

Smugmug trailer gallery if you really want to see it all.
 
Great use of space! I wish I had somewhere to keep and work on something similar. I just don't right now, but this is my idea of a great set up. Custom to my needs.... Some day when I get a place with a lot big enough and no HOA that I can support a build like that. Currently working toward that.
 
We rode Barnwell yesterday and the conditions were great despite the downpour we received the three previous days.

Anybody interested in a Barnwell ride this weekend 12/15 or 12/16? The forecast looks to be perfect with temps in the 50's and 60's. I could do Saturday or Sunday.
 
I need to get up there but it's a long drive. Plus it's hard to drive past Cycleland since I'm a member and it's a lot closer, lol.
 
You're spoiled Rob with the options you have close by. If you decide to get a group up to Barnwell post it here with a little notice. I got to get going again before I molt! Days ending in Y are ok with me.
 
Well depends, everything local too wet and closed, so Cycleland is it.
 
Will be out there this weekend camping/riding

Thanks for posting up. We're in the middle of moving after our house finally sold - on the market for 2 years! The new place is ~ 12 minutes closer to Barnwell, so bonus there. We'll be up for a bunch of rides after February. Post some photos of your weekend!

What part of venus are you from?
 
Went to Barnwell last Sunday. Heather took a good tumble in the mud. Rear wheel went one way and she went the other....and fell trying to get up. I tried not to laugh and managed to not get in trouble.

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We're headed to Barnwell again this weekend. We're slowly learning where the other dirt bikers park, so hopefully we can meet some of you out there or post up if you want to join us. We're mostly riding the single-track at a slow-ish pace. :-) ...and at least we got going the "right way" on the ST trails. They ARE one-way!
 
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