GECKO Casual Visitor
Joined: 26 Jan 2008 Posts: 5 Location: Eden Prairie
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 7:41 am Post subject: Chasing the Arrow/Cursor in Wabeno |
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The Wabeno, WI dualsport ride was great fun last weekend. Guess some applications got turned away to keep it under 175 riders. Farthest state represented was Nebraska, although two from OK came last year. It was 160 miles on Sat. and 140 miles yesterday. "Hero" sections averaged about two miles in length. The standard trail non-"hero" terrain is fun since they get acces to Sno Mo trails that ATV's do not use. That made for fast trail work in the 30-50mph range with some Very fun feet up drifts, fun slicing and dicing with fellow Dualsporters, and No Worries about oncoming ATV's. Very Nice and rare in todays situation in MN. Roll charts were Very accurate and the GPS files a real help when three or four or five trail types intersected(Sno MO, ATV, Jeep, Logging, County, etc.) My Garmin and the ever enthusiastic "cursor" kept me out of trouble several times. There were five "hero" sections per day. They were a nice mix of rocks, logs, bogs, sand, drop-offs, off camber climbing switchbacks and tree bangers to keep the grins coming. Meals were hearty and well organized. Rider meetings were enthusiastic and upbeat. Truth is, some aspects of the ride exceeded the organization and efficiency of the Colorado 500 which has a 33 year history and a much much larger overhead structure. The Wabeno ride has less than 8 years of history.... One plus was the lack of clickiness of the WI Dualsport club. New riders seemed to feel welcomed and with some attendees so impressed by the team spirit that they got a dozen new members over the weekend.
Klim Tech clothing and BMW off-road cycles were the most prominent vendors/sponsors with Reps/products on display. Raffle prizes were generous being the standard "swag" like you see on tables at the Rocky Mountain 300 events. Helmets, jackets, goggles, etc.... with the expected give away of a new Dualsport "Suzuke" to a lucky lady in Madison that they called on her cell phone to make the award vocally. Yes...They had the phone on speaker and she DID scream.
As land closures continue, I can now see why these types of events may multiply. The dual sport event can link remaining riding areas together into a 100-150 mile riding experience per day. Buy being more "inclusive" of varied rider's tastes, skill levels and Equip. as opposed to "exclusive" as has served organizations in decades past, this may be one of the several surviving paths......
Forge on and have fun chasing the arrows and cursors while on the trails this season.
Don Nickels |
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