East Texas 450... Failed 1st Attempt

I'll start this off by saying:

1) I've never owned a dirt bike before and although I rode occasionally growing up I never did it often enough to get any good at it

2) This is my first dualsport trip

3) This is my first time riding this bike loaded

Alright, so I figured I'd use the long holiday weekend to do the east texas 450 (http://www.dualsportevents.com/eastex-450.html). Sadly I didn't finish, but we'll get to that in a bit. The track provided by Dual Sport Events was fantastic and although I missed a few turns, was easy to keep up with.

I got a late start on Saturday afternoon. I went to help a friend fix his car, got lunch, went grocery shopping for the trip, and picked up a slime pump. Didn't get packed and get on the road till nearly 3:30pm.

The plan for day one was to make it to Double Hearts RV Park, about 2/3 of the way through the day one track. Since I started at home in NW Houston this would be about 180 miles before dark. I don't have any luggage yet so I went old school. Duffel bag and tie down straps.


Cargo 3 by Noah_K_T, on Flickr


Cargo 2 by Noah_K_T, on Flickr


Cargo 1 by Noah_K_T, on Flickr


Cargo by Noah_K_T, on Flickr

I had to make a stop about 25 miles from the house since I forgot to fill the tanks before I left. I got excited I guess. Thank god for the low fuel light.

Next stop was a pee break about 15 miles into the first dirt section.


Middle of nowhere 2 by Noah_K_T, on Flickr


Middle of nowhere 1 by Noah_K_T, on Flickr

I saw a few signs that said "Quality Deer Management Area"... they weren't joking. Even at 5pm they were all over the place and all much bigger than I'm used to seeing at my lease.


Deer by Noah_K_T, on Flickr

Next stop was at a neat wooden bridge... believe it or not this thing was load rated for 10K lbs.


Crick by Noah_K_T, on Flickr


First of Many by Noah_K_T, on Flickr

This is wear the "rain proof" ziplock bag failed to hold my camera... the camera fell through the hole and bounced off the jagged metal foot peg. It ripped a hole in the touch screen cover... luckily it still works (it's the wifes camera :cry)


Broke Camera by Noah_K_T, on Flickr

First fuel stop... glad I carried the fuel can. The nearest gas station was 17.2 miles in the wrong direction and I had about 15 miles range left....


Out of gas by Noah_K_T, on Flickr


Out of gas by Noah_K_T, on Flickr

Finally finished what was planned for today. The trails had a lot more sand than I expected. I had more than one pucker from deep sand. If you're on 80/20 tires like myself or you're not confident in sand make sure you bring a friend for support. I did this solo, with no cell phone service... the rocks, sand, and ruts were much more stressful without a backup rider or communications. When I got to the RV park with 30 minutes of light left I was thankful that the only thing gone wrong was the loss of a 14lb red passenger on the back of the bike. There was melted nylon on the exhaust pipe so after it came loose it dragged behind me for a while until the strap melted. I didn't feel a dang thing.


Campsite by Noah_K_T, on Flickr

Dinner... Ranch style beans with onions and a can of chicken. I haven't used this kerosene stove since junior high so I nearly burned down the campsite trying to remember how to preheat the fuel lines.


Dinner by Noah_K_T, on Flickr

The shade was a nice way to start the day... there was no shortage of shade on this ride. Pretty much all of the dirt sections (50% of the track I ran was dirt) were well shaded.


Mmmm...Shade by Noah_K_T, on Flickr

And... here is where the trip ends. I was a few miles from the end of the day one track. I decided to load the day 2 track and see if I could avoid going to the camp ground and then back tracking to the route. Once I hit the touch screen it just exploded... no reason. Didn't push on it any harder than normal.


Broke Ass Garmin by Noah_K_T, on Flickr

This unfortunately ended my trip. I got to the next major landmark to determine where I was and pulled out the back-up GPS... The Texas Delorme Atlas recommended by the folks on ADV.


Last stop by Noah_K_T, on Flickr

How fitting a location to end a 4th of July weekend ride.


Blue Star Memorial by Noah_K_T, on Flickr

After this stop I had a considerable ride back home on more manageable roads without a GPS. Hwy 21 was fantastic and curvy. 96 and 190 were "acceptable". Obviously, 59 was typical traffic and boredom. I pinned the throttle on 59 and the beltway and managed to make it home @ 2:30.

