Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127216
a t th e top of th e m oun tain, Idyllwild, wh ere Paul a nd Brian wh ere impatientl y wa iting in a restaurant p arkin g lot. After lunch , we found a U .S. For estry Service sta tio n right in to wn th at co u ld , su p p ly u s with a map showing wh ere we co u ld a nd cou ld not rid e. We chosea route th at aimed us down th e east side of th e mountain, toward Palm Springs. On th e main highway, SR 74, we headed toward Lake Hemet, th en tu rne d off on a dirt road which mirrored the highway a few m iles to th e so u th. Without th e m ap, we co u ldn't h ave dr eamed o f finding a better d irt roa d for dual-purpose b ik es; Rouse Ri dge stre tched for miles, giving us th e impressio n th at we were a lot farther a way from home tha n we really were. T he re was noth in g but p in e trees, bush es a n d beautiful scenery in every direction. And th e fact th at we were a ll do in g wha t we love most, riding mo torcycles, just mad e everyth ing th at m uch bett er. Although Paul a nd I h ad th is sideby-side riding stu ff down to science, we did hav e o ne slight a lterca tio n . I had the o u tside line and Paul h ad th e in sid e as we br ak ed (we ll, a t least I braked ) for a sweep in g right-hand turn . . And th en I felt that al l-to ofamiliar " bu m p" against th e rear of my XT, a n d th e a ccompanying twinge of sym p ath y. I kn ew Paul wa s in for it. 6 The pace was heating up considerably, but there was no way I was letting th is dirt bike guy get the best of m e in this [ire-reading f eud among friends. Simply put, if we were at 6000 feet, I was riding at 7000 - just a tad over my head? Mayb e, but , hey, th e way I figured it, m y arms had stop ped pumping up and I was ready fo r battle. T hat's about th e po int w here Joe Fire R oad Maker decided to th row a righ t-h ander 'where I figured we should sti ll be go ing straight - after all, straig ht is where m y KLR wen t best com pared to Mr. Wh oop-dee-doc 's XT. So just as I prepared to reach down dirt-track sty le and grab one of th e fork tub es for better aerodynamics, I saw, ou t of m y right eye, Kit skating sidew ays in front of me. My peripheral vision, how ever, allowed m e to also focus on a corrugated steel p ip e exiting th e road on th e left side, or in th is case, th e high side. PIpe o r Kit, pipe o r Kit? It was th e decision of a lifetime, and I naturall y chose th e right one. I tagged Kit's p ip e, saving myself from everyt hing but bragging rig hts as th e on ly non-crasher on the trip. After abo ut 30 mi n utes o n the trail , the six of us were fairly spread ou t a nd ridi ng single file. Kinney a nd Tom had falle n back a wa ys, so opted to le t Brian lead wh il e stopped a nd wai ted for th e laggers. Big m istake. I q uic kly fo und ou t th at one shou ld n ever let a roa d race guy lead in the dirt. One tu rn later , Brian centerp u nc hed a tree. Not just any old tree, m ind yo u, bu t a th ree-foo tth ick s uc ke r th a t was exte me ly co n te n t wh er e it was s ta n di ng. Needl ess to say, th e tree didn 't budge. Stu n ned but unhurt, Brian was quick ly on h is feet and babbling in coher ently. Paul, o n th e o the r hand , was doubled over a nd laughing h ystericall y; I was having trouble br eathing myself. Then , Paul came to th e ,shocking realization that he had just traded bikes with Brian it was his KLR650 that was wadded up against th e tree! Paul wasn't laughing so hard anymore. ' Kit had stopped at the side of the trail , just before a sw itchback , and as I rounded the bend and headed back - in th e opposit e direction, I tumed to look at Kit , thinking he wanted to stop to take some photos.