OK, so there was this charity ride that I thought would be a lot of fun... You know the kind, a couple of hours doing some good trail riding at a leisurely pace, through the woods stopping now and then to pick a poker card. I figured that we would show up early enough to get rested after the 3 hour drive, so of course we had to get up at 4am. That’s a price I'm will to pay for a little Saturday ATV action. We had never been to Shasta OHV area before, but the map made it look real easy to get to.... guess that should of been a "sign". We found the Dam OK, but the road that we needed to take ran right across the top of the dam. Did I mention that my wife really doesn't like heights? Of course I had "forgotten" to mention the Dam road so she was really relieved to see it was CLOSED. I on the other hand was a bit concerned because I didn't know of any other way to get to the riding area. While I was sitting in the truck for what seemed an eternity breaking into an awful sweat thinking "OK, now what do I do?", I noticed that a truckload of ATV's drove right up to the Dam and then "disappeared". Then another truck came up and disappeared also! So me, in my idiot wisdom, proclaimed to my grateful wife that we would not crash the gate and try to outrun the cops across the damn Dam, I knew of another way! (I hoped that ET was not taking these trucks to Area 51 or something). So we headed off to the last place that I saw the trucks alive. Low and behold there was a skinny little cattle gate right at the face of the Dam. We headed down this road knowing that it had to go somewhere. Sure enough after a few miles, we crossed a bridge that was only 20 or so feet off the
water (My wife thanks God), and found a sign that pointed a sharp left stating "Poker Run".

A smiling woman greeted us at the entrance and assumed that because we had an ATV in the truck, "you must be here for the Poker Run?". After some pleasant conversations, she allowed us to proceed to the parking area. Did I mention that I am a coffee drinker? Did I mention that I drink a large amount of coffee? Did I mention that I had just drove over 3 hours? Can you guess where the bathroom was in relation to where I had to park my truck? I'll bet that you guessed it was about 100 miles to the bathroom from my truck, and yes you are right! (Nope, no trees). After a quick hiking trip to the bathrooms I headed over to the registration tents. Once again, I met some very pleasant ATVers. I received my list, T-shirt and "welcome to the event". I was ready to go. I guess that maybe I was a little early because the first riders would not be going out for another 2 hours! Did I mention that this was going to be a record heat day? I didn't think it was going to be that hot, which is why I didn't think it was time to buy the "camelback"... besides, I brought 8 quarts of "gator-aid" that would be sitting in the cooler for when I got back from the "ride in the woods". I guess that we had a little time to "mingle", or sit on the tailgate and talk to anyone that would come close enough to us.

We had somehow managed to park the truck next to a "local" guy that was waiting for one of his riding buddies to show up. Needless to say, we had our first victim. He should have run when he had the chance. Vince's wife was not with him that day, (she must have known that it was going to be a hot one). Vince had a new Yamaha 400 dirtbike, and had only been riding it in the area for about a month. His bike looked real nice, barely a scratch on it. We talked about all the different riding areas that we knew, and he explained about the trails we would be riding that day. It sounded like a nice ride, a couple of creeks, some woods, a little hill climbing, a few miles of fire roads, a bit dusty with patches of rocky trail. All in all, a good ride.

According to his business card, Bobby is a "retired tourist". He pulled in next to us in his 4-wheel drive, extended cab, dually pickup with the "monster quad" in the back. I have to tell you that this wasn't any ordinary 4-wheel drive quad. It had every home made option that you could think of; windshield, fairing, front and rear tool boxes, GPS mount, radio, and it even had two rearview mirrors mounted on 2 x 4's!

Bobby is a wonderful man. He has been riding in Alaska, goes to Utah for the jamboree for the past 5 or 6 years, rides in most all the States and is a great narrator of "trails traveled". Bobby would make someone a great neighbor if he ever decided to make a "permanent" home someplace. We spent the next hour talking and it flew by. We almost missed the Riders meeting - I was fortunate that the coffee required another visit to the shack, and on my return trip I heard "Riders meeting in 10 minutes". Bobby and I headed out for the meeting.

