Second Annual Pilot Jet Riding

Well, my second Annual Pilot Jet Riding trip is now in the books.

I was concerned that this trip might be a letdown after the almost incomprehensible trip I experienced last year. However this year turned out to have every bit as much flavor with a few new twists along the way with new riding partners and mechanical issues. 

The riding partners were an interesting mix of riders from very advanced off roaders all the way down to, well, advanced off roaders. These guys could all ride!

Paul seemed to be a bit concerned about holding the group up.  Believe me he didn’t hold anyone up except when he was stopping at the creek crossings to refill the radiators on his Gas Gas.  For those of you that may need to refill a radiator on the trail, try carrying and using a zip loc baggie as a water carrier/container. Paul did this on several occasions and seemed quite happy each time he did it. Something makes me think he has experience doing this sort of thing.  For me it was a lesson learned, I now carry a spare zip loc in my pack.

My next lesson came during a ride when I smashed my chain guide hanger on a rather large boulder just as we were nearing a summit with a look out post that affords incredible views of the area. I carry a stout set of pliers but  had to borrow a pair of vise grips to finish the job. The vise grips worked for clamping and twisting beyond what my little girly man pliers could provide.  So with that repair made (no chain guide) I was sent limping back to the truck by myself while Dave and Brad finished the rest of what I suspect was another epic ride.

Those guys were really concerned with me finding my way back to the truck, I could tell by the way they burned out as soon as I told them I would be ok. I spent the next 2 hours retracing the route back to the truck in 1^st and 2^nd gear since I was now riding without a chain guide. I had 2 goals on this ride and added a 3^rd on the trail. My first goal was to not derail the chain at speed or under a heavy load for fear of throwing the chain through my cases and ending the week of riding along with adding the expense of a catastrophic repair.  My second goal was to not get lost and have to spend the night out there in the higher elevations where it gets cold and dark!

Then as I rode along my third goal came to me.  Why not use the new to video all of this 1^st and 2^nd gear riding and do a little narrating while I had the time. Riding by myself with no one to say hurry up, making any dust or having to keep them in sight so I know which way to go in an area where I don’t have a clue as to where I am. Besides if I never made it back I was fairly sure they would find the goggles and  would be able to use the video to find out what happened...

Since I did make it back and shot over an hour of video on just that slow return ride it was not a wasted day for the mx43.com viewers. I actually enjoyed the slow ride back giving me even more of an opportunity to look around and use the Liquid Image video goggles to see and record some of the incredible views and trails.

The next day was a repair day for me as Vern (Dave’s dad) and I took my bike in search of a Heli-Arc welder to straighten and re-weld the broken hangar. I lost a day of riding because we had to drive about 80 miles each way to find a welder.  We had a good breakfast, visit and met some really cool people along the way. The Heli-arc guy, Byron, had a heck of a story to tell us about when he used to ride motorcycles, then he moved on to dirt track cars and then Bonneville for land speed record runs. That was one clever old timer! I never imagined those guys would go to all the trouble to move a motor an inch and a half to the rear to increase traction on a dirt track. That was one of many tricks he let us in on. He talked for awhile about racing and told more than one fascinating story. I really enjoyed having the chance to meet him and hear some of the racing stories he had.

Byron fixed us up and we were back in business with the chain guide repaired. He saved my week of riding since this was only the second day.

The next couple of days provided some of the most challenging trails and awesome views an off road rider could ever wish for. There were rain showers throughout the week and this kept the trails in an almost unbelievable condition. With those rain showers came a few lightning storms. On more than one occasion my tour guides Brad and Dave stopped and took a break under some cover until the lightning moved on. We were able to catch some of the lightning on camera and video so I guess their caution had merit. I was too inexperienced (read dumb) to know any better.

One day in particular stands out with the lightning, rain and creek crossings. Our group had grown to 8 riders on one day and had turned into quite a long day with people carrying extra gas in jugs and bumming gas from some that had gas tanks like the Exxon Valdez.

We had hidden from lightning during this ride, stopped to dry out after getting caught in a shower that passed over us and dumped everything it had on our group, then we did the fuel transfer thing to get everyone to the end of the ride. This ride ended up showing about 108 miles on my odometer.

