East coasters....my dilemna. Ride from NC to FL on my DR650 for a true dual sport trip for the Devil's Creek DS ride on January 31. Or, take the truck down with the TE450 in the back for the event. Anyone know some good riding trails from NC to FL close to the I-95 corridor? Most National forest trails are closed for the winter, as far as I can tell! Swampy, your thoughts since you know the ride real well. I haven't ridden the TE450 much since I got it this fall and sounds like a good place to have some fun with her, so kind of torn at the moment. I know with the DR650 I will do some wallowing in the mud...but she is a pig after all! My riding buddy will be on a DR either way....and misery does love company! Actually, I do think they are great reliable true dual sport bikes. We rode from NC to WV this summer and were able to manage some single track up there and have a blast. Bottom line I guess...if I can't find some open riding along the way ...I'll truck down the Husky. So, any help for some open trail would be appreciated. Thanks.
Well, I have no clue about open riding areas between your home and your destination, but it sounds like a pretty fun trip regardless of whether you ride the DR down or truck the Husky down. Be sure and post up a report after your ride...especially if you end up doing it on the DR I really like your avatar. There are a ton of wild burros in Nevada and they always look so cute and curious when poking their heads through the sagebrush. Love `em! WoodsChick
I rode the '08 Devils Creek ride on my TE250. It was an absolute blast since I was on a "performance" bike. That being said, you couldn't pay me enough (well... you could) to ride something like a DR650 on that particular ride. Do you really want to disassemble every inch of that DR after the ride? You'll have to! The TE would be much easier to tear apart to clean up. If it rains much prior to the event like it does most years, this ride is 50% underwater. *Most* of the time you can cruise right thru with no problem, but you won't be as lucky on all of them. They look very intimidating, but 90% of them are inocuous. The other 10%... Literally inches one way or the other in picking your line can make the difference of getting to the other side by simply revving the motor and slipping the clutch, or having the water go over the seat. I'm NOT joking. TIP: When Swampy sez "go slow and stay to the right", he means it. No wake, and staying to the right really means "if the tree branches aren't slapping you in the face, you're not over far enough, and you're about to go for a swim." If you think the motor is about to take on water, shut it off quick and push it out. Be very careful of water going down the exhaust pipe opening when it's not running. One of my pals drowned his Orange 525 when he picked the wrong line (he didn't follow me!) and when it was obvious he was about to submerge, he shut it off. Unfortunately, the water then poured down the pipe. It took us an hour to get it refired. I never actually got stuck either day. Once I shut it off and pushed it out when I was "in too deep", and another time while crossing this huge 1/2 mile long lake/muddy/marsh thingy, I had to jump off and push while screaming the motor and slipping the clutch to get thru. It was one of those "I'm damn well not going to get stuck now" kind of things. Wet? You couldn't be any wetter if you stood in the shower with all your riding gear on. Your boots will be FULL of water. If you have old, worn out riding gear that you haven't thrown out yet, wear it. Leave the good stuff at home. Honestly, the course is just too much fun to ride the DR when you've got a bitchin' weapon like a TE450 to ride. Sand, wonderful sand! Oh, how I love sand! Alas, I don't think I'll be attending this year as the economy has hurt our business so bad that I just can't afford to make the trip. Hope you enjoy it no matter which bike you choose. Be sure you have brand new tires!
I know what you mean. For the last 8 years I was employed as a retail manager, and while I wasn't exactly rich, I had enough money to enjoy my toys and hobbies, plus I didn't have far to drive to work. Now, I am at the bottom of the food chain in a deadend nothing job after being unemployed for nearly a year. I recently got an invitation to the Soboba Trail ride, which I rode in 2006, but I couldn't afford the 70 bucks this year to ride the big hills, deep ruts and crazy single track if I wanted to. And they must be hurting too, because they used to provide breakfast and lunch included in your entry fee, but this year they made it clear that there would be good food "for sale" at the event. I sure would like to see the ride you guys are talking about, but it sounds like I would need to bring some snorkeling gear!
Thanks for the ride report from last years ride.....out of curiosity, was there a lot of rain before the event last year? BTW- Can't say enough about the donks (Mimi and Lea)....lots of personality. More like dogs than horses in that way.
They are mine....had them trailered in from Texas a few years ago. They are large standard size donkeys not the little mini donks. They add a little flavor to the property, the dream was to have a gentleman's farm some day...may never be that, but...we did find an old house on 11 acres working on making it our own (including some trail and jumps for the bikes)!!
Yes there was. But from what I understand, that's very typical of central Flatistan that time of year. The area received 4" of rain on Wednesday and another 3" on Thursday. Despite that soaking, Swampy insisted that the '08 running was NOT the 'wettest' Devils Creek ride they had done... They had a much 'deeper' event several years back.
