volume 1, issue 3

Bytown Motorcycle Association

NEWSLETTERAugust 2009

VOLUNTEER POWERED!

FR

EE

BMA Family FUN DayAUGUST 16

Published by riders, for riders.

Roaring Good Times

NorthumberlandA Forest Falls

SCORRA WOMEN’S RIDE DAY

GPS 101Find Yourself

Enduro = PainPain = Enduro

Eric

Meets

Shane

BYTOWNMOTORCYCLE ASSOCIATION

www.bytown-motorcycle-assoc.ca

Written permission must be requested to reproduce, or reprint all or portions of the content contained herein.

© Bytown Motorcycle Association 2009

Dave “Woody” PercivalPresident

Mike Hillier Vice-President

Carolin Lueders Treasurer

Mike O’Rielly Secretary

Dave Phifer Volunteer Co-ordinator

Andrew Jasiak Membership

Dallas Shannon Newsletter Editor

Kaveri GuptaCopy Editor/Art Director

Larry MurrayRandy SmithDoug HunterContributors

Carolin LuedersDoug Hunter

Steve GarnseyRandy SmithPhotographs

Dallas Shannon Advertising Sales

To the BMA MembershipSuggestions (please!) for

advertising sales.



To contact anybody about anything please email us at: [email protected]

If you would like to receive the newsletter by email please contact: [email protected]



Dave “Woody” PercivalHead Cheese

Mike Hillier2IC

Carolin LuedersBean Counter

Mike O’RiellyWord Processor

Dave PhiferCat Hurding

Andrew JasiakGroup Shot

Dallas ShannonComputer Geek

Kaveri GuptaPwincess Readsalot

Corrina MorehouseFaron Young

Kevin EastmanJanet Eastman

Cooler Consumers

Jeff AckertMatthew McAnanama

Michael “Ooobah-Moto” LobodzinskiBarry IsherwoodEric McSweeney

Kaveri GuptaLarry Murray

Ken HoevermanMarlene Bleau

Contributors

Carolin Luederswww.sarahmoffetimagery.com

Anthony “Antontrax” KerrEric McSweeney

Larry MurrayKurt Busman

Bill O’Neil Photographs

IN THIS ISSUE:rally raid - big dogs everywherescorra event - women rip!limerick family day - SUNNY!get lost! - Jeff shows us hownorthumberland forest - dirty deedsenduro training dazelimerick forest updates

STOCK: BLING:

dirt from the prezthe view from herefalling downexhaust notetekvest update

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Can you believe it? We finally have our OWN signs! The OFTR have generously offered to supply us with as many as these signs as we need. If you are interested in receiving these please contact Ken at the OFTR.

[email protected]

Woodyph

oto:

Car

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We’re in the meat of riding season - the Prez - READY TO RIDE!

Dirt From the PREZI was contemplating the fate of a club recently. A seeming-ly strong, vibrant group –always in the picture, lots of cur-rent events, a good solid club – you know the type. I was thinking of the Northumberland Trail Riders (NTR). What on earth becomes of them without their forest? Remember, this is Warren Thaxter’s backyard, so it can obviously hap-pen anywhere.

Their area is a 6000 acre forest of mostly single track lost because of the efforts of the Nature Conservancy of Cana-da. I suspect it was an inside job. It seems that they found ways to influence a new advisory committee and that’s all she wrote. No doubt we will hear more from Warren.

Now what is there for this group of riders? Large tracks of public forest are a little hard to come by. We are com-pletely defined as a club by our riding areas. They give us the cause to unite as a group, with a common purpose of creating trails, holding events and doing fun stuff together, right?

Sure you think it’s all about riding, but there is cost as it were. This is the work done on the “inside” by the mem-bers of our club, who are willing to do more than just play. Larry Murray has always said that we need to be at all the meetings all the time. He, Kevin Eastman, and Mike Hillier are seemingly always watching the Limerick scene.

Stop and think for a minute about how incredibly lucky we are to have this forest and all the trail in it. Don’t think just because we “made” the trail network, it is “auto ours”. Imagine if we ever lost the Limerick for riding! Not likely it would seem, but the NTR group would have a chat for you on that issue.

In my area, Lanark County, there are 5300 hectares of county property, some of which is riding area for our club. Think M&M trails and more. Two years ago, when a board of directors was called for, I jumped into the fray. Now, I am one of the twelve board of directors of the Lanark County Municipal Trails Committee, and am one of two people on the trails designation sub-committee. That, my friends, is how we protect our riding areas. My point is that if you really care for the sport, you will find an open door to inside involvement to really protect and advance the sport. As a watchdog, we can make sure that the les-sons of Northumberland are not soon forgotten. So don’t wait, get involved. Call me, Larry or Kevin, and we will find you a spot on the map. There are only a few, but they are all super important to protect. If you know of a riding area you would like to be more involved with call us and we will have a look into it.

A good example of hard work on the inside is the success of Larose forest riders: Marlene, Dale and Ed. They were persistent, fought, and won a small, but important rid-ing area for their area riders. Excellent effort, with a great reward (more riding area) and hopefully more to come.

On another note, don’t forget that August 16th is our club’s family fun/trail riding/skills competition day. Bring a lunch, prepare to have fun and do some riding at KTM Acres, here at Woody’s.

Finally, if anyone is interested in land or property, I am al-ways watching for land adjacent to me coming up for sale that would add to the local riding area, as I own 350 acres but ride on close to 1000. We need riding area partners to enhance and protect the local riding area here. Give me a call if you are interested in investing in property. ∆

by Dave “Woody” Percival





Dave “Woody” PercivalPresident

Mike Hillier Vice-President

Carolin Lueders Treasurer

Mike O’Rielly Secretary

Dave Phifer Volunteer Co-ordinator

Andrew Jasiak Membership

Dallas Shannon Newsletter Editor

Kaveri GuptaCopy Editor/Art Director

Larry MurrayRandy SmithDoug HunterContributors

Carolin LuedersDoug Hunter

Steve GarnseyRandy SmithPhotographs

Dallas Shannon Advertising Sales

To the BMA MembershipSuggestions (please!) for

advertising sales.

A Maritime Vacation

Maritimers talk about the weather incessantly.

“Nice day, eh?” “Looks like she’s gonna rain, huh?” “Tomorrow’s s’posed to be 22 me son.” “How’d ya like dis wedder?”

You can’t go anywhere in the Maritimes without chatting about the weather - it’s part of the daily small talk and it’s always changing. Like they say in the Maritimes, if you don’t like the weather, just wait an hour.

I’m here to say “Cead Mile Failte”, which is a traditional Nova Scotia saying in Gaelic for “One Hundred Thousand Welcomes”. No need to go to the Maritimes this summer, you can experience it right here in good ol’ Ontario. Well, at least the weather. This year, Ontario is experiencing a Maritime summer and I don’t think anyone is happy about it, especially me. One of the benefits of living in Ontario was supposed to be sunny, predictable weather. Weather that you can make plans around. Weather that isn’t worth talking about because it’s consistently consistent.

The only thing I’ve been consistently doing this summer is cancelling my plans due to the unpredictable weather. On a day I am supposed to be riding Calabogie, I’m at home won-dering why it’s sunny when they called for thunderstorms. Again. Curse the weather gods.

