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/127797
'----=--------J.11996 Moose Off-Road Press Ride I_A_DV_E........:.-NT--'-U·---=...R.E---'-". By Cameron Coatney Photos by Kinney Jones CHINOOK PASS, WA,JULYIG-14 very couple of years the boys from Moose Off-Road gather up the =-.::J members of the off-road press and take them to an epic riding area to introduce their new line of riding apparel and off-road accessories. This year they chose to take us to the Chinook Pass area of central Washington, just northeast of Yakima. The way it happens is simple. They call you. They invite you. They ask you what size gear you wear. They fly you there. They transport your bike. They put you up in a hoteL They feed you. You ride. You gCl"Whitewater rafting?Huh? That's right. This year the boys at Moose had something up their sleeves. They wanted to take us out of our element - dirt - and throw us into nice, dean, flowing water. They knew we all liked dirt and water when it was mixed togeth.er - we absolutely live for it - but they wanted to see us splash around in the water like guppies. I don't think they knew what they were getting into. And the poor river guides - well they never even knew what hit 'em. I'll explain later. I was greeted at the airport by Moose honcho Gary Gibbs, Suzuki and Moosesponsored Steve Hatch and Rodney Smith, eight-time National Enduro Champ Dick Burleson, Pete Dennison and legendary BMX-hero-turned-businessman Bob Haro. Now that's what I call a welcoming party. Gary runs Moose Off-Road, which is owned and distributed by Parts Unlimited and has been doing that since the untimely and tragic death of Wayne Cornelius. Dick Burleson is the technical designer / engineer and is res onsible for most of the (Above) Riding the edge ot Little Bald Mountain with Mt. RaInier In the background. (Right) The scenery was incredible In the Cascade Mountains In central Washington. This Is (from right to left) Rodney Smith, Dick Burleson, Steve Hatch, and the author enjoying a muchneeded drink of _er. great features and ideas you'll find in the products. Pete Dennison, since selling Moose to Parts Unlimited and starting a new business called A-LOOP out of Colorado, is the hardparts and packaging specialist. Bob Haro is the art / graphics designer and is responsible for how the apparel looks. Those in attendance from other publications included Bill Wood (American Motorcyclist), Tom Webb and Mark Kariya (Dirt Rider), Tim Tolleson (Dirt Bike), Paul Clipper (Trail Rider) and Jimmy Lewis (Cycle World). The motley crew was rounded up and whisked off to Whistlin' Jack Lodge, which is nestled in the Chinook Pass of the Cascade Mountains. Most of the first day was spent prepping the bikes, getting acquainted with each other and just plain relaxing. We woilld all be riding dual-sport bikes which were needed so we could piece together some long-distance loops. It seems that land-use restrictions in the Pacific Northwest have made it hard to put together good . rides without being street-legal. Dinner that evening was followed by a Moose "fashion show" with Hatch and Smith showing off the latest and greatest apparel and other accessories for the '97 lineup. We all received a gearbag full of Moose gear and products (which made it seem like an early Christmas had arrived) and turned in pretty early to ready ourselves for the first day of riding, which Burleson promised would be breathtaking. The first day's ride staned off on a funny note when I started and warmed up a KTM RXC that I thought was mine. When Paul Clipper came by giving me funny looks, I thought nothing of it until Don McPhee, the official Moose Press Ride mechanic, asked me where my 620RXC was. I had the wrong bike and, needless to say, Paul was quite pleased to hop on to a warmed and ready four-stroke single, while I had to go through the whole prer cedure all over again with the 620. What fun. We took two rides Thursday that were separated by a lunch break back at 'Whistlin' Jack Lodge. Central Washington was smack-dab in the middle of a heat wave at the time we were there, and hadn't received rain in quite a while. The trails were a bit dusty and the temperature was cresting the lOO-degree mark. I kept asking Gibbs and Burleson when they were going to turn on the sprinklers and air-conditioning. The first trail looped us around to the top of Little Bald Mountain. As Burleson