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Barnwell Mountain

Yep. Sorry I didn't have something that would work.

When we were kids, our mini-bike broke a throttle cable. We attached a piece of string to the throttle and wrapped the other end around our thumb and just kept riding. I doubt that would work at Barnwell though.
 
Not a prob man, thanks for helping me and offering up the cable. Always good to meet good folks on two wheels.

Funny story- Last weekend I went again with my freshly replaced throttle cable. About 4 miles in, clutch cable broke! Hah! It was only 4 months old.

I'll eventually learn my lesson.
 
Spares are easy to justify when you consider the expense involved in getting to BMRA and the time wasted.

In the old days, we kept backup cables taped along side the in-use cables for the throttle, clutch, and front brake. It made changing during an event a lot faster. You also had to keep spare levers since the slightest bump would break them. In enduros, the first thing we would do at a gas stop was to adjust the chain and rear brake and then gas up. A chain would last maybe three events and rear brake shoes about two. With the exception of some amazing single track, I don't miss much about the past.
 
What are the ATV trails there like?
A friend is wanting to do an over-nighter this summer and he and one or two other will be on quads. And will I be too bored riding them on the KTM? :LOL2: Barnwell Mnt was mentioned as a good spot to go
 
There are some climbs there that will challenge any atv. And there are a couple trails that a supposed to be motorcycle only. It's been a year since I was there, but there was decent single track that should keep you occupied for a weekend. Any more time than that, and you'd likely get bored.
 
The MC loop (most of which is MC only) is 30+ miles. In addition, there are other trails available that you could string together and possibly get another 25 miles. We ride there on most weekends and have yet (10+ years) to become bored. Many people come to the mountain, can't find the trails, ride around on top, and then leave and say there aren't many trails.

ATVs trails are not organized into a single loop but there are many to choose from. Most are rocky challenging jeep trails. ATVs have many choices of mud bog type places in East Texas where drinking, riding double, and riding without a helmet is allowed. Thus the ATV presence at BMRA is not well organized. There are no mud bogs at BMRA and ATVs are not allowed on the single track.
 
these guys ride polaris scramblers, I like to call them "sport/untility" ATVs :lol2: not as sporty as the sport quads, but not the mud bog type of ATV either
They've ridden with me out in SHNF and had a really good time
 
The MC loop (most of which is MC only) is 30+ miles. In addition, there are other trails available that you could string together and possibly get another 25 miles. We ride there on most weekends and have yet (10+ years) to become bored. Many people come to the mountain, can't find the trails, ride around on top, and then leave and say there aren't many trails.

ATVs trails are not organized into a single loop but there are many to choose from. Most are rocky challenging jeep trails. ATVs have many choices of mud bog type places in East Texas where drinking, riding double, and riding without a helmet is allowed. Thus the ATV presence at BMRA is not well organized. There are no mud bogs at BMRA and ATVs are not allowed on the single track.

For those that don't know, Bud is likely the best ambassador that any group could ask for. Look for the guy with the permagrin and that is Bud.

The trail was recently reversed and remarked so the loop trail is much more obvious now.

I am working with management to come up with the data necessary to complete a new trail map this summer. I am targeting to have it ready for the fall riding season.

Right now I am stuck in a loop with the elections and upcoming annual meeting, never mind stomping out problems on development of our other park in West Texas.

On top of all of that my real job keeps screwing with my volunteer activities. :rofl:
 
Me, a buddy from school, and one of my teachers went out there yesterday morning. I ride a KTM 250, my buddy has a honda 125, and my teacher rides a vintage trials bike. We rode the MC loop and it was the most fun i have ever had on my bike in my life. I think we all agreed on that. It was tough to find the entrance to the mc loop, butr after that, it was all pretty self explanitory. In the next couple of weeks i'm going to get a membership and try to start going on a regular basis. If anyone wants to go, and needs someone to go with them, hit me up.
 
Glad you had a good time.

There was a good size group of orange riders there on Saturday.

I'm surprised you got by Leslie without joining already, but thanks in advance for joining up and supporting TMTC. We are working hard to improve BMRA and look forward to getting EDRA open this fall.
 
my teacher just rejoined, and we are really gonna do our best to be there on the work day. my teacher should be there all day, but i work from 8 to 1, so i'l be late. And i love my big ol pumkin
 
Great that you will be showing up after lunch. That is when they draw the short straw for all the heavy lifting that didn't get picked earlier in the day. :rofl:

Someday, I'm gonna bring my 200 back from EDRA and ride the loop at BMRA. It has been at least 3 years since I dirtied a knobby there.