Three of the events in this month’s issue were fraught with “weather concerns”: the Limerick Forest Family day, the SCORRA Women’s Day and the Rally Raid dualsport event. The Limerick event has been rained on three years in a row and, to the relief of the organizers, this year the weather co-operated. On the SCORRA training day it POURED rain but the women toughed it out and had a great time anyway. The Rally Raid weekend was supposed to be rained out but both Saturday and Sunday turned out great – although it seemed like a weekend’s worth of rain came down on Friday night alone.

I hope you enjoy this issue. We have content pouring in from all over Ontario and there is a lot of interesting material. The Shane Watts DirtWise story came in at the last minute from BMA club member Eric McSweeny and it sounds like he en-joyed meeting Shane and learning from him. Anyone plan-ning on riding with Eric in the future better be taking notes. We’ve got plenty of updates on Limerick Forest and the sad situation in the Northumberland Forest. If you haven’t heard

about this yet, it’s worth a visit to the OFTR website to get more information. On a more positive note, Marlene Bleau’s persistent efforts in Larose are paying off. The first ever BMA ride day at Larose went well with plenty of support and enthusiasm. Thanks to everyone who is helping expand and develop this new riding area.

BMA super-vet Dave Phifer placed third in the Burnt River Enduro. Check out the article to see the pain he suffered to finish (and place)! He still may be in bed...

If you’ve ever wondered how to change a tire on the trail Larry Murray is going to explain it to you - with pictures! Thanks Larry! I’ll have Kevin read this over in case I blow a tube next time we ride.

Enjoy the remainder of the summer and let’s hope we get the August and September that we deserve!

Cue the bagpipes... ∆

Enjoy,

[email protected]

Another beautiful summer day in the Maritimes. Or Ontario.

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THE VIEW FROM HEREby Dallas Shannon

This year was the 15th Limerick Forest Trail Ride. This ride started in 1995 and was initially known as the Limerick For-est Kids Ride. It was a poker run for the young riders and

family members of the Leeds and Grenville Trail Riders based out of Brockville. When the BMA was re-in-venting itself in the late 1990s after being non-active, the two clubs came together as one. Then the OFTR got started with a trail ride series run by Blair Sharp-less and Warren

Thaxter sponsored Kawasaki Canada.It is my understanding that this was the first trail ride in On-

LIMERICK FAMILY DAY by

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tario where kids could ride on the same trails as the adults. And sometimes alongside some of the top rides in Canada.

“This sandwich smells funny - where did you say you were keeping it?”

The ride would bring family’s from Ontario, Quebec, New York and one or two from Pennsylvania. The

number of riders would run from 80 to 120.

Today in Ontario there are 3 or 4 family rides put on by the OFTR per year and more kids are learning the right way to ride then ever before. The Limerick ride has not changed much over the years. It still has three loops, be-ginner, intermediate and advanced. It’s not about the bike but the length and difficulty.And there are lots of door prizes and tro-phies for young riders.

This year’s ride was everything it should be. There were about

45 paid riders and 15 workers. As well, there were 27 or so trophies given out to rides under 15 and door prizes to

“This will make you a faster rider, I swear! Just don’t tell your mother.”

SOMETHING TO SAY?

Photos, product reviews, ride reports, are all welcome. Gwammer, spwelling and punatuation are all optional (we have a GREAT copy editor)!

EMAIL! [email protected]

boot! All the riders, young and old had a great day. The smiles on the kid’s faces said it all, it was a grand day!

Thank-you’s:

The BMA did an excellent job. The event planners did a great job! Thank you Mike and Kevin. Lunch was put on at N/C by the BMA. A special thanks to Linda Jonker and Michelle Huibers. They did all the work getting and cooking the food!

Thank you to Ken Hoeverman from the OFTR and Geoff McVey (the Limerick Forest manager) who were there helping and giving out information. ∆

Made in the shade - Ken Hoeverman of the OFTR supports our events.

The set up - looking good! Check out the hardware!

Did we mention this was a BMA event?

Woody’s Cycles

www.woodys-cycles.com • 1-800-991-BIKE(2453)

off any purchasewith the mention of this coupon

BMA MEMBERS!

10%

These cards were given to the club by the OFTR. They are just a simple way to record volunteer hours. If you do any volunteer work (arrowing, registration, pre-riding, trail clearing, etc.) please fill in the card and either send it to the OFTR or give it to any club executive at one of the events.

It’s important that as a club we accurately record our volunteer hours. This helps the OFTR by showing that there are a lot of people and volunteer hours going into to riding off-road motorcycles in Ontario.

WHAT THE HECK IS THIS CARD? WHAT DO I DO WITH IT?Every year the OFTR recognizes volunteer hours logged by its member clubs and last year the BMA logged the highest number of volunteer hours in Ontario. This year there will be prizes for top volunteers and highest hours per club.

Last year our club was given a Stihl chainsaw by the OFTR and now the club owns three saws in total. Woody can currently juggle 3 saws and he’s constantly grumbling that he wants to learn to juggle 4. Let’s help Woody achieve his dream - print this card, fill it out with your volunteer hours and submit it to the club.∆

Safety First!

Any-

BMA Code Of Conduct1. Do not trespass on private property2. Ride on existing trails3. Respect nature4. Respect and be courteous to other people who also have the right to be on the trails5. Remember that few other vehicles are as maneuverable as bikes, so give the others lots of room6. Hunt camp owners do a lot of trail grooming. Respect their efforts7. Stop when you see a horse8. Do not ride during hunting season9. Comply with all legislation, bylaws and insurance requirements10. Always wear a helmet and other safety gear (but take off your helmet if you talk to someone)11. Do not litter12. Leave the place better than you found it13. Keep your bike QUIET. More sound = less ground!

I am pleased to announce that the information/riding day at the Larose Forest was a success. We had a good turnout with lots of families out for a good time. The weather was great and not too buggy, and the trail was super tight and

difficult. Everyone who came back to the parking area was smiling and happy with their riding. I am embarrassed to say that I bailed out on Ed, but Ed was kind enough to take my bike back out and finish the trail. Thanks Ed, that sacrifice will not be forgotten. Now for the BIG thank you’s:

• Thank you to Jim Kolman for the great food, drinks, and the bikes that were lent out – that was cool.

•

LAROSE FOREST RIDE DAYby Marlene Bleau

Local BMA member Doug Hunter recently returned from British Columbia where he was on an epic dualsport ride. He’s documented the journey and his story will be published in a future issue of Inside Motorcycles. Doug has leaked a teaser photo for his fellow BMA members - Don’t you wish you were there right now?

BMA SNAPSHOTLAROSE FOREST RIDE DAY

Thank you to Bruce Burns for manning the BBQ – great job!

• Thank you to Terry for the sound testing equipment and for being the first one out on the trail – tough job I know, but someone had to do it.

• Thank you to Dale, Ed and Kevin for the great trails and all of your hard work.

