Single Track and old dudes. anyone over 50 still doing this?

[CaseyJ955]

Not to long ago I took the maiden voyage on my new-to-me KTM 250 XCW 2stroke, a dedicated dirt bike with no pretense of streetability beyond being plated and insured (I love South Dakota!). I had ridden it previously only on my driveway to dial it in and get it ready for a coming gathering of dual sport guys. I wanted to get some saddle time in before riding with others, but I barely got it together in time as I had to wait for a jet block Oring kit. So the day comes, crack of dawn Im making my way towards the pavement, onto 44W and eventually to Deadwood where I found my destination. It was ~20 mi of pavement, the bike is positively vile on the road, like a big angry chainsaw. I have to admit a nostalgic rush as I blasted through the crisp morning air on 2stroke with no legal worries. This is my first modern dirt only bike and im not terribly familiar with it yet. In 09 I rode with this club on my new KLR and had a great time, 10 yrs ago and on less gnarly turf.

 

So I get there, mingle a bit and find a handful of others that were looking to do some single track, I tell them I just got the bike and im green. They welcomed me along. Several more paved miles, fuel top off/oil mix then off behind Nemo into the forest. The first bit of single track zig-zagged up a rocky hill tbrough the trees and a welcomed plateau, which would soon give way to some of the more challenging single track in the hills. I considered turning around after that first hill, I knew I was punching above my weight class. I know it gets worse but I suspect not by much, these were like goat trails! This ride was like a 2 hour Mtn Dew commercial! I got my ass kicked but good, I knew I had put on the big boy gloves after the first hill going in. These guys made it look fairly easy. I have viewed single track with KTM 2 strokes on Youtube to get an idea if mine was tuned about right and judge whether or not I was ready for it. Where we were was definitely more challenging than what I saw on the comp. I was doing okay but with my backside biting holes in the seat the whole time. It was not long before my flawed technique and death grip on the bike erased my stamina. Instead of controlling the bike, it was controlling me. My strength waned to nothing. At one point I had to roll off the bike and gasp for air while fighting exhaustion. It took several minutes before I could get back on my feet and don my lid again. All the while these guys are very patient and very cool, I knew I was slowing them down. Super guys really. Before the end of the ride we stopped and I opted to take some intersecting double track back out towards the road. I stopped along the two track and had to rest awhile before I had the strength to get this 230lb bike off the kickstand and kick it started. I was both humbled and, and embarrassed by my newfound limitations. I got through about 80% of the ride before tapping out. I stopped for water near the trailhead at a general store where I saw them emerge, I bought some beers to thank them for their great patience and guidance, then headed home as I was 10 minutes from my cabin at this trail head. I did take consolation that they opted not to go back through the trail but on the road instead.

 

It was 4 days before I could even move the bike inside, it sat where I parked it for that time. I was torn up but good. Now had I known these trails were anything more than moderate I would have opted to go with a double track crew instead. But I learned plenty, Ive had the bike out on some pretty gnarly double track since to get more familiar and try to build my stamina back up. Im 6,1 210 so im not fighting much extra weight, I have not ridden offroad at all since an onset of fibromyalgia, so that definitely lowered the ceiling a bit. It wasnt that many years ago I could have endured this without full on exhaustion. Needless to say these.guys were half my age, I saw no gray hairs in the woods that day, and I think I know why. I know I look considerably younger than I am, and feel considerably older than I am, at least in recent times. Possibly they didnt know I was old haha. Im on the threshold of 50.

 

Do any of you around my age or older still single track, if so, how advanced and what toll does it take on you. I know riding off road is physical but I was still surprised how completely it flattened me. I dropped the bike a few times, got good and bruised up, left a little skin, and a mirror... and my dignity in the woods that day. Most of all I had such a blast that I cant stop thinking about going back out again on milder stuff. There is a fall rally and I plan to attend and do double track so as not to be a weak link. The harder single track may just be something best left to the younger guys, or tougher guys than me. I bring this up here because I know we have a decent peppering of mature gentlemen on this fine forum. I know at least a few of you have left the pavement a time or two..

[uncledj]

Haven't done any real off road riding like I used to for a while, and I really don't want to try. I'm 55 now, with responsibilities and can't chance getting hurt. I don't bounce like I used to, and don't heal as quick when I take a fall.

What I can say that hill climbing was always what interested me, and I used to notice that it was the old guys with the extended swingarms that used to conquer the monster hills, while it was the youngsters that used to buzz around like lunatics.

I used to like to hang with the old guys even back then. My old buddy that I used to ride with still does it, but, now at 56, I'm sure he'd be the first to admit that he'd have a hard time spending the whole day on the bike like we used to.

