Its 11:00 pm Friday nite & Speedy Racer CAN'T sleep , knowing that alot of new folks will be showing up for the first time , PLUS the verbal duel between Team RED & Team GREEN has been fierce all week on our message board!!! My mind is geared to ride NOW!!!! So after giving the wife a pat on the rump & a kiss & hug , I head out & fire up the Speedball Express & begin the trex north towards Frackville, Pa..
The time goes by fast as I jam to one of my regular soft rock stations & before you know it , its 3:00am Saturday & I'm pulling into Motel 6's parking lot in Frackville, Pa.. The first thing I notice is a bunch of Speedball's have already arrived & are bunked down for the night. Going to be a good turn out today!! Being too early to check in , I recline my seat & attempt to take a snooze , but the anticipation of today's ride has my mind in high gear, as the Sand Man fights to gain the upper hand! LOL! It's a struggle , but finally I drift off into slumberland & the ZZZZZZZZ's fill the confines of the Speedball Express.
As the sun starts to rise the birds begin thier celebration of a new day , and begin to chirp away in earnest & before long Speedy's eyes flutter open & realize its time to roust the Speedball's from thier warm beds , so we can head off to Granny's for a good hot breakfeast.
By 7:00am Granny's is buzzing with the excited chatter of Speedball's as we consume our hearty breakfeast & introduce ourselves to one another & exchange tales of past Great Adventures with our new found friends. Once bellies are full , we assemble in the parking lot of Motel 6 & await the other Speedball's who haven't arrived yet. By 8:00am everyone is present & accounted for , so we fire up our rigs & head north bound on Rt # 61 towards Shamokin, Pa. to meet the other participants of today's Great Adventure.
Within 1/2 hour our excited bunch of ATVer's are pulling into K-mart's parking lot & unloading & introducing themselves to one another & checking out each others quads. Team Green knows that after all the trash talking on the message board this past week , that they will be facing fierce competition from every other team represented today! Team RED is READY to do battle!!!! Jim's fresh 508ex & Chad's 502ex want to see the V-Force's in action & see WHO is KING today??????? HE! HE! Chris & his 250R wants a piece of the action also & buzzes around the parking lot like a big ol' bumble bee!
Before too long SEVENTEEN Speedball's are headed out across the mountains & the " 500 Hill " to see IF anyone will stake claim to the $ 100 posted by Team Green to any 400ex or 250r who can successfully conquer the " 500 Hill " today! But the challenge will have to wait, since Speedy FIRST wants to buzz up & down mountain after mountain & enjoy the beautiful day promised by the weatheman. Speedy also wants to give the new folks a chance to enjoy some of the wonderful trails & varying terrain that are in the Shamokin, Pa. & Mt. Carmel region. The pace from the get go is fast & furious , whether it be flat easy terrain or some boulder infested power line ! With quads ranging in size from the 700 V-Force's to Brian & Joe's utility 250's the pace varies from insane for spurts to slow to allow the more less powerful quads to maintain contact & catch back up after a mad dash across some rock strewn trail or wallowing & plunging full bore down some swampy trail, with squeals of delight filling the woods! After one mad dash up a rock infested trail , Speedy stops to let everyone catch thier breath & check out thier quads for damage & the Grizzly suffers the first flat among our merry group. I hit a rock so hard that it flattened the rim & deflated the 26" 6 ply tire on the left rear . I was running so hard across the mountain, that I didn't even notice!!! HA! HA! Needless to say I was the brunt of more than one good natured sarcastic remark! HA! HA! Being prepared , fellow Speedball's lifted the wounded Grizzly & I removed the tire & wheel & with a 3lb mini sledge hammer beat the rim to somewhat normal specs & reinflated the tire with my handy dandy 12 volt air compressor. At least the Grizzly fixed his own wounds! HE! HE! Once the Grizzly was fixed up it was time to resume our mad dash across the mountains of Pa. During the next hour or two , more than a few quads suffered the same fate as the Grizzly & tire plugs & 12 volt air compressor proved to be a handy thing to have along today.
The two 500+ ex's acted as fighter escort for the Grizzly & kept the 700 V-Force's at bay whenever we came to a fast wide section in the trail, by roosting stones & dirt into the air & not giving the V-Force's a clean shot at the Grizzly! LOL!!!!!!
