April 2008 -
Olympic Dual Sport Ride (page 1)
Some old pals of mine have been trying to get me to put aside the mighty CR500R, and bring the TE-510 (or "TESIO" as one guy likes to call it) out to run a dual sport adventure ride with them. This sounded like a fun diversion from my usual tree pounding, and I jumped at the chance. Riding with these guys was a lot more sedate than the usual intense, skill challenging, and physically grueling riding I'm used to, but that was fine, as there is NO WAY I could keep that sort of frenetic pace up for as long as we rode on this trip. 115 miles, 9 hours in the saddle, and my tush was DONE! It was a really cool day, and I can't wait to do it again...though my posterior can.
We rendezvoused at Randy's cabin at 0800 hours, and from there the fun began. Randy has a nice getaway on Lake Cushman, nestled in the middle of the Olympics. After a fine "continental" breakfast, and the obligatory map perusing, we set off for high adventure.
We started be flying down Highway 101 for about 10 minutes, and proceeded to enter the Olympics at the end of the Skokomish river valley. This is all private timber land, which abuts to the national forest. There are hundreds of miles of roads and trails to explore in the area. I have been exploring this area for over twenty years, and still find new vistas every time I go there.
Ken tried every trick in the book to get the Honda NX125 up this hill, but the valiant little scoot just couldn't make it.
"I think I can...I think I can..."
Calvin demonstrates the proper stream crossing techniques
Randy, always a quick study, watched Cal, then lined up for his turn...
"Let's see...light touch on the brakes...pop down a gear...stand up...Yep...weight back..."
"Hey, this ain't so hard...maybe I should aim for that deep hole..."
"Clear the bridge! Lookouts below! Bow planes down 10 degrees!"
"DIVE! DIVE! DIVE!"
"Whew! That was close!"
"Good thing I'm wearing these ultra suave, neoprene fishin' boots!"
"Huh, what's that smell? Smells like stir-fry..."
KLX250: Water Cooled and steam driven!
Ken wasted no time showing Randy the correct procedure
"Laugh at me on that hill, will you?!!!" He chuckled maniacally.