I don't know if the meeting was designed to warn us of the hazards, or perhaps scare off the less experienced riders..... "This is NOT a ride for the inexperienced rider - We did take a couple of new riders on the trail last week, and although we managed to bring them back alive, they did NOT come here this weekend for the Poker Run. There are a few parts of the trail that require some very good riding skills. After you pass Checkpoint 1, the trail moves off the fireroad.... if you are a less experience rider, you may want to stay on the fireroad; it will connect back with the main trail at Checkpoint 2. The bypass is easier on both the rider and machine. Be very careful up there because the dust can get so thick you won't be able to see a thing. There are parts of the trail that drop off 100 feet or more, and if you ride to close you'll never see the cliff because of the dust"! He had mentioned that they sent out a rider first thing in the morning to make sure the markers were still up. As the meeting was coming to an end, the Rider pulled in and said that he had an announcement.... "don't be alarmed, but when your up on the ridge between checkpoint 2 and 3 (or was it 3 and 4), don't stop for a break.... I chased off 3 bears this morning". I could tell this was going to be a great ride, if I could make it back alive!

I said good-bye and wished Vince luck as he and 30 or more dirt bikes started heading out. It was a pretty good stream of bikes for about 20 minutes or so. The weather was getting hotter so I took advantage of the time by drinking a half gallon of the "gator-aid" from my cooler in the truck. I was getting pretty excited knowing the ATVs would be going real soon. I put on the last of my gear, gave my wife a quick kiss good-bye as she told me again "be careful and have fun - (Sometimes you can't do two things at the same time), and suggested to Bobby that we "hit the trail". Bobby ushered me ahead of him and said he would rather follow me..... I still wonder if he saw the look in my eyes; the eagerness to ride, the mad cow full blown "I wanna race" look in my eyes.... I'm guessing that he really had the ability to "read" people. I took off, hit a couple of good jumps that really impressed me (damn ego) and left in a cloud of dust. A really big cloud of dust.

The trail to Checkpoint 1 was a lot of fun. Narrow, rocky, steep switchbacks, wonderful views (major elevation gain), duck or you'll get smacked by the branches, fast sliding fire roads, watch out for the guys pulling over to let you by and don't pump up alot of dust in their faces..... Did I mention fire road? I remember 6th gear, power sliding through the turns on both sides of the road, hitting drainage ditches in the middle of the road, see a truck come around the corner head on into me, just flying... What an adrenaline rush.... TRUCK? oh yea, that one brought me back to reality quick! I believe that after seeing the truck I backed off on the throttle just a bit. I pulled into Checkpoint 1 still trying to decide if I would have more fun taking the "easy fire road route", or would I be "a real man" and take the challenge.

I drew a Jack of Spades, stuffed it into my shirt and took off, leaving a group of bike riders "taking a break". Another mile of fast road, over a stream (quick look at the view), up the hill, around the bend. I had to make "the decision". Maybe it was the challenge, maybe it was the ego, or maybe it was the young girl (she might have been all of 12 years old) that turned onto the "danger trail" that helped me decide. A quick "left" and I was on the trail. Hill, rocks, hill, stream, rocks, rocks, rocks. This would be the first time in my life I actually thought a 4 wheel drive quad might have been a good choice. It might have been the bikes getting stuck and some of them falling over in the little creek. It might have been the fact that I saw people helping pull bikes up the other side of the boulder strewn cliffs that made up the banks of this creek. I waited for the young lady to get her bike across... pushing, pulling, falling. A couple of quads wanted to get by, so I let them. I hit the creek hard. Real hard. So hard that as I felt the front left tire blow out, and the rear tires bounce around try to grab traction on the wet boulders, I knew. This was not going to be "just a ride in the woods". I had gone roughly 5 of the 30+ miles, and I had a bent rim with a bad flat. Did I mention that at the meeting they told us if we had any problems not to worry? The promised that the Rescue riders would pickup anyone that need assistance - of course they did mention that each rider would be responsible for getting their own machines back out.

I had to make a choice. Limp the 5 miles back to the lot, which would require seeing all those people that I had passed, and live with the shame of a DNF, or ride on. Twenty-five miles of rough terrain, cliffs, dust, rocks, heat, and bears..... with a flat (so flat it was square) front tire.

I continued the ride. This section between Checkpoint 1 and Checkpoint 2 was tough. Very steep and rocky switchbacks, incredible views of Lake Shasta and Trinity (you could see both of them at the same time - one to the south / east, the other to the north west), tree limbs hitting you in the chest and face, spots of the trail so narrow that it seem as if no quad had ever ridden there before, and yet there I was... The Rambo of ATVers, survivor of Poker Runs, idiot on ATV, riding like the wind passing everyone I could catch. It was utterly fantastic. I finally pulled into Checkpoint 2, just happy to be alive.

