Biking (not hiking) in the Blues

Early in June the family picked a weekend for a "friends" camping trip. Unfortunately for Grant it was a weekend when he wanted to go into the Wenaha. He applied some pretty good pressure to get me to join him, but it was NOTHING compared to the pressure from my wife..well not so much pressure as a resounding NO! In the end we were able to compromise and I got the O.K. to leave for a Sunday day trip.

I was counting on Grant joining us Sunday afternoon about the time friends and family were packing to leave. I didn't figure Grant would show up at 7am Sunday! After all the years of hiking, fishing and exploring with Grant I should have learned he is like a kid on Christmas -- always up at the crack of dawn and excited to get the show on the road! After being called "lame" by my wife for leaving early we hit the road for our newest adventure.

The planned adventure for Sunday was to take Papa Coach's two old Honda Trail 90's (one is a 1969 and the other is a 1978) down to the head waters of the South Fork of the Walla Walla from Deduct Springs. A couple years ago I took a motorcycle down about a mile and thought it was a great trail: pretty open on top, well traveled and not too steep. Great place for novice riders. Truth be told I'm a novice rider and Grant is an absolute beginner. I didn't realize he had never ridden a motorcycle! If we were smart at this point we would of abandoned our quest down the South Fork Trail.

Once we unloaded the bikes we had a hard time getting the older one started. We played with the choke, messed with the carb and ended up trying to start it so many times we broke the swing-out part of the kick starter! Undeterred we kept trying to kick-start it only using the post. Since we couldn't get it started I had Grant take the running Trail 90 down the trail. While he was gone I kept working on the older bike finally getting it running (and kept it running). About 20 minutes later Grant returned up the trail not looking too happy. He lost control of the bike on a rock and knocked his shin pretty good. At this point we decided it was prudent to ride the bikes on some maintained roads in hope of getting better on the bikes.

After a good 45 minutes of riding around we both felt comfortable enough to attempt the South Fork Trail. Only problem is the older bike wasn't idling very well..in fact it wouldn't idle at all without constant "revving". On the Trail 90's this is a bit of a problem since there is no clutch. It is not possible to coast without putting the bike in neutral. Smarter guys would of quit the adventure..we were not that smart.

With a smile on our face and no gear (no food or water) we hit the trail. What a blast! As I mentioned the start of the trail is pretty open, no drop offs and it follows the run-off from Deduct springs. However about a mile in the trail gets steep..not just steep but pucker the butt steep! We keep everything in low gear and manage, for the most part, to make it safely down the trail. Although Grant did end up getting knocked down twice.

About 6-7 miles into the trail we come to a really rough spot. The trail has been washed away and there is no easy way around it. It probably would of been passable with some work but it was getting late in the afternoon and we were both tired. We backed the bikes up and manage to turn them around without the old one cutting out.

Not a quarter of a mile heading back up the trail I absolutely lose control of my bike and head off into the ravine! I manage to bail off and stay on the trail but the bike careens down about 15 feet. Probably a good thing the bike doesn't idol well and cuts out (in-gear it might of continued down the ravine). Thankfully the ravine is brushy and the bike has a cushioned drop. However the drop-off is steep and it takes us a good 20 minutes of pushing and pulling to get the bike back onto the trail.

Needless to say I'm glad to get the bike out of the ravine. A few more feet into the ravine and I'm not sure if we can get it out with a winch. However our ordeal was far from over. Now the bike wouldn't start! We literally pumped the kick-starter for 30 minutes without the slightest hint of a spark. Exhausted and parched we head up the trail to a nearby spring. Took a bit of work but we were able to drink our fill of cold mountain water.

Again tried starting the bike..no luck. I'm beginning to wonder what to do. Do we leave the bike and hike out? The trail back is nasty steep and there is no way we would push the bike out. At this point I decide that maybe we should try to coast it downhill and pop it into gear. Hopefully popping the moving bike into gear will provide enough spark for it to start. We try several times with no luck but the bike starts to turn over. After about the 6th try the bike starts and I'm able to keep it running! Keeping the bike in low gear we head back up the trail. Several times the trail is so steep that I don't think the bike is going to make it. However I manage to keep the old bike running the entire trip. Grant wasn't so fortunate. Whenever we got to a really steep part his bike would cut out. Kind of ironic that I was on the bike that wouldn't idle, but he ended up being on the bike that died on all the steep parts.

I kind of felt bad for Grant: the prior day he did a nasty nasty hike in and out of the North Fork of the Wenaha and now he is pushing a dirt bike up the steepest portions of the South Fork trail. I can say this since I'm a few years his senior -- better him than me! We ended up making it back up the trail in one peace with both bikes intact. Tomorrow I'm taking the bikes into a shop to get the carbs rebuilt and tuned up. Who knows maybe when our memory fades we will be ready for another dirt bike adventure!