Just toward the end of the ride we had to cross a creek. Well, creek is what some of the more experienced trail bosses called it. I looked at it and immediately took it out of the creek category and reclassified it to the small river category. These guys seemed to love to fill their boots with water for some reason!  I had long given up on keeping my socks dry a few days ago, but now I was more concerned with not submerging my air box!  So now I watch as the first few riders take their turn crossing the “creek”.  As I watched I decided it didn’t look too bad as long as I used my legs to keep myself upright with an occasional dab. That seemed to be the norm for the first 6 riders. A couple of close calls but no one went down as long as they used their legs as outriggers. Did I mention their boots were full of water when they got to the other side?

Now it is my turn as the 7^th riders across. I don’t have a really good feeling when I look across and every rider that has already crossed has parked his bike and is now standing on the other side of the “creek” waiting for the next chump, I mean rider. I then notice that a couple of them have their video cameras rolling and a couple of them are holding cameras. I am starting to wonder if I really like these guys.

I take the plunge with my legs out, a hand on the clutch and a little bit of throttle to make sure Big Red doesn’t quit. Things go quite smoothly and I think I disappointed all the would be photographers by making it with only a minor dab or two. As I emerge from the other side feeling good and lucky at the same time I now I have to park my bike to watch the last rider make his attempt. By the time I get my bike out of the way and walk back to watch the 8^th rider, his name is Rett, he has not only started crossing but has fallen in the “creek” and is having to push the rest of the way across. Rett rides a 250 KTM and it was submerged completely. I can’t wait to see the video. When he finally gets it across everyone is very helpful and willing to help him get it running.  You gotta love these guys.

He gets help taking the spark plug out, draining the float bowl,  removing the air filter to wring it out and then turning the bike upside down to pump the “creek” water out of the motor.  I didn’t know a small 250cc motor could hold that much water!  I think a lot of it must have been coming from the exhaust pipe which I am sure was fairly full.

So when all of this is accomplished and he gets the bike back up right he gets it fired up in 10 or so kicks. Impressive.

Away we go with only another 20 miles or so left to get back to camp. At the final split we say our goodbyes since part of the group is heading home the following day.

It was quite a memorable trip and fantastic riding in Idaho as usual. The new riding buddies taught me a few things and provided a ton of entertainment along the way. I hope to ride with them again and am looking  forward to it.

But the thing I am really looking forward to is my next trip to these incredible trails they have in Idaho and seeing what new adventures we encounter.

As long as it doesn’t involve me and a “creek” crossing.

See you on the trail and keep your socks dry!

#33

Moto injuries, sooner or later we all have one!

Recovery  Riding

Holy Crap! The last thing I expected to be doing was writing about riding while recovering from a crash.

If you read the last article then you know that I took a hard tumble on the last Baja 500 during my pre running. I was knocked unconscious, broke a few ribs and have some severe bruising that by all appearances went to the bone.Professional Stunt Rider - Do not try this at home!

3 weeks of sitting very still and not wanting to move due to rib fractures and swelling left me with a bit of time to think. Yes, for all of you wise guys I do think if I sit still long enough!

Then 3 more weeks of doing simple things like taking a shower, driving a car, making myself something to eat was the first phase of recovery. WOW, the things we take for granted every day!

I just began getting out and doing walks, trying to ride a bicycle on the road (less bumps) and riding the dual sport motorcycle on the street. What fun! 

I am being serious, we go about our business of practicing riding fast (which is a relative term at our age) and training for fitness by running, bicycling or hitting the weights. But when you are forced to do it at a reduced rate like I am with the injury recovery you seem to enjoy it even more. I take a little time to look around and see things that get missed when I blast through my workout.

For instance, I love to bicycle as a way to train for riding my motorcycle. But I am usually out of breath and keeping a good pace, well  guess what happened when I went out to ride my bicycle while recovering from this injury, I saw a bunch of things along the way that were pretty cool that I have passed by literally a hundred times but failed to notice because I was busy working out!

