 Well, I agreed to another year of off road thrashing from my college roommate Dave D. Dave lives in Oklahoma City and has been a driving force in the local motorcycle economy. Translate that as he buys a lot of fast orange motorcycles and accessories. We have been riding off road together for nearly 40 years. At my age, I really need my head examined to go on these rides. Not that it isn't a lot of fun and great time, it is all of that and more. However, over the years, Dave has progressively purchased larger and faster exotic off road machines. I live in Columbus, Ohio and rarely swing my leg over an off road machine during the year. Dave lives in Oklahoma City which has much better weather. He rides year round and his off road skills remain excellent. He leads a blistering pace, so for me this is tantamount to taking my life in my own hands. My better judgment aside, I signed up again this year, My trip began by flying down to Oklahoma City late on a Thursday evening. Dave's business associate Mark D. owns an Oil and Gas Sales Distribution Business named OPECO located in Oklahoma City. If you are into Oilfield Pipe and Valve Supplies, Mark has over 30 years of experience making things happen. On our trip he was our transportation guru as he supplied his fantastic dually trailer and a brand new Ford Expedition as our tow vehicle. We left Friday afternoon with a total of 5 bikes for the drive to Red River. Aside from Dave's new KTM 530 he also brought his nearly new KTM 450 EXC along as his personal backup. Mark D. also bought a KTM 530, so we were all Orange this year. The Kawasaki KLX 300 looked like the poor little green step child on the trailer. It didn't even get fired up one time on the trip. 11 hours later we were in Red River and we were able to get on the trail the very next morning. We went to the Carson National Forest in northern New Mexico area for the second year in a row. We did so, because of the hundreds of square miles of off road riding that we had virtually all to ourselves. Do not believe the tree huggers that say we are destroying the countryside. On a typical day of riding we rarely saw more than 4-5 people in a whole afternoon of riding in the area. The Carson National Forest is is about a half hour from Taos and about an hour and fifteen minutes from our base at River River. We would probably stay closer, but Dave has secured such a wonderful 3 Bedroom Condo literally right on the Red River in the town of Red River. This year, I bought a KTM 450 EXC and had it shipped to Oklahoma City. Boy is that thing fast. As an example, if you are on a fireroad running along easily in third gear, twist the throttle and within two seconds you are quickly ripping past 50 MPH into higher gears taking you much faster than any interstate speed limit would allow! My bike ran dead even with Dave D's KTM 530 through four gears, then you could watch the larger displacement engine start to take its rightful place in the power pecking order. Actually it was fun watching Dave and Mark, both on 530's swap "leader" rights on the trail. If one got in front, the other just couldn't get a "pass." Actually mine is not a stock 450 EXC. I have lamented in prior years the fact that bikes are getting taller and I am getting shorter! I can ride the new bikes, I just cannot get on and off without grave danger of falling over. This one is lowered by about three inches so that I can touch the ground! Also it has a "Recluse" Brand Clutch. This is a really neat feature. It does not change the shift pattern, but a clutch is never required (although it has one that you can use if you choose to disengage) What is totally neat about it, is that it is impossible to stall the engine So you can go down the gnarliest hills with as much rear brake as you desire and the engine will not stall. This can be a lifesaver on these terribly steep,rocky downhills. Also this 450 is so torquey that I found myself starting out in 2nd or sometimes even third gear. Very neat. This, plus electric starting is the way to go for an old guy. Six days of riding and over 350 miles of rock pounding fireroads/ trails later, I hopped on the airplane and headed back to Columbus. I had many smiles to prove that I survived another year! |
Bikes were all clean and ready to go |
The first day was pretty rainy and miserable. We made it into Colorado too! We hid under a tree for about 15 minutes before going into Antonito, Colorado where we had lunch. |
The Day Starts With a Map |
One of the good roads. |
We Did have some good weather. |
However the rain made for some sloggy going |
Our Condo on the Red River, Red River, New Mexico |
Best Fillet Mignon Ever, Texas Red's, Red River, NM |
This was a great trail. Miles of rocky uphills preceeded it! |
Valle Escondito, a very nice golf community at the edge of the Carson National Forest. |