Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1162341
September 2019 11 Now it's me to get serious. The first part of the trail was baby head land with loose rolling rocks everywhere. A er wrestling with the bars a few minutes, it was me to peel off the jackets and fig- ure out a way to stow them. It was a bright, sunny day and the temperature was now in the mid 50's. It couldn't have been more perfect for riding dirt bikes. Off-camber corners, deep ravines, ght switchbacks, giant slippery tree roots, rock drop- offs were all in the day's work. On much of the trail, it seemed like the world was set at a 45-de- gree angle with a steep uphill slope to the le and a steep downhill decline to the right. Some mes the downhill side increased the "pucker factor" considerably, where there was no slope at all to the right, just a very narrow ledge and a drop-off. A er an hour or two of thrashing around, it was me for a pit stop. My full 70-year-old bladder can only take so much abuse! A er visi ng the closest bush, gobbling up a granola bar or two, and gulping some barely cool water from my camelback, it was me to get back to business. Ma was leading the charge, so he decided which way we were to go. Within 30 minutes or so, we came upon what looked like a pre y serious downhill run. It was a VERY steep and extremely washed out run that twisted slightly to the le as it disappeared into the trees. Like a sheep led to slaughter, I opted to go first. Why me, Lord? What was I thinking? Apparently I wasn't! Down and down and down some more, when is this going to end? Drop-off a er drop-off, death grip on the bars, my weight as far back as I could stretch, so I'm very sur- prised that I haven't gone over the bars yet. I was squeezing my front brake to the very brink of skidding the front re, yet I was s ll gaining speed in some places! I knew if I crashed I was going to be run over, and then heckled by the three un- suspec ng souls behind me. Finally, a light at the end of the tree tunnel! I was exhausted and was looking for a flat spot to regain my composure. I'd remembered my odometer reading when I was at the top of that hill and was surprised to real- ize that we had just come down HEART ATTACK HILL, and it was a li le over a mile long! So are we going to try to go back up? Maybe Graham Jarvis or Taddy Blazusiak could do it, but I'm sure even those guys would find it "iffy." The first day of riding was really a blast. No blood- shed or crashes that we care to admit. I didn't remember to set my odometer to measure how far we'd gone in that first day, but I can guarantee you it was enough to work up a serious appe te. A er several hours of a 45-degree upward slope to the le side, we grabbed another trail that was a 45-degree upward slope to the right side just to even things out. I wanted to make sure that the right side of my knobbies got equal wear so they didn't feel like they had been ignored. Finally, the trail crossed a main paved road and since we were ge ng a bit low on gas, we decid- ed to head back to town to refuel. You have the choice of Alsups or Alsups to buy gas and NO, they DON'T have 93 octane. I guess we'll just have to twist that thro le a li le bit harder on those hill climbs. As we gassed up, we no ced the Western Bar and Café just a block away. We were all over that, so in we went. When we entered, s ll in our MX gear, we got a couple of strange looks from some "bikers," but what the heck do they REALLY know about riding motorcycles? All of the walls and ceiling in this place were COMPLETELY cov- ered with MONEY, green cash, American dollar bills! In some places there were 5's, 10's and even a couple of 20's! We ordered up a couple of beers and some marginally "fair" nachos. They at least helped fill that empty spot in our stomachs, but the food wasn't good enough for us to return on another day. Now we're back out and scou ng for new trails, even though the sun was star ng to sink behind the trees. Remember those not-so-good nacho's we had about an hour ago? Ma remembers them well. I was wondering why he suddenly came to a screeching halt, ripped open his backpack, grabbed a wad of blue shop towels and headed for the closest bush. To spare you the details, I don't think there will be ANY wildlife within a thousand yards of that spot for the foreseeable future. Since we weren't keen on riding in the dark, we took a few dirt roads just to do some exploring, but head- ed back to our house in an hour or two. By the me we got back to our house, hunger and thirst had once again come calling. A er showering and slamming a few beers, it was me to give Big Dad- dy's Diner a call. Ma claims he was "empty" and ready to refill. Way too much informa on…..