Summer Time Mountain Ride

[k-dubya]

@KsTeveM - your ride reports get me through the dreary day as I sit tied to four monitors and talking to people with accents so thick I couldn't cut them with a knife ...

You're an inspirations ... and I'm a lot jealous.

 

[KsTeveM]

Load a calendar to one of your monitors and start penciling in ride and/or camping plans. If you can't do once a month, do once a quarter. No excuses!!

 

[k-dubya]

Load a calendar to one of your monitors and start penciling in ride and/or camping plans. If you can't do once a month, do once a quarter. No excuses!!

Soon, very soon ...

 

[Tourmeister]

All I know is that I need to do a ride and have Steve do the cooking...

 

[Big Bore]

Awesome report and pics. Thanks for taking the time to share them with us.

 

[Baja_Bound]

Looks like great family fun Steve!

 

[_RG_]

I have lazy hemoglobin. Little guys are too sorry to carry a proper share of O2 out to my cells. Maybe it's a union thing. Means I've pretty much always been short of air no matter elevation. My two cent theory is that's why altitude has never bothered me at all. I'm used to thin air anyway. Whatever. Dear wife and eldest son got mountain sickness in no small measure backpacking one year. Not fun and basically debilitating. I see those little oxygen bottles for sale. Wonder if that'd be worth trying?

 

[bwdmax]

I see those little oxygen bottles for sale. Wonder if that'd be worth trying?

When my dad was around 70 I took him on his last elk hunt, He carried one of those canned oxygen bottles with him. While it did not prevent him from being winded it greatly reduced his recovery time. He would get winded and need to stop especially while trying to gain elevation. Instead of huffing and puffing like the Big Bad Wolf he would simply take a snort of oxygen and we would be off to the races again almost immediately.

 

[KsTeveM]

I needed a scuba tank one day last week. Will get to that day’s reporting eventually.

 

[KsTeveM]

It was a new day in the bush, Monday last week. Many of yall were kicking off the work week, conference calls, meetings, your face glowing from your monitors. We were sitting around with zero cell phone coverage, drinking fresh mountain coffee and eating a fat breakfast contemplating the moves of the day. The Grapes headed back to Denver. We worked on some bike fixes. The Banana quad steering bushing disintegrated the day before and was starting to beat Mrs. Bwdmax around on the rough roads with a bunch of slop in the steering stem. We MacGyvered it a bit with a section of tie down strap to take up the gap and then shoved 14 zip ties around it. Hey, don’t laugh, it worked. The green quad was experiencing it almost as bad, so we gave it some love as well. Ride on!

Bwdmax and I went to scout some 50” stuff but it was just too rough for our group. We retreated and just went adlibbing up in the woods, 8 of us this time.

Everyone was enjoying the stuff that was obviously not traveled as much.

We went through this mud hole a couple times while exploring. BwdmaxJunior almost spun out.

I tried to find a way out, found it but it was rough, decided to back track for the group's sake.

We were making our way out of that zone.........

.....when my son was skirting a mud hole on the exposure side of the trail…..rear went out due to the mud which caused him to grab throttle and almost shot it completely off the side of the mountain. Good save?

Little team work and we got it righted again.

Went back to camp for lunch and then some headed back out again.

We worked our way towards a new zone and were settling into this track.

After the below cool pic, the Banana wouldn’t start, just dead, no lights, nada.

Bwdmax and I troubleshot normal stuff, battery connections, fuses, pulling on wires.

Tilted it up so we could easily see more connections, reseat plugs, just check things over.

It wouldn’t pull start either. We threw in the towel and went into tow mode. We got it down the worst of the mountain and on a good forest road.

Bwdmax supervised the towing team and I branched out taking our sons on a bit of a spirited ride. I remember thinking when I got to the top of a couple mile climb, they would catch up. I pulled over to rest and they were right there on my six. Dadgum, who taught these dudes how to ride?

We took a couple breaks and started meandering towards camp. I told Bwdmax our route plan earlier, he came up the opposite way and joined us for some evening fun.

Camp life. Triple rainbow that evening. Not too shabby of a day!

 

[LicketySplit]

bwdmax can fix anything

 

[KsTeveM]

New dawn, new day. Our group was shrinking as Gary’s son and daughter-in-law headed back for the real world in the Dallas area. This was our fourth day in these mountains and time for us to shift a gear as well. We could have sniffed out some more riding here but we wanted to see some new country and upgrade our accommodations to include plumbing. And Bwdmax and I were concerned about getting to see some different species of birds and butterflies. And the girls were wondering about the single track up north. We loaded up and rolled out at their insistence.