We need to map the trails, and I am the logical person to handle that task since I am the guy that has to input the data into ArcGIS asyway, so I will have it back that way sometime this summer.
 
i'm gonna do my best to get there, and i dont mind doing some lifting. Gotta get in shape somehow hahaha. Im a tech at our toyota dealership here, so saturdays for me are pretty slow, therefor i should be good to go by the afternoon. Is that the only day for work that weekend? And is there any potential for some riding that day, or is it strictly work? I'l show up either way, but i 'd like to know if i could potentially use my bike
 
Most folks use their favorite mode of transportation to reach where they are working and the path sometimes deviates.

We have been trying to get an assignable list of real tasks that will help improve the overall condition of the park.

There is a list at the office and one that has some items of note on the TMTC forums ... http://www.tmtc.net

Wish I could be there, but I was there this weekend and am in Ozona starting Mother's day for the annual bird count there. I am going to try and stay home the BMRA work weekend because I have to be back at EDRA the following weekend.

I just thought stepping down as Presidnet would allow me to slow down ... yea right. :lol2:
 
OK, me and a buddy or two are planning on going to Barnwell the weekend of June 11th.

I live in Houston but I'm considering buying an annual membership because my dad lives near Mt Pleasant and I could possibly go riding some Saturdays while I'm up there if my stepmom watches my daughter. Is the 'buy a membership ride that weekend free' policy still in effect?

How difficult is the MX loop on a KLR? I have an DRZ that I'd rather ride but if we don't trailer there then it won't be fun riding from Houston and I can't carry my camping gear.

How's the camping area? Is beer prohibited at night around the campfire? Wait, are campfires permitted or is there a burn ban? OHV stickers are required, but what about spark arrestors (mine melted in the KLR exhaust).
 
i can for sure tell you that the KLR is wayy too much bike for the loop. Its super tight. My 250 is a beast in there. Bring the DRZ for sure, or you could ride some of the larger trails for jeeps and 4 wheelers. but as to camping and such, i have nooo idea
 
Yeah, unless you're the baddest mamma jamma on here you're gonna hate the MC Loop on the KLR. Plenty of KLR-able stuff to ride, all the jeep trails and whatnot, but you don't wanna do the MC loop on that bike.
 
OK....so how long can we be entertained on the KLRable stuff?

What about beer in the camping area after hours?
 
http://www.barnwellmountainra.com/rules.html

You'd be good for a day or two of casual riding on access roads and jeep trails.

I saw those rules but wasn't sure what "No public consumption of alcohol - Alcohol is expressly forbidden on all trails" meant. Alcohol is expressly forbidden on trails so is it OK somewhere else? I'm not trying to break the rules, just want to know exactly what they are.

What kind of trail is this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W6Wfp4-X04
 
Yeah, I saw that too on the rules. I'm not sure. Would be best to give them a call or make a post on their forums.

I *THINK* you can have alcohol at your campsite. But I don't know.

That trail is your run of the mill ATV trail at Barnwell. Lots of those. There's a few Jeep trails that have 3-4' (foot, not inch) steps that you won't be able to make, but they're few and far in between. The spots that aren't MC specific are usually geared towards the 4x4 crowd, which can make for fun riding on something like a KLR. Some good obstacles, ruts and hills, etc.

The single track is typically handlebar width, sometimes slightly narrower (lol). I don't know of any helmet cam vids of it out there.
 
BMRA and EDRA now have their own facebook pages where you can go check out pictures of the latest improvements, photos of the new cabins, or post your own photos from your favorite trail. I must say the pictures of Barnwell covered in snow are pretty cool and there are a lot of cabin questions answered with photos (i.e. Do the Cabins have their own bathrooms)

Barnwell Mountain Recreational Area
http://www.facebook.com/barnwellmountain
http://www.barnwellmountainra.com/

Escondido Draw Recreational Area
http://www.facebook.com/EscondidoDrawRecreationArea
http://www.escondidodraw.org/
 
Has anyone been since Jan 30th? We are planning on going this weekend if the trails have been cleared of downed trees.
 
Anybody on here go ride out there, or know anyone that does? Really want to hook up with some guys that do. I live about 20 minutes away and it's pretty much the best place ever, but all of my dirtbike buddies have either gotten out of it, or moved off.
 
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