• Thank you to everyone who came out to give them a hand clearing trail. And guys, this is still just the beginning, so keep on coming and helping. ∆

BMA Family Fun Day! - AUG. 16th

Upcoming Events

BMA Family Fun Day - August 16thBMA Family Fun day is being held at KTM Acres in Perth. A day to kick back, ride, relax, play m/c games, and skill contests. Plus, you really get to know other folks in the club. There will be med-als and a free ride in the afternon. If you are so inclined the property will be well arrowed for the various skill levels for trail riding during the day. Bring a lunch and bug repellent. More details will follow. For info contact Marlene Bleau 613-678-1676 OR [email protected]

Other upcoming events happening in Ontario:

If you would like your free listing here, please email your event to: [email protected]

Ganny to Gooderham (and back) August 1 & 2, 2009 Location: Near Port Hope, OntThis ride travels from the Cobourg area up to Gooderham with an overnight stay at the OFTR HQ. Gooderham’s annual Horse-shoe Days weekend is on and there is a big dinner and a live band on Saturday night. Entry Fee: $100 includes Sat. dinner and Sunday breakfast if entered by July 18th. Also includes primitive camping at OFTR HQ in Gooderham or see list for local accommodations.

Mid Summers Dream Trail Ride - Sun Aug 166th Annual Mid Summer’s Dream Trail Ride in the Ganaraska Forest. Some of the best trails in Ontario Part of the Ontario Trail Ride Series Location: Ganaraska Forest Date: August 16th, 2009 Date: August 16, 2009

Gooderham Trail Ride - Sun Aug 23Gooderham Trail Ride (Part of the Ontario Trail Ride Series) START: Gooderham Recreation Centre, home of the OFTR !! Gooderham is 15 minutes from Haliburton. FEE:$50 Adult ($40 pre-entry by August 20th) $25 Kids ($20 pre-entry)

Calabogie Boogie Trail Ride - September 12 & 13thStart and Finish: Calabogie Highlands Golf Resort, Calabogie Ontario.SIGN IN: Friday 6:00 to 9:00 pm. Saturday & Sunday 8:00 to 9:00 am (must complete sound test before registration) RIDERS MEETING: 9:00 am and ride start directly after meeting.ENTRY FEES: Pre-Entry: $100 (CAD) by September 1 (includes commemorative t-shirt). Post-Entry: $120, 1-day entry: $65 RIDE LEVEL: Easy Primary Loops, Saturday and Sunday! Suitable for novice level riders and up. All “optional “ trails will be rated for difficulty level.

BMA Family Fun Day! - AUG. 16th

Upcoming Events

If you would like your free listing here, please email your event to: [email protected]

Northumberland County Council approved a motion that will remove the approved trails developed by the Northum-berland Trail Riders (NTR) over the past 12 years. A resolu-tion from 1997 that allowed NTR to develop single track trails was worded to approve trails signs and ribbons for events rather than full time use.

This was a two year process and was likely doomed from the start. Documentation from the County indicating plans to “reduce motorized use a minimum” was uncovered late in the process.

The approved plan will allow ORMs to delevop trails in under 500 acres of the 5,424 acres municipal forest. This forest was transferred from the MNR to the County in 2000 which essentially removed our rights of passage and transformed the land into private property. This area was also included in the Oak Ridges Moraine Act in 2001 which was introduced primarily for aggregate extraction and watershed management. While there are few rivers, pond or lakes in the forest, claims of underwater recharge and dis-charge areas were effectively presented in the controversial “Facilitators Atlas”.

What remains of the 60+ kms of single track trail is 8kms of existing trail and 50 kms of forest access roads. The parcel allocated to NTR may be developed to include more single track although the density will likely cause more environ-mental problems. Local riders will have a limited experience and OFTR/ORM visitors will be discouraged so as not to

cause excessive traffic.

More insulting is that the County has allocated the NTR sin-gle track to other non-motorized user groups, most of these trails will probably grow over in the next couple of years unless the county gets involved in brushing and scrubbing.

Bob Kennedy of NTR was our volunteer representative until NFAC meetings became too much of a volunteer commit-ment. Warren Thaxter took over this issue after Ken Hoev-erman was removed from NFAC as a non-resident and did a fantastic job.

We believe the decision was a foregone conclusion. War-ren’s delegation was really heartfelt and appealing. While we were probably already sunk, the county made a very dramatic sound presentation with revving engines turned up very loud with a sound meter on the screen for effect that stirred the audience and council.

Yesterday’s council meeting included nine delegations, Ken Hoeverman was first and Warren Thaxter’s was last. War-rens presentation was excellent and heartfelt. (OFTR.CA)

We learned a lot about the municipal process during this battle which will help us should we ever get into this situa-tion again. County staff used a lots of tricks and dirty play here.

Experience and treachery won the day. ∆

In case you haven’t heard, the Northumberland Forest was closed to ORMs recently. There has been a long battle over this issue but on July 23rd it was finalized. To read more about this please go to the OFTR website - www.oftr.ca

A FOREST FALLS... The Northumberland Forest Update

by Ken Hoeverman

Trail Names

If you get a chance to look at the new Limerick Forest Maps (they are on both the BMA and Limerick Forest web sites and can be printed off) you will see that all the trails are numbered or named. The trails that have names are for EMS services (meaning that you can drive a fire truck, police car or ambulance down them and will have room to turn around). The reason for the names and not numbers is that EMS blue numbers do not like to be connected to other numbers.

But, the named trails don’t have just any old names. They were given names that have a long history with the land. Most of the names go back to the families that came from Europe and settled here. These families cleared the land, worked the farm, but it’s hard to feed a family when your land is sand. The only thing that grew well here were weeds and pine trees. Most of this land was taken or given back to the government for unpaid back taxes. Now, 60 or 70 years later, we have a manmade forest.

Grant Money

Thanks to the hard work of Mike Hillier and Ken Hoever-man from the OFTR, we received $5000.00 for arrows. Their work was done over a year ago and last fall the ar-rows arrived with the blessing of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. Over the next few weeks all of the trails will be arrowed. The arrowing has started and we have roughly a third of the job done. The arrowing should be completed in the fall.

All arrows will have:

1) The UCLG and OFTR logo

2) “Warning! USE FOREST AND ALL TRAILS AT YOUR OWN RISK”

3) Four numbers which all have a meaning:

a) The first number = the area you are riding in. Area 1 = the south block by the pit parking. Area 2 = Y parking area.

b) The second number = width of the trail in meters i.e. 1 = 1 meter, 2 = 2 meters etc.

c) The third and fourth numbers = the trail that your on.

Even numbered trails are on the west side of the main road. Odd numbered trails are on the east side of the main road. ∆

Limerick Forest Updates GET LOST!(with Jeff)Jeff Akert is our resident GPS guru. In a series of articles he’s going to go over buying the right GPS for your needs, how to set it up properly and use it to it’s full potential.

GPS 101: Which one do I buy?

Why do you need a GPS? Well there are several reasons, including:

• To find out where you have been riding

• To locate yourself on a map

• To give rescue authorities your location so they can find you when you’re injured or broken down (assuming you have communication).

• To direct you on a specific route or track.

• To look cool and show people that you have fully entered the 21st century and grasped its technology!

There are certainly a myriad of choices out there on the market, but if you are considering a GPS for use on your trail bike, it does limit the choices a bit. A number of GPS units out there that will say “for motorcycle use” but these tend to be directed towards the road rider and can be bulky and heavy. My criteria for a useful off-road dirt bike type GPS are the following (ranked in order from most important to least):

• Waterproof• Small and lightweight• Easy to read screen (the larger the better)• Intuitive menu system and well laid out buttons• High sensitivity receiver• Electronic compass (shows your direction without having to move)• Good value

With these criteria in mind, I will introduce a few choices that fit the bill, and make some comments on their suitabil-ity. Garmin products seem to have the best choice and the lion’s share of the market, so I will focus on these (prices listed are estimations).

