An epic WEEK of high country singletrack!!

I think I will add a fresh ride report to the forum, as there seems to be fewer threads dedicated to this.

My better half (as most would agree!) and I headed to Idaho for a weeks vacation riding near Stanley, with a large group of good friends. It was roughly an 8 hour drive, which we split into two days of traveling.

"Bergy", received a couple new upgrades for the trip. One, was the Midwest Mountain Engineering clutch lever, and the Pirelli Trials tire. I brought several pre-oiled filters in freezer bags, and changed her oil. Bergy is new, so very few hours have been had thus far.


Traveling near Boise, we both were a bit concerned at the temperature.


Once we reached camp, now at 7000ft, the temperature and scenery changed for the better. We set up our camp amongst 15 other rigs , jamming them in between the lodge pole pines wherever we could




"Hey, watch out for that stump Fro!"


All set up, acquainted with old friends again, I was ready to ride!

Our first ride was just a close loop to the next valley. Rocky conditions, many, many fallen trees and a fried clutch in one of our parties Kawasaki, ended the day sooner than we had hoped for.

The next day however, would prove to be epic . . . .

Now Sunday morning, I wake to hear "Fro" chatting about riding Yankee Fork outside our bedroom window. For YEARS I've heard of this area. High elevation, primitive single track? I'm in!!
So we loaded the bikes up in available trucks (ours being one of them) and nine of us drove 40+ miles to the Yankee Fork system. We unloaded at what is basically a rest stop. "It'll be fine, lets just go" says Fro.


This area did not disappoint. After only a few miles up the valley, the "real deal" started.




After 10 miles our group was beginning to spread out. Bergy was running hot, around 220, and the fan was running more often than not.


It did ease up at times, allowing Bergy to cool down.




Our main goal was to reach the old Forest Service fire watch lookout. The trail started to become more intense as we gained elevation.




Around mid afternoon we reached the summit. Just walking the final feet up to the lookout was a workout at the higher elevation. Riding is much easier!




We ate lunch at the top and took in the 360* view. The group dumped the extra fuel we had brought into our bikes, and we started the decent into the distant valley. You might notice that Wayne is like a supply truck out on the trails. He packs a ton of gear on his GasGas and still rails the trails.




This valley was much more mellow. Just a beautiful area to be riding in.




The trail became so faint at times we had to look for carens (stacked rocks) to navigate out way. GPS helps too!


After dropping into, and riding out of, several drainages we looped back to the Forest road we had started on. 20 miles up stream mind you! The trail pops out at this creek crossing, which also provided an awesome swimming hole for some. I will spare you all the traumatizing visual of Fro in his birthday suit :shock:


A few miles down stream we ran into the old mining town of Custer. We stopped in for a cold root beer and checked out the town. Unbelievable these folks lived out here in the 1870's with 50* below zero temps.




We took the road the rest of the way out of the valley, and called it a day. A shower, meal, and an ice cold beverage around the campfire were in order for me!

I woke early Monday to perform some basic bike maintenance. Tighten the chain slightly to limit the awful chain slap, change the air filter out for a fresh one, check my tire pressure, and top off everything.

The rumor around camp is that we were to ride over 150 miles this day. Im lucky to get 75 miles out of a tank, so packing another 1- 1/2 to 2 gallons of fuel was going to make for one heavy backpack.

We gathered on the road, before heading out on what was anticipated to be a huge day.


We headed out over Wyoming Creek. A little rocky for the most part, but it did have its pleasant sections.


Wyoming Creek dropped us into this vast, flat bottomed valley. I believe it was Bear Creek Valley.


With all of the new technology, GPS included, out comes the old fashioned map.



After many miles up the valley, we found the trail headed north. The seemingly docile little river proved to be much more of a challenge than most had anticipated.



Trav making a big splash, and spectacle out of his crossing


JJ faired even worse.



The trail climbed several thousand feet, and rewarded us with an excellent view.



We cruised down into the next drainage, just chugging along. With less chain slap I might add
After many miles through burned out forest we came upon this old mining claim residence. Bates Motel anyone?


We ripped up the forest road trying to buy time, as the day was growing long. We reached Deadwood Reservoir, and stopped to cool off by the mist of the jetting water.


