Official Sign-Up Thread

[The Yeti]

In answer to your earlier question yeti, ill be camping Friday and Saturday in a 21 ft pull behind if there is still rv space available. I haven't been following the threads to closely (damn superduke) but if I can bring anything that's not covered like cups plates salads or something let me know.

Thanks, got you down.

The thing I think we're gonna be most short on is buns...gonna need some for the sloppy joes and for Ryan's pulled pork. Salads would be good too...are you still bringing the quiche?? We could just wait and see and buy what we need when we get there (at the convenience store, or run into Deadwood and get it at the grocery store).

[rdstrain1949]

Yeti;

Been out of the loop for a while, re. RV size, 30 ft 5th Wheel with 27 ft tag trailer.

[rdstrain1949]

that should be 17 ft tag

[The Yeti]

Yeti;

Been out of the loop for a while, re. RV size, 30 ft 5th Wheel with 27 ft tag trailer.

WOW! That's quite a freight train yer towing there! 

that should be 17 ft tag

Still.....

Thanks!

[The Yeti]

Hey all, just wanted to post up some guidelines we should all try to follow out there on the trail. I posted these a couple years ago here on the board, but we've never had a large enough group to really put them into practice: 

PRE-RIDE BRIEFING: Let the less experienced riders know that it's OK to ride at their own pace, cover basic rules, customs, hand signals, etc.

SPEAK UP: If you're having a problem, be it speed, difficulty with the terrain, feel tired or just not well, SPEAK UP.

DON'T RIDE WAY OVER YOUR HEAD: I'm not saying don't push the envelope a bit, that's how we get to be better riders, but be realistic.

GROUPING: When riding with larger groups, try to break up into smaller groups of 5-6 riders each, with at least one more experienced rider in each group.

YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RIDER BEHIND YOU: Stop at all non-obvious turns until they see you turn. Keep their headlight in your mirrors if you can. If you haven't seen them in a couple minutes, slow down, if you haven't seen them in a couple more minutes, stop. After a couple more minutes, turn around and look CAREFULLY.

LEAD & SWEEP: More experienced riders should be in the lead & sweep positions. They should rotate the lead & sweep positions so as not to get bored.

FASTER UP FRONT, SLOWER TO THE BACK: This allows the faster riders to stretch their legs a bit without being held up by the slower, less experienced riders, with frequent stops thrown in to allow the slower guys to catch up.

SPACING: 2-4 seconds is the optimum spacing from the bike in front of you. If he happens to go down or needs to stop suddenly, you want enough time to react and not run the poor guy over!

PUSHING: If you find yourself behind a rider that's going at a considerably slower pace, try to stay further back until there's an opportunity to pass. If you follow too close, the slower rider may try to push beyond his limits as he thinks he's holding you up.

PASSING: Do not pass unless the rider you're passing knows it's coming. Either wait to be waved by, or wait for the next stop. Flashing of high-beams should be considered a signal the rider behind you wants to pass.

COMMUNICATE: At each stop, allow time after the last guy pulls up in case there is anything that needs to be communicated, can be just a quick thumbs-up from everyone, then take off for the next leg.

Stay hydrated and fed.

Oh, and it should go without saying that you should try to be ATGATT. Personally, I refuse to ride with anyone that does not at least wear a helmet. Knee & elbow pads, even better.  Proper MX boots, great! Myself? I look like a Stormtrooper when I ride  , but I can bounce off just about anything! 

We all want to be safe and have fun, but the safest rides aren't that much fun and the fun rides, not that safe...finding a balance is the key.

A link to hand signals:
http://njmc.org/etiquette/

[Hank]

.....

Myself? I look like a Stormtrooper when I ride  , but I can bounce off just about anything! 

And its a damn good thing    j/k

[Bogus Jim]

Hi Yeti,

Put me down for just riding, Fri/Sat/Sun. What time should I show up Friday morning? I'd like to catch the pre-ride meeting, if you are having one.

7 more days...   

[loingrader]

people will be moving around at 8am, but 9am should be plenty early enough to catch a pre-ride briefing.

[The Yeti]

Hi Yeti,

Put me down for just riding, Fri/Sat/Sun. What time should I show up Friday morning? I'd like to catch the pre-ride meeting, if you are having one.

7 more days...   

You are IN! Like loingrader sez, we usually get rolling between 9-10am. We probably won't have any formal pre-ride meeting or anything, it goes more like this:

"OK, who's got a plan?"
"What?"
"Where we goin'?"
"Hell, I don't know.."
"Hey, that guys lookin' at a map! He must be leading!!"   

Actually, this time around, we may need a bit more formal planning, cause all 30+ of us aren't gonna be able to ride together for sure!  I've got a couple rides laid out earlier in this thread, and some ideas in my head, and a lot of the regulars REALLY know their way around the trails, so I'm sure we won't be lacking on places to consider riding, it's the deciding part that we usually get hung up on.   

[Hank]

It's looking likely I'll have another guy (Kurt) coming with me too.  He'll be camping thur-sat, but we may just share a tent thur night and he can have it to himself the next two nights.

[The Yeti]

Well...the rain is supposed to stop today! Seems like it's been raining for weeks now.   

Just a warning....there WILL BE MUD for the rally, regardless of where you ride!  On the plus side, the weather is looking to be perfect this weekend - mid-70s, chance of t-storms, but no constant rain.

Only 3 days to go!!   

[Bogus Jim]

The way it's been raining, I'm wondering if we need to install airbox snorkels. 

I ordered a set of Pirelli MT21's, supposed to be here tomorrow. The stock tires on the WRR don't like mud, plus mine were just about done @3500 miles.

[Sportfaller]

Alan,

Due to some last minute family obligations, It looks kike I wont be camping.  I'll still bring wood up thursday night, but some of it will need split, so someone should bring a maul. I'm still going to try and come up and ride one day. Fingers crossed.

on another note, i'm looking into trading the GSA for a HP2 enduro!

[OOFDA]

Finally the time is nigh! Myself and another rider will arrive F&F late Wed night. Plan on doing some sight seeing Thur and Fri. Stop by for some meet and greet along with a cold beverage! Don't know when we will be in camp but can be reached on 319-750-4773 and will meet somewhere. Just remember "the second BSer doesn't stand a chance".

OOFDA

[The Yeti]

Alan,

Due to some last minute family obligations, It looks kike I wont be camping.  I'll still bring wood up thursday night, but some of it will need split, so someone should bring a maul. I'm still going to try and come up and ride one day. Fingers crossed.

on another note, i'm looking into trading the GSA for a HP2 enduro!

Well, that's a bummer....excited for you about the HP2, though! Did you find one locally? You gonna have it by the weekend so we can see it in action??