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/127570
(Above) The course was well marked by arrows; the "dual-sporters" could've ridden the entire course without the supplied roll-ehart. (Left) Undaunted by onlookers, Mark Hyde repaired this motorcycle after tearing down almost the entire transmission in a gas station parking lot. The two-day ride was made up of mostly narrow and technical trails. night. In' addition to the ride, that was conducted poker run-fashion, were a fishing contest, and a Sherlock Holmes Award, a contest where riders could win prizes for correctly answering questions about what they had seen during the twoday ride. As far as the ride itself, both days featured many optional "advanced" sections, and those who were riding two-up or piloting anything bigger than a Suzuki DR350S, o~ perhaps a Honda XR650L, were wise to skip the difficult sections, which usually included steep downhills, or extremely tight trails, or rocky water crossings, or deep ruts, or, better yet, "all of the above." Rain was forecast for Sunday, and fearing muddy and impassible trails, Coombs made last-minute changes in the weekend's schedule. The tougher loop that was set for Sunday was changed to Saturday. As it turned out, the rains never came, but in Coombs' words, "Better to be safe than sorry." Saturday's 80-plus-mile ride was mostly single-track trails through the dense woods, but there were just enough "fireroads" and pavement to rest weary arms and legs. And for those who felt they didn't get enough riding in, immediately following Saturday's ride Russell led a group of "die-hards" around the Loretta Lynn's National Hare Scrambles/Cross Country race course. Later that night at the ranch, a buffet dinner was served that featured catfish, hush puppies, baked beans and peach cobbler, and the evening was highlighted by live entertainment featuring local singers, as well as a few songs performed by Patsy Lynn, Loretta Lynn's daughter. By 9:00 am. the next morning, most of the riders had already started the day's 7l-mile ride, which included stops at a firewatch look-out tower, a small Amish village and a visit to an antique auto "graveyard." Unfortunately, a quick stop at a fish hatchery for the trout fishing contest that was planned for Sunday was canceled. Perhaps the toughest challenge of the entire weekend was the last few miles of Sunday's ride that those who opted to ride the advanced section encountered. A deeply rutted, whooped-out and supertight portion of the National hare scrambles course gave all who rode it something to really bench race about at the event's closing lunch and awards ceremony. ~ (Befow) More than 180 riders participated at this year's event. The turnout was more than triple what last year's jnaugural ride drew. 19