After a quick break we hauled *** down Deadwood Ridge trail, again, the day was getting late. The group spread out due to heavy dust, and I didn't see a fellow rider for 24 miles of single track. Finally we reached Highway 21, fuel and a cool drink.


Refreshed and fueled up, we again hit the last ridge trail back to camp with speed. Only 130 miles for the day, but it was more than enough to wipe me out.

Im ready for a girls ride!

This is an excellent video of us headed down the valley. It is 23 minutes long, but entertaining for the most part.

We are hesitant through the brush, as there were always hidden rocks and logs.

Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/sFvLedbmLXk

This will be the last post for this thread.

After two excellent rides in a row, I decided to take a relaxation day. So, we headed into Stanley in a caravan of 4 trucks to do, whatever. Somehow, I became the only man amongst 8 women. You guessed it . . . . gift shops. Estrogen overload for sure.

We did catch up with the rest of the crew for lunch. The Bar and Grill was an unbelievable setting, with a view that would be hard to match. However, the food would be easy to match. I think we could have cooked better in camp. Life goes on.


Wednesday we were back to riding. Us guys figured that Deadwood Ridge trail had been so sweet, that it would be a prime ride for the ladies. Or, a couples ride per say. Doctor, Cindy, Patti, Maria, Lindsey, Kelly and myself headed out.

Lindsey's KTM is highly modified, obviously. I installed a Rekluse EXP clutch in it for her. She loves it while climbing, but despises it free-wheeling downhill. Time will tell as Im instructed to leave it in for now . . . .

It was miles and miles of this.


We eventually worked our way to the Reservoir. After cruising the road on the eastern shore we came upon this scene. It was the Forest Service attaching adjustable water buckets to the helicopter to assist in fighting the forest fire. Apparently when its hot out, the chopper is unable to get enough lift for a full bucket, so they make it smaller.



The ride was pleasant and easy, which got us back to camp early.

A walk around the little lake allowed for this picture of camp. 16 rigs, 35 people, 7 dogs and 5 cats. That's right, 5 cats.


Im not gonna lie, I was a tad bit hung over on Thursday. We did manage to muster up a hodge-podge group of four to attempt a short ride of 20 miles, near camp. Bergy, a Montessa Trials, Lindseys KTM, and Zacks KDX/KX Hybrid 220. It was great fun switching bikes back and forth.


After only 10 miles out we came to a beautiful lookout, and sat to eat lunch. All were satisfied to call it a day.


We packed up Friday and headed for home, stopping at a random campground in the Blue Mountains of Oregon for one night.

My 501 is a flawless bike in my opinion. I connected with it this week of riding. Admittedly it took some adjusting in riding style from my old 570. But I truly feel "as one" with my bike now, if that makes sense.

It needed better tires than the Dunlops from the factory.
ALL of the suspension has taken me months of tinkering and adjusting, but I now have it dialed!
2 clicks in on the stabilizer.
Raised the bars to a good height.
Easy pull clutch lever allows one finger operation, all day.

These mods, combined with some fast pace riding all day, has made the bike perfectly suited for me. Like a good old pair of underware.

OK OK. Here it is, guys from camp. Bergy did go down. And it was caught on camera!

Thanks for the kind words guys. It was a great week!

On the Yankee Fork ride we used all three saws. Not knowing what to expect, all three saws would remain mounted for every ride. We literally spent hours clearing trees, at least trees we couldn't easily jump.

Wayne, JJ, and Travis all had saws mounted on their bikes. They are all Trailtech saw mounts.

Generally Wayne (on the GasGas 250) would lead if the trail conditions were unknown. But, if the trails were known to have been cleared, myself or Geoffro would lead. Doctor at times too. Although, Ol Doc took a good digger going over the bars after slamming into a mud hole. They were very strange, because some would be a mere 3" deep, and the next would swallow your whole front wheel. As was the case with poor Doctor!

It's the Acerbis X-Lite cover. It's pretty worthless for major impacts. But in Moab a few years back while riding cross country through the desert, I had a shrub jam into my rotor and caliper that brought me to an abrupt stop. Tweaked my brake pad pin there was so much pressure. So for $65 bucks, why not I figured.

You bet I do! Excellent maps. I have several, from Baumgartner to Warm Lake.

We may have some mutual friends! Salt Lake City?