Garmin Map76 CXs

This model has been around for quite a while and has a good follow-ing in both the off-road and on-road bike crowds. It has all the criteria mentioned above and it floats in water (for those that find some of the mud holes a bit deep, you can find your bike by looking for the

by Larry Murray

GET LOST!(with Jeff)floating GPS). The unit is a bit larger than some of the newer ones, but the buttons are relatively large and easy to operate with your gloves on. The screen is slightly larger than the following units.

Price: $290

Garmin Map60 CXs

This unit is small and rugged. It has a decent size colour screen, high sensitivity receiver and elec-tronic compass (similar to the Map76 above). This is the GPS that I use and find it ideal for what I need. It is smaller size and has better button layout than the Map76.

Price: $380

Garmin Etrex Vista HCx

I know a number of people that use the Etrex family of GPS and are very happy with this model. It is considerably smaller and gener-ally cheaper than the Map60 and Map76 units. I don’t necessarily like the buttons and toggle system as it takes longer to find the proper screen. Also, the toggle is a bit sensitive when trying to get to the screen of choice.

Price: $280

Garmin Oregon 400tc

This is a brand new unit and is dif-ferent in that there are no buttons to fiddle with. The interface is like the iPhone or iPod Touch, where the screen is touch sensitive. You can scroll through the menus by moving your finger across the screen. It has all the criteria as above, with the ability to view the preloaded topographic information in 3D.

Price: $570.

All of these units come with software for your PC that lets you upload and download between it and the GPS unit. They all have USB cables that provide the connectivity. The Oregon apparently has a wireless option that transfers data without having to physically hook up.

One thing to note is that each of the two families of GPS above (Map family and Etrex family) have lower end mod-els that don’t have the electronic compass or just have a shades of grey screen. These will save you anywhere from $50 to $150. For a good selection of GPS and a great way to compare the various models, head to www.gpscity.ca. This website has a Canadian warehouse based in Alberta, has some of the best prices and ships very quickly if you decide to buy.

So now we have our choice narrowed down with a few units here between $280 and $570. In the next installment of GET LOST will will assume we have made our choice and bought the Map60 CSx. We’ll go through some of the basics of setting up the unit for a first ride in the bush. That’s all for now, get lost! ∆

TEK VEST REVIEWTekVest is letting the BMA take their Off-Road Rally vest for a long term product review. We’re going to see to it that the vest take a serious beating over the riding season. We will have updates as to how the vest is holding up, what we love, what we like and what we would want improved. Other riders with TekVests will also weigh in. Here my initial thoughts...

I beat the TekVest like it stole something. It’s not pretty. After four rides, one in the pouring rain, I have not washed the vest and I have done zero maintenance. My goal this season is to treat the vest badly, every single ride. The only “care” I offer the vest? A day or two after riding I take the vest out of my wretched, dank gear bag and hang it up by the loop on the collar so it can air out. That’s it.

Last issue I talked about the features of the vest, all of which I felt were well designed. I am pleasantly surprised to report that there have been no failures. All of the zip-pered pockets have worked well, the snap for the “back-pack” or hydration pocket has not failed and the Velcro on the shoulder pads has stayed together without a problem.

During rides, I yank the zippers open with one hand to access stale snacks and a cloth to dry my goggles. I also close the zippers with one hand which makes accessing the pockets convenient.

I’ve taken the vest on nasty, gnarly, all-day single track rides and also on a dual-sport weekend. It performed ad-mirably in both environments.

The question I get most often when wearing the vest is - “Is it hot?”. Half-way though my first ride I would have said yes but I was given a tip from another rider during that ride on how to get better airflow. He told me that if I unzip the front zipper 3/4 of the way down it would greatly increase the airflow. I tried that and he was right. The moving air was pumped into my torso around and around my rib cage and into my back. I found that if I moved my torso slightly when my speed was up I could control the way the air circulated around my body and I could really get a nice breeze.

I’ve only crash tested the vest once and it was a simple tip over on an off-camber hill. I lost power on my way up and landed on my back with the bike on top of me. I didn’t feel a thing and was most concerned that I popped my Camel-bak bladder. Everything was intact and I was fine.

Other riders in the club have been entrusting their pro-tection to TekVest for many years. They have wanted to comment on their experiences so in the next few issues I will include what they have to say as well as my on-going comments.

review by Dallas Shannon

Ahh, that’s better. A bit of dirt adds character...

Larry Murray’s Thoughts

Back in 2001 I had the opportunity to go to Michigan to ride with Ross Lenox, Ed Strohak and Warren Thaxter (all true legends of our sport). It was a trip put together by Warren for Inside Motorcycles and the report is a must-read if you have it.

We were to test 4 motorcycles, 4 GPS units, and riding gear. This was the first time I put on a TekVest, with its full complement of accessories: four pockets (two zippered, two cargo), shoulder pads, drink system, plus cargo room.It also had a front zipper, plus a clip! So you can ride with zipper part way down. Last, it has reflective strips for night visibility (yes dirt bikes have lights). There are so many things I like about the TekVest.

The real story behind the TekVest is its safety elements. It covers much more of you body and has saved my upper body more times than I should need to tell you.

If you fall off, you need a TekVest. The way the vest ab-sorbs the force of your body hitting anything is the real motivation to buy one. Have you seen the TV ad where everything is covered in bubble wrap so no one can get hurt? Well it’s not quite like that but it is a key component of my riding gear. I can’t see myself going back to a sheet of plastic wrapped around my body where the manufac-turer spends more time and money on what type of decals to put on it than the safety of the rider in it.

Some will tell you that they are hot and a little heavy. May-be yes, maybe no. My helmet and boots are also heavy and hotter then I would like but I would never ride without them.

FREE DEMO! - The BMA is doing a long-term test review of the TekVest. See page 14 for the first installment of our review. If you are are a BMA member and you are interested in being given a TekVest to demo, please email: [email protected]

Larry knows that a dirty vest is a happy vest. Larry and Al in Virginia

I understand there is a demo vest you can try, plus I have two and will loan them to anyone who would like to try it. ∆

GET PAID TO WRITE!*

We are always looking for submissions or story ideas...

EMAIL! [email protected]

* Are you kidding me? We don’t ACTUALLY pay anybody...

Above is the new BMA business card. The club has printed 1000 double sided, full colour cards so it’s members (you!) can “recruit” potential new members while on the trail. We’re going to be spreading them around to as many people as we can. Club execu-tives should have some so please don’t be shy on asking where you can get them. Also don’t be shy on spreading them around. The more members we have the more influence and power we wield. Northumberland Forest has fallen, don’t think it can’t happen here. ∆

“There is strength in numbers - go forth and spread thy message!”

- unknown BMA Member

The rain did little to dampen the spirits of the 20-ish women who showed up on June 28 for the SCORRA (Simcoe County Off-Road Riders Association) Women’s Ride Day. This event was organized to give women a chance to learn/practice basic riding skills, meet other riders and have some fun.Not yet comfortable on my bike, I was apprehensive about whether I was competent enough to even show up for the event. This anxiety only heightened when I arrived that morning and saw confident, smiling women milling around their huge bikes. I gulped and cursed myself (and my hus-band) for consenting to this.

