Nyroc 3 Woodpecker 02-19-09
Ok Fridays ride (02-20-09) had a much bigger crowd. Justin aka Full Throttle (with Kawasaki)came over from California and brought 2 Kawasaki Brute Force 750I ATV’s to test on the rocks of Arizona. I have to say I sure do like the looks of the red machine and the sound is Great. It sounds like a small block V-8. Can’t wait to test the full locker.
Everyone had breakfast and got their rigs together for a group shot before we all headed over to a trail called Upper Woodpecker. There are some Indian Pictographs at the beginning of the trail. The trail is in a wash and has lots of fun obstacles along the way.
Steve gave us a scare at the start of the trail on the first big boulder crawl. It is a large rock with a couple of step ups similar to the rocks in Moab Utah. Well Steve missed the line on the first step and it sent him to the right. This is where it all went wrong, he now was headed for a dip and a straight up part of the rock where he nailed the throttle and went over backwards and to the right. It was a frightful sight for me as he was coming right at me but I was too far away to help. For a split second I dropped the camera but kept shooting. The sound a quad makes when it is going over is dreadful. As I saw the heavy Polaris laying flat on its top with no sight of Steve I had a sick feeling in my stomach, but within a second I saw a hand come out and then Steve crawled out from under his quad unscathed. It seems there was a small hole under his quad that he was lucky enough to fall into. Steve got incredibly lucky to come away with just a few broken parts on his ATV and not a scratch on him.
Let’s not have any more of this on our ride. I will say I thought some of the riders might turn around and go back to camp at this point and I wouldn’t have blamed them but everyone stayed on for the adventure. For the rest of the riders going up this boulder there were lots of spotters. We always try to avoid roll over’s but sometimes it happens.
For having such a big group we went through the trail at a pretty good pace. Everybody was willing to help out a fellow rider if they needed it. Of course there was always a show to watch at some of the better obstacles. Insane Zane and Toad were battling to see who could take the nastiest line and of course Jim was smooth as silk.
At the end of the trail is Dave’s rock. This is where he went over last year. Zane, Toad and Justin took turns going over the rock. I have to say they made it look easy but it is anything but easy. That boulder can have you on your lid in an instant.
Next we went over to the Ajax Mine. This was a large mine back in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Its kind of fun to look around at all the stuff they brought in to make their mine work.
From here Jim led us on a scenic ride across the tops of some of the mountains, down a wash and back up the other side. There was a nasty hill climb some took while the others took a bit easier route. Along the way there was a jump that Zane, Justin and Toad took turns airing out their machines. They had some monster air.
Well thats it for this adventure. Time to get back to camp.
Read MoreEveryone had breakfast and got their rigs together for a group shot before we all headed over to a trail called Upper Woodpecker. There are some Indian Pictographs at the beginning of the trail. The trail is in a wash and has lots of fun obstacles along the way.
Steve gave us a scare at the start of the trail on the first big boulder crawl. It is a large rock with a couple of step ups similar to the rocks in Moab Utah. Well Steve missed the line on the first step and it sent him to the right. This is where it all went wrong, he now was headed for a dip and a straight up part of the rock where he nailed the throttle and went over backwards and to the right. It was a frightful sight for me as he was coming right at me but I was too far away to help. For a split second I dropped the camera but kept shooting. The sound a quad makes when it is going over is dreadful. As I saw the heavy Polaris laying flat on its top with no sight of Steve I had a sick feeling in my stomach, but within a second I saw a hand come out and then Steve crawled out from under his quad unscathed. It seems there was a small hole under his quad that he was lucky enough to fall into. Steve got incredibly lucky to come away with just a few broken parts on his ATV and not a scratch on him.
Let’s not have any more of this on our ride. I will say I thought some of the riders might turn around and go back to camp at this point and I wouldn’t have blamed them but everyone stayed on for the adventure. For the rest of the riders going up this boulder there were lots of spotters. We always try to avoid roll over’s but sometimes it happens.
For having such a big group we went through the trail at a pretty good pace. Everybody was willing to help out a fellow rider if they needed it. Of course there was always a show to watch at some of the better obstacles. Insane Zane and Toad were battling to see who could take the nastiest line and of course Jim was smooth as silk.
At the end of the trail is Dave’s rock. This is where he went over last year. Zane, Toad and Justin took turns going over the rock. I have to say they made it look easy but it is anything but easy. That boulder can have you on your lid in an instant.
Next we went over to the Ajax Mine. This was a large mine back in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Its kind of fun to look around at all the stuff they brought in to make their mine work.
From here Jim led us on a scenic ride across the tops of some of the mountains, down a wash and back up the other side. There was a nasty hill climb some took while the others took a bit easier route. Along the way there was a jump that Zane, Justin and Toad took turns airing out their machines. They had some monster air.
Well thats it for this adventure. Time to get back to camp.
