Dual Sportin’

[doakley]

Signed up for my first dual sport ride Labor Day weekends
D, the Little Brown Jug in SC. The dual sport is on Saturday and the regular enduro is on Sunday. Since I’m no longer racing, I figured I’d give the dual sport ride a shot.
Got the bike all set up with fresh lights using the Tusk enduro kit and a PoliSport headlight.
I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike again even if it’s just to cruise down some easy roads and trails.

[doakley]

8C24F641-8483-4921-B170-BF6235B649E7.jpeg (1016.85 KiB) Viewed 4511 times

80996B1F-7C73-42B9-A7B7-E0A1BFCB7363.jpeg (743.27 KiB) Viewed 4511 times

F52C47CD-CC73-4A12-8988-2C45D406B9ED.jpeg (931.98 KiB) Viewed 4511 times

13A640D3-0438-4742-9178-565B435541F0.jpeg (947.58 KiB) Viewed 4511 times

[KDXGarage]

Congratulations on finding a happy medium! Looks great!

[bufftester]

Bike looks great, have a fun return ride

[Greenbandit200]

Yes! Good luck and be safe. You have done a wonderful job with your bike!

[SS109]

As long as you're having fun on your KDX that's all that matters! Have a blast!

[kick]

Bike looks great. If your dual sports are anything like ours it’s basically the enduro loop with a few more dirt roads.

[doakley]

E7F9CBF2-9F9E-4B47-87FE-19630A1F9A96.jpeg (730.32 KiB) Viewed 4416 times

Here’s my latest “big” idea. A route sheet holder might come in handy for this weekend’s dual sport event. I don’t know why since I don’t have an odometer, just seems like it might. I printed the route sheet, covered it with clear plastic tape (yes, both sides) then cut into two strips. I then wrapped each strip around the bar pad for my Flexx bars and taped the ends together to make a continuous loop. I can rotate the loop forward as I ride to bring the relevant route directions into view.
Smart enough to figure this out….dumb enough to keep riding!

[KDXGarage]

looks like a long ride!

[doakley]

Yeah, agreed. I don’t plan on riding the last 19 mile section which is listed as “ all trail”.

Near perfect conditions predicted for the Little Brown Jug dual sport this Sat and the LBJ Enduro Sunday in Buffalo, SC!

255F5D35-9C80-45B8-B496-FF6FC5F97F09.png (1.02 MiB) Viewed 4288 times

[pumpguy]

Back in the days when beer was sold in screw cap cone top cans, enduro riders used to poke a hole in the bottom then mount the can on the handlebar cross bar and tape their route sheet to that. Some even had fancy magnifier bars stationary mounted above the beer can route sheet holder.

Then came the handlebar mounted roller doodad route sheet holder that you can still buy today.

That which was old is now new again.

[bufftester]

Necessity is the mother of invention (and thriftiness is her whiney little sister we all listen to lol)

[MoonStomper]

Looks good! Ride fast!!!

[doakley]

So here we are at the Little Brown Jug Dual Sport ride. So far it looks a lot like an enduro except for a few nuts riding around in this field in the dark checking out their headlights. Maybe they are planning on a longer ride tomorrow than I am?

Camped right behind me is a group from Battery Park Off-road, the park where I go hurt last year. I went over to see if the owner, Ashley was ther. He was and the first words out of his mouth were “ It’s always a good day when I see you these days,”. Ashley was they guy who called the ambulance for me last year and took care of me until the paramedics arrived.

Anyway here’s a shot of KDXrider.net base camp, I found a nice shady spot under a lone oak tree for some shade.

7E4336B4-5415-465F-86CE-998E661D7283.jpeg (1.37 MiB) Viewed 4026 times

Y’all be safe out there and keep on brapping!

Old Guy Racin’ (Ret)

[KDXGarage]

Stay safe and have fun!!

[doakley]

Well, my first Dual Sport ride was a smashing success. (Maybe a bad choice of words )
As far as I can tell a dual sport, at least THIS dual sport, wasn’t very different from an enduro, as far as the course was concerned. By far, most of the ride was on enduro style trail, mostly single track. Not having an odometer wasn’t really a problem. Just follow the arrows.
The big difference was the complete absence of competitive pressure, no one pushing to pass. Me not feeling the need to get past anyone. If there was a bottle neck, people stopped and helped each other thru that section, rested and chatted a bit, then resumed the ride. I found I rather liked that aspect. Going into this I was worried the opposite would be the case or perhaps I would let a streak of competitive nature come out. In truth, only a couple of times in very clear, open areas, did I “twist and shout”!
I was very content to just cruise along at my own comfortable pace.
At first I thought the course was “over marked”. By that I mean danger symbols (X) were put up in places I thought were clearly uncalled for. But as I met more riders, many of whom had never ridden an enduro, much less a National Enduro, I realized they were correctly marked for the average trail rider. As I began to tire, I began to appreciate this nod to safety and inexperience.

I had a great time. It was really a pleasure to slip the KDX through the tight woods single track, exactly what she was meant for! Every now and then I actually felt the flow of the trail coming back to me, The KDX ran and performed perfectly, as expected. Only fell over once in a left turn. Ok, once more when I stopped, put down my foot and realized I had picked a poor place to stop. Both wheels were on high spots leaving my foot with no ground contact. Oops!

Is there a down side? Maybe. I’m typing this laying in bed Sunday night, over a day after the dual sport. I’m hoping I won’t have to get up for a bathroom call tonight because muscles I haven’t actively used in a little over a year are really starting to tighten up now. That’s ok; I’m already looking for my next dual sport ride.

Y’all keep on brappin’

Old Guy Racin’ (Ret.)

[Goat]

Way to go! Very exciting. That sounds like a dream come true, when you weren’t even sure you’d ever be able to ride again.

[KDXGarage]

I am glad to read of your ride! Congratulations on completing the ride. You have made a long recovery.

[Goofaroo]

Nice job getting back in the saddle!

I’m about to turn 57 and while I still enjoy the the battles along the way and a bit of friendly competition, I’m also not opposed to pulling off the trail to take a break and eat a sandwich. lol

Run at whatever pace you feel comfortable with at the time. Just participating and the camaraderie in the pits is enough to keep me coming back.

[doakley]

I am glad to read of your ride! Congratulations on completing the ride. You have made a long recovery.

Well, to be honest, I didn't complete the entire ride. I did about 21 miles, mostly trail and that was enough for me as a first return.