My wife and I arrived on Saturday afternoon and after the usual greetings and hugs, etc... my dad and I turned our attention toward our WRs and all the modifications we had planned on doing to them before we went on our ride. Being that I have very little restraint when it comes to buying new parts for the bike, I had a bunch of goodies to put on, and so did my father.
We had both bikes up on the jacks and started taking things apart and putting things on. Most of the stuff was simple bolt-on type stuff but a few items required wire soldering and such.
Here's what we did to Dad's Yamaha:
- Removed the front turn-signals and installed new Zeta handguards with integrated flashers.
- Installed the much needed Yamalink to lower his seat height.
- Installed a front rotor guard that I removed from my bike.
Here's what we did to my bike:
- Removed my custom taillight setup and replaced it with the DRC kit.
- Replaced all the blue plastic with black plastic.
- Installed a notched seat for a lower seat height.
- Lowered my front forks a bit to help with the height adjustment.
- Installed Wolfman saddlebags
- Repaired my sticking throttle.
- Removed front rotor guard, then installed it on Dad's bike.
- Installed a handlebar mount for my Garmin GPS.
This process took the rest of Saturday evening and part of Sunday as well.
On Sunday, my brother and his family showed up. It was great to see everyone, especially my Niece and Nephew.
My brother brought his Suzuki DRZ400 along and also had a few things to do to it. We spent the last half of Sunday messing around with the bikes and periodically chatting with the girls as well.
Here's what was done to the DRZ:
- A rear rack was installed. (He had done this prior to arriving, but it is a nice mod).
- We installed the custom taillight setup that had been removed from my bike and removed his bulky, stock plastic nightmare.
- Another item completed prior to arriving was a set of new Pirelli MT21s.
Heading out
On Monday morning, the three of us set out for an easy ride up in the Olympic National Forest along some Forest Service roads. It was a bit chilly and we ended up stopping to put on a few extra layers that we had fortunately opted to bring along. We repeatedly checked the map to track our progress. We had planned a loop that would take us to Quilcene, WA where we figured we'd grab lunch and refuel the machines. The map we got from the forest service was mostly accurate but we found a couple errors, but with a few back-tracks and references to the GPS units, we found our way to the correct roads.
Stopped on the bridge to bundle up a bit
About 30 minutes into the ride, we stopped to check the map for the 13th time. During this stop, we all decided to ride up this small embankment that led up to another road. I went first and then headed down the road a bit to see if it was the correct one. I turned back after a mile or so to let the others know that this was the correct way. When I returned, I saw my brother and dad picking up dad's bike from the ditch. Apparently, dad had liked riding up it the first time so much, that he wanted to do it again. This time though, he took a different/steeper line and his front tire became lodged in a deep rut at the top of the ridge. This stopped any forward movement he had and sent him falling to his right. He landed squarely on his shoulder just a few inches from a large chunk of wood. The bike fortunately didn't fall on him and as I pulled up, he appeared to be fine. After all was said and done, however, it became apparent that his shoulder was hurt more than he wanted to admit. We sat there for a bit and I suggested that we head back to get him some ice and rest. But being the stubborn old fart that he is, he insisted that we continue on our ride. So continue we did.
A little hill climbing fun.
The rest of the ride was mostly uneventful. We made it to Quilcene and discovered that every gas station that they had was out of business. We found a park and ate our sandwiches while we discussed our options. We knew that the DRZ had enough fuel with the large capacity tank, but our WRRs were our concern. We did some rough calculations and decided that we should be able to make it back home, barely.
Apparently, baby deer don't run away. They just sit there and hope you go away... and it worked!
After lunch, we got back into the ONF and rode the other side of our loop back toward Sequim. The last part of our ride was pretty good as we found some interesting roads that took us on some slippery mud and some that took us up to the top of Bear Hill for some nice views.
On "Bear Hill" (I think)
As we came out of the forest and back on to pavement, we witnessed a bald eagle investigating a dead animal in the middle of the road. As we approached it, it spread it's giant wings and took off right in front of us. As it veered toward the adjacent field, we all got a great, closeup view of the amazing size of this bird. I was bummed that I didn't have my camera in a more accessible location. I could have captured a couple great photos.
The elder Burri
By this point, both of the Yamaha's "low fuel" lights were on. We figured that if we ran out of gas, we could siphon a bit from my brother's tank. Fortunately, we were able to make it without having to resort to that.
My brother and his DRZ
After the ride was over, we filled my mother in on all the stories from our short adventure. We got some ice for dad's shoulder and some beer for our throats.
Just before my brother and I headed out back to our own homes, our Aunt and Uncle showed up from Oregon. Since we hadn't seen them in years, it was great to see and talk to them for a bit.
"The Bruise"
Overall, this was a good ride to prepare for the 3-day ride that is planned for June. The 2010 Chumstick Ride and Seek.
Miles ridden: About 110
Injuries: 1
Eagles encountered: 1 (maybe 2)
Fawns encountered: 1