My husband pushed me from the edge of the action into the group of women like a 5-year-old starting kindergarten, and I knew that I had to suck it up and brave out the day. I desperately hoped that my ability to stop and start the bike, clumsily change gears and go over very small bumps would be enough to go unnoticed in the crowd…but I was

skeptical.

Slowly, however, more women wearing nervous grins like my own started showing up and I started to relax. Admit-tedly, I was hoping they would call the whole thing off since it was pouring rain and I had never ridden in the rain. But these childish wishes were quickly dashed when Cecile, our lead instructor for the day, gathered us around.

“I don’t want to hear any complaints about the rain today. If you can do what we are going to do in the rain, you can definitely do it when it’s dry,” she opened up with. Jeez. I was in deep shit.

2009

SCORRAWOMENS

TRAINING DAY

Head instructor Cecile Gambin’s got what it takes...clearly.

story: Kaveri Gupta photos: Kurt Busman

photo: Bill O’Neil

Cecile introduced the other instructors (Vicky, Jaime, Tammy and Allison) while we stood under the pro-tection of a tent from the rain. She then said that we would start with a warm-up ride around the track and called the introductory meeting to an end.

What??!! A warm-up ride around the track?? I had never ridden on a track. And some of the jumps were way larger than what I had practiced on at home.

With another plaintive glance over at my husband (who grinned and shrugged his shoulders), I climbed on and proceeded to deep breathe while repeatedly stalling my bike. Shit. The other girls slowly started taking off around me and I couldn’t even get my bike going!! That was the only thing I could do!!

Cecile ran over to me and I was convinced she was going to kick me out of the event. But instead, she wanted to make sure that my bike was working ok. Unfortunately, with her standing there, my bike happily

roared to life and she told me to get going.

“I am a total beginner,” I explained, apologetically.

“It doesn’t matter”, she replied. “It’s not about speed, just get around the track.”

Well, at least I could go slow. I shouldn’t break too many bones if I am going slow, right?

However, the quiet, idyllic, grassy field where I nor-mally practice was a far cry from the muddy, slippery track I was slowly steering my bike towards. I was terrified that I was in over my head.

I started puttering around the track, and as I did so,

concentrated on relaxing. The track wasn’t that tough, and I was going at a speed that I was comfortable with. I did make a wrong turn soon after entering the track, but was quickly rescued by a sympathetic expert and lead around in the right direction. I lost her promptly because of how slow I was, but I actually made it around the track without any major mishaps. There was some tight single-track, hairpin turns and berms and I was elated to be able to ma-neuver my bike through it all.

This is clearly a cliché, but after the warm-up, the rest of the day was not nearly as terrifying as I feared. We were randomly broken up into smaller groups, each with their own instructor. The plan was to do different exercises for the morning with short water/instruction breaks in be-tween.

Once the smaller group exercises began, I completely relaxed. I was in Jaime’s group and she was awesome – kind, forgiving and helpful. My groupmates were at all different levels and I was surprised to find out I wasn’t the only newbie.

We started off with ma-neuvering our bikes thru pylons (easy) while standing up (hard). Cecile had explained at the begin-ning the importance of learning to ride standing up, so the rule for the day was that our butts were not to hit the seats.

Next, we moved on to exercises practicing breaking, shift-ing up and down in short distances, clutch control and figure 8’s. We finished off the morning with some games like a “slow race” (I lost everytime).

Lunchtime felt like heaven. I was riding high on the endor-phins from the physical work-out of the morning and as I sat in my wet gear on the cold concrete floor, covered in

Does this raincoat match my outfit?

That pylon will not bite, I promise.

Getting the hang of standing figure 8’s. Legs burning!

The slow race, which I lost everytime. Nobody said I was allowed to use the brake!

mud and eating burgers with my new friends, I realized I was having a great time.

In the afternoon each group worked their way around the course learning how to tackle specific obstacles such as berms, jumps, and endurocross-style tires. I thought this was awesome since it was what I was looking for – specific instruction on how to handle my bike over varying terrain. We learned how to accelerate into a jump, adjust our body position during the jump and weight the suspension properly.

Cecile instructed our group in the afternoon with the help of Vicky. Cecile’s expectations were high and I tried desperately to please her. When practicing the tabletop, she wanted us in third-gear before we hit the hill, standing up and at-tempting to get some air.

(Uncharacteristically of me, I actually wanted to get some air at this point).

Though I wasn’t successful in getting air, the day did do wonders to my confidence on the bike, which is clearly the point. I left with the desire to perfect many skills: shifting gears while standing, clutch control, weighting the pegs, lifting my head and looking as far ahead as I can…the list is long.

The day ended with prizes for the girls, gifts for our instruc-

tors and cold beverages.I would like to thank:a) Gary Shackleton, Don Moore and SCORRA for organiz-ing an excellent event,b) Cecile, Jaime, Vicky, Tammy and Allison for their excel-lent instruction and, c) My new friends Ang (who pumps her fist as much as me) and Sandra for their friendliness and jokes. ∆

Kaveri can likely be found sipping wine, contemplating the freshly cut lawn and trying to find neutral. Email her: [email protected]

Is this my rear brake?

Me and my new friend Ang.Pink is the new black.

Tammy speaks, they listen.

FALLING DOWNConfessions of a True Beginner

Barry and his sons just started riding and are writing a monthly column on what’s it’s like to be green as the grass. This month Barry recalls what it’s like considering a first bike (or two).

CHOOSING A DIRT BIKE Ok, so you’ve made the decision that you are going to try this dirt biking thing but don’t know how to decide which dirt bike is right for you….

There are lots of colours to choose from. There are the blue ones. We learned on those and they seemed OK. We saw a few yellow and lime green ones out there but not many. Maybe there’s a reason? There are the red ones. They have been around for as long as I can remember and still seem to be going strong. Then there are these orange ones. I don’t remember seeing those when I was a kid. KTM? Hmmm. Must be some Asian knock-off. What? Made in Austria? Skis I could understand, but dirt bikes? Well, there are lots of them out there, so there must be something to it.

Well, for us it amounted to a bunch of research, a bit of discussion with those in the know, the ever-present cost factor, and just some common sense. As I noted in the last issue, we ended up going with two used Honda CRF150Fs.

Why Hondas? Well, there were a number of reasons. First was cost. At about $2k each we weren’t out too much if we decided to give up dirt biking for croquet. Then there was durability. These bikes are built like tanks. We knew we would be falling down and the bikes needed to be able to handle it. Kind of like dad’s Chevy – may not have been the prettiest or sexiest but at least you could rely on it. Why 150s? Physical size was the key for us. Both my

son and I are about 5’5” (with a 30” inseam) and this bike was all that seemed to fit. I still can’t figure out how you guys operate, let alone mount those behemoths with 39” seat heights. How do you swing your leg over?

So, did we make the right choice? We think so. At least for now. Believe me, we have already dropped them a number of times and they (and for the most part we) keep coming up smiling, though sometimes the restarting can give your kickstart leg a work out (curse you guys with electric start!).

One of these

days we

hope to be

one of the

KTM Kool

Kids. But for now, we are content. “Alex, put

that KTM brochure away!”

No regrets, and lots of fun. Isn’t that what it’s all about anyway?