Originally had planned for phase 2 of this trip to be located in the Taylor Park zone. My kids have been on bikes multiple times in the mountains in New Mexico as well as played in the Arkansas baby mountains. And they’ve done several trips in Jeeps/Trucks doing 4x4 stuff in Colorado, NM, Utah etc. But they’ve never really experienced high mountain riding in what you think of when you think picturesque Colorado. About 12 weeks out I started pushing our group to get some reservations, I didn’t start early enough. The choice places were already 100% booked. We spent another week plus combing the web for something that met our criteria in the Taylor Park or Buena Vista or Salida zones…..nice cabin, plenty of beds, privacy, quiet, outdoor hangout space, room for both trucks/trailers and can ride to trails from said cabin. Never could quite get the perfect place. Things that were coming close were going to have us riding in more high desert situations like Texas Creek or Four Mile Recreation areas. Not bad riding, but also not high mountain riding. And these pimped out cabins/houses weren’t cheap. We shifted a gear and settled on a cute little RV park in South Fork that had little cabins at decent prices with riding ability from the cabin (City of South Fork requires you to have insurance on your quads/SxS, non plated bike and charges $10 for a pass). On the way to South Fork, we did a chevy chase stop of the Royal Gorge outside of Taos. I didn’t hang out long on the bridge with my daughter, I don’t like heights, especially man made.

We landed at Grandview RV park and cooled our jets for the rest of the night just enjoying visiting with each other and doing a bit of people/rig watching at camp. Cooked some more steaks and got a campfire going at the community hangout. The following day had some surprises in store for us. Hang tight cuzzins.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Wait, I thought Steve-O was fearless. All it takes is a tall bridge though. Huh. Whodathought?

 

[bwdmax]

bwdmax can fix anything

I don't know about that but i ain't skeered to tear into it. The banana is still in the trailer awaiting an investigation. I'm just glad it was the last ride it was needed for and I didn't have to spend any real time trying to get it going for the remainder of this trip. My son and his wife leaving meant my wife could change horses in the middle of the race. The banana was acquired just two weeks before this trip so my wife and daughter-in-law didn't have to take turns riding. I found it on Facebook market place for a bargain price about ten miles from my house. It belonged to a man that had passed away and had been sitting for three years in a barn. His son who was about my age had put new tires, new battery and changed the oil and put fresh gas in it. It would run but extremely rough and wouldn't idle. We had a little negotiation on the already low price and I took it home and showed it about an hour of love then rode the snot out of it on and off the next few days. I pronounced it good to go...Who takes a machine that they have no history with that has been sitting for three years to the mountains for a family vacation? There is a reason my wife's ring tone when i call her is the theme song for Sanford and Son.

 

[bwdmax]

Wait, I thought Steve-O was fearless. All it takes is a tall bridge though. Huh. Whodathought?

I almost captured a pic of Stevo in a rare moment. I just wasn’t fast enough. I’m not sure what happened, he was right there arm in arm with his daughter then poof he was gone.

 

[SpiritAtBay]

Steve-O said, “Some folks don’t get that northern New Mexico is pretty nice in it’s own right.”

Let’s just keep that to the TWT fam, alright?

 

[Tourmeister]

Old farts have to stand up the ATV in order to "see things better"

I guess they've had a problem with people jumping off the bridge!? I've never seen a phone quite like that!

 

[KsTeveM]

I guess they've had a problem with people jumping off the bridge!? I've never seen a phone quite like that!

I tried to use it....immediately heard a recording of George Clooney saying everything is going to be ok.

 

[Tourmeister]

I tried to use it....immediately heard a recording of George Clooney saying everything is going to be ok.

Should have been the song from the Lion King...

 

[gixxerjasen]

Should have been the song from the Lion King...

If it's going to be music, it should be that song from Van Halen.




Too far? Cross the line?

 

[KsTeveM]

I didn't buy the album but bought a used cassette tape, I think at a Hastings store in the late 80s in San Antonio? Later bought the CD in the mid 90s. And now I pay a Spotify subscription to be able to listen to the same album. Twas a good one.

 

[KsTeveM]

Alright, settle in, get some coffee or some popcorn. It was going to be a boy’s day out and I was jonesing to get out and ride. The girls wanted to do some shopping/sightseeing around the various little towns in the area. They sized up South Fork, Del Norte and Creede. Seemed like they had a good day. The boys....TBD.

The boys…..“We’ll see you whenever we see you!” I mean goodbye sweetie, yall have fun. And yes, I know, take care of your boy. Doesn’t matter if I come back at all, just him. Got it. No we aren’t going to do anything too hard or single track. We headed out into the bush, just me, my son Trey and Bwdmax….beelining for some single track. Wanted to see if T-rey could handle a less than wonderful time….at times. Builds skills, endurance, character….I call it hackability. Makes a huge difference to keep a level head and problem solve. I think it is a combination of the way you are wired along with how you are raised and what is learned/accepted behavior….that produces results. Headed out on pavement with my son in between us and found the trail head (would have been helpful if it was called the trail foot, more on that later).

