Pensacola area riders

[Davebert]

Originally Posted by Rob Dirt

Have you posted it in the Flea Market yet? I'll spread the word &/or link if you have an ad.

No I haven't posted in the Flea Market yet...No hurry to sell just letting out the word that I have one and its for sale. Don't want to lose too much money on it you know being it only has 393 miles on it. Great bike but I have too many bikes now and that one is the newest least used one so I figure I will let it go before I take it out in the woods and tear it up (or before the government takes it for part of my share of the deficit).
DB

[MItrnsplnt]

Rotorhead and I just got to Highland park and this place is dead (no one here)! We are the only ones.... Hopefully good news for riding tomorrow! Anyone have any suggestions for favorite trails? Or where the hell the bathroom is?

[Dr.Z]

Originally Posted by MItrnsplnt

Rotorhead and I just got to Highland park and this place is dead (no one here)! We are the only ones.... Hopefully good news for riding tomorrow! Anyone have any suggestions for favorite trails? Or where the hell the bathroom is?

5 & 6 diamond trails should do the trick! if you're feeling like superman, that is

Most of the 2, 3, & 4 diamond stuff isn't too bad.

Also, check out the MX tracks there. Pretty cool place!

[Vico1]

Originally Posted by MItrnsplnt

Rotorhead and I just got to Highland park and this place is dead (no one here)! We are the only ones.... Hopefully good news for riding tomorrow! Anyone have any suggestions for favorite trails? Or where the hell the bathroom is?

Thats cause everyone thought it would be a shitty weekend...
Run perimiter road First and then venture to intermediate trails. IMHO do NOT hit the bad ass trails (I foreget what they are called) until you have ridden the other stuff. Why ruin what could have been a great ride....

Hope you guys enjoy.. Damn sorry I missed this one.

[livetosail]

I took the bike for a quick spin today to test out a new mount for the GoPro. Had an interesting mishap when I leaned down to turn off the camera and inadvertently rested my hand on the header...

Enjoy!

[SingleTrackJeff]

Great POV on the camera, maybe go for smokeless gloves next time.

Originally Posted by livetosail

I took the bike for a quick spin today to test out a new mount for the GoPro. Had an interesting mishap when I leaned down to turn off the camera and inadvertently rested my hand on the header...

Enjoy!

[Woods Rider]

I'm leaving Navarre around 7:30 and riding up through Burnt Corn, Beatrice to Camden where I plan to catch the 11:15 ferry at Gees Bend. Then north to CR4 over to Hwy 5 the south to Pine Hill for a late lunch.

I will be heading down 35 via Lower Peachtree to 84 then by Perdue Hill.

All are welcome.

PM me if you want to take this great ride through Alabama and back.

[sherpaguy]

we call that getting a little heavy eh!

Originally Posted by livetosail

I took the bike for a quick spin today to test out a new mount for the GoPro. Had an interesting mishap when I leaned down to turn off the camera and inadvertently rested my hand on the header...

Enjoy!

[sherpaguy]

Can you save me some math and tell me how many miles and type of country. May want to do that after the 13th of feb-we're coming down from Canada.

Originally Posted by Woods Rider

I'm leaving Navarre around 7:30 and riding up through Burnt Corn, Beatrice to Camden where I plan to catch the 11:15 ferry at Gees Bend. Then north to CR4 over to Hwy 5 the south to Pine Hill for a late lunch.

I will be heading down 35 via Lower Peachtree to 84 then by Perdue Hill.

All are welcome.

PM me if you want to take this great ride through Alabama and back.

[Madhouse]

Sounds good Rick but gotta work.
Tell us all about it.
Missed you today.

Just got off the phone with Melvin and he's OK. Another set of handlebars and he'll be good.
Lou (on the Super Tenere) faired quite a bit worse. X-ray says a chipped ankle bone.
No flat tracking for him next weekend.
Did anybody count the riders that showed up this morning?
15?? More?

Originally Posted by Woods Rider

I'm leaving Navarre around 7:30 and riding up through Burnt Corn, Beatrice to Camden where I plan to catch the 11:15 ferry at Gees Bend. Then north to CR4 over to Hwy 5 the south to Pine Hill for a late lunch.

I will be heading down 35 via Lower Peachtree to 84 then by Perdue Hill.

All are welcome.

PM me if you want to take this great ride through Alabama and back.

[Woods Rider]

Originally Posted by Madhouse

Sounds good Rick but gotta work.
Tell us all about it.
Missed you today.

Just got off the phone with Melvin and he's OK. Another set of handlebars and he'll be good.
Lou (on the Super Tenere) faired quite a bit worse. X-ray says a chipped ankle bone.
No flat tracking for him next weekend.
Did anybody count the riders that showed up this morning?
15?? More?

Melvin? Bars? Chipped ankle?

I thought this was gonna be a no-scratchy the plastic ride today...lol!

I will share the RR for sure...

Sherpa it's around 300 miles or so.

Found out they ferry in Lower Peactree is out of commission awaiting a replacement. That's a shame, I loved that old thing!

[sherpaguy]

Thanks for the info

Originally Posted by Woods Rider

Melvin? Bars? Chipped ankle?

I thought this was gonna be a no-scratchy the plastic ride today...lol!

I will share the RR for sure...

Sherpa it's around 300 miles or so.

Found out they ferry in Lower Peactree is out of commission awaiting a replacement. That's a shame, I loved that old thing!

