Motorcycle Alabama

last year, one of my Norton riding friends was all but given a BMW F650. It was a cousin's, he had ridden it one summer then parked it and when it wouldn't start the following spring, let it sit. After 10+ years, he decided he wanted it out of the garage, so Richard became the next owner. Richard spent last spring changing fluids, rubber parts, and rode it some last Fall. After a few longer rides, he decided it was a little too small for any long distance rides and started shopping for a F800GS. He found one a month or so ago and started asking about riding some easy fire roads etc.

We decided Sunday was going to be a nice day, so made plans to meet at the Piggly Wiggly in Odenville and head out. My wife Lynn has a XT225, so I decided to ride my KLX. I thought Richard would bring the F650, but he showed up on the F800GS. The little XT is running pretty hard at 55 mph, so we rode small 1 1/2 lanes over to Talladega and then headed up the Pig Trail (Cheaha Road). It's a fun road on a lightweight like the KLX, just pin the throttle, keep the momentum going, push hard on the handlebar side you want to turn towards, and flop it over on it's side. I have the suspension a little soft for offroad comfort, so it did wallow a little as the suspension loaded and unloaded, but was pretty entertaining.

When we got to the Skyway, I asked which way did they want to go? The other two were noncommital, so I decided to go south and see if the Mud Puddle from Hell was passable. A couple pics from previous rides when the water was high.





This was Larry's first ride on dirt on his new CRF250L.

Then a year later the same puddle got me and the old GS so bad that water in the headlight blew the halogen bulb.

The Mud Puddle from Hell is just south of where the Skyway crosses Gunthersville Rd. We got there and it was so dry, you could have skipped across it. Nothing to see here folks, move along.

We decided heading downhill to Chandler Springs is no fun, especially on a big bike. Long, with lots of washouts, it's rough on the wrists. Much more fun uphill. So we returned to Gunthersville Rd and went west when we got there. About 1/2 a mile down the road, I spotted a Forest Service Road heading south, so decided it was time to explore.

It started as a two track smooth road, looked like it was probably only open for hunting season.



A couple miles in, it appeared there had been some logging within the last couple years. That's when we found a few muddy, slick spots.





Richard had some issues at the first one, the front end washed out and down he went. A little muddy, and one turn signal popped off. No big deal.

Lynn rode through with little issues,



We found a second mud hole, and Richard dropped his bike again, about 50 yards from the first drop and on the other side. Now the bike had matching mud!

Another 100 yards past the last mud hole was a tree across the road, none of us thought to bring a chain saw, so we turned around and rode back to Gunthersville Rd.