Well Jethro had a good idea--go ride the Rim Trail in Lincoln NF. It is a 14 mile single track that has been described as a bit narrow--:huh . Now I've ridden the Lincoln and have run an AMA enduro there so I knew what it was going to look like, rocks, roots, wet, steep and overgrown. I decided to take my WR250R and make this a true dual sport--about 200 miles each way and maybe 100 in and around the NF. All starts out well and the GL bag is a sweet deal--thanks bump (inmate who sold me the bag). Now we are in the middle of a la nina season which means a dry summer around here--yea right--about 100 miles out from the house and the sky opens up--wet to the core. Yep it was a doozy--the arroyos were running--this around Chiliili NM--hey Pathfinder did your driveway survive? A few miles down the road and I'm starting to dry out--just south of Mountainair NM I find this sign--any guesses? In NM you have a lot of dual sport options--yea I forgot to rotate Then the skies open up again--drat wet again.... Get to Cloudcroft and meet up with my riding buddies--Jethro and EdgeRider1--smart huh--trucked them down. Have to find a campsite--with these two finding a "suitable camp site" can be a challenge--but it did appear And they got setup Me--Smart huh A little trail riding that evening and all went well Next day La Nina must have given up and El Nino shows up--WET! Then we go to the Ranger Station to await Ditch-Ditch? Ditch? Must have wimped out! OK time for the Rim Trail--perfectly timed with the start of a major downpour-- Yea there was alot of water flowing Now to say the Rim is narrrow is like saying Phoenix is hot--you really can't appreciate it until you experience it But the experience wet is--well challenging--look cllosely.. Something like 3-4 hours of sliping and sliding, pushing and shoving, building trail--yet with rocks to hold the mud in place while we traversed steep slopes--all in a days fun. If we are lucky Edgerider1 will post some video of this--mess!!! Now these pics are not enhanced with Photoshop--just rain on the camera lens Yes sir this are the trail.. We finally found an out--after about 6-7 miles--and we all wimped out..Me back to the... Jethro and Edgerider1.... I think it rained another 2 inches or so overnight. I'm able to get all my stuff dried out and decide to head back the next day without beating the WR in the mud--drop down toward Alamogordo and hit--yep rain And more rain--that truck ride down by Jethro and Edgerider1 looks very smart at this point---cut back across to Socorro by the Trinity Site Stop in Socorro and get dry shirts at Wallyworld for $4 each--that lasts about 30 minutes--yep rain again and finally home. Moral of this story--don't plan single track mountains in NM during July--but the WR250R performed perfectly--even the 75mph cruise back up I25. That's why I ride---Why do you ride?
Thanks for starting a ride report. Good survey of the area to ride when it's dry. Hotel -> Truck -> I am gonna head down there for that track, but in the fall. :huh I backed out after my Jeep got rear ended last week...now its's over to Collision One to get it fixed.
After I saw the forecast and flash flood warnings I wimped out. Sorry about the miscommunication, I left a message on Jethro's cell Friday evening. Wendell
sun rain sun rain hard rain rain hard rain We only touched on a few of the trails in the area. The vast majority of trails in the area are open to atv's and smaller but we noticed that one "motorcycle only" trail had been bastardized by atv's. And they wonder why people think they are irresponsible a-holes. some pics... A dove committed hari-kiri on my antenna outside Belen, tearing off my Jack-in-the Box antenna ball. The obligatory food shot. Cloudy morning on Sunday. Then it began raining ... We eyeballed trail 109 but the thorough soaking it received on Saturday made us decide against it. It simply causes too much damage to the trail. Oh well, at least nobody got injured.
Looks like some fun riding around there. What't the weather like out there in early October? I'm trying to decide where to go ride in October and NM is on my list possible places.
That is a great time. The weather is dry and the temps are cool. Mornings can be frosty but the daytime temperatures are perfect.
Hey Sy, What are those SPOT mounts you've got there? Home made or over the counter...and BTW, how many SPOTS do you need to be safe in the woods?...or is one of those your GPS...hard for me to tell. It almost looks like you're sporting both a SPOT I and a SPOT II???
WT, running a Spot 1 using a RAM mount (with a rubber backup retaining strap) and my Delorme PN20 GPS. My riding is getting worse but so far I've been able to get by with only one Spot!