[livetosail]

Originally Posted by Madhouse

Did anybody count the riders that showed up this morning?
15?? More?

Best count I can make is 19 in the parking lot at Whataburger according to my pictures.


Melvin and I were last to leave with the group that went through Blackwater. I think there were 5-6 or so that stayed behind and did some other ride. I saw a Goldwing in the parking lot... was kinda hoping he'd follow into the woods.

Since I wasn't the only one of us there today, I'm sure someone else will post a trip report. So I'll summarize the main points.


I was consistently at the back of the pack (always stopping to change camera angles and mounts), so I happened to be around to pick up the pieces to all the wrecks.

Wreck #1: about a mile into the first off-road leg Lou on the blue Super Tenere came down going through a mud hole. Looked like he might have tried to ride the ridge between two ruts and slipped down into one.

Broke his windshield clean in two (which I forgot to get a picture of).


My favorite part was when Barney walked over and handed it back to Lou and said, "I don't suppose you'll want this now?"

Lou complained of a sore ankle, but said he was fine and wanted to ride on. Not sure whether or not he went down again later, but I know he soon called it quits and asked to be escorted to the nearest pavement sometime after that.

There were a few other minor scuffs here and there, and a few folks got stuck in the mud, but nothing major,

until...

Wreck #2: Coming around a corner on a dirt/gravel road somewhere across into Alabama, this pickup truck coming the opposite direction and riding WAY over on the wrong side of the road suddenly swings his door open just as Melvin is passing by. The door hits Melvin's bars, and his bike swerved hard to the right and went down in a ditch. As he passes me I see a very clear smile on the guy's face, and I hear him laughing.

There were only three of us together at that point as the rest of the pack had decided to speed up ahead. The guy in front of me on a red Honda swung around and gave chase while I made sure all was good with Melvin.

The guy in the truck stopped a few hundred feet down the road when he saw he was being followed. I ran up with my video rolling to make sure if anything went down we'd have coverage of it. Took some pictures of the license plate and truck as well. His driver's side door didn't have a handle on it... not sure if that was a result of the impact or if it was like that before?


He then plays all contrite and eventually drives back down the road and offers to help Melvin.



The real shame of it all was that although I saw the whole thing perfectly, I had chosen that leg of the trip to put the GoPro in the inner wheel well mount, so I didn't capture any shots of the actual event. It was pretty hairy to watch in real time.


Tried to get one more picture of the guy before he drove off. He ducked...

I rode with the pack till the end of that road. While changing up cameras again the pack road on ahead without me. I followed soon after, but lost track of everyone soon after that.

It was just as well. I had seen enough carnage for one day. True irony is to read the original announcement/advertisement of this ride (posted on BMW of Pensacola's Facebook page, January 16th): "The objective of this ride is to have fun without anyone beating up their plastic, breaking a lens, tweaking a bar, much less getting hurt. It should be a good ride for a beginner, or someone with moderate skills."

Hmmm...

- Beating up plastic- Yep (Lou)
- Breaking a lens (or windshield)- Yep (Lou)
- Tweaking a bar- Yep (Melvin's left handle bar)
- Getting hurt- Definitely (Lou's Ankle)

As for me and my beast, I have to say I love the red clay roads of the area, but on a bike as big as mine I think I am tempting fate to ride trails like that again.

I did get a decent amount of footage to make a quick video ride report though!

Enjoy

[Madhouse]

Yea,
Bob M. wrote-up the ride description and his group of 4 riders didn't have any problems. "As advertised"

Our big group on the other hand rode a different route and the ride leader Brad G. said several times in the parking lot that it would be 90% dirt once we got in the forest.

As always,, we should ride at a pace we're each comfortable with and maybe things will work out.
After all, we are riding motorcycles.

[MItrnsplnt]

Seems like you guys have more issues/accidents on your beast/carnage rides than we ever do on our fastburns through Eglin/BW..... That guy that opened his truck door as you guys were passing and made whoever wreck, should have been drug out through the window of his door and beaten, you have to be shitting me for senseless crap like that!

On a good note, Highland Park was E P I C ! ! ! We started off on the 3D and 4D trails and eventually tempted fate on the 5D trails. All of the trails were just unbelievable and the 5D trails were a lot of off-camber climbs in conditions (wet/muddy/slick) that weren't that ideal for them. Over the 2 days, Rotorhead and I probably rode 90% of all the trails to exclude most the 1D and 2D trails. After about 2 hours of riding yesterday, I decided that I didn't have enough before lunch and wanted to test myself on lucky #13 (5D/Superman trail). Rotorhead said have at it and I'll meet you at the cabin for lunch. All I can say is that don't ever try the 5D trails, especially #13 by yourself. 1.5 hours later I finally drag myself off the trail completely spent/zapped of energy from 2 hill climbs that resembled something out of Erzberg, that literally took me 30-40 mins each to climb on multiple attempts taking breaks on portions part of the way up while holding the front brake, so my bike doesn't slide backwards down the hill, that I tell myself that I'm done for the day. This trail has nothing on anything in CO (mental fear) and was literally the most physically demanding trail that I have EVER ridden in my life. I've never felt so defeated but completed in the end, which was a feat in itself. All in all we had an awesome time, and the trails at Highland Park are probably the best in the SE portion of the U.S.! To have that many trails, that well maintained, and organized, that it doesn't compare to anything else!

I'll post some pics up soon.