Going out with Sue, and Katy, and...

I will. I have not done so yet.

I was in NC near lake Fontana at the weekend. It was good and i spent time looking around for dirt roads. Found a lot, but most of them had barriers across. Shame.

I rode over to the dam and around which was great, although all on the tarmac.

Since the East Tennessee Advriders whetted my appetite for dirt riding, I met with them on Friday to do some exploring in Cherokee National Forest. Two guys from Indiana showed up on DR350s ready to ride.

I was trying a Go Pro and debated between taking pics and video. Well, I did none of those very well so bear with me while I get better

Here's Adam from Indiana



And here's fellow inmate Nick (Nickgindy)



Rick on the sexy orange and Chris on the DRZ



Gary on the other DR350



Shane, the true Adventure Rider (not Advrider) on the KLX250



Dennis (do not let the grey hair fool you) with his DRZ400E



Trying to get the hang of the camera while following Dennis doesn't make for good pics



The pics don't get any better while stopped





Never thought that orange would give me a woody but that 350 is damn sexy!!



We stopped by this cabin owned by Shane's family.



He grew up riding those trails so he would show us around.

Rick saw me eyeing his bike so much that he offered to let me ride it. I said no, of course but he wouldn't have it any other way Here we are a moment before I rode for the first time a real dirt bike



His bike has a rekluse clutch, which I didn't really get in the beginning. That plus the fear of dropping his bike led me to a conservative ride. Here's the lengthy video as I haven't been able to edit them on my chromebook

<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="640" height="480" src="https://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/3176659391_CpWSPp5?width=640&height=480&albumId=38442662&albumKey=mN5W2r"></iframe>

It was awesome!!! That felt totally different and wicked in a good way. Here's when we stopped and he gave me back my non-turning bike



We went up the mountain on some single track with some open spots



On this hill the bike started fighting me. Since the speed was lower I started noticing how hard the clutch was. I thought I was tired or getting arm-pumped but after a while I stopped to check and I had no slack at the lever. Pulled the tools out but couldn't get it well adjusted so we got a little slack and carried on.

Here are a few more random pics







We went up a typical hill that looks flat in the pics. It took me a second try to climb it after getting a bit more speed this time (first gear wheelies are better when done on purpose)



Shane kept saying that there was a little bit of a hill to climb and I actually believed him the first few times.

Pretty soon everything looked like this





At this point, it was clear something was wrong with my clutch. It started slipping and the initial ride flow became a jerky movement that had me very, very tired trying to throw around Sue's almost 400 pounds.



We'd get a break once in a while like this



Dennis was always cool, calm and collected



We stopped for a long break (I was wasted) and Nick's t-shirt seemed very appropriate



I kind of wanted to decide that the hard part was over and there was only a bit of a hill (Shane's words) to climb, but this time my bike wouldn't go. There was no return on the clutch arm by the basket so this bungee cord helped a bit



Shane is a great rider and tried to get the bike up, but we ended up killing the battery and the real fun started. We had to push the bike up the hill. I may be off but I think it was like 200 yards on an off camber trail. That was hard. At the top of the hill we got the bike started with a bike to bike battery tender jumper wire that Chris made.

The ride back was kind of depressing with the clutch slipping real bad, but the memories of the ride kept the grin on my face. Here's my bike dropped off at Moto Vicious



Here are the go pro videos, long and unedited. Sorry for the crappy post

<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="640" height="480" src="https://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/3177781769_c8zm5HN?width=640&height=480&albumId=38442662&albumKey=mN5W2r"></iframe>

<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="640" height="480" src="https://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/3177781769_c8zm5HN?width=640&height=480&albumId=38442662&albumKey=mN5W2r"></iframe>

<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="640" height="480" src="https://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/3177781769_c8zm5HN?width=640&height=480&albumId=38442662&albumKey=mN5W2r"></iframe>

<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="640" height="480" src="https://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/3177781769_c8zm5HN?width=640&height=480&albumId=38442662&albumKey=mN5W2r"></iframe>

<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="640" height="480" src="https://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/3177781769_c8zm5HN?width=640&height=480&albumId=38442662&albumKey=mN5W2r"></iframe>

I thought long and hard about that last ride and figured I needed a lighter bike. Given my limitations as a rider, I know that following dirt bikes on these trails with a heavy bike is a chore.

To make the story short, the opportunity presented itself with a good deal and with the help of my wife, I jumped on the Orange wagon

Sue will be listed for sale here as soon as I get it back with the new clutch installed and I have to re-title this thread to include Katy M. Note to self, don't commit to names when being bike-promiscuous.

Here's my sexy bomb in need of some armor

Nice write up Ricardo, nice KTM too! Always enjoy your write ups.

Thanks Rob

Hell yeah Ricardo! Nice bike!

Hey Pete, she's the bomb. I'm excited. I can't wait to take it to the trails

Let us know. I look forward to riding!

Sue didnt last very long.

Good report, Nice bike!

Hey Todd, I'm really looking into my riding habits. For mainly dirt, day tripping riding, this will suit me better. I don't really take off from home on my bike, all loaded up, going exploring. Now I can be sure to go with Glenn on the small bike ride at the RDV.

If you know of someone needing a DR650, let me know

NICE! i was dreaming of that very model the other day. Hope you're enjoying it.

Thanks Steve. I haven't had a chance to trail ride it yet but will post our adventures together

Very good. Hopefully i'll see you both in person before too much longer.

orange bikes, everybody does it sooner or later!

I feel so alone with my blue bike

mine's blueish....


when is everyone coming back up for a ride weekend?

Friday sounds like a good riding day. Just sayin'

Soon, I hope. I have parents in town for 3 weeks, but perhaps there'll be something going on late May or after.

NICE!!! Welcome to the Orange Family!!

Thanks Brandon, Come up this way for a ride, bring your little friend