With a few hours of good fast trail riding under our belts , it time now to head to Three Corner's & let the youngsters play on the numerous hill climbs , to test thier quads set up before we head off for the 500 Hill. No sooner do we reach Three Corner's than the Speedballs' of ALL sizes are buzzing up & down hill after hill reveling in the wonder of it all!! With the proper rear tires & GOBS of POWER & TORQUE the Honda 500's chew up even the nastiest hills here with the greatest of ease! Mike Yucha Raptor & Chris's 250R challenge most big hills & succeed, but more than once need some asssistance to extract themselves from a failed attempt. Even the smaller 250ex, 300ex & 400ex are buzzing up & down hill after hill & having a BLAST! After challenging a few fairly steep hills, I'm content like others to sit & watch as the yougsters buzz up & down & conquer coal pile after coal pile.
Now that everyone has checked out thier quads for the bigger challenge ahead, its time to BLAST across the mountains & get serious about hill climbing! HE! HE! 500 HILL here we come!!!! YEHAAAAAAAAAAAA! On the way to the 500 Hill , gas becomes an issue , so we make a quick detour & head off to Mt. Carmel to refuel our quads & get something cold to drink. Once quads are full of fuel & thirst quenched , its another mad dash up the mountains ! BUT on the way, Joe & his 4x4 Timberwolf TRIES to jump a big dirt mound like his more powereful cousin's ,BUT ends up CRASHING BIG TIME!!!!!!!!!! The nose of the 4x4 Timberwolf heads up & then straight DOWN!!!!!!!! BOOOOM!!
As the doomed quad slams into the turf, Joe is ejected & the wayward quad then bounces up & slams upside down on top of Joe!!!!!! OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!
Joe is prone to nasty falls & within seconds is up & grinning, BUT holding his shoulder & arm & wondering IF all is ok?????? In the meantime the Speedball's right the Timberwolf & see that a tire had been blown off the rim & NEEDS attention. Mike Yucha jumps right in & begins repairs & before long the wounded rider & wounded quad are trail bound , BUT for how long?
It gets a little crazy as we blast up the last mountain to access the 500 Hill , but before long we are all safely atop the 500 Hill peering down & looking from side to side to see WHO will accept the challenge TODAY???????? The Honda 500's make short work of the 500 Hill & Chad even does a little dance or two on his quad as he BLASTS up the 500 Hill!! HA! HA! Team GREEN is REAL QUIET!!!!!!!!!!! NOTHING but SILENCE!!!!!!!! They sit & watch as the 500's buzz up & down , making it look so eay!!!! Chris & the 250R want to collect the $ 100 bounty on the 500 Hill from Team Green , so after MUCH soul searching slides down the HILL & spends a few minutes getting up the courage to make his first attempt at the infamous " 500 Hill " . After making a few false runs at the bottom a loud ringy, ding, ding & a puff of blue smoke signal the 250r's upcoming run at the HILL!!!!!!!! UP he comes , BUT at the half way mark, you can tell the attempt is DOOMED to fail!!! With NO aggressive tires , the 250R begins to spin wildly & before long becomes a victum of the 500 Hill!!!!!!!! The Speedball spotters rush to his rescue & help stabalize the quad. Exicted & scared at the same time , Chris yells!! " ROPE "!!!! HA! HA! He doesn't want to even turn the 250R back around & slide to the bottom for another attempt!!! His ONLY concern is getting back to the TOP safely!!!! Once Larry has scrambles back up the hill( huffing & puffing), he fires up the Honda Rincon & latches onto the 250R & after a little scratching & clawing, has the rider & quad safely on level ground! Good job guys!
After a little prodding it was time for Carl & the piped & jetted DS650 to try his luck at the 500 Hill. Like Chris before him, Carl makes a few false runs at the hill & then with a LOUD thunderous roar the DS650 is headed skyward!!!!!!! With the rev limiter popping from time to time as the motor screams looking for every ounce of horse power , the DS650 appears to have enough speed to succeed , BUT comes up just short!!!! SAVE ME!!! GRAB ME!!!!!!!!! a SHAKING Carl screams at the spotters, as they rush to stabalize the quad. Within seconds the rider & quad have been saved by the spotters & once again Larry & the mighty Rincon latch onto another victum of the 500 Hill & pulls them to safety.! While all this was going on Dave is making repairs to his Raptor as the morning run across the mountains , had his Raptor sheading bolts from his skid plates faster than a molting snake sheading its skin. By repositioning the remaining bolts , he was able to secure his skid plates & continue. Forgotten for the time being in all the excitement was Team Green's FAILURE to even attempt the bigger hills at Three Corner's & NOW the 500 Hill!!!! Team Green silence means ONLY one thing!!! Today they realized that despite the BIG BORE 700 V-twins , they may be the prettiest , but are NOT yet the BADDEST boys on the trail! With pipes & jet kits , the story may yet be different, but for TODAY at least TEAM RED is KING!!!!!!!!!!!! Way to go Team Red!!! All that hard work over the winter sure paid off!!!! Mike Yucha & his Raptor also made a successful run at the 500 Hill after failing on numerous other rides to conquer the HILL!!!! WAY TO GO MIKE!!!!! Team Yamaha carried our colors proud today!
Matt & Keith of Team Susuki who were camped at " Camp Quad " sat & watched , but until they get thier big bore kits , were content to sit back & watch the other teams have a go at the hill !!
By now Joe's injured shoulder was REALLY hurting & hung useless at his side! NO MORE Speedballing today! With an injured Joe & a LONG ways from the truck , I split our group into two packs. The guys who wanted one last BLAST across the mountains would follow Mike Yucha & his Raptor buddies , Dave & Marty across Speedball Ridge at a brisk pace , while I would take a much slower & smoother trex across the mountains towards our trucks in Shamokin, Pa.
The ride back was a tough one for Joe , BUT he NEVER lost his sense of humor & vowed to be BACK even as he loaded up for the trip home! What a great guy to have on the trail! ALWAYS the smallest CC quads , Brian & Joe ride thier ASS off to even stay in sight of the faster & bigger bore quads!! They NEVER complain, just the OPPOSITE!!! At each & every stop , they are grining from ear to ear READY for MORE!!!!!!!!!!!! TRUE SPEEDBALL's!!!!!!
Team Green was packed up & gone by the time I got our wounded Speedball back to Shamokin, Pa., but I'm sure a little humble pie was consumed today? Knowing Earl for the short time I have HE & TEAM GREEN will be seaching the web & figure out HOW to unleash the BEAST hidden within those MASSIVE V-twins before too long!!! HE! HE! Then watch out!!!!!! LOL!!!!
After saying goodbye to most of the Speedball's, it was off to Burger King to get a late afternoon meal & gas up & head out AGAIN!!!!!!!
Once bellies are full & quads gased up, time to head off for Treverton, Pa. & some more neat trails & hill climbs. YAHOOOOOOOOOO!!!! With now only SIX riders, the pace is not warp speed, but fast & steady! With Mike Yucha leading the way , Chris, Carl , B.J. ( 400 Artic Cat ) , Larry & Speedy headed up one mountain after another until we were perched atop Hill # 1 in Treverton , Pa. & marveling at the beauty of it all as the sun got lower & lower on the horizon. Once at the hill climbs at Treverton, Pa. we buzzed up & down a few few smaller hills , but after taking a few photos for our newsletter, it was time to head back to the trucks. As the sun started to disappear & sink behind the mountains, Mike took us on some beautiful , but slow techinical trails. B.J.'s Artic Cat overheated time after time & forced us to stop & watch the sun set!!! Sure pissed me off to have to stop & see such WONDEROUS BEAUTY!!!!!!!!!!!!! HA! HA!
By the time we rattled back to K-mart's parking lot in Shamokin, Pa. it was pitch black & head lights ONLY! Normally we don't stay out this late , BUT Mike's kids were off visiting while the wife worked , so he took full advantage of this rare occurance & let us enjoy his company until 8:30 pm. WHAT A GRANDDAY!!!!!!!!!!!! NINETEEN Speedball's shared a grand TOTAL of 121 miles of simlpy BEATIFUL trails on a GOURGOUS day!!!! DON'T get no better than this!!!!!!! NO WAY!!!!!!!!!
After thanking my fellow Speedball's for a GRAND day, I had to go visit another Speedball in Natalie, Pa. , Dave Porzi & pick up some custom stuff for my Grizzly! Ryan's Fab in Mt. Carmel is now making stuff for GRIZZLY's & V-Force's at GREAT prices!!!!! Using Dave 's Grizzly & Sean's V-Force as subjects to develope products & give the Speedball's first crack st these new & exciting mods! The photo posted with our ride photos will show you the QUALITY of the stuuf I NOW have on the BEAST!!! I will create a " LINK " so you to can visit his on-line website & will have photos & prices posted! He'd be more than happy to help YOU make your quad look GOOD & BETTER!!! After visiting my Polish buddy & shooting the SH - T & installing my new custom rear race bumper , I retreated to Motel 6 in Frackville, Pa. & let the Sand Man do his thing before even taking a shower! With ONLY ONE hours sleep in two days, the ZZZZZZZZZZ's filled room # 34 FAST!!!!!!!!!! Goodnite & goodbye till next time!!!!!
your AARP atv buddy!
SPEEDY RACER
