Its early Saturday morning & Speedy Racer is restless & can't sleep knowing more new folks are coming to see IF the Speedball's really ride 100 miles a day & actually ride ALL different trails during the course of the day? So after tossing & turning for the last hour or so , I slip from beneath the sheets & prepare this AARP for the trip ahead. The forecast is for " thundershowers " , so alot have folks have already said NO THANKS for today's Great Adventure. With rain gear & FOUR sets of dry clothes stashed in the Speedball Express , I begin the trex north towards Frackville, Pa.
The trip goes by fast as the Speedball Express seems to make short work of the next few hundred miles & once breaking clear of the dense fog near Tower City , I see the exit for Frackville peering out at me from the darkness. My belly is growling as I shuffle into Motel 6's lobby & inquire about which room the other Speedball's are in??? Diane informs me that Larry & Chris are bunked down in room # 15 , so off I go to roust them from thier warm beds & head to Granny's for our typical preride breakfeast. As we descend the stairs , John the firefighter from New York City cruises up with his new Kawasaki 400 sport quad & after introductions its off to feed our faces.
Once bellies are full , we amble across the parking lot & await for others to show up , BUT by 8:00am we realize the threat of thunderstorms has spooked some to stay home. More Speedball's await us in Shamokin, Pa. so we fire up our rigs & head north via Rt # 61 to Shamokin, Pa. & the start of another Great Adventure!
As we approach our normal meeting place at the now defunct K-mart , the V-Forces are pacing the parking lot , ready to pounce on ANY & ALL quads!!!! HA! HA! Today's ride even has two new members from New Jersey ! Kingy & Rick wanted to see for themselves why so many folks are joining the East Coast Speedball's ???? Both have Polaris Scrambler's tucked in the back of thier respective trucks & seem eager to begin today's ride & before long the blue smoke of the 400 two strokes fill the air. Larry aboard his Honda 650 Rincon made the trip from the Eastern Shore of Maryland for his first ride also. Chris hailing from Annapolis, Maryland had such a good time on his first Great Adventure , that he invited Larry to come have some fun also.
Within half an hour the eleven Speedball's have thier quads warmed up & head out into the damp morning air hoping the RAIN would either hold off or be light! With Speedy Racer leading the charge across the mountains , Mike Yucha & his Raptor kept an eye out on the back of the pack , while Marty & his Raptor stayed to the rear , so the V-Force's wouldn't run his ass over! HE! HE!
From the outset the V-Force's swarmed towards the front & buzzed at the Grizzly from ALL angles , snatching patches of fur as they darted to & fro up the trail. Earl was being exceptionally aggressive , but not knowing where the HE-- he was limited his options. John & his Kawasaki spent more time with his front wheels in the air , than on the ground! He loves to wheelie!!!! HA! HA! Russ & Bill's V-Force's were content to buzz & harass the other Speedball's mostly & left Speedy alone for the most part.
Up & over mountain after mountain the Speedball's went until we arrived at the infamous " 500 Hill " . With his new found crotch rocket between his legs , Russ & the V-Force descend down the steep slope of the 500 Hill & before long is headed skyward !!!!! The speed at the bottom is good , but by NOT having aggressive mud tires , the stock Hole Shots fail to propel the V-Force past the halfway point & begins to spin wildly & slide backwards down the hill!!!! EVERYONE thought he'd make it further than that, so a MAD scramble insues to stop the V-Force from a nasty roll over! Mike Yucha dives head first down the embankment , with John not far behind!!! Russ is WIDE EYED as the V-Force starts to gain momentum in a backward slide !!!!!! This sport quad weighs 500 lbs. & is a HANDFULL in this situation!!!!!!! As Mike Yucha latches onto the quad , he propels himself under the front end of the V-Force & buries his legs into the soft coal bank!!!!!! It starts to slow & before long the V-Force is stopped & stable!!! It took ALL three riders to save this quad from an untimely demise!! After reversing the V-Force , Russ heads to the bottom & realizes that today the hill is KING & heads off to exit an escape route & rejoin us at the top . John & Mike's daring rescue is NOT without a price!! They must NOW scratch & claw thier way up & over over 250 feet of SOFT & STEEP coal bank to reach the top! After MUCH huffing & puffing the two rejoin us & await Russ's return.
Once Russ reunites with the other Speedball's its off to Mt. Carmel & the " Moon " . As our merry group starts the trex towards the main trail leading to Mt. Carmel , I catch a glimmer of GREEN out of the corner of my eye!!!!! Its Earl wanting to dust the Grizzly once & for all to prove that the V-Force is BAD!!!!!!!! With the trail being wide enough for two quads , BUT a very narrow path about three hundred yards away that passes beteen two pine trees , Earl drops the hammer on the V-Force & almost simutaneously I drop the hammer on the Grizzly & the RACE IS ON!!!!!!! YEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!