The result... I ended up completing 473 miles in under 24 hours. Roughly 125 miles or so on dirt.

The trip wasn't a complete failure though. I had a good time, it was very relaxing. I learned a lot about bike handling one sand, gravel, and rocks. I learned how the bike feels/handles with 50lbs of crap and fuel on the back.

All in all I determined that I enjoy this style of trip enough to justify proper luggage and a better tent. That's all I set out to do.

NOTE: Flickr seems to be having some issues today. If any pictures don't show up, click on them and they work ok.

Arkmage wrote:

I'll start this off by saying:

1) I've never owned a dirt bike before and although I rode occasionally growing up I never did it often enough to get any good at it

2) This is my first dualsport trip

3) This is my first time riding this bike loaded

Alright, so I figured I'd use the long holiday weekend to do the east texas 450 (http://www.dualsportevents.com/eastex-450.html). Sadly I didn't finish, but we'll get to that in a bit. The track provided by Dual Sport Events was fantastic and although I missed a few turns, was easy to keep up with.

I got a late start on Saturday afternoon. I went to help a friend fix his car, got lunch, went grocery shopping for the trip, and picked up a slime pump. Didn't get packed and get on the road till nearly 3:30pm.

The plan for day one was to make it to Double Hearts RV Park, about 2/3 of the way through the day one track. Since I started at home in NW Houston this would be about 180 miles before dark. I don't have any luggage yet so I went old school. Duffel bag and tie down straps.

After this stop I had a considerable ride back home on more manageable roads without a GPS. Hwy 21 was fantastic and curvy. 96 and 190 were "acceptable". Obviously, 59 was typical traffic and boredom. I pinned the throttle on 59 and the beltway and managed to make it home @ 2:30.

The result... I ended up completing 473 miles in under 24 hours. Roughly 125 miles or so on dirt.

The trip wasn't a complete failure though. I had a good time, it was very relaxing. I learned a lot about bike handling one sand, gravel, and rocks. I learned how the bike feels/handles with 50lbs of crap and fuel on the back.

All in all I determined that I enjoy this style of trip enough to justify proper luggage and a better tent. That's all I set out to do.

NOTE: Flickr seems to be having some issues today. If any pictures don't show up, click on them and they work ok.

GREAT RR there!

Pretty good for a first timer... Better than mine will be I am sure.

I'm a n00b so I like these "ADV 101" kind of RR's.

Nice. Glad you took a shot at at that route. I plan on riding it also. There is a group ride planned for that rout this fall. It is being organized on the Two Wheeled Texans forum. The WRR should be aperfect bike for that route.

I agree the wrr is just about perfect for the route... you will need more than stock fuel capacity though. This trip made me realize that I need to upgrade to one of the 4+ gallon tanks available. Especially once the GPS broke so I couldn't keep tabs on the nearest fuel stops.

You will want 50/50 tires instead of 80/20 though... unless you are a hell of a lot more comfortable with sliding all over the place than I am :)

Is the ride you're talking about in the fall the one organized by dual sport events? Their website makes it look like it's already full so I'm out of luck for going with the group. I haven't started an account on twtex yet, but I recon I should.

Here is the November trip that a group of folks are putting together.
http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59709

The main TWT page:
http://www.twtex.com/forums/index.php


The TWT has a great group of dual sport riders. One member organizes some regular events and sells some ride guides for some areas like Big Bend and Texas hill country (Texas Adventure) . Here are some links:

http://www.twtex.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=92

http://texasadventure.net/

bsheet2 wrote:

Here is the November trip that a group of folks are putting together.
http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59709

The main TWT page:
http://www.twtex.com/forums/index.php


The TWT has a great group of dual sport riders. One member organizes some regular events and sells some ride guides for some areas like Big Bend and Texas hill country (Texas Adventure) . Here are some links:

http://www.twtex.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=92

http://texasadventure.net/

I'll see what I can do about the November ride. I'd really like to start doing group events like this. Riding with more experienced folks is the best way to improve.

I'm sending off my suspension to fastbike in the next few weeks. Hopefully I can also get a bigger tank and proper offroad wheels/tires by then. My budget is a bit snug right now.