Filed under: Trail Riding | Tags: atv ride, dirt bike ride, motorcycle ride, off-road, Trail Riding
A few of my buddies and I have always wanted to climb to the peak of a mountain known as Dinosaur in Smoot, WY. We’ve talked about doing it since we were teenagers, in fact we tried a few times and never made it. As far as we know its has never been done before on a motorbike. On the 4th of July weekend my friend and I decided it was time we made it, no matter what. By the time we got to the peak we realized why it has probably never been done. We basically had to push our bikes to the summit. Not much of a ride, more like a hike with a 230lb pack you have to push. There is no trail whatsoever, just large sharp rocks and a bunch of deadfall. Although it was difficult, it was very rewarding when we finally made it to the top and cracked open a mt dew to celebrate! It could probably be done by anyone who is any good at riding a bike, but they need to really want to get up there and have a lot of energy/motivation. On the way back we dropped off the ridge too soon and we got stuck in a canyon with only one way out, by crossing a large river that was very swift. There is no way we could have crossed the river (I know this because I tried last year on my 450 and it sunk and nearly got flushed away) so we left our bikes and walked all the way out of the canyon to the nearest house and got some help. We ended up carrying a boat to the river and floated our bikes across so we could get home. Heres a few pics from the ride.
Filed under: Trail Riding | Tags: dirt bike, last man standing, Trail Riding
Late the other night I was watching the 2006 Last man Standing competition. I was stoked because it was on the Rush HD channel so it looked real cool on the large HD screen. I love to ride my dirtbike, but I’m really not much for riding on the track or doing huge jumps. Trail riding is where it’s at for me. This trail however, is probably way past most of our skill level. The trail spanned something like 37 miles across ravines, rocky terrain, man made obstacles and step steep hills. After you make it through the 37 miles you have a couple hour rest, then you do it all backwards in the dark. I think there were a couple hundred people in the race to start with, but only 9 or so made the cutoff for the second leg of the race.
If i ever did comepete in a race of any kind. I think this is the kind of race I would do. Something about flying down an arena track with riders flying everywhere off the jumps around or next to me just freaks me out. So i don;t think motocross is my thing. I’m a wimp I know, but when you have a few kids and a good wife, you tend to value your life a little more. If you’re any good you can get out ahead of the pack in a trail race and you’re in contention with a few good riders. Seems to be a little less repetative and intense, but it is surely a test of endurance and skill.
Trail riding is fun for me because it involves some technical difficulty (unless you chose lame trails that are just roads) and the trails usually lead to a really cool place. At least around here they do. So you get some exciting bike riding in, and in the end you might find yourself at a peak with an incredible view, or a nice lake to drop a line in.
Oh i forgot. The other cool thing I saw in the race was a 2 wheel drive bike. The front wheel was powered with the back wheel, and if one slipped, the other picked up the slack. Cool idea, we’ll have to see how that one pans out in the market in the future. Apparently you can get this option on several brands right now including Honda.