With a loud roar from its HMF exhaust filling the air, the Grizzly lurches forward & matches the V-Force stride for stride down the slightly sloped trail!!!!!!!!! The next few hundred yards are a BLURR as both quads want to be FIRST through the narrow one lane trail between the pine trees !!!! BUT the V-Force must PASS the Grizzly first & its NOT HAPPENING!!!! At speeds near 55 to 60 mph its still a dead heat & the Grizzly has the most direct line to the small opening between the pine trees !! So with the shout of " OH SHIT " , Earl eases up on the thumb throttle & must concede this dual to the GRIZZLY!!!! Once through the pine trees , Earl takes a short cut across the terrain to gain the trail lead at the next bend & takes off like a scalded cat down the trail with the Grizzly in hot pusuit! As the Grizzly blasts up to the rear end of the V-Force ,Speedy Racer is pelted with a stinging shower of rocks & small boulders & is forced to back off . The next mile or two is crazy as Earl drops the hammer & flys over each & every knoll , sometimes flying 30 feet or so through the air ! Speedy racer is in hot pursuit & catches about the same , but dials back once the trail starts a downward spiral. BOY THAT WAS FUN!!!!!!!!!!
The pack reassembles at the bottom of the mountain & heads off to the back door route that will let us access a gas station in the middle of Mt. Carmel. Must get the gas guzzling V-Force's some go juice ! HA! HA! Once refueling is complete , its off to play at the " Moon " . Here everyone can find a hill that matches thier skill level & before long Speedball's are buzzing up & down some fairly steep coal piles while others either watch or select some less daunting. As Earl & his V-Force blast up this short, steep soft coal bank , the V-Force's throttle sticks WIDE OPEN & at the top Earl is ejected backwards like a bull rider who failed to make the " 8 second clock " at a PBR event ! Earl flops to the ground as the V-Force continues across the landscape! The quad finally stops on its own before making impact with anything & Earl gets up & with a hearty chuckle ,shakes the coal dust from his butt & cobwebs from his head & remounts the beast for some more hill climbing. Not long after this comic incident ,Russ takes apart the throttle assy. & inspects & makes enough adjustments to get Earl through the day. He also informs Earl that he thinks he pushed the thumb throttle too far in his duel with the Grizzly!! HE! HE!
Throughout the day , our newest members Chris on his 250R & Larry on his 650 Rincon are like two kids in a cookie jar ! Smiling from ear to ear & savoring every sight & sound they are witnessing on thier ride with the Speedball's .
With bellies growling & being pelted more & more frequently with periods of rain , we head off towards Shamokin, Pa. & Burger King for a well deserved hot lunch. After crossing RT # 54 near Atlas, Pa. the Speedball's encounter some VERY THICK black muck & Speedball after Speedball finds the going tough as the thick gooey gunk fills the tread pattern & the quads sink deeper & deeper into the goo , making forward momentum very difficult! One by one the quads slip & slosh thier way across this bog & eventually find dry ground , much to the relief of EVERYONE !!!!
Once on solid turf , Kingy's Polaris Scrambler , which had been puffing steam out the exhaust for some time( blown head gasket ) along with the typical two stroke blue smoke , sputters to a halt! Larry hooks the Rincon & begins to tow the Polaris , but becomes bogged down himself & buries the Rincon , with the 4x4 digging deeper & deeper into the soft coal bank .Its GRIZZLY to the rescue once again!!! HA! HA! After realligning the Rincon , Speedy hooks a tow rope to the Polaris & after switching to 4x4 low range " Diff lock " , the Grizzly growls & grunts & before long ,both Honda & Polaris are safe & sound atop the coal bank. Kingy's quad finally restarts & motors down the trail under its own power.
After this last misadventure the Speedball's blast off across the mountains & before too long are peeling off thier soggy muck filled clothes & putting on WARM dry clothing by our trucks at the K-mart parking lot. Some load up for the trip home , while others will refuel & ride & will do battle with the elements for a few more hours. Kingy's quad is done for the day & so Rick also loads up his quad for the return to New Jersey. Both had a grand time & VOWED to return to bang bars with the Speedball's at a future date! HA! HA! Kingy even ordered a Speedball T-shirt & got Speedball stickers to plaster on his trucks & quad!
After saying good-bye to the departing Speedball's & thanking them for a grand time , the rest of us head off to Burger King to stop the growling coming from within our food craved stomachs! The hot food & WARM seats rejuvinate the remaining Speedball's & before too long we are off across the mountains in a NEW direction & more NEW trails!!!! YEHAAAAAAAAAAA!
With Mike Yucha leading the way & the sun peeking out from behind the clouds , the BEST riding conditions of the day greet us as we cruise up & down one mountain after another & head off towards Treverton , Pa. The trails are tight & twisty & BOTH Larry & Chris are having a blast & seem quite content that IF this day never ended , it wouldn't hurt thier feeling one bit! Mike & I felt the same way as we eased our quads along trail after trail across the mountains. BUT all good things must come to an end & with daylight fading , the Speedball's head back towards Shamokin , Pa. , so Mike can depart for home & watch the kids , while the wife heads off to work at a local hospital. All in all it was a GREAT day , spent with WONDERFUL people & despite a few small showers , the weatherman was WRONG once again! HE! HE! The THUNDERDTORMS NEVER happened & I feel bad for the other Speedball's scared away by the weatherman's false prediction! YOU missed a wonderful GREAT ADVENTURE!!!! So now its time to fire up the Speedball Express , head off to Motel 6 , take a HOT shower & partake of some good grub at Granny's. Then the BEST part!!! The Sand Man pays Speedy Racer a visit & the ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ's fill the air! Good-nite & Good-bye till next time!!!!!!!!
SPEEDY RACER