I know that a day of working around the property, or even working on the truck, climbing around under it will get me hurting that night.

Been there, done that, and I know what it's all about, so I'm happy to sit around the campfire with a few beers and listen to the bikes off in the distance.

I still enjoy a bit of off roadin', but have gotten a bit long in the tooth to think I'm invincible, and no longer feel that I've anything to prove.

I'd be surprised if anyone past 50 would say they can ride like they used to.

Getting old definitely has it's limitations, but, at this point, I'll say it's not ALL bad.

Do what you enjoy, but there's no shame in acknowledging that you're getting up in the years.

Kudos to you for being willing to get out there and enjoy life, ....just don't overdo it.

 

[Guest divey]

Don’t beat yourself up Tony. Good on ya I say. You saw the challenge, met it head on and survived to talk about it. Nobody can take that experience away from you. Great write-up. Doug

[cowpuc]

I was still single trackin, racing enduro's, lot of Hair n Hounds and even still a little MX'n into my 50's until I broke my back in a Car/Deer accident a few years ago.. I was regularly riding with a very well known Enduro racer named "Young Ted" back then. Young Ted and I rode with many Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois (Teds home state) and Wisconsin riders criss crossed many thousands of miles of Michigans Cross Country Cycle Trails over the years together.. It's funny you bring this up at this time Casey because Young Ted stopped by not to long ago to show me his new KTM factory "loaner bike" that he is racing now that he just turned 90 years old!!!!!! His plans for his 10th running of the Colorado 500 this year were mind boggling. Ted is a close friend of John Penton who both Ted and I (and many others) deeply admire for his defining the true woods bike in the early Penton brand (pre KTM) and also John's efforts in bringing home those ISDT trophy's to the good old USA!! Ted is an amazing young man who I deeply admire and consider to be one of my closest friends (IMHO, there is nothing that binds two brothers like the deep love of motorcycling and thrills associated therein does)... I am gonna go down stairs real quick and snap a couple pictures off the wall in my basement to share some inspiration I still get from one of my life's hero's here..... Just a second....

Here some quick shots..

Got some of Ted on the cover of Trail Rider.

Of yours truly in action.

A poem I wrote many years ago that got published in Trail Rider.

and some pics of gear that hasnt moved in few seasons for obvious reasons!!

(sorry but I couldnt help myself,, I LOVED building and riding chops too and included a pic of my camp spot with one of my builds on the way out your way one year LOL)

Tell ya what Casey,,, if your body is still able to handle it,, there is simply no funner, no more satisfying way to stay in shape than rippin thru the woods on a dirt bike IMHO.. And WOWZY,, the awesome people you can meet (just like here on VR) along the trail is just flat out amazing!!

Puc

[Condor]

Gr8 poem Puc. I can see why they published it.... My hat is off to Ted. He's my hero.. :-)

 

But heck, I'd be doing that too if I were that young...

[RandyR]

I picked up a Suzuki DR200 a few years ago for riding the Natl Forest roads nearby. I've gotten into a few spots where the road ended and a mule trail continued, and I continued on, in a few cases riding a 0 trail. Nothing like riding in the Rockies though. And the DR200 is about as fast as I feel like I want to go.

 

Was able to ride from my house to Vogel Rally a few years ago with only a mile or two on paved road. No prize for that though?

[VentureFar]

I stopped hard core single track type rising on my Honda xr250 when I was 62. I stopped because kick starting a flooded xr250 in 85 degree heat at 6000 feet altitude kicked my butt one too many times.

If I would have had an electric start I would still be “single tracking” at 66.

The muscles you use in the dirt require building up

I don’t know if you know this but dirt bike riding in anything technical you should be standing the whole time.

VentureFar...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CaseyJ955]

Thanks guys for all the awesome responses. I knew a few had to be up to this!

 

There are two main reasons I got this bike, other than simply because I think its cool and wanted it.

1. To get further into the woods than anything else with a motor, there is NOTHING in the world like the perfect unspoiled silence and tranquility found deep within the Black Hills. It is therapeutic for me, I love it! If I get out there far enough I'll just kill the bike and sit, maybe for quite a long time.

 

2. To extend my riding season, its pretty short here. We sometimes have pretty serious winters and a decent chunk of the summer the roads are clogged up with tourists and rally goers. By doing it this way I can still ride through the summer, the nearest trail head is a country mile up the road. It works. Well, it works if I dont shoot for the moon first time out haha.

 

I'll see if I can work my way back into some mild/moderate single track by fall. I think I'll leave that other nasty stuff alone, I'm not so distraught that the advanced stuff is on the other side of the fence. I'm really in this for the enjoyment and workout but I dont need to say I slayed the worst the Black Hills could throw at me. I've been in the Hills long enough to know that it's generally a poor decision to challenge mother nature!

