Familiar Favorites

[Cav47]

Went out for a little jaunt. My normal loop was just perfect with this south gale we have had the last 2 days. The biggest sensory input was from the lilacs as they pumped their fragrance into the air with more strength than I can recall. My route is old hat, but it can be spicy if I add in all the little extras. I have the time, and he bike is running well, and I feel good, so why not go for it. One of the most challenging places is called Dry Branch. It’s about 1.5 miles and immediately kicks your butt. As the name implies, it is a sand based creek that has always been dry every time I have checked. The sand is varied, meaning it goes from soft sugar that is very deep to packed to rocky mix and even some places are 100% sandstone. Those changes will induce a tank slapper or wash the front out instantly if you get it wrong. The creek is never wider than 5 to 10 yards anywhere, so you are constantly turning and lots of it are blind corners. I already suck at riding sand, so this is very challenging as obstacles present themselves and terrain changes. Lots of logs, low hanging branches, brush piles, root balls, and bigger rocks have to be navigated. Today was the first time I didn’t fall at all when sometimes it’s multiple times I take a dirt nap here Plenty of dabs, but no falls. Someday I will make it all the way through with feet on the pegs.

Right after that I hop on an old railroad bed that gets me over to the river. The RR bridge over the Wabash is gone, but someone has cut tons of trails down along the west side after the 3 mile railroad grade. This is a great place to play and get muddy. It has some steep hill climbs that never cease to amaze me that the KLX will climb effortlessly despite the angle. Only a little momentum is needed and then gas it. This playground has really helped me improve over time. Running it solo is kinda dumb, but there is cell signal if I piled it up bad somewhere. There is a bailout option via a highway if I needed to go straight home.

As soon as I get tired of the woods and bottoms, I ride up this steep embankment and cross the river. You ha e to be careful not to get too aggressive up the hill because dumps you out blindly onto the Highway. I always check for cars before starting the ascent. A car would not have any reaction time to avoid you as you wheelie into the lane. I guess the narrowness and steepness keeps the quads/utvs/jeeps from attempting it.

I stayed along the east side of the river as I traveled south. Very familiar here with tons of stuff to keep the ride interesting. As you turn off the chips seal, you have some 2 track that is a legal road, but nothing other than a OHV should be down there. Big ruts, water crossings, and narrow lines make it passable only by the determined or stupid. Not sure some days what category I fall onto. There are eagles and hawks plentiful here since it’s so close to the river and remote.

The east ridge of the Wabash has some very old history. Cemeteries, homesteads and Covered Bridges are throwbacks. There is also a few historical markers pertaining to the forced removal of native Americans. Always sanitized for public consideration.

There is an old canal that runs along Tow Path Road. At some point they ferried goods up along a man made ditch. They used to have mules/donkeys pull small vessels along it. I have no idea where the settlement was they transported stuff too. I have never seen any relics of a town.

I continue along the bottomland that often floods and even ride along and atop the levy that holds water back in extreme floods. I have been caught out here up to the frame in mud. As long as you stay on the gravel sub base, you can find traction. Problem is sometimes you can’t see the bottom and if you get into the field, you hope you are strong enough to drag it out. The water has been almost over the front fender in the deepest spots.

The track eventually comes into the town of Montezuma from the north. This is about 40 miles out, so I get gas and stop for a fountain drink. Fill up with 1.3 gallons. Quick calculations show that I went 73 miles on that fill up for 56mpg which is fine by me considering I was into the wind and using a heavy throttle. I can cut it short and cross back over the river here, but not today. I head south toward Clinton Indiana. There is some elevation and curves to enjoy and even some fast 2 track sand that you better be paying attention to or you will get smacked down. I get into Clinton and decide to find the next bridge over the Wabash. I have never ridden dirt down this far, but the weather is prime at 75 and sunny. Oh well, the next way across the river is not until Terra Haute. The roads I found here were not good. I was too close to the river and not high enough on the ridge. Next time I will venture further East away from the valley floor. I crossed back over the Wabash. However the road back north on the west side of the river I really wanted to take was blocked off by an energy company gate. I had to jump on a 4 lane but it was tolerable since the 20mph wind was behind me. Scarlet can hold 65 like that if asked no problem. We put about 10 miles on that before hopping back to the west riverside. The terrain got better and the roads were all new for me so the 20 miles flew by before i get back the Clinton area. I know this route well and follow all the known tracks. There is some 2 track that goes out into the bottoms where there are these weird well looking structures. The road dead ends at the last one, but I know how to cut through the edge of the fields to link back up with the road along the trees adjacent to the ridge. It’s clearly not legal, but the farm fields are not even plowed let alone planted. I am not hurting anything. I had a few tight spots and needed to wheelie over some logs and one really big drop off of about 3 feet to cross a creek kept the blood flowing.

At some point, I noticed my Speedometer was not working. My instrument cluster is all digital and includes the tach, odometer, trip log, and everything worked fine but now the Speedo, odometer, and trip logs were frozen. No idea what caused that. The tach works just fine, I can look into it later. This ride is great, only if the bike quits will my day be ruined.

I cruised back north in familiar gravel, dirt and chip seal. My GPS has “breadcrumbs” of a blue line and so much of this area has been painted blue. I tried to find some of the clear roads, but there is a reason they are still gray(they suck) so I avoid them. Clouds have moved in and as I look west, I can see rain coming. To the north, it’s clear enough and I make a run for it as I am wearing my Klim Induction mesh with a T-shirt. My Olympia pants are outside the boot and warmer bit have been comfortable all day except in the sand and woods where I was working hard and airflow was minimal. I have changed the music in the Sena a few times through the ride. I started with Ryan Bingham essentials, moved to Ray Wylie Hubbard and finished up with Kolton Moore. My Scorpion AT 950 helmet is a comfortable modular with an interior sun shield and visor peak that does a good job of keeping the dappled sun from playing tricks. I have been mostly standing in the SIDI boots for the last 5 hours, they are gortex and rigid on top of the aftermarket pegs. They are mud covered as well as the bottom of the pants. Nothing that the power washer won’t make short work of when I pull into town. I almost always hit the car wash before heading home from this circuit, the mud and silt from the bottomland is particularly sticky and will stain after becoming cement if left unattended. I no longer spray the fork tubes to prevent fork seal issues. The area between the skid plate and motor will pack up with the clay/sand slurry and only a screwdriver chipping it out sill clear it after it bakes. After the quick clean up, I roll through town and into the subdivision. The garage is open and right onto the lift I go. Quick swap of clothes and the gear is secured in proper place. Helmet plugged in to be ready next time.

I only took one picture all day because the ride took precedence. In the town of Mecca, this is the Main Street. Look closely for the chicken crossing the road, basketball hoops right in the road, and the anemic stop light. Seriously? I love the irony, this is Mecca.

[Cav47]

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