Hi, Tom! Let's see if I can remember the questions. The level and difficulty of rides varied as much as the number of riders there. The first day, I took an easy ride up to Skalhaco Falls. My next ride was southwest of Painted Rocks Reservior. After going from gravel, to two track, I stopped at the single track level. Several of the guys continued onward. They ended up jumping a lot of deadfalls. One was riding a 1200 GS and the other a KLR. I finally learned how to ride the pegs. I'm now ordering a better pair for the Dakar. My bike is perfect for me. It shines on gravel and two tracks, but is a bit too heavy for single tracking. I still think I'll replace the 16 tooth countershaft sprocket with a 15 tooth one for a bit more grunt. The two biggest contingents were the 650 KLR group and the KTM clan. KTMers road every type of bike the company makes. Most bikes that showed up were DS, but some street bikes showed up and did well. The obstacle course was won by a guy riding a 1968 Triumph 650! I saw one Aprillia, a beautiful red Duke, truck loads of 1200 GS and GSA's, many 250+ cc single trackers, etc. There were a hald dozen DL650 or 1000's there, several with knobbies, and a half dozen Dakars. A couple of them were rode by young ladies, and the rest by old farts like me. When I was a kid, a 650 thumper was a BIG bike. Looks like some of us are regressing back to our roots. You would have found lots of folks with bikes just like yours ready to go out and ride some of the best trails imaginable. I made a dozen new friends, real friends who have invited Nanc and me into their homes. We have made the same offer to them. In fact, plans are now already started to do a big BC event in June, 2011, starting with a ride originating from my house. I've got riders from Helena, Casper, and the Denver area already planning on showing up. We will meet our new Edmonton friends in Castlegar (sp?) and have a ball. The absolutely most incredible thing about WestFest was seeing my lovely wife suit up, and go for her very first bike ride. A couple from Edmonton and we became very good friends. When Nanc saw how much fun everyone who rode was having, she asked Tracy if her husband Larry would give Nanc a ride. I'll add a couple pics to prove it happened. This is as incredible as having your wife jump behind the wheel and do the White Rim Trail down in Moab with you! Whoooiiiee! I'm starting to look for XT250's grin grin. We're going again next year. Will have to try to fit in WetFest over on the coast too! This is really the perfect extension of what everyone is already involved in here at NWOS. |