<ride report continued from the previous post>
Early Monday morning, Jack and I took off for the TrainRobbers Trail
(also in the Ouachita Mtns, but a much friendlier and faster race
trail). Since I know the area pretty well, and was guiding, we rode
most of my favorite sections. <G>
After sampling a bunch of single track, we jumped onto the first
loop of last year's enduro.
Damnit! That is a fun loop! Fast and flowing, with lots of single
track and elevation changes.
Due to the logging business of the property owners, some of the
trail was now missing, but since I know the area, we were able to just
go to the start of the next section and continue down the trail.
We kept riding the enduro trail to the place where the long course
and short course split, then rode about half of the long course finish
loop.
From there, we went back through the "roller coaster tight woods"
section again. (Hey, I was guiding, and it is my favorite part. VBG)
After we finished that trail section, Jack said, "Why are you riding
so much faster today?" I told him, "I couldn't control myself. It
was too much fun."
We then rode cross country (read that as short cuts down the gravel
roads and some selected trails) to get back to the short course/long
course split. From the split, we rode 90% of the Short Course's
"return to camp" loop. As we finished the "easy way" across Long
Ridge, I asked Jack what he wanted to do next. He gave me the answer
that I was hoping for, "I want to ride the rough stuff." <G>
So... I led him up the Long Ridge section the "old way", which
skipped nothing.
To those who have been to a Wudi Ride at the TR, or have ridden the
enduro, this section is where the trail crosses the long hillside
powerline. (the powerline that goes from the highway over long ridge
and up Tower Ridge to the tower itself. I used to always stop there as
the trail crossed, to let the visitors check out the view. Long Ridge
is the section where I asked DDave (from upstate New York) how in the hell he got that Big Red Pig (XR650L) through the single track so fast, and he replied, "You're not leaving me in the middle of the Arkansas backwoods all by myself." <VBG>
Jack and I rode the whole Long Ridge section, leaving out none of the old
steep rugged parts.
It was during the Long Ridge section that the "Jim Entertainment
Moment" of the day's ride occurred. Thinking back, I believe that my
"tunnel vision on the trail" characteristic caused this one.
I was leading Jack up a moderate but rough climb at a relatively
fast clip (about 25 mph), when the trail up ahead took a gentle curve
around a tree, with the tree's roots all exposed and naked (of bark)
looking sort of rough, causing me to focus on just how I was going to
cross them. I was standing up and looking ahead (but not up), climbing
the hill as I crossed over the roots, grinning at all the fun.
I should have looked up, but since I didn't, my head was still
upright as the area of my helmet at the top of my visor impacted the
6" diameter part of the tree I didn't see that was perched across the
trail about 6' high. The impact slammed my head back against my
shoulders as my momentum carried me under and past the tree.
I went about 15 feet further up the trail, when all at once, I just
crumpled and fell off the bike.
Jack was behind me, and said that it reminded him of when a prize
fighter takes a hard punch, and then two seconds later, just crumples
up and falls to the floor.
It didn't make me lose consciousness, but I sure felt goofy for a
minute or so. After a smoke and a short break, we took back off.
Thankfully, this crash didn't seem to affect my riding ability as much
as Saturday's, so I was able to keep riding aggressively and having
fun in a somewhat competent manner as we continued up and down the
rugged terrain. If anything, I think I sped up.
At least, I had a witness for my antics. <G>
After we made it to the end of the section, we rode the gravel road
back to the start of Long Ridge, where we again rode the first part,
and then cut back down the steep hillside to the road between Long
Ridge and Tower Ridge (Turkey Trot Road). About a year ago, Chris
Butler and I cut a new way down off Tower Ridge to that gravel road.
Our new route covers the 1500' (elevation change, not distance) down
hill, completely in off-camber sidehill single track. It's sort of
funky. (I mean that in a good way.)
I led Jack up that trail. <G>
When we got to the top of Tower Ridge, instead of going over the
top, like the enduro traveled, I took a right on the old original
trail. This section hasn't been used in the enduro for at least five
years. It is covered in downed logs, rolling baby head rocks, and
"ice berg" rocks (where most of the rock is below the surface, with
less than 10% of the rock being visible) as it loops around the top of
Tower Ridge as far as we are allowed a trail to the west up there.
We followed that section until we finally got back to where the
enduro trail crossed over the ridge, and then turned right and
followed the enduro trail down the mountain and back toward camp, with
only one more extra side trip.
It was a lovely day, and put the finishing touch to Jack's short
"escape from the Minnesota sub zero weather" vacation. I don't think
he had a "real" crash all weekend, and I didn't hurt my bike in either
of mine. My neck is a bit sore, but not terribly so. It's a good
thing I bought those two new HJC helmets in December. I think it's
time to retire the currently used one.
Riding through the fast tight woods with Jack, it again brought to
mind that, at a race pace, I can jam through the "tight trees" trail
smoother and faster with the manual clutch than I can with my Rekluse.
I'm just smoother getting the power to the ground in those on/off
throttle super short sprints. (I don't break traction and jump
sideways as much under hard throttle.)
Jack and I discussed this a bunch on the two hour ride back to
Smackover after the ride.
My conclusions (so far) concerning the trial tire and the Rekluse
auto clutch are (keeping in mind that they are MY conclusions only):
1. When things go to hell, and one needs to walk along side the bike
to get up, over, or through a particularly bad spot of trail (or
non-trail), NOTHING beats having an auto clutch.
2. In rough, more open areas, like Idaho (even the single track
trail), the auto clutch is a decided advantage, especially with a
trials tire.
3. In very tight, very slow, and very rough terrain, I can negotiate
the trail with more competence with a clutch lever to better meter the
power to the rear wheel.
4. I can go faster in the really tight woods with a clutch lever for
the same reason. I can rev the bike harder and meter the power to the
rear wheel with the clutch lever.
5. For go anywhere, do anything, cross country and dual sport type
trail riding, the ultimate set-up is an auto clutch and a trials tire.
6. With the auto clutch, it is more fun for me to ride with a knobby
instead of a trials tire, when I am riding aggressively. The trial
tire has a more "uncertain feel" when breaking loose sideways and a
bit of unpredictability hooking back up afterward. (Although, the
trial tire will "dirt track" wonderfully.) The knobby will break
traction easier when it is hooked up, and in a more
predictable/controllable manner, and when it regains traction as well.
This allows me to "play" more in the woods. (Think "whipping shitties"
on a quad, or brake sliding a bike in the trees.)
7. No other tire beats the trials tire for "absolute forward
traction" when it is needed (except in a drag race in soft ground),
especially in the rocks and over slick roots and logs.
It is definitely the best compromise available for dual sporting and
general trail riding.
8. I can go faster in the really tight woods on a 250, than I can on
a 300. The 250's softer power down low requires less attention to keep
it hooked up to the ground as I gain momentum, allowing me to better
concentrate on moving ahead quickly. Also, the 250 seems more
comfortable revving higher, which prompts me to stay in the same gear
longer instead of shifting up, saving time in the tighter sections.
(I will soon be converting my 300 to a 250, at least temporarily, to
see if this is valid.)
Deb and I took Jack to the Little Rock airport Tuesday, just before
all the storms passed through, up there in central Arkansas. Since it
was looking like bad weather, we skipped the ADR's monthly club
meeting in LR and headed home. Thank goodness the tornadoes in the area bypassed Brock Creek, so we are still good to go for the Wudi10 Ride in two weeks.
http://members.cox.net/jejb/Wudi10/wudi10.html
Riding in Arkansas in the Winter is Great! Life is Good!
Come join me.
Good Riding to You All!
Jim
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