Next month…Gearing up! ∆

Ok, ok, it’s an R not an F - use your imagination.

by Barry Isherwood

What is Rally Raid you ask? Back in the fall of 2008 a small group of us wanted to cre-ate a competition based event where riders would navigate through 1000 kilometers via GPS waypoints.

However, our dream came crashing down. The insurance and logistics for such an event were well beyond our means. I nearly gave up hope. Instead, we scaled down our expectations to just the basics: camping and riding. What resulted was something greater than we could have imagined.

The Sum is Greater than the Parts

As it turns out, we had gained an audience: ADVrider, ODSC, BTR, KLRrider, Stromtrooper, GTArider, RidAdven-ture and various other websites. It was the enthusiasm from the online community that fueled the fire. This led us to stake out the terrain a month in advance, plotting as much GPS datum as we could ride. The idea being we would provide a GPS “web” of routes to choose from. This created an interesting concept, where riders could choose their own adventure. It also alleviated the need for event insurance. As a result, the event was free!

And there you have it. In the week leading up to the event, I witnessed the online forums explode with organization, plan-ning and plotting – I’m

sure the FBI and CSIS were curious what we were up to!

Show Time

The weekend kicked off for me on Friday afternoon with a sublime ride along back-roads from Toronto to the Desert Lake Resort, which is just north of Kingston. Upon arrival, the rain came pouring down that night, unleashing its fury on a few unsuspecting campers. As I later found out, the ground became so saturated that a few bikes tipped over as their kickstands sank. One bike in particular landed a

few inches from one camper’s head. Add to that, picking up a 500lb bike in your underwear, while it’s pouring rain, at 3am, makes for

story: Michael Lobodzinskiphotos: Anthony Kerr

Word around the campfire says this dragon breathes fire.

an interesting night. In fact, it rained so much, I heard many stories of floating objects in peo-ple’s tents, from goggles to socks. Alas, this was a blessing in disguise. The Riding Gods were conditioning the terrain for us, resulting in prime traction and zero dust.

Saturday morning’s breakfast buffet was magnificent: puffy pan-cakes, fluffy eggs and juicy sausages. It set the precedent for the remainder of the day.

After a brief riders meeting, the maps were thrown atop left over maple syrup and nod-ding heads prevailed. The time had arrived to light them beasts, stakeout them hills and lay claim to them curves. Imagine a 400km long supermoto track with spectacular scenery. Riders aboard everything from CRF230’s to a BMW GS1200’s were about to test their mettle.

Not Africa, Ontario...really.

Not Texas! Ontario...really.

Suck, Squish, Spark…. BOOM

With billboards whizzing past, looking more like team pit-boards, there were many occasions where I had both wheels of my fire-breathing KTM 950 off the ground. Standing atop the pegs, leaning forward and shifting through the gears like Jonah Street, all this not a tick over the posted the limit. Where else could you find terrain like this? Rally Rally Rally Raid - YEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The group with whom I rode for the duration of the day ex-emplified endurance and skill. I was shocked that a group of eight riders could move in unison like that. Never mind the fact that one GS1200 had street tires while another was limited to 400cc. We were a team – a team on a mission to conquer all three parts of the “long GPS route”.

The two “incidents” we fell victim to saw a KTM 950SM crash into a boulder the size of a car. Amazingly, the rider avoided serious injury by somehow flying OVER the boulder - as his bike parked itself. The second incident was met with much less fan fare, a flat tire on a

The food was EXCELLENT...Mmmmm.

KLR. However, all eight riders turned around and made short work of getting our teammate back on boil.

With a mid-way stop in Tweed, we fueled up with gas and food. More Rally Raid action continued with lofty crests,

tight apex’s, banked dirt roads and unbeliev-able scenery. The stories are still circulating the various web forums, from tales of water logged bikes to stretches of roll-ing-coaster dirt roads. The critics were unani-mous in their response – the terrain was epic!

Later that evening, the bench racing ensued over a hearty turkey din-ner buffet that hit the

spot. That night, I could finally wipe the dirt off my face but not the smile. The friends I made this weekend will share an everlasting place in my memories.

The Final Stretch

As an ode to the shear brilliance of Saturday’s ride, the 6am offering on Sunday was a chance to wind things down. The several riders who man-aged to shake off the hangover were treated to the sun igniting the morning dew in an explo-sion of surrealism.

Rolling through peaks and valleys and along still lakes, the

Not the turkey buffet - hold the gravy please.

solitude in your helmet was a chance to realize that oppor-tunities such as this cannot be missed.

The breakfast buffet on Sunday morning was the final in-stallment of the $20 meal plan offered by the resort, which was worth its weight in gold. It was dur-ing those final cups of coffee that I took the

chance to shake the hands of most everyone who helped make the event happen, for their enthusiasm fueled mine.

Our collective sense of adventure brought us together; we made new friends, we explored new terrain and we will share everlasting memories.

Rally Raid was an Adventure, from beginning to end!

Don’t miss the Fall Colours Ride: October 3-4th, 2009 at the Wolf’s Den Lodge in Algonquin Park.

The Rally Raid would also like to thank Ryan Heritage for all of his help organizing the event/location and Dragan

Grubesic for the Website – www.grubesic.com ∆

Sunday morning crew - photo by Ooober-Moto

DEFINITELY not the turkey buffet.

Ahhh...here’s the turkey buffet....although a bit soggy.

BMA 2009 EVENT SCHEDULEBMA Club trail ride, Calabogie, Ont. May 31

Watch the club web site for developments. This is a great area…lots of scenery and varied terrain suitable for most skill levels. Dualsport route is also being offered. For information call Doug McNeil at (613) 825-1444, [email protected]

2 Hour harescramble, Woody’s, Perth June 7

BMA/Woody’s Cycles club hare scrambles our annual spring pilgrimage into the forest. Usually a dust free event …there may or not be any mud. Always fun and challenging. Classes include youth, previous race experience with no bikes under 65cc,junior, intermediate, veteran (over 39 years old) or so and pro. Registration starts at 9am and practice till 11:15 am. Racing starts a noon .For info call Carolin or Woody @ 613-267-6861.or [email protected]

Limerick Forest Kid’s Ride July 12

Limerick Forest Family Ride. For kids of all ages, non-competitive, and focused on fun. Trails as al-ways well marked for different riding levels. Bikes must be quiet, plated and legal. Sign in 9-10, start time 10:30 for more info call Mike Hillier 613-258-1164 or Larry Murry 613-926-2522

BMA Fun Day/Field Day at Woody’s August 16 BMA Family Fun day @KTM Acres in Perth A day to kick back, ride, relax, play m/c games, and skill contests and really get to know other folks in the club .If you are so inclined we will have the prop-erty well arrowed up for the various skill levels for trail riding during the day. Bring a lunch and bug repellent. More details will follow. For info call Marlene Bleau 613-678-1676 [email protected]

Calabogie Boogie Trail Ride, September 12-13

This is our clubs premier event of the year with 2 days of prime off road riding, arrowed routes to suit everyone from newbie to pro. Trailheads marked for mileage and difficulty, some dualsport friendly trails as well .One and 2-day packages, pre-registration are very advisable for this one. Watch the club website for updates and info. Pre-registration available thru Woody’s Cycles 613-267- 6861

