This isn’t flying, it’s falling with style
Wow! What an adventure. I am so grateful to Christina Myers and South Pacific Power Sports for sponsoring me at this weekend’s Dirtastic Dirt Bike Clinic. The experiences I had riding in dirt and gravel this weekend will be invaluable in just a few weeks when I attempt to ride the Dalton highway to the Arctic Ocean. To say that my eyes were opened to a whole new world out there would be an understatement. I’m just glad I didn’t give up when it seemed like the weekend might not happen after all.
The weekend got off to a little bit of a shaky start as I was rained on almost all of the 250 miles south to Medford. I had known the weather would be a little dicey but decided to ride My Baby anyway as I was looking forward the return home in the sun Sunday. I also wanted to test if the textile jacket given to me by a friend was waterproof (it was!).
When I arrived at Adam and Rebekah Johassan’s house in Medford, I wrung the water out of my socks before putting my boots back on, leaving my bike in their garage for safekeeping, and driving with them up the gravel road to the John’s Peak wilderness area where the camp was located. I was grateful that they were familiar with the road as the camp was very remote and I might have thought I was lost if I were driving.
It was a little bit of a challenge to set my tent up in the parking lot in the dark, but I was grateful for the opportunity to test out my new motorcycle camping equipment. Everyone else in the parking lot was in a camper and I was a little worried I might get run over in the dark. So, I set up my tent on a raised concrete platform, only to find out the next morning that it was a loading dock for bikes. I had so much to learn about dirt biking!
The next day got off to a slow start because we had trouble getting my dirt bike going. The starter on it was broken and the kick start feature wasn’t working properly either. I wasn’t able to participate in the fundamental skills class I had signed up for because the bike kept turning off after a few seconds. I tried signing up to ride a demo bike but was then told I couldn’t ride it because I didn’t have any dirt bike experience. I came close to giving up but finally came up with what turned out to be a winning strategy.
I asked the mechanic on site to get the bike started one more time, had him hold the throttle while I jumped on, then took off down one of the camp’s dirt trails at a high enough speed to keep the bike on. I figured that if I could get it going long enough it might stay on. It did! When it stopped mid trail about 15 minutes later my heart sank as I wasn’t sure if I would be walking back to camp. But after a few attempts I was able to get it up and going again. It was so gratifying to experience that victory after a morning of mishaps. In a way I think I ended up enjoying the riding that day even more because I had come so close to missing all of it.
What followed was an incredibly delightful introduction to the world of dirt biking. Although there are many similarities between dirt bikes and street bikes – they both have brakes and throttles – they are worlds apart.
When I’m driving my 700-pound Harley it’s almost like I’m piloting an airplane. My goal is to effectively manage the controls of the bike, avoid hazards around me, and keep my movements smooth and deliberate. Getting out on the dirt bike almost felt like riding a roller coaster and hanging on for dear life or jumping out of an airplane and hoping I could direct the parachute to a safe place to land. As I careened down one hill, jumping over branches in the trail, maneuvering through deep ruts in the road, and avoiding tree branches with my head I thought of Buzz Lightyear and chortled to myself “this isn’t flying, this is falling with style.”
I had intended to go on beginner trails but somehow managed to miss a flag or two and ended up on more advanced trails with steep climbs, precipitous drop-offs, deep mud puddles, and many obstacles. I was fortunate to be on a “pit bike” because the smaller frame made it much easier for me to maneuver than it would have been on many of the bikes with seats as high as my chest. It also meant I had less distance to fall the three or four times I dumped the bike!
Although many of the skills I learned from street bikes did not apply on the wilderness trails, I was able to use my knowledge of shifting to get more power going up hills and more control on steep downgrades. It was so much fun to be riding a machine meant for ruts and bumps, gravel and rocks and freeing to be able to face those obstacles head on rather than avoid them. It was also liberating and empowering to be able to explore such varied and rugged terrain on two wheels. I’ve learned that those who dirt bike are true athletes!
I am so grateful to Christina and Pacific Power Sports for making the weekend possible. They were so gracious to provide me with a bike to ride, loan me an appropriate helmet and goggles, and treat me to so many wonderful snacks. It was wonderful to hang out with Christiana and her friend Ashley, sit by the bonfire with other amazing female riders, and learn just a little bit about such an impressive sport. I am also so appreciative that Adam and Rebekah stored my Harley for the weekend and took me back and forth from camp, making it possible for me to get 500 miles in on my own bike.