 

Thanks for all the thoughtful responses, really enjoyed the read and perspective.

 

Tony

[cowpuc]

Casey,,, I am not sure where in the Black Hills you are located but, if you ride the well known and highly traveled "SpeerfishCanyon Ride" as shown on all those freebie maps printed out for the Sturgis Rally and get almost to the end of that Canyon cruise there is a big sweeping corner with a huge lodge on the right hand side. There is a gravel road that serves as a driveway for that lodge that "Y"s off to the right and on the side of that gravel driveway/two track is a sign that says something about "Waterfalyl's this way" on it.. I have taken that two track many times thru the years as a quite escape from The Rally and know for a fact that between that lodge and Sundance Wyoming there are many miles of two tracks and quad trails back in there, I know cause we followed them one time and was able to pick our way all the way across to Sundance and then rejoined the throngs over to Devils Tower.

We have also camped on those trails many times and have heard everything from Coyotes howlin to Elk bugling in that vast - gorgeous - outback area. Also, if it hasn't changed, it is open range so you will be sharing some of it with Cow's on the trail so, if on a dirt bike (this is never an issue on a loaded up 1st Gen, at least from my experience in handling a tour bike in the woods) you might want to watch your speed if your following a single track thru the forested area out there.

Being an old dirt bikin crazey and always seeing "the sign" of that type of activity even while out CTFW with passenger in tow, I can tell you that I only scratched the surface off trail riding in that area. Quad/dirt bikes tracks go in every direction back in those hills!!

Along this line of thought, and in the spiirit of the joy of single trackin,, here is another short story just for you of another one of my experiences concerning the matter in another State not to far from you:

In Michigan, we dirt riders are regulated by the State to single track trails that are approved by the DNR for our usage. We do have a very nice trail system though with single track equaling close to 2000 miles on both the lower and upper peninsula's = FUN STUFF TOO with riding challenges available for all levels of skill. Having been a member of The Cycle Conservation Club, as well as local organizasions for both Dirt Biking and Snowmobiling, I became very aware of the politics involved at keeping our state and federal lands open for usage by both type of sports and a very strong advocate for returning those lands to the hands of the rightful owners (we the people) for their usage..

That said,, can you imagine my the first time I pulled into Salina Utah on my street bike years ago and found kids running all over town on quads and dirt bikes = traveling right past police officers in the frolic.. I was admiring these antics as I was filling the gas tank on my Venture and thinking,, WOW - would our LEO's/DNR back home be having fun out here!!! No sooner had that thought gone thru my mind than I guy with a truck with a camping trailer in tow behind it with a boat on a trailer in tow behind it pulled into the fuel station to fill his truck with fuel!! Once again, I was totally at him and he noticed my quandry and asked about the look on my face.. I told him that I DEFINITELY was no longer in "Kansas" (definitely like a different planet) as what he was doing there would DEFINITELY cost him a HUGE fine back in Michigan and probably his drivers license and possibly some jail time.. I then commented about the dirt bike/quad activity as the same.. His response was simply,,,,, yep,, this aint Michigan,, this is Utah and we are still pretty free out here and he pulled out with a smile on his face:big-grin-emoticon:... As he did,, some kid with a YZ125 walked over to finish the conversation.. It was a lengthy conversation from that point but I can say that the base answer to the questions I asked were resolved in this:

I pointed to the mountains wayyy off in the distance and asked if it was "legal" for him to ride his bike up in those mountains and, if he wanted to = place his tent up there and camp over night?

Yes,,, any where, everywhere, anytime,,, it's our property open to all..

and how would you get there from here to do such a thing (thinking my child and I might want to spend an overnighter up there on that mountain top) I asked. To which he replied, after giving me a puzzled look:

I would just ride across those open fields and go up that mountain any way I could figure out a trail to do so. Strange place that state of Utah,, I like it!!!!

[videoarizona]

I grew up running through the woods..... Do miss that.

 

Not sure I could handle very much riding on the pegs anymore. I still do it for grins on my 1st Gen, but don't think the hips and knees could handle much of that now!

[Condor]

Casey,,, I am not sure where in the Black Hills you are located but, if you ride the well known and highly traveled "SpeerfishCanyon Ride" as shown on all those freebie maps printed out for the Sturgis Rally and get almost to the end of that Canyon cruise there is a big sweeping corner with a huge lodge on the right hand side. There is a gravel road that serves as a driveway for that lodge that "Y"s off to the right and on the side of that gravel driveway/two track is a sign that says something about "Waterfalyl's this way" on it.. I have taken that two track many times thru the years as a quite escape from The Rally and know for a fact that between that lodge and Sundance Wyoming there are many miles of two tracks and quad trails back in there, I know cause we followed them one time and was able to pick our way all the way across to Sundance and then rejoined the throngs over to Devils Tower.