BMA 4-hour harescramble, Woody’s October 25

The Colin Snider Memorial 4 hour Team Scrambles. This is an annual favourite, with a low impact racing, format with an iron man class for the hardcore, a 2-man team competition and 3 to 4 man teams com-peting for individual honours. It is set on a course meant to be fun but reasonably challenging. A fund-raiser for local charities and an excellent event for a family group to have… a really fun day and get some racing experience to boot No bikes smaller than 65cc call for info Carolin or Woody 613-267-6861

FOR A HARDCOPY, PLEASE PRINT THIS PAGE OF THE NEWSLETTER

An enduro is not a trail ride and should not be easy. Your physical and mental limitations will be tested. An enduro is unpredictable and exciting. If you are riding your first enduro, at some point during the event, you will ask your-self, “Why God, Why?!?”. After you finish your last lap you will be exhausted. Your body will ache in places you didn’t even know existed. You will load your bike and head home, thinking that was your first and last enduro. But then a strange thing will happen a few days later. You will realize that even though you didn’t win, or even come close, you pushed yourself beyond what you previously thought pos-sible. You were able to cross obstacles at the end of the enduro that you were falling over at the beginning. You hit a wall of exhaustion and found a way to push on. Maybe it wasn’t that bad after all. Then you start thinking about the next event and how you might want to enter. Eventually, all you can think about is firing up your bike and blasting onto to the trails in hopes of blowing your previous results into oblivion! You are now an enduro rider.

On July 26, 2009 Burnt River Off-Road Facility was host to the first Dirty Bikes Amateur Enduro. The event utilized the World Enduro Canada rules. There was a 20km loop that consisted of three test sections, Extreme, Enduro and Cross. All classes had to ride the loop a total of 3 times.

The goal was to create an event that would chal-lenge all levels of amateur rider. In this regard, it was very suc-cessful. The higher skilled rid-ers had little dif-ficulty complet-ing the event but were challenged

when riding the test sections as fast as possible. On the other hand, the true novice enduro rider found it tough to finish the entire event under the time limitations.

Due to rain the previous evening, the course was a little wet and slippery. Nevertheless, after the first lap the condi-tions in the test sections were absolutely perfect. Unfor-tunately, there were a few issues with some riders missing arrows and getting turned around in the first enduro test. In the past, an error such as that would have ruined the rider’s day. However, with the WEC style format, I was able to make the decision that the first Enduro Test results be removed from the scoring. Problem solved.

The Extreme Test

This test was a man-made arena cross-style test. The goal was to use local terrain to design the test. Rocks and trees were used, and lots of them. Rock paths, a variety of log crossings, small, loose gravel traverses and tires were all part of this test. The challenge was to make it tough enough to push the top amateur riders but to also make it passable for the novice competitor. With a combination of tough obstacles and proper placement, it was a challenge for all. It was hard for the top riders to go fast and difficult for the novice to get through.

The riders were then routed onto a 12km double track trail that would take them to the enduro test. The trail was not easy with the rock and slippery mud. It was very important for a competitor to conserve energy in the transition trails. Riding smoothly on the pegs was the key.

The Enduro Test

This test was roughly 6km in length and consisted of 20% open terrain and 80% tight, gnarly single track. Not hard to ride but hard to ride fast. This section was 75% new trail

EMBRACE

THE PAIN!

ENDUROstory: Matthew McAnanamaphotos: Sarah Moffet

Canadian Enduro Championship (CEC)

• September 12 & 13 - Labelle, Quebec • September 19 & 20 - Parry Sound, Ontario

with rocks and roots being the most loathed obstacles. This section was my pride and joy and took many hours to construct. In the end, it was well worth it because this en-duro test separated the fast guys from the really fast guys.

After the enduro test there was a short transition section to the cross test. I am sure many riders were not happy to come around a corner to see another test so close to the mayhem of the last test.

The Cross Test

A MX track is not required to run a cross test. At this event we ran the test on trail that ran through an open field. Lots of turns, dips and whoops. There were some fast turns and some slow ones. Many riders enjoyed this test as it really rewarded the fast guy but was very easy for the novice.

The cross test ended at the pit area. With a 1.5hr lap limit (riders were averag-ing 45-60mins to run a lap) there was lots of time to gas up, fix your bike and fuel your body before the next lap. However, should you encounter a problem on the lap, such as a flat tire or getting turned around, you still had enough time to finish the lap.

As I circled the course and pits I saw many tired riders who just kept going until the end or until they just could not go any further. I was very impressed with the professionalism of all competitors who did not complain or whine but rather put their heads down and rode. Enduro riders are amazing competitors. They make all the hard work of creating an event like this worthwhile. This is evident in quotes found on various forums.

“This was one of the best enduros I’ve done and I’ve done most of them at least once. The WEC format is far supe-rior in my opinion. Fastest rider wins with enough untimed trail to beat you up along the way and still give you time to relax between laps. I had 30 minutes between laps to gas up, eat, tighten bolts etc. Then BAM, throttle on.” Class B rider

“Was that awesome or what!!!! I love the format for WEC, this was my first time ever racing an enduro and I loved it.... The course set up was fantastic, the special tests were excellent…I didn’t think I would enjoy the cross test as much as I did, it was a real blast. The extreme test was just right, not too crazy but certainly a challenge…Anyone that missed this event missed a great one. Can’t wait for next

years series” Class A Rider

“It was a great event. One that could have been done by all of us. You had an hour and a half to finish a loop, and most of us finished a loop under an hour. That gives you a lot of time to recover for the next one… there’s no pressure to gun it like in a scramble. You ride only against yourself. You can’t really tell if the guys on your class are faster or slower. You can also stop and rest before the specials. No obligation to go in the minute you get there. You got timed only on the specials, so you could ride at any pace on the rest of the loop and recover. I think most of us stopped be-fore the coss special because it was so close to the enduro one. I like this format. Makes me feel not as slow as I really am...I had a ton of fun.” 40+ Class Rider

“This race was a hoot. The enduro test was spectacular…Kudos to everyone involved. It was just tough enough to still be fun.” 50+ Class Rider

So folks there you have it. The first Dirty Bikes Amateur En-duro was a complete success. If you have never competed in an enduro, watch out for more events next year. Chal-lenge yourself, you may be surprised what you are capable of doing.

Oh, and for those competitors that were scared away by the impending “doom” of the rain…not only did it not rain but I actually got sunburn. Enduro riders ride, rain or shine. ∆

Results - Class AwardsA - Advanced 1 DMITRY TSVETKOV KTM2 ROB MARTIN KTM3 DAVID JANZEN GGB - Intermediate 1 CONNOR BROGAN KTM2 JASON ARMSTRONG KTM3 JAKE TUSTIN KTMC - Novice 1 CHARLES PASCOE YAM2 RICHARD ROESIER HON3 JOSHUA OLAR YAMVeteran (40+) 1 BARRY BILLINGS KTM2 DAVID MIGNON KTMSuper Veteran (50+) 1 LANCE MATTHEWS HSQ2 KEITH BILLINGS KTM3 DAVID PHIFER KTM

Special Awards- Dirty Bikes Tough Rider

ERICK OLAR HON

Prizes1st in each class – Free entry to Parry Sound CEC ($100 value)2nd in each class - $50 gift certificate at A Vicious Cycle3rd in each class - $25 gift certificate at A Vicious Cycle

Dirty Bikes Tough Rider – One-on-One training day with Jake Stapleton

A few more rides, and I came to realize that my equipment was a partially limiting factor for my novice performance (or a good rationale to explain at home why a KTM would be a good investment).

