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The West side of the ET500 ride used to be much more open to dirt, but with the roads now all going through private land, that is not the case anymore. The second day from Center, through Rusk, all the way to Apple Springs is still intact and a lot of fun. It's that last leg from Apple Springs back to the starting point of the ride in Livingston that is no longer accessible. That whole Carmona Ranch area eats up all roads that connect the two, and there just isn't a way through, or even conveniently around that I have been able to find. Still, my two amigos, @danco302 and @grumpy48 decided to scout out a route once again. I won't waste time with a whole report, but instead just post some pics/vids of the day's frustration. Not all a loss however, as we did ride some pretty awesome roads, and indeed had a great time riding, but I'm just disappointed that we weren't able to find a route. Anyway, here you go:
The culprits: @grumpy48 and @danco302
Ran into a real washed out section that was closed off (of course, we dirt bike guys don't know what those words mean, right?). The far end where we started from was about three times as deep as this exit end where the pic was taken. Pretty fun!
We weren't able to come out unscathed though, as @danco302 ended up losing a front brake lever. What really slurps is it wasn't just the lever, but it broke at the perch! He had to complete the ride with rear brake only
Still some great roads though, so here's some examples:
@danco302
@grumpy48
@Rydah
One of the many gates we came across. In this case, it was at the end of the road, before it exited onto a highway. No signage at the start, so you don't know what you're getting into until you get to a locked gate at the end
We ended up just slabbing it down to Moscow and had lunch at Big Jakes. Nice place with some great food!
With full bellies and no hammocks to rent, we decided to head back to the trucks. I was able to plot out a dirt route back to Livingston (mostly same roads from the ET200/450 routes), and thus ended a day of very fun riding, but frustrating scouting. I hope someone else that maybe lives around that area will be able to find a way through, but until then, I guess we'll be stuck with the mostly paved way back to Livingston from Apple Springs. Until next time, adios!
The culprits: @grumpy48 and @danco302
Ran into a real washed out section that was closed off (of course, we dirt bike guys don't know what those words mean, right?). The far end where we started from was about three times as deep as this exit end where the pic was taken. Pretty fun!
We weren't able to come out unscathed though, as @danco302 ended up losing a front brake lever. What really slurps is it wasn't just the lever, but it broke at the perch! He had to complete the ride with rear brake only
Still some great roads though, so here's some examples:
@danco302
@grumpy48
@Rydah
One of the many gates we came across. In this case, it was at the end of the road, before it exited onto a highway. No signage at the start, so you don't know what you're getting into until you get to a locked gate at the end
We ended up just slabbing it down to Moscow and had lunch at Big Jakes. Nice place with some great food!
With full bellies and no hammocks to rent, we decided to head back to the trucks. I was able to plot out a dirt route back to Livingston (mostly same roads from the ET200/450 routes), and thus ended a day of very fun riding, but frustrating scouting. I hope someone else that maybe lives around that area will be able to find a way through, but until then, I guess we'll be stuck with the mostly paved way back to Livingston from Apple Springs. Until next time, adios!
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