I noticed several things that I thought were cool ideas and vowed to bring the camera on the next ride just to capture some of them in pictures. I noticed signs that were very informative, saw decorations that were clever and attractive, met dogs that usually chase until I stopped to visit then they usually came over to greet me and check me out. I think I will start carrying Milk Bones in my back pack for some of my new friends.

The first ride or two was really discouraging because I sucked so bad compared to where I had been just a few weeks earlier. But each ride has been a bit better and the recovery is coming along pretty well although not as quickly as I would like. But if you are forced to try to get yourself back in shape after a layoff for a myriad or reasons, like an illness, family crisis, injury of any kind or any personal issues that may have kept you from working on your fitness don’t get discouraged. Use your  time to rehab at whatever rate you are capable of and see how much enjoyment you  get out of the small improvements that will come from each effort.

I started riding the motorcycle on the track at a slower pace also. Guess what I discovered there!  I needed to clean up a few basics that have been overlooked by trying to ride too fast most of the time. With my physical limitations I noticed that I was not doing some of the basics like sitting forward entering turns, having the leg extended, using the throttle earlier and smoother and keeping the elbows  up a bit higher had all become sloppy because I was trying to do them too quickly. The recovery riding on the motorcycle is teaching me to slow down while practicing and do things a bit more correctly while enjoying the ride, much the same as on the bicycle.

So I guess the best thing about crashing and getting injured on the motorcycle, if there can be a good thing, is that I have been forced to slow down for a bit and have my eyes opened for  me.

Don’t wait until you crash, slow down once in a while a take a look around. You may see a bunch of things you have been passing right by and meet a few dogs you really like.

Now get out and ride, I am!

#33

Baja 500 Adventure

2011 and the mx43.com Baja Team is 2 for 2!

It seems that 2011 is turning out to be a great year for the mx43.com/Fly Gear riders. We just returned from our second race of the 3 race series and brought home the 1^st place trophy in the Class 50 division for the motorcycles.  San Felipe (Baja) 250, The Baja 500 with the Baja 1000 being the last event of the year to be run in November.

It was a great week of pre riding, (well when is a week of riding anywhere not GREAT?) but also a good day at the race with only a couple of things that didn’t go  according to plan and those were quickly overcome.

Jim Dizney is rider of record and is recovering from a broken leg. His supporting cast of characters were Dave Potts, Ray Spore, Charlie Marshall, Doug Smith and myself (Eric McKenna). However since I had a mishap 2 days before the start and failed to make the start, everyone else stepped up and did everything needed to fill in the gaps. Awesome job you guys!

A special Thanks to Dave Potts since he was the one that had to step up and do my start section of the event. Just a little insight on the start of the Baja races that begin in Ensenada. The start takes place around 6am, just about when the sun is coming over the horizon and guess which way you head out on the bike when you do the start, yup, EAST; Directly into the rising sun. Then take the fact that since it is the start of the race everyone is still bunched up and the dust is so thick it is like riding through a construction zone that they forgot to water. So at times visibility is ZERO!

Since I was relegated to spectator status the only contribution I could make was to be a shuttle driver to check splits at crossover roads and pick up and drop people off and offer moral support. Sure gives a guy a whole new perspective on the race when you watch it go by instead of being on the bike as it goes by. I actually had a good time doing whatever I could but could have done without the hobbling around with a beat up body part, (broken ribs).

Boy did they step up! I believe the next finisher in the class was about 2 hours behind our time.  We did have a tight race going for the first 2 ½ hours of the race with the O’Neal entry until one of their riders had a mishap in an extremely rocky area and was unable to continue due to injuries. That opened the door for the rest of the race and it became a equipment/rider management ride. That is to say we needed to make our equipment go the remaining 400 miles and our riders do the same without getting anyone injured.

Everyone did their job perfectly and rode to an uncontested win on the Jim Dizney prepped, Fly Gear supported, mx43.com CRF-X 450 Honda. We were blessed with no mechanical problems and very few rider induced errors. I heard a couple of small stories but I don’t think I need to make fun of anyone that did such a good job of recovering  after running into a tree………..do they have trees in Baja?

I thought it was all cactus!