We have also camped on those trails many times and have heard everything from Coyotes howlin to Elk bugling in that vast - gorgeous - outback area. Also, if it hasn't changed, it is open range so you will be sharing some of it with Cow's on the trail so, if on a dirt bike (this is never an issue on a loaded up 1st Gen, at least from my experience in handling a tour bike in the woods) you might want to watch your speed if your following a single track thru the forested area out there.

Being an old dirt bikin crazey and always seeing "the sign" of that type of activity even while out CTFW with passenger in tow, I can tell you that I only scratched the surface off trail riding in that area. Quad/dirt bikes tracks go in every direction back in those hills!!

Along this line of thought, and in the spiirit of the joy of single trackin,, here is another short story just for you of another one of my experiences concerning the matter in another State not to far from you:

In Michigan, we dirt riders are regulated by the State to single track trails that are approved by the DNR for our usage. We do have a very nice trail system though with single track equaling close to 2000 miles on both the lower and upper peninsula's = FUN STUFF TOO with riding challenges available for all levels of skill. Having been a member of The Cycle Conservation Club, as well as local organizasions for both Dirt Biking and Snowmobiling, I became very aware of the politics involved at keeping our state and federal lands open for usage by both type of sports and a very strong advocate for returning those lands to the hands of the rightful owners (we the people) for their usage..

That said,, can you imagine my the first time I pulled into Salina Utah on my street bike years ago and found kids running all over town on quads and dirt bikes = traveling right past police officers in the frolic.. I was admiring these antics as I was filling the gas tank on my Venture and thinking,, WOW - would our LEO's/DNR back home be having fun out here!!! No sooner had that thought gone thru my mind than I guy with a truck with a camping trailer in tow behind it with a boat on a trailer in tow behind it pulled into the fuel station to fill his truck with fuel!! Once again, I was totally at him and he noticed my quandry and asked about the look on my face.. I told him that I DEFINITELY was no longer in "Kansas" (definitely like a different planet) as what he was doing there would DEFINITELY cost him a HUGE fine back in Michigan and probably his drivers license and possibly some jail time.. I then commented about the dirt bike/quad activity as the same.. His response was simply,,,,, yep,, this aint Michigan,, this is Utah and we are still pretty free out here and he pulled out with a smile on his face:big-grin-emoticon:... As he did,, some kid with a YZ125 walked over to finish the conversation.. It was a lengthy conversation from that point but I can say that the base answer to the questions I asked were resolved in this:

I pointed to the mountains wayyy off in the distance and asked if it was "legal" for him to ride his bike up in those mountains and, if he wanted to = place his tent up there and camp over night?

Yes,,, any where, everywhere, anytime,,, it's our property open to all..

and how would you get there from here to do such a thing (thinking my child and I might want to spend an overnighter up there on that mountain top) I asked. To which he replied, after giving me a puzzled look:

I would just ride across those open fields and go up that mountain any way I could figure out a trail to do so. Strange place that state of Utah,, I like it!!!!

 

OK PUC... I gotta ask????? Do you have voice to text on your 'puter?? It would take me all day to type what you just did, and it absolutely amazes me about all your 'loooong winded' stories about the good old days. I normally erase a lot of the quote and leave just what I'm responding to, but this time it stays intact..... BTW I took typing in High School a billion years ago so I'm qualified to comment...

[cowpuc]

 

OK PUC... I gotta ask????? Do you have voice to text on your 'puter?? It would take me all day to type what you just did, and it absolutely amazes me about all your 'loooong winded' stories about the good old days. I normally erase a lot of the quote and leave just what I'm responding to, but this time it stays intact..... BTW I took typing in High School a billion years ago so I'm qualified to comment...

 

No voice to text on this puter Jack,, straight up touch typin BUT,, remember,,, I also have Dupuytrens so am only able to use my right hand at about 85% and left hand (still not had the fixen surgery done to that one yet) at about 60% so I am having to learn to touch type all over again.. I did learn to type in College though and used it A LOT thru the years in both school, teaching and in Management so I used to be ok on a key board (about 60 WPM accurately).. Now I would say somewhere in the range of 25 to 30 wpm would be about right.

P.S. - haven't you ever noticed how many times I get beat up on trying to get a response out before anyone else these days,,,,, I have.... In my case,,, getting old does mean getting slow