With bellies full Anthony directs us further north to a series of coal banks to let everyone have a change of pace & to let us work off some of this hearty lunch. LOL!
Before too long some of the Speedball's are buzzing up & down coal bank after coal bank & V-Force John in particular is having a BLAST throwing rooster tails behind his V-Force as he launches up hill after hill. Chris & his 785 V-Force & Anthony on his 800 V-Force join in on the roosting bonanza as the folks on 4x4's watch & before too long they to get the itch & buzz up & down a few coal banks. YEHAAAAAAAAA!
We buzz up & down trail after trail , but fail to find the types of trails we are searching for & eventually realize that this area DOES NOT have WHAT we are looking for . Anthony assures us that further north there IS trails like we want , BUT by now darkness is fast approaching & time to head south towards HOME TURF. But after alot of discussion, we decided to forgo heading towards home turf at this present time & search for some quality trails a few miles to the north.
Search as we might nothing could be found that matches the quality of the trails we enjoy in our normal home turf surrounding Frackville , Ashland & Shamokin. By now it's DARK & FOGGY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT GOOD! We now ALL AGREE that it's time to get back to HOME TURF if we can in this FOGGY MESS???????????? As the youngsters blast off into the fog banks & disappear , us more cautious folks who have NO IDEA where we are or WHAT is out THERE get LOST time after time & we spend HOURS losing & finding each other ! NOT MUCH FUN! Eventually our guide Anthony says HE is confused by the DENSE FOG himself & NOT sure exactly WHERE WE ARE????????????? At times the fog is SO THICK that you can't see more then 10 feet in front of you & then you can't really see , BUT follow the bright red tail light of the quad in front of you! Can't see ground or NOTHING!!!!!!! I go last & when the tail light in front of me is no longer visable, I STOPPPPPPP! SO SCAREY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This goes on for hours until we locate a small town & the rest of us wait while V-Force John & Anthony scout to confirm our present location.
V-Force John NEVER comes back , but Anthony eventually returns & says he NOW knows where we are & how to get us back to OUR home turf. OH BOY!!!!! Music to my ears! Even after asking the leaders to slow down everyone blasts off into the foggy darkness down this power line & Speedy brings up the rear & attempts to keep the fading head lights in sight.I give up & ride at a pace I feel somewhat safe with & by the time I near a road crossing in the middle of town the last headlight disappears & I'm ALONE! Semi-panic sets in! I have NO IDEA where I'm at or WHAT direction they went????????? As I stand up & strain to catch a glimpse of SOMEONE as the quad eases through some tall grass between two telephone poles , there is a LOUD , BAM, BANG , BOOM as my quad SLAMS into SOMETHING & my handle bars are wrenched from my arms & twist sideways as my body is violently thrust forward onto the handlebars!!!!!!!! OUCH! Feels like my right thumb is broken!!!!!!
With no one in sight I regroup & assess the damage to me & my quad & WHAT THE HELL DID I HIT ???????? Come to find out the " WHAT " was TWO large boulders hidden in the tall grass on either side of the entrance way. My thumb is extremely sore ,but NOT sure IF it's broken or not????????? The Brute Force DOES NOT want to go in a straight line , so SOMETHING is WRONG????????? But WHAT?????????? As I'm collecting my wits , someone eventually back tracks & guides me across the highway to join the others in what's deemed a SAFE ( NOT police freindly )area in this small town. As I flex my very sore thumb , I examine the quad & see that the left hand wheel is cocked at an extremely outward angle & the right wheel has a huge gash in the rim. NOT GOOD!
With help from the others I remove the severly bent lefthand tie rod & beat it back into almost normal specs & reinstall & adjust for proper allignment. Not sure IF any further damage has been suffered to the Brute Force , but it's trailworthy , so time to head for HOME TURF! Within half an hour we arrive in MacAdoo & HOME TURF & bid farewell to Anthony & wish him a SAFE ride home !
After a short break , we head off towards Frackville & Motel 6 . We are still a few hours away ,BUT being on home turf & the fog not near as bad , the pace is brisk. EVERYONE wants this day to come to a close! By the time we rattle into the parking lot at Motel 6 it's 10:30PM & some tired , sore & nerve frayed atver's head for home or the comfort of their respective motel rooms.
WHAT we did learn from this particular ride is that from now on WE WILL BE BACK on HOME TURF BEFORE DARK & ride SLOWER after dusk, so EVERYONE can stay together & assist each other in avoiding hard to see obstacles hidden in the fading light & dark shadows !!!!!!
THANKS to everyone who showed up for this Great Adventure & REMEMBER " SAFETY " is " # ONE " when hitting the trail!!!!!! Good-nite! Your AARP atv buddy!
SPEEDY RACER
I'm Christy ! " CLICK ONTO ME " & I'll take you back to the " MAIN PAGE " of our website , so YOU can read about MORE of our " Great Adventures " from the PAST! SEE YA!!!!