It turned out to be a good day of racing with the seasoned riders on our team, but with one new addition.

The new guy on the team was Ray Spore. He is a long time rider with years of experience in motocross, cross country racing, trail riding and event promoting. But Ray was our Baja Debutant!  It seems Ray is a member of the famous Dirt Diggers North Motorcycle Club and has been for a number of years. If you know your history of motorcycle racing and follow professional outdoor motocross then you know that the Dirt Diggers North Motorcycle Club (DDNMC) has been putting on one of the oldest and finest professional motocross events in the U.S.A. better known as HANGTOWN in Northern California for more than 40 years!

Ray wore that DDNMC jersey like an American Flag! He was grinning ear to ear every time I saw him. His wife Jennifer and son Kelby were with him and seemed to have the Spore ear to ear grin that must be a family trademark on their faces too. Somehow every time I saw them I got the feeling they were having more fun than anyone else in Mexico! They truly were a joy to have on the team.

Thanks to everyone on our team, all of our sponsors, FLY Racing, Hinson clutch, MTA-west, BRP, XR’s Only, RBR Mx, Scott USA Moto, Dirt Tricks, Acerbis USA, Baja Designs, ASV Inventions, IMS, Motion Pro, ZLT, Precision Concepts, and all of our support crew.

I will be ready for the next one and can hopefully make up for this one.

#33

CROSS TRAINING.....WITH A .45

When was the last time you did some Cross-Training?

We hear about it all the time but rarely take the time to really think about it or actually do it. Cross-Training (for riding your motorcycle) can be anything from golf to bicycling to archery to shooting.

I recently picked up a 9mm Beretta that I have owned for years but had not shot for a few years. I was lucky enough to meet a few guys (read Geezers) that shoot on a regular basis and they invited me out to shoot with them. What a surprise! These guys could shoot and none of them were under 60 years old! The Super-Geezer of the group is named Bill and he is just short of his 83^rd  birthday. Simply amazing.

Then there is Tony, Terry and Tom, all excellent shooters with Tony being exceptional in his weapons handling and quickness with a firearm. I am learning to watch Tony closely because I see things he is doing that I should be doing if I want to improve my shooting proficiency.

These guys are all very enthusiastic about shooting and enjoy being out doing what they do. I doubt they will ever be sitting on the couch complaining of having nothing to do. Truly an inspiration for kids like me.

So what I learned from these guys is to stay motivated, stay involved in something you enjoy and get off the couch no matter what birthday you are about to celebrate.

I also learned from them that I need to work on my concentration, focus and consistency, no matter what sport I am engaged in at the time. In other words, I sucked when I first shot with them until I did these things and put the pieces of the puzzle together. I will continue to shoot with them and hopefully they will continue to teach along the way.

Thanks guys, but know that I am gunnin’ for you!

#33

Trail Ride...Or Wood Cutting?

Be careful the next time you get invited to an EXCLUSIVE trail ride!

I was invited to go on a trail ride with a couple of buddies and that there would only be 3 of us. They said we would be riding seldom used trails that would provide us with hours of adventure.

Now I am not sure, but I am thinking when you go on an adventure of any kind on a motorcycle it means some really excellent riding. What I didn’t realize was that my “buddies” invited me because they needed help clearing the trails they wanted to ride on their little adventure!

We spent half of our time riding on some of the best hidden, underused, pristine trails I have seen in many years.

The other half of our time was spent moving downed winter logs, negotiating snow, sawing logs and cutting limbs and branches to make some of these seldom used trails passable. The riding half of our time was getting from work point to work point. Of course this did include riding some of the coolest and most beautiful trails that took us from one trail clearing place to the next.

We rode on trails that I am not sure I could find again and had to follow my ride leaders Frank and Larry in order to find them at all.

I had a great time and would be first in line to go again, it was such good riding and the clearing became a game and a challenge to figure out how to move the downed timber. Just imagine riding your motorcycle and throwing in a circuit training exercise course for a little extra exercise. I am pretty sure I worked harder and sweated more using the hand saw than I did riding the bike.

I had a smile on my face at the end of the adventure. Good times!

Thanks guys,

#33