It was bliss for several miles. Not too taxing, just enough technical to keep you on your toes, yet still flowy.

It was in here that my son got his first exposure to single track switchbacks. It is an acquired skill set and crazy how different it is going left, going right…..and going up vs. going down. Trey had some success and some learning moments.

We gave him some pointers. And then on the very next downhill switchback to the right, Bwdmax showed him how not to do it. On purpose no doubt. That is his level of commitment! P.S. downhill right Zs are typically what get folks. That right foot wants to touch terra firma vs. being on the rear brake. Get going a little too fast for the corner and throws you off your game. I've been known to just shut the bike off on bad ones. Use the clutch out as my rear brake.

We rocked along for more perfect single track in perfect weather, perfect conditions, no dust, no mud….heavenly.

Just some exposure here and there but nothing off the chart. Pay attention, steady as she goes.

I was feeling super proud of my son. I was worried it was going to be too much for him in places but it really wasn’t, little dude was getting it done!! Other than riding around our family property, this summer trip was his first real ride on a full size bike in the bush. I had already seen him do really well in Sipapu on everything I threw at him earlier in the week, but I knew this was another level of riding today.

He has been on several national forest type rides but always on little bikes as he progressed through different models….Z50, CRF110, CRF125, CRF150. And I purposely cut some hard trails on our family property that no doubt helped prepare him for this day. For this trip, he went directly from a CRF150 to my old 500. It’s what we already owned and it is the bike I want him riding on my big trips with me as soon as he is able and legal….well at least able. I geared it low at 13/52 and turned him loose this trip, hoping for the best. For a 14 year old, I was thinking he is doing excellent.

We did the manly 500 hug and continued on. Yes, you too can receive hugs if you get a 500 and follow us into the breach. We also did a group prayer here, something was tugging at me, so we just did it. Foreshadowing?

Trail was getting a little worse but not awful. We had some creek crossings, some log jumps, some log moves, some log go arounds, some log lift ups. Typical stuff.

We hit a fork in the road, the trail that went west was hikers/horses only. We went right (later known as up), even though it looked rough. How bad can it get?

 

[bwdmax]

Just a little observation I had made: Just before the beautiful meadow where the 500 hug happened I had noticed the only sign of trail use was horse tracks. We then came to the fork and all of the horse tracks whet left. I'm sure they just want to get away from those pesky motorized machines....

 

[KsTeveM]

Trail was definitely deteriorating. I want to say we didn’t notice, but we did. We were having to help each other here and there and it was already wearing on me. The heaving and hoeing of the bikes, pushing, pulling, hiking up and down etc. I shook it off, situation normal….it’s up hill, roots, rocks, boulders, single track, I’m over 50, not in my best shape, we are above 10K, wrestling 500s.

We push on. A funky creek crossing/funky rock takes Trey down. I was in the back most of the day so far doing GoPro stuff so I had the luxury of seeing what went wrong and got to make adjustments. Better for me not to go down, uses quite a bit of energy to get righted and I was already feeling the effects.

We got this. Then a storm blew up on us. Hard rain, thunder, lightning, some hail….now the trail was wet to boot….and our socks were wet in our boots. Hindsight, should have turned around at this point. I thought about it, but I figured we were over half way and how much worse can it get? How much more elevation gain can there actually be? I had no idea we would end up climbing about 3K feet on this track and top out over 11K. We push on, turning around is for weenies.

Around in here I got in the front. Two fold, I could scout things and guide/show my son tire placement, as well as I wasn’t my normal self. Still accepting the challenge but I was starting to feel really funny, not hitting on all cylinders. But there was something special about this day/the three of us scratching this trail out.

These next two pics….shows me playing mental games with myself trying to stay positive and I like the one of Gary, facial expression and body language…..you can tell we weren’t about to be served any caviar.

In places the trail was getting hard to see, overgrown, couldn’t see the rocks for the weeds….tuck your boots in tight I told the gang. I was thinking about my toes. It took 4 months for my toe nails to fall off from my Utah run last October. 5 more months for them to grow and get long enough to need a trim. You will be happy to know I am back in the swing of things with my foot modeling and this trip I was wearing my Gaerne Fastback Enduro boots. And luckily no big hits to our feet this day. Might have had something to do with the little prayers I said now and then asking to keep us safe. That and the Colorado riders that cut the trails and try to keep up with them….thanks fellow riders!!

The rain got worse. We are soaked. The trail is soaked, acting more like a run off than a trail. I was worried one of us would slip off the trail on the exposure sections.

