Re: Spodefest, one more time (part 2)

On Mon, 14 Aug 2006 22:59:53 -0700, HardWorkingDog <harvey@xxxxxxxx>
wrote:


The first part of Kelly Creek was a lot of fun (read easy) for me,
shady and cool, creek crossings to make me feel like I was doing
something crazy, some sandy berms, water bars to get an inch or two of
air. I was feeling pretty good, and suddenly there's a section of
Idaho rock city. It really wasn't that bad compared to what I'd ridden
yesterday but I still tightened up, let off the throttle, and stalled
the bike. Went to put my foot down, found a hole, and started to
topple over to the right. Unfortunately I toppled over directly into
the line that David had decided to use to get around me.

I wasn't too far behind you when we hit that section. I hesitated for
a moment, but you looked like you had it going fine, so I followed. I
saw you stop and again thought you had it under control, I eyed a line
just to your right that looked like I could pop over a different rock
than the one you were stuck on. Like I said, it was a great line until
you so rudely stuck your head in it... <G>

I got a nice
front knobby tattoo on my shoulder and felt my helmet take a good
schwak on his bike as he tried to get by. My camelbak tangled up in
his footpeg, otherwise he'd have made it past me just fine.

I let off as soon as I saw you going down, but by then it was too
late. Sorry...

I felt
like that fat kid in On Any Sunday who managed to get his head stuck
in between the frame and the front wheel of his bike, while the guy
next to him was rolling on the ground laughing so hard he almost
pukes. Anyway, David didn't laugh at me quite so hard, I got
untangled, and managed to ride through the rocky section on my own.

You got untangled after WE got untangled.

We went down like two dominos, I had to grab HWD's chest protector to
be able to lift myself up enough to pull my bike off my leg, caught
between bike/rock.

<snip>

We regrouped and headed down Bremner. What a great trail. Just enough
tricky parts to keep everyone interested, but nothing that made me
want to turn back. The bikes were running great--the jetting changes
were just right--and everyone was having fun. Jeff Wallace had
rejoined us at the saddle while the four of us had climbed the
lookout, and had the bad news that Fred's bike had conked out and he
wouldn't be riding with us. Next time, Fred.

I've never ridden with anyone that smokes, and it definitely gives me
an advantage in a tortoise and hare kind of way. Jim and David and
Chris would pull over every fifteen minutes to have a smoke, and I
could just motor on by. Well, Jim and David would still beat me, but I
think I could take Chris as long as he doesn't quit smoking :)

We joined the Coyote Creek Trail, and had some small sections of
interesting sidehill.

At the bottom of Bremner, we took a break, Ben had to chase down Jim,
this is the beginning of the South Fk of Lime. From there down to just
past the "ride up the creek" incident was the SFk., the section with
the "interesting sidehills" and the rock step-down.

After that, where you say "The trail headed up hill shortly after
that..." was where Coyote trail started, the sagebrushy section.

The SFk trail continues past this intersection, down to it's
confluence with the MFk and NFk of Lime creeks and Presidents in
between the two.

Go here, look at the last photo, a spliced panorama of the Lime
Creeks, taken looking south to north:

http://www.spodefest.net/rmd/02_snow/index.html

Bremner is just behind the text "Roanhide", basically running along
the base of the Iron Mtn. ridge until the ridge bends eastward, then
the trail goes pretty much straight down to its end. Coyote isn't
labeled, but it's between Roanhide and Bremner.

Grouse Butte is where you come out if you take Virginia Gulch up. The
NFk of Lime trail starts there. Blue Ridge trail runs southeast from
here to the top of Kelly creek where you found the MFk trail.

This isn't the best scan, but see if this helps orient the trails for
you. The detail just NW of "Deer Park", at the top of the MFk. isn't
quite accurate.

http://www.spodefest.net/rmd/images/2003/baum_south.jpg

The hillside wasn't that big, but if you fell it
would be onto some painful looking rocks, and then into the creek. I
kept my eyes where they should be and kind of enjoyed the whole thing.
We came up to one section that wedged between some rocks that everyone
was taking their time with.

Everyone was taking their time 'cuz I was in the lead and turfed it
about 15' past that rock, that stacked up a line behind me. I got down
the rock just fine but got too close to the edge and washed the front
right off the trail. Bryn helped me drag the bike back up on the
trail, thanks Bryn.

Now that I think about it, my OTE might have caused more concern than
warranted. It reminds me of the classic grade school exercise in
passing along a story and how each person corrupts it slightly before
passing it on. It could have gone back through the line from "David
slid off the trail" to "he fell going down the rock" to "he endoed off
the rock and broke his bike in half"...

When it was my turn I understood why. It
required you to ride a short uphill section, squeeze between a crack
in the rock and then drop down about 6 feet over a step that had one 3
foot riser. I got to the top, and did what most of the poor fools did
in the Enduro at Erzberg at Karl's Diner--I stepped off the bike and
walked it down. Not my proudest moment, but it worked painlessly and
took me about 5 seconds to descend. Swung my leg over and back on the
bike.

At one point the trail came around a blind turn into the creek bed.
The trail continued along the edge of the creek about 20 yards
downstream--you didn't need to cross the creek, only ride along the
edge to pick up the trail again. Dennis Kennedy was just ahead of me
and as he blasted around the turn headed straight across the creek,
hit a submerged rock and dropped his beautiful XR400 into the water.
He got it up pretty quickly before any water got into the motor, but
it took some time for me and another rider to help him get it back to
a shallow spot where he could get it started and head for the trail.
There's definitely an art to kicking a big 4-stroke, and I watched
mesmerized as Dennis slowly pushed the start lever several times, got
the piston just where he wanted it, and kicked it to life.
Unfortunately it was still in gear, but his technique was so pure the
bike lit up in gear, took off from between his legs, hit the same
submerged rock, and toppled over once again in exactly the same spot.

I never laughed once either. I swear.

The trail headed up hill shortly after that, and was probably the most
like some of the areas I'd ridden in California and Nevada. Dry, open
and twisty, uphill switchbacks and narrow sections through sagebrush.

This was Coyote.

Grouse were reportedly flying up and trying to out run the first
riders through the area, without success.

I only knocked it down, someone else killed it...

Jerry, Dennis and myself
found we were more or less at the same pace, and we kept each other
company during the last part of the ride. Pretty cool memories already.

We made it back to Kelly Creek, and for the first time in my Spodefest
experience I was riding a trail I'd actually been on before! Woo-hoo!!
I turned it up a notch, and rode back to camp, dirty sweaty and with a
big ear to ear grin.

DJ
.