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Our Stable | Dirt Bike Links | Trips | Other Photos

June 23rd. 2001

We took our first trip to Wayne National Forest in Ohio.  Good riding, a little sloppy from recent rain but good wide, fast trails.  Ideal for kids and wives if dry.  Lots of 4-wheelers, but everyone was courteous for the most part.

We experimented with a helmet cam.  Our camcorder duct-taped to my helmet :)  Footage was OK.  (picks coming soon).  But the camera was aimed a little too low.  Next time we'll fix that.

Here's a QuickTime movie (about 7mb) of my cousin Jeff attacking a pretty serious hill.  The movie doesn't do the hill justice.  This thing was about 3-4 stories tall and nearly vertical.  download and enjoy.

Jeff_Jermery small.mov   You'll need QuickTime 5  to view.

 Photos: (Click for full view) These were captured from the same helmet cam.


Blind leading the blind


For the most part the trails were open.  They were sloppy and tight at times.

Jeff Wheelie
(everywhere he goes)

Perhaps he should have bought a Unicycle

Jeff and Jeremy discuss before going up some hills.

01 Nationals at Kenworthy July 22nd

Man was it hot but a great day had by all.  Some trick racing, smooth passing, and Tortelli knocked himself silly in the double right in front of us.  (Some other guy crashed and broke his arm there in practice).  All in all not the hardest part of the track.  Carmichael was just the smoothest rider on the track hands down.  He was the fastest through the section we were watching.

Pastrana over the Banzai table top

Carmichael over same jump

Charmichael.mov
A quick clip of the new king.
(Quicktime)

Fast Ricky

Fast Ricky


Berea Ky July 28th

Due to inclement weather in Berea we ended up at Wayne National Forest instead, we'll hit Berea in about a month.  (2.5 hours north as opposed to 2.5 hours south where 1-4 inches was predicted.)  Another super day.  Rain was predicted but we never saw anything over a light sprinkle.  It was my son's first trip to 'big' woods.  He's 10 and his buddy Tyler did outstanding.  They crashed in the usual slippery places but really, really did good.  For the most part they tackled just about every hill and trail we took them to.  Way to go boys !  Dunno about Tyler, but Michael now understands what 'monkey butt' is : )

The media coverage for this event was a little light.  I was more focused on watching the boys, and with the threat of rain at any given moment.  The helmet cam was a bad idea.  But here's what we got:


Todd, Michael, Tyler getting pumped. Michael looks a little worried.


Some pretty tough trails to get where we are, so time for a little break, and Jeff and Jeremy can hit the hills.


Lunch Time !
(and time for a new jersey if you went through ever possible puddle).


Mike, Jeff, Jeremy
Some of the nicest guys on the planet.  Yeah, Mike's OK too.


Berea Ky Sept 2

Well we finally made it to the infamous Berea, KY S-Tree Recreational park in the Daniel Boone National forest. (Not many (one) photos this time, sorry).  All things considered it was another fun/successful ride.  Weather was perfect, the trails there are FAST.  Very well groomed.  No real hills to speak of.  Michael again did great on his PW80, no real ruts for him to fall into.  I scratched my eye on the first ride which made the rest of the day difficult.  Learned my lesson, always wear goggles no matter how hot you are :(  My clutch started to give way towards the end of the day. The kit is on order.


pre-ride, Dads trusty (and heavy as hell) DR 350.
Side note:  After the trip to wayne national, and Michaels bad case of monkey butt, he was determined.
He put on fresh underwear after every ride :)


Hanging Rock Nov 4th

Hanging Rock ORV Area - Ironton Ranger District. Accessed by one trail head:
Hanging Rock Trailhead - Take Highway 650 off Highway 52 north 3/4 mile to Forest Road 105. Stay on paved Forest Road 105 for approximately 1.5 mile to the paved Trailhead parking.

Another little gem in Ohio, part of the Wayne National Forest 

This day started out kind of slow, we met up with Jeff, Jeremy, Uncle Mike, and Tim at the Meiers of 32 in Batavia.  As usual was expected, James and Matt were late.  When they showed up, they realized they didn't have a gas can, no biggie, they could buy one at Meiers, after waiting for them, it was also noticed that James forgot his helmet.  So we told them to just meet us there, and we were off.

They caught up to us at the junction of 73 and 52, Since we were pulling trailers and they only had the pickup this was a fairly easy task.  At the gas station, someone asked where their gas can was because it wasn't in the back of the truck.  Hehe, 5 gallons of gas and premix in a brand new gas can were lost somewhere between Batavia and Portsmouth.  We gave them final directions from there so they could again go and procure a gas can and another 5 gal of gas.

The ride started out pretty slow, I hadn't been on my bike in over a month and was feeling a little week.  Nice trails, fairly wide, narrow at spots, but extremely rocky.  Great hills though.  Weather was perfect, a little bit dusty at times, as we had 8 in the pack.

About 18 miles into the ride we ended up at the junction of the trail head and some Power-Line runs.  They looked long but tame enough, 5 of use decided to make a run at them.  The older folks (my dad, and uncle) and James decided to kick back whilst we attacked.  About 35 feet down the first hill I got hung up in some ruts, tossed off my bike, slammed into the ground, relieving my lungs of the air that I like to use to survive.  I tumbled on down with my bike right behind me.  After catching my breath, I was beaten and bruised, tweaked my bars a tad.  The longer I sat the stiffer I got, bruised some ribs, and my hip pretty badly.  We decided to head back to the trailer for lunch.  This was a tough ride, as I couldn't really stand on the pegs.  My day was done after 24 miles total.  The rest of the gang took off after lunch and finished out the day with another 18 mile ride.  I'll be back, and that hill is gonna pay :)


Sparta, KY Nov 25th

OK, this place is close, only an hour + 15 from home.

Before I report I need to make a statement.  I have a buddy, lets call him Damon.  Damon has a new 2001 KDX 220.  The boy has been invited to every ride listed on this page and then some.  Most of the time it's a 'No, I can't ride that weekend" but often enough it's a "Sure sounds like a plan".  So far he hasn't made a single ride.  He comes up with some excuse last minute.  "Oh, I have to work on my plane" or "My dog will be lonely as my wife has to work that weekend".   If you know this guy, he's not really a wimp.  But be it known now that Damon will get Barbie stickers for his bike for Christmas, turns out he's a Girl after all. :D

OK now for Sparta.  Note to self, if it's rained in the last 24 hours stay the hell away.  The place looks great though if it were dry.  Today we logged a total of 12 miles and it was the hardest 12 miles I have ever ridden.  It was like riding on SNOT.  Couldn't get traction to save our lives even in the grassy knoll areas.  The top soil was loose, if it wasn't loose it was muddy with the greasy kind of mud.  My son was totally helpless on his PW80 but then again they don't have great tires to begin with. It looks like a hell of a place, and it's close.  They have a 'snack bar' so you can buy a burger instead of eating PB&J.

They have a decent MX track too (the only photo I took):