A quick draw of the cards (a 10 of ?), and left another group that was taking a break. I was thrilled to be out of the "rough stuff", the hardest part was now behind me. Or was it? I flew up the trail. More steep switchbacks, but the trees were starting to change..... thicker, greener, and the dirt was softer with less rocks. This was fun again. Shift up, and up, no wait - downshift, quick turn, fast through the brush - duck the branches, accelerate, shift up, pass him, pass them, quick turn, brakes, brakes, oh look - there are cliffs up here.... downshift and turn... I was "in the groove", focused, man and machine were one. My ATV was an extension of me, a fine tuned racing machine, (or maybe a delirious old idiot playing in the woods at speeds no sane or even semi-sane person would do).

Reality sucks. Ever loose your concentration at just the wrong time? Ever ride fast with a flat tire? Ever climb a hill where the trail is almost wide enough for your quad? Ever have all 3 things happen at just the wrong moment? Did you ever notice that there always seem to be someone around when you do something totally stupid? I guess it was my time. I never realized just how quick you can race up a hill, loose traction, concentration, momentum and get shot sideways into a really, really hard tree. I finally know why I wear a helmet. I hit the tree pretty hard and went over the bars. The quad stalled immediately. The hill was steep and the quad was sideways. Of course it started to tip over. I scrambled to keep it from going over, and steered it backwards into another tree thinking I could restart and buzz up the hill. I really had to get it out of the tree because I could hear other riders coming and I didn't want anyone to know I'd been treed. I got it backed up just in time, and leaned against it while the riders passed.... guess I hoped to look like I was taking a break (dumb place for a break mister). I finally got a real good look at the flat tire, and sure enough the rim was bent really really bad. It was starting to look like it was going to be a long day. I rode on. And on, and on. I passed the riders again. I rode on. I caught one guy that was riding at a pretty good pace and figured that maybe it was time to "cruise" for a while. Great scenery, great dust. I think I ate about 10 pounds of dirt in the couple miles I followed this guy. From time to time I found myself thinking about the dust and the warnings about the cliffs, but I figured if the guy in front of me had his eyes open, and I followed him close enough, neither of us were going off any cliffs that day. And where in the world is Checkpoint 3?

Checkpoint 3 resulted in a six or seven of hearts, I don't remember exactly. I was beginning to get tired fighting the tire, the dust, the heat, and why didn't I buy that camelback? I left a few riders at the Checkpoint and took off down the trail. Do you know what a black "X" means on a trail? I know.... it means that when you see it, your probably too late to take evasive action. In other words, hang on and kiss your self goodbye. Really tall jump, nice steep dropping trail and yes, there were branches overhanging the trail. Was the excitement because of the unexpected jump, or just the survival of it? I don't remember. The trail was narrow, steep and it had small drop offs. I was beginning to tire of the branches beating me and the bars getting ripped from my hands every time I'd hit a little rock with the flat tire. Where did all the trail markers go, and isn't this the area where they had the bears a couple hours ago? I hadn't passed anyone for quite a while now, and was beginning to seriously consider that I might be on the wrong trail. I did have the GPS mounted, so I knew I find my way back, but still..... no water, no tire, no food, no radio, limited gas, no ridding buddy, bears, no idea where in the hemisphere I was....... They told us that they would "sweep the trail", so if you have any problems, stay on the trail -"we can't find you if your not on the trail". Maybe I was thinking that they meant to say "stay on the RIGHT trail" and we'll find you. I rode on. Beautiful stream and the bottom of a long downhill. This stream had to be at least 25 or 30 feet wide. The water felt great as I crossed. I lost some traction and was concerned for a moment... later I learned that alot of people had some trouble with this creek, and most felt somewhat lost too. I pulled into Checkpoint 4 almost pretty beat.

At Checkpoint 4 a nice lady suggested some cold water would be nice, and I drew a card... two of diamonds, yippee I was on my way to a completely worthless poker hand. The guy told me I was the first ATV that had come through today, and hey buddy, you know you got a flat tire? I was impressed that he could see the square tire under all the dirt and mud. He had a tire pump and we put air in the tire almost a fast as it blew out through the rim and all the tears in the sidewalls. I drove off on the square tire, proud that I had survived so long. This would be the last Checkpoint until I reached the starting point again. The announcer had mentioned there would be so deep ruts on the trail, I didn't remember if he said where they were. Not a problem, I would find them. I think that it was a bad idea to look backwards while I was going forward.... little drop offs, loose rocks here and there, deep ruts from out of no where..... I remember the bars being ripped out of my hands (again)....