There was no evidence that I could see that dirt bikes had been through here any time recently. It was mostly boulders and erosion. Being first, I pulled the rabbit out of the hat and made some of the obstacles. My son…..he was doing unbelievably well considering, plenty of grown men wouldn’t have pulled off what I was seeing him accomplish.

We took a break and all went to the creek to splash cold water on our bodies. This always helps me in a big way. Big units need cooling off.

Onward. I made another obstacle and was laying my head on my handlebars trying to keep my fuzzy head together and not throw up. I would listen to their bikes and if I knew they needed me, I would dismount, lay my bike on the ground and go back. On one such occasion, my hands were so wet and slick I could not get my iphone to open, I missed catching my son do an epic loop out. Bike popped up, I’m staring at the skid plate in the air, you hear the under-fender crack as the bike shoots straight up in the air for some hang time…..then came down horizontal like a flap jack. Trey was standing there upright with a bewildered look on his face like what in the wide world of sports just happened….and is my Dad going to yell at me? The below pic was right after. No yelling, just shaking my head while smiling. “Now you know why I didn’t put you on my new 450 home slice!!”

My condition was getting worse as we pressed on. I don’t recall ever feeling this poorly from exertion. High School track doing the second lap on a 800, maybe some sub 12 minute 2 mile runs in the Army were close, but this felt worse. I was nauseous, no energy, vertigo like. Sometimes my peripheral vision was going kind of black/grey. I had to do several all stops and just rest my head on my handlebars or even just lay on the ground. My breathing was labored, had to concentrate on it to slow it down and had to slow down my physical movements to match.

But nobody was going to rescue us or get our bikes off the trail. I tried my hardest to make the obstacles so Gary and Trey didn’t have to mess with me….and I didn’t have to help mess with me/my bike. Then I would just lay there and listen to them battle it with my eyes closed. If they made it, we all laid there. If they didn’t, I went back and helped with short bursts, then rest. Repeat.

I almost looped out here......easy big fella!!

We tried to get Trey to ride/get his front tire at least on the up side of the obstacles, then push/pull it up the rest of the way. By the time Gary got to an obstacle, things were pretty slimed out. He was also geared slightly higher than we were and had dual sport tires vs. our full on knobs. We just had to gang up on the bikes together, pulling, pushing, clutching. I was best used on a bike, doing a bull/china closet act pulling up on the bars and bulldogging it as Trey pulled, Gary pushed. I remember thinking in my fog that if it was just me and Gary, I don’t think we could have made it, we needed a third man. And the 14yo was more than towing the line, without complaint, no negative body language, no temper tantrums, helping himself, helping us, just solid effort. Truly impressive. He did crack some old man jokes here and there. Par for the course, he is my son. If you want to get made fun of….and get 500 hugs, come ride with us.

This system was working. Slowly but surely. And it stopped raining. We did an all stop, I found a Gu pack in my backpack. Gary dug out some awful tasting big sweetheart type looking deals that are meant to go in a water bottle. I just sucked on it, fighting throwing up as it did a gross bitter fizzy thing in my mouth. I didn’t let myself spit it out or throw up, I didn’t want to lose any liquids, my water was running low at this point and I didn’t know how much longer we were going to be in this situation. My 3L bladder was full to start out a few hours earlier. We had gone like 8 miles.

I finally climb out of the worst of the canyon and get a glimpse of a high meadow. I just crawled off the bike and laid on the ground. Now I was cramping up in one leg in my thigh. I have never cramped like that in a thigh, just calf muscles. This felt more like a sharp pain, like a knife, not a cramp. I was actually getting a little worried at this point about what was going on with me. Remain calm, rest, hydrate. I laid there some more. The boys weren’t up top yet. I could hear my old 500 getting a work out like a grown man that knew what he was doing on the throttle, timing the forward/rocking back/forward while modulating the clutch….then it got louder and my little dude showed up. Dadgum it, I knew he was getting good but this is next level. I’m telling you, many a grown man would have thrown in the towel, sucked their thumb, hiked out and called their Mommy just to hear their voice.

I’m laying on the ground with my helmet on taking inventory. I asked Trey if Gary needed help. He replied kind of cheery, no I’m fine. No dingus, where is Gary? Oh, my bad. Off he went on foot to the noisy 5Hundy down below giving it what for. They finally show up together, Gary isn’t feeling sick but he is completely waxed and talking about the power of mullets in biblical times. We rest again.

I must have eventually felt slightly better as I triaged my son’s rear fender with some zip ties I had on my bars…and had the where with all to take a pic . The rest of the trip, that zip tie wagged like a dog’s tail ha ha. It’s the little things. More to come…..

 

[gixxerjasen]

Caption time:
"I'm miserable, but knowing that everyone else is miserable sure does put a smile on my face."