A couple of ride upgrades later, and Woody’s recent Colin Snider Memorial Hare Scramble, made it pretty clear that the bike is no longer holding this rider back – the rider is.

Watts to learn?

So, back to school I went and attended the Shane Watts DirtWise Riding Academy. This is the second year that Shane has brought his off-road academy to Canada, at the edge of the Ganaraska Forest. Shane is an Aussie, with some credible achievements:

• Six Time Australian Enduro Champion• Australian 500cc Motocross Champion• 1997 World Enduro Champion

• 1998 International Six Day Enduro Overall Champion (on a 125cc!)

• 2000 Grand National Cross Country Champion

Shane has built the academy around four key principles:

1. BodyPositioning and understanding the effect it has on the motorcycle.

2. Throttle/ClutchControl&Coordination and being able to put the power to the ground.

3. Balance and the ability to maintain and regain your balance.

4. Confidence and your ability to push your limits.

The two-day course wisely starts with the basic skills, and then later links them together into more complex drills that simulate trail conditions. Typically with each skill, Shane will:ØExplain basics of the particular skill

GET DIRTWISE!

Several years ago while on my first club ride at Calabogie, I noticed the ease with which fellow riders traversed trail obstacles. My thought was “watch and do what they do, and you too shall become as proficient a rider as they are”.

story and photos by Eric McSweeney

ØExplain how the skill is applied in trail circumstances and why it is important

ØExplain the technical/geometric aspects of the skills - for example, compression of forks before launching a rolling wheelie over a log, or rider weight distribution in different circumstances

ØDemonstrate the skills, both the right way, and the wrong/less efficient way

ØReview the key elements of each skill after his demonstration

Riders then practice the skill in a controlled environment where other riding factors encountered in a trail situation are eliminated. Sufficient time to be broken of old habits and develop better ones is a primary success factor in this course. Interestingly, each drill is accessible at a different level for different levels of rider, so everyone gets something out of it. In addition:

ØShane watches each rider perform the skill several times, and then offers positive support, encouragement, and enforcement of correctly performing the skill, while offering specific advice for improvement, or corrections as required.ØHe then watches you to ensure you break your old habits, and incorporate the suggested changes.ØOnce you have mastered the basics of the skill, he encourages you to move to a more advanced level within the skill drill, or to complete the drill more quickly.ØOnce the group (20 max.) has

completed the drills, he offers the group positive reinforcement as well as observations on techniques that will require continuous improvement.

ØAfter drill exercises, the new skills are frequently put into effect on a single track trail beside the training area to further reinforce “new habits”.

The skills we learned included:

ØBody positioning related to different circumstancesØStarts and stops, including stops from high speeds

and brakingØSlow riding (builds balance and skills in feathering

controls)ØStoppies and wheelies (four different types – three

of which are essential riding skills applicable under different riding conditions)

ØRiding on the straight and narrow (24 feet of 8” X 8”) – harder than you think!

ØLog crossing, including how to cross a log when you are parallel to it

ØDownhills and hill climbing (including how to start on

a hill, how to stop when you are not going to make it, turning on a hill)

ØCornering, and tackling different cornering situations, entry/exits

The most positive aspect of this course included the fact that Shane quickly picks up on your skill level in each drill, and gently (at first) encourages you to move beyond your comfort zone to a more advanced level. In addition, the

course is designed to be accessible by riders after different skill levels, novices will learn proper way of doing things before forming bad habits, advanced riders will learn the finer points of technique improvement, to push their limit, or save seconds on their lap times. Last, Shane provides rider specific guidance for advancement.

Hopefully, Shane is back again next year as I still have a lot to learn and plan on being there. For more info, please see www.shanewatts.com ∆

What can we say? Eric is happy. You would be too.

Eric...er...Shane shows us some fundamentals.

Wise sage Larry Murray gives us some VET trail tips...

What you need to repair a flat tire on the trail:

Patch kit/ new tubeAir supplyTire ironsToolsWrenches (valve core, stem nut, rim lock, axel nut)

The best way to repair a flat tire on the trail is to do it RIGHT NOW. The faster you get started the easier it will be. A flat tire will run very hot and a hot tire is easier to change. Looking at it or talking about it will never fix it. It’s been my experience that if you don’t learn to change a tire yourself, someone else will repair it for you – and that is not ideal.

Removing the wheel:

1) To remove the wheel from bike you have two choices: lay it down on the ground, or find something to hold it up (a rock, a stump, a riding buddy). If you are fast at repairing the tire, your buddy should be able to balance the bike on its side stand.

2) Remove the wheel from your bike.3) Place a rag under the bearing on the ground, disc side up.4) Remove the valve core (you want all the air out of the tube).5) Remove the valve stem nut and back off the rim lock nut as far as you can. Brake the bead, freeing the tire from the rim.6) Push the tire bead into the center to the rim. This should be done at the greatest distance possible from both the

valve core and the rim lock (place either the valve core or rim lock at 12 o’clock and the other should be between 4 o’clock and 6:00).

You should be pushing the tire bead into the rim with your knees or foot. Pushing the valve stem and rim lock in-wards, squeeze the bead of the tire inwards. Start with your tire iron at 12 o’clock and work clockwise around the tire leap-frogging the two tire irons about 5-6” apart. The tire should come off the rim with little work. If you have a little oil you can put it on the bead to aid its removal (water will also work).

Pull the tube all the way out of the tire. Do not try to fix it with the valve stem still in the wheel. We will reverse this part when putting the tire back on.

If you are repairing the tube, remove it. I like to carry a spare front H-D tube and will install it in the front or rear. I have gone hundreds on kilometers with a front tube in the rear tire (note: if putting a front tube in the rear make sure

getting the valve stem into the rim. I carry a special tool: a wire cable with a threaded stud the same size as the valve core. I feed it through the rim, thread it into the valve stem and just pull the tube valve stem into the wheel, start the stem nut and remove the LarryTool! It works like a dream!

The only thing left to do is put the tub into the tire and

place the tire back on the rim. This is done by reversing the removal step, taking care not to pinch the tube. A little oil or water will help lube the tire and tube and make this job fast and effortless. Replace air at 15 to 18 psi.

After replacing the wheel on your bike check your BRAKES! They will need pumping two or three times.

Now let’s go play! We can talk about the great job you did back at the truck. ∆

it’s a heavy duty tube and blow it up to 20 psi).

With the tube removed and the hole(s) found you need to decide if it was a pinch or a nail that caused the hole(s). If you think it was a nail, you should remove the tire com-pletely off the rim and check it for a nail (mark the tire where the valve stem was, so you can line up the hole in the tube with the tire, this should show you were the nail is).

Patching a tube:

Start with a good quality patch kit. Kits are only good for two years, so keep a fresh one with you. (Many times I have had a kit with old dried up glue).

The trick to making the patch stick has three parts: get-ting the repair area clean, good glue and tacking your time. I was told that after applying the glue, stop and have a smoke – this will allow the glue to set and permit the patch to stick. I don’t smoke so I carry a 21” H-D tube.

The only trouble you might have with the reassembly is

volume 1, issue 3

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