I found my mind beginning to wander as the fatigue grew.... but I could do this. The pain in my shoulders and arms was getting intense, but I figured that I only had about 5 or 6 miles to go..... I would survive and live to tell this story. I was awful thirsty and wished I'd had a camelbak. My mouth was filled with dirt and mud. I could feel the dirt in my eyes every time I tried to blink.

Thinking back, maybe I should have taken a couple minutes to let the mind and the muscles recuperate. Not me - I was the great Rambo of ATVers... (obviously my mind had been gone for a lot longer that I realized). As I came around a bend the trail looked straight for about 40 or 50 feet, so I thought it would be OK to take a quick glance over the shoulder, just to make sure none of the motorcycles were right behind... I'd have tried to push it faster if I knew anyone was catching me.

I learned a valuable lesson right there, right then.... I remember the bars being ripped out of my hands (again) while I was looking back. A wave of terror and a pouring sweat as I snapped my head forward again - that sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach.... This is it, it's going to hurt and my wife is going to be really really angry. What would I break and how long would it be until I could go back to work. What would I be able to do? Panic and terror, that was my new name - Rambo could have his back.

The bank went 20 feet up into tree branches, the trail had a great crevasse, and I was going way too fast for any chance of making it out alive on this one. The quad started to flip over. I pulled the bars with all my strength, hitting the brakes and then gassing it in microseconds, leaning my body in a way that I have only seen pretzels bend, and I might have said a word or two (should have been to God), and then it was over. At least I thought it was over. I didn't die, I didn't wreak, but I did need a change of clothes. Remember the crevasse? I didn't. Of course there would be a reminder because as the quad came down off the bank it went straight into the ruts.... rough. It is difficult to maneuver through ruts when you have great tires, near impossible if you have bad ones, and plain stupid if one or more of your tires is flat. I hit the rut and blewout the other front tire. I tried to crack my ribs on the bars but the chest protector softened the impact. The rest of the ride would be close to impossible. The last miles were hard with the flat tires, and one was completely off the rim. The fatigue. The dirt in the mouth, eyes, ears and anywhere else that dirt could possibly hide. The bars were being ripped out of my hands every hundred yards, and yet I began to adapt to it. The trail turned into a gravel road, complete with traffic signs and CARS! The end was near. I buzzed up the trail with new strength. I went up and over a quick hill and there it was... Checkpoint 5, the end of the trail.

The quad limped back to my truck. When I shut off the motor I tried to fall off, but didn't have the energy. I managed to crawl off and grab a drink from the icebox. I grabbed another quart and was finishing it off as my wife came up the bank, happy and surprised to see me "so soon". She didn't mention anything about the dirt encased in my teeth, but said I looked hot and tired. I told her I needed to check in and get my last card. On the way to the tent, a nice young lady with a camera stepped in front of me and exclaimed that I was the "hottest" rider she'd ever seen and snapped a photo. I'm pretty sure she was talking about the heat and not my physical stature. I went over to the tent and drew my last card... what do you know, it was a 10.... I ended up with a pair of 10's, and I was alive!

It would be several hours before the awards were presented, so I spent the time drinking "gator-aid", eating snacks, and talking with my wife. Vince had made it back and we were sharing our stories. Vince's bike had quite a few new scratches and a dent or two..... said he'd gone down a "few" times but was free of injuries. As time passed, I had changed clothes and loaded my ATV back into the truck..... Funny, it was alot heavier now and Vince and his buddy helped me load it. I helped Vince and his buddy load his bike when Vince let out a blood curling scream and let go of his bike... we were halfway up the ramp. I held the bike as his friend grabbed Vince. It seems that as Vince stepped on the bumper the bike shifted and the footpeg sliced his knee wide open. It was a deep cut, and was already beginning to bruise. My wife (a nurse), grabbed a towel and some ice. It wouldn't require stitches, but he was going to walk funny for a few days - and there was no way he would be riding for at least a week or two.

The awards presentation was good, and the announcer thanked everyone involved. The Shasta Rock Rollers ATV Club is a wonderful group, and the Redding Dirt Riders are a great dirtbike organization. I feel I am fortunate to have spent one day with a great group of people.

I had the ride of my life, it was so much fun. I will return next year, with new tires of course!

 

That was a pretty intense story, got me hooked and thats cool you made it on 2 flat tires. