27-Sept-14 Lyda Camp Guy's Weekend
 

My bro-in-law and I loaded up first thing Friday morning and headed west on Hwy 6 to Lyda Camp. We hit a few drops of rain on the way out, but were able to get camp setup without getting too damp in the process. I wanted to get out there early thinking we might have an issue finding space for everyone, but it was empty upon arrival and we picked a great central spot with plenty of area for everyone.

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My buddy on his orange 300 showed up as we were playing cards and as soon as he had his stuff setup, we donned gear to get a quick rip in while waiting for the rest of the crew to show (another orange 300, KDX220, and old WR400). The 2nd pumpkin was pulling in as we were leaving (figures), so we decided to do an even shorter loop and head back.

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Came back and the rain started coming down, so we hung under the canopies for a while. Beer started being consumed and once the rain stopped, there were only 2 of us who could nut-up for another quick rip (lol). We threw our gear back on and went out for another fun loop. By the time we came back, the fire was going and the beer was flowing - and the whisky...LOL.

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After some good grub and way too much whisky, the brilliant idea of doing a quick night ride was thrown out. Not one of my finer decisions, though jumping on Randy's bike and doing a quick ride on his bike was a ton of fun - just for the look on his face...lol. Of course, one wasn't enough, so after parking Randy's bike and drinking a couple more whiskies, I jumped on my bike and we went even further. Shouldn't have pushed my luck, but oh well, it was fun. Everything was going great until we turned on a trail that had a whole bunch of slick clay. Lost the front and apparently created a tsunami of mud as I went sliding down the trail on my back. Picked myself up and rode back to camp - at least it didn't hurt right away...lol.

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Lots of Advil and some grub and it was time to ride. A few other guys bombed out to meet us for the day and all 10 of us hit the trails. We worked our way toward Brown's camp on the easy trails and had a great time ripping around. Some of the trails were definitely slick with wet clay and one pumpkin had a good off with his bike needing a lift back onto the trail, but nothing else happened. There weren't a ton of people on the trails around Brown's either, so that made it really smooth. I think we logged 37 miles or so and made it back to camp around 3:00. The day trip guys had to take off, so we kicked back around the fire for a few and decided to get another rip in - this time hitting some of the fun single track.

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The 2nd Saturday ride was awesome, up Tomans Knob and then navigating our way to one of the "new 2014" trails on the map called Bales Creek. This was a steep one, but a ton of fun and it put is right back at camp - perfect way to end the day.

Back at camp and time for drinks and grub. My buddy's tradition of bringing some nasty 40oz beer continued for the weekend and we all dove into some Steel Reserve 211 - high quality lager (lol). That definitely set the tone for the rest of the night and we continued consuming various beers and whisky for the rest of the night. It's a good thing there wasn't a family camped anywhere near our group of yahoos; nothing like some Swedish death metal to deafen everyone...lol. There was one guy solo camping and riding, so he was invited to participate and turned out to be a great guy.

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The next morning came way too early, but some Advil knocked the headache down a little. One pumpkin had to take off and we screwed around too long trying to shake the hang over, so Tom had to bail too. We decided to get in another rip as it was a perfect day; this time hitting more single track and making our way west toward Jordan Creek.

I haven't been on the top of Morrel's Maze before, but did so this time and it's awesome - can't wait to do that again. We hit Jordan Creek trail and followed that all the way back and then up the hill to head over for Benny Hill & Payne. Unfortunately, on the way there, the KDX seized and that was that. We bombed back to camp to get his truck, found him on Archer's road, loaded up and called it a day & weekend.

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Aside from the crummy end to that ride, it was an epic weekend of riding and camping in the woods. I'll have to add the total mileage, but I think it was somewhere around 100 miles over the 3 days - not too bad...especially considering how much whisky sacrificed itself for our cause...lol.

I still have a bunch of video to sift through, but here are a few of the highlights from the weekend.


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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1r1SwhhJe8k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODkVHh4n6Sk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4scjfAQ0uM