FOGGY Great Adventure!!!!!!!!

FOGGY Great Adventure!!!!!!!!

   It's 2:00am Saturday & once again the wailing of the alarm clock awakes me from slumberland & it's world of fantasies & nightmares. I had a busy week at work & even the chainsaw like rumblings from my wifes throat could not keep my weary AARP body from a deep sleep.

     Within twenty minutes , the Speedball Express is emitting a steady stream of steam out the exhaust pipe as it eases out onto Mechanicsville-Chaptico Road & motors northward towards Frackville, Pa. & another Great Adventure. The weatherman has not painted a very pretty picture for today's jaunt across the Pa. mountains, but RAIN , SNOW or SHINE , we ride IF I-81 is OPEN! Weather conditions do not stop us from riding , BUT does determine HOW MANY & WHO will disregard the weatherman's doom & gloom forecast & join Speedy & the others for today's Great Adventure??????

      As the Speedball Express heads northward, patches of light rain & fog are encountered , just like the weathman predicted , so it looks like full rain gear would be a prudent choice IF you want to stay DRY & WARM for the entire day. At least with rain & wet trail conditions , DUST will not be a factor! When it's DRY & DUSTY , that thick black coal dust can make it hard to breathe & EXTREMELY HARD to SEE! As long as it's NOT cloud bursts , RAIN is our buddy! LOL!

    By 6:30am I'm feeding my face at Granny's & refueling this AARP atv body for a LONG day as we explore NEW terrain north of Hazelton, Pa. A local who lives north & west of Hazelton, Pa. has agreed to meet us at MacAdoo & show us ALL NEW terrain ! YAHOOOOOOOO! More NEW TURF!

     After finishing off my morning feast & getting a big warm hug from my waitress( best part of beakfeast HE! HE! ) , it's time to see WHO & HOW MANY have braved the less than ideal conditions for today's ride??????

    By 8:00am Speedy , Chris Cooper, Mike Yucha, V-Force John, Lee & Tom have unloaded thier quads & dressed properly for today's northward trex across the Pa. mountains. Today's ride should be called   " Kawasaki's Great Adventure " because ALL quads in today's ride are Kawasaki based " 700 V-Twins or BIGGER! One " 800 V-Force " , one " Mickey Dunlop 785 V-Force , one " 750 Brute Force 4x4 , three 4x4 " 700 V-Twin's " & one " 700 V-Force " . NO lack of power TODAY!!! LOL!

     With a rumble from the V-Twin's the Speedball's head out across the mountains towards MacAdoo to link up with Anthony & his " 800 V-Force " to explore MORE new trails & further expand our trail system even further. HE! HE! Being some kind of small game season in Pa. we can't take our usual deep in the mountains routes , but skirt & stay on the fringes & for extra SAFETY measures , Speedy is dressed in LOTS of BRIGHT ORANGE! A surviving Viet Nam era vet DOES NOT want to get KIA by some jumpy hunter who has an itchy trigger finger ! NO WAY!!!!!

     The miles click off fast & the ride northward is uneventful as we encounter very few hunters & the ones we see wave HI at the brightly dressed ORANGE atver bringing up the rear, thinking him to be a fellow hunter! LOL! Once at MacAdoo we top off our fuel tanks , get a snack & wait for Anthony & his " 800 V-Force to link up with us & guide us across new trails north & west of Hazelton, Pa.

******* ALL PHOTOS by Anthony ********

******* CLICK ALL PHOTOS TO ENLARGE *****

( Chris & Mike enjoy some cold pizza & soda & discuss today's upcoming today's upcoming ride. )

It's not too long after we arrive at the gas station in MacAdoo , that Anthony rumbles into the parking lot , BUT NOT HAPPY! :( His quad is making UGLY noises from his V-belt housing!!!!!!He installed a new aftermarket V-belt last night & SOMETHING is NOT RIGHT ?????

This V-belt is TOAST! Come to find out Anthony accidently imstalled the new belt backwards , causing it to shred to peices.:( WHAT do we do NOW???????? V-Force John has an extra belt at his house , so we head in that direction, BUT shortly there after , the belt completely disintergrates & WILL NOT move this powerful quad. V-Force John makes a cell phone call to his wife & before too long a replacement is delivered at a RxR crossing & shortly there after the V-Force is trail worthy & we head NORTH!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS V-Force John , you saved the day :) !!!!!!

   With all quads ready for action, we head north towards the trail system that Anthony wants to share with us today. Chris & his " 785 V-Force " is hot on the rear bumper of Anthony's " 800 V-Force " as we scoot up the trail at a FAST pace! Once past MacAdoo the pace becomes REALLY FAST down this narrow coal road , littered with small whoops, off cambers , mudpuddles & an ocassional downed tree across the trail. NOT familar with THIS trail, Speedy & the others bring up the rear & ride at a somewhat slower pace & hope the others in the lead pack can curb their quest for SPEED & DON'T CRASH & BURN on this UNFAMILAR trail !!! A few miles up the trail , I see WHAT I DIDN'T want to see !!!!!!!! A quad upside down in the middle of the trail & busted plastic scattered about, along with a downed rider moving very slowly!

    As I reach the accident scene it's none other than " Splash & Crash " Cooper who has hit a mud puddle WRONG & lost control while chasing down Anthony at warp speed ! Even V-Force John who is a very skilled rider , realized the front two were going way too fast & dialed back or he too could have been involved in this mishap ??????

Lee & Chris working to make the V-Force trail worthy.

Once it's determined that Chris is ONLY bumped & bruised , we focus our attention on restoring the V-Force to a rideable condition & to continue our northward trex across the mountains of Pa. IF Chris is able & willing????? Lee dives right in & assists Chris in any & all repairs needed.

Lee uses his 700 4x4 Pararie to help fix Chris's V-Force.

We strap Chris's quad to a tree & Lee snaps & jerks the steering stem HARD in our effort to reallign the brackets to the proper angle. Lee jerked SO HARD sometimes , that his WHOLE QUAD jumped straight up in the air as the cable snapped TIGHT! NOTHING but daylight under this Kawasaki 4x4!!!!!!!

After at least a half dozen times of performing this " JERK & JUMP " maneuver, the V-force's steering stem seems to be alligned real close to normal. :) With this accomplished , Anthony , Lee & Chris use a ton of zip ties from Speedy's back pack to reattach the Plastic & before too long the V-Force is deemed READY to continue our Great Adventure in this Pa. rain & fog. Chris takes a few pain killers to make his bruised & battered body forget about it's bouncing down the trail like a ping pong ball & he deems himself also trailworthy.:)Tough bird!LOL!

After cruising down the trail for an hour or so , we take a break & double check to make sure Chris & his quad can continue northward???? Chris gives a thumbs up & before too long we push onward towards a local restaurant that Anthony says has GREAT food. With everyone's bellies making growling noises , we don't stop until we rumble into the parking lot of this eatery & make a bee line for the entrance. YEHAAAAA! FOOD!

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FOGGY Great Adventure!-->