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2013 East Texas 500.... The muddiest one yet!

dannyboy

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Location
NW HOUSTON
First Name
Dan
Last Name
Finch
I had a blast but was soaked to the bone.
I just tried to post up some pics but PhotoBucket is out of order right now.

Travis did a great job organizing this.Thanks Travis.
Thank you to the ladies that drove the chase vehicle.

You made the right decision Travis. Weather says rain all weekend.
 
Re: September 20-22 2013 East TX 500 early planning stages....

SW-MOTECH Crash bars didn't do so well. It was traveling around 10 mph downhill when it got greasy and the front gave way.
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I had to bind the shifter out and up.

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The left should look a little like this.

The left foot peg bolts got striped out as well.

I had been considering heading home but after that I didn't have much choice in the mater.
 
Re: September 20-22 2013 East TX 500 early planning stages....

It was going pretty good, wet but manageable. Then we hit that 1/4 mile of craziness.
Thanks for all the help getting my bike back to the good road.

We definitely made some memories. Glad I'm not camping tonight.

I think someone else has the name clutch-less already! Hope the damage is not too severe.
 
Re: September 20-22 2013 East TX 500 early planning stages....

I had a **** good time today even with my starting problems. Thanks everyone for lending me your legs. One things for sure my scoot idles just fine. Travis, you did a great job of putting this all together :clap::clap:, it's too bad Mother Nature had other ideas for the weekend. There should be some good stories coming out of this all too short ride and I'm looking forward to reading them.;-)
 
Re: September 20-22 2013 East TX 500 early planning stages....

The South group was doing pretty well until the gumbo hit:

[ame="http://youtu.be/vSbCCcOmi9w"]100 0435 1 - YouTube[/ame]

If it wasn't for the hour plus spent getting the bikes back out of here, we probably would've kept on..
 
Re: September 20-22 2013 East TX 500 early planning stages....

Couple of pics:
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Re: September 20-22 2013 East TX 500 early planning stages....

And another vid, yo (assuming there may not be a post-ride thread since it was aborted:

[ame="http://youtu.be/25azyVhyfaE"]2013 9 20 Eastex Tow in mud - YouTube[/ame]
 
Re: September 20-22 2013 East TX 500 early planning stages....

Ok so the East TX 500 turned into the East TX 50 today. We logged about 60 miles in a torrential downpour. Goggles were useless in about 5 miles, water inside and out. I ended up riding the rest of the way at 35-40mph max with total Chinese eye squint. We were having a great time till we crossed the hwy onto 2565 and everything went to pooh. What started out as just slippery hard pack quickly eroded to 10-12 inch deep ruts and greasy adobe mud. With a little straw we could have built a house with that mud. Everyone suffered except for My6 who was the first one through the section. But while we were all digging out the mud and exhausting ourselves trying to turn around and get back to the hwy, My6 turned off his KTM and had total havoc getting it to fire again with a dead battery. After I made it back to hard ground I was able to bypass the section and find him exhausted from kicking the old girl. We traded legs and kicked her for about 10 minutes and when she did finally start, we kept her running for the next hour.

I think everyone was pretty well spent at that point, I know I was ready to put my XR440 back on the trailer and just drive home, but we had everyone's gear and tents riding on my trailer. We had to make a decision to either press on or tuck tail and run. After checking the radar on my phone and seeing nothing but red and yellow bands of rain as far as the eye could see, I decided to put it to a vote. 12 riders started the ride from Livingston. Five wanted to press on. The no's took it and we all slabbed it back for 47 miles vial 256 and 190. Although a little humiliating, I think we were all happy to give in to mother nature. I know I would hate to sleeping in a lake tonight. I wonder how much Toledo Bend will rise tonight from the run off...

This is what's called "A Perfect Storm"; a moisture rich northern cold front slamming into a tropical depression in the gulf causing both storms to stall and just dump rain at epic rates. I just saw the forecast and we are expecting to get 3-6 inches of rain today out of this system. I'm sorry to give in, I just never thought it would have rained this much.

I'm still a bit wired from the white knuckle drive home for the last 2 hours but when I do crash, I'm going to hit it for the next 12-14 hours.

Talk to you guys on the flip side...
 
Re: September 20-22 2013 East TX 500 early planning stages....

This is just before it got bad - if this had been the worst, I think everybody would've pressed on:

[ame="http://youtu.be/A6TVCOKXYjI"]2013 09 20 Eastex slippery mud - YouTube[/ame]
 
Re: September 20-22 2013 East TX 500 early planning stages....

It was nice meeting everyone on the ride. Thank you for posting the videos and photos, James. We two who "(wo)manned" the chase vehicle didn't get to see all of the mud and clay you guys struggled with out there today I had planned to ride my TW200 out there this weekend, but I'm too much of a rookie to have even attempted today's challenges. Travis, thanks for planning such a great ride...if only the rain had held off until Monday. I hope to get the chance to ride on the next East Texas 500. :clap::rider:
 
Re: September 20-22 2013 East TX 500 early planning stages....

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THIS GUY SAID HE WANTED TO RIDE WITH US BUT WAS AFRAID THE HIGH WINDS WOULD BLOW HIM AWAY. HE WISHED US LUCK.
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FIRST DUMP OF THE DAY BUT NOT THE LAST BY FAR. THIS MUD IS SLIPPERIER THAN OWL S**T
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MUD CITY
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Re: September 20-22 2013 East TX 500 early planning stages....

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WHAT KNOBBIES
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RUT CITY
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Re: September 20-22 2013 East TX 500 early planning stages....

KEEP IN MIND THIS WAS THE ONLY TIME IT WAS NOT RAINING.
LATER MY CAMERA GOT WET AND QUIT WORKING.

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BACK WHEEL IN MOTION --- SHOULD MAKE A GOOD SONG
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24 HOUR TOWING WAY OUT HERE, GOT TO LOVE EAST TEXAS
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Re: September 20-22 2013 East TX 500 early planning stages....

That is a bad spot. That clay be slick! What an effort to get everyone back out, there will be another day to ride. Just think of the story telling that will be done from this one.
 
Re: September 20-22 2013 East TX 500 early planning stages....

OMG..... I can't imagine riding on slicks like that, Oh yes I can.
If the smaller bikes had those problems what is happening with the KLR, GS etc.
Can't wait for the Northern group to check in. And are the two day riders out there this morning?
How about the one dayers?
 
Re: September 20-22 2013 East TX 500 early planning stages....

I've never known R-man to back down from a challenge, but he said that everybody's front tires were so packed with clay that they wouldn't turn anymore.
I wouldn't call that a challenge, more of an ordeal. :eek2: :rofl:
Y'all should already be moving by now but please be careful out there!
 
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Re: September 20-22 2013 East TX 500 early planning stages....

Check out Travis on the left... " :scratch: W T **** are we gonna do now?" :rofl:

Seriously though, had we known at the time that the northern group were having an easy go of it, it may have swayed our decision to go back. Trust me, nobody :shame: wanted to stop but it was only getting wetter and muddier by the minute and after the mess we'd just gone through we had to consider 2 more days of these conditions. You have that many get-offs, bikes hopelessly stuck and breakdowns in that short amount of time and it was only a matter of time before somebody got hurt. This was hardly my 1st rodeo but sometimes you just gotta know when to throw in the towel. :giveup:

:doh: Oh, the agony of defeat!!!!! :headbang:
 
Re: September 20-22 2013 East TX 500 early planning stages....

I'm waiting to see what the North group says about today's ride - wondering if they will even hit that same section - the road was actually closed on the other side of the mud, so they might detour around the closed road and miss that whole section.
 
Re: September 20-22 2013 East TX 500 early planning stages....

FWIW, it's probably not a good idea to tear local folks roads up. You're probably not hurting them in reality but the perception to them might be different.
 
Re: September 20-22 2013 East TX 500 early planning stages....

FWIW, it's probably not a good idea to tear local folks roads up. You're probably not hurting them in reality but the perception to them might be different.

I fully understand what you're saying, but in hindsight, this road didn't connect anything other than 2 oil field gates and one rancher's property at the top of the hill where the sign was. If we had known, if there had been a sign on the Southern side, we would have gone round it, and might be in Toledo Bend this morning and not talking about it right now.
 
Re: September 20-22 2013 East TX 500 early planning stages....

Just got up after a GOOD HARD nights sleep and read thru the post from yesterday. MAN!:eek2:

We had it a little easier, but it was no picnic. We started out in lite rain so I had both my bottoms and top frog togs on. But it was so warm I was hot.

The dirt roads were great but you had to watch out for those little slick red clay spots, especially in corners. Had the frt end wash out a little a bunch of times, but all-in-all the traction was PREMO!:clap:

I tried to keep a 3/4 pace (at times dropping to 1/2 pace because my KLR is just a big dog in the slimy stuff, and with the extra added weight on the rear end of all my gear, I was not so nimble.) and doing so I was heating up fighting the old dog. (Wish I had a WR250R!:pray:)
So, we made it too Garrison, about 90 miles in, with lite rain too drizzle back and forth the whole way. So I decide to take off the rain gear because I'm so freaking hot! Every one said don't do it and I should have listened. Because no sooner did I fight to get it all off, strap it all down that it started to rain hard!:headbang:
I hurriedly put the top back on and on we went. Almost immediately I started to get water pooling in my crotch, running down my legs and into my boots. SUCKED!:doh:
From then on I had no need or rain gear, I was soaked to the bone. The only reason to keep the top on was for the little protection I would get from the driving rain on the hwy.

I took the guys to a section I had added and have ridden 3 or 4 times (but always on the sunny days) just south of Silas on 415 out of Garrison.
Well that is when our "Fun" started.
IT....WAS....POURING! We got to the start of it, where the pavement ends, and I told the guys, (2) that we're with me, others were catching up, we need to scout it because the very first part is the gnarly part. So one ride took off to take a look. (sorry don't remember his name. came w/aanarchy) So when the other guys showed I said wait here we're going to scout ahead and I took off. Meet a truck on the way up trying to get out of the ditch. IT WAS SLICKER THAN GREASE! OMG!:eek2: And trying to go up hill!!! CRAP! I barely made it to the first tier on the hill side, maybe 75 yards. and turned around, got pointed down the hill and started. With in 5 feet hit a cross rut and went down in the 6 inch mud.:doh:
By the time I made it back down 2 or 3 riders had a go at it and didn't make it as far and had gone back. Beararcher had gone down hard and completely screwed up his bike. So while some helped him some off us went to help Scrambler who had gone out road and jumped the ditch.:rofl:
By the time we got everyone back on the road again we had wasted a lot of time and where very tired.

We went into Center to eat and gas up and to see what or next move would be.
Bear said he would limp on into beans and the rest of the group decided to cut a large size of tack to make an early enter into beans.

When we got there most took hotel rooms and that left me and bear to camp at beans with the south group.
Then I got there and found that the south group was not coming and the tail ahead was more or less impassable. And bear was calling it quits because his left side foot peg bolts were stripped out. He didn't have a GPS and so I said screw it, I'll call it quits, lead you (bear) out and get back home early to make some brownie points with the wife.

I did stop by the hotel and told the guys and that we'll plan it again some time in the near future. May be late Oct.?

FROM NOW ON SCREW THE HUNTERS! :rofl::rofl::rofl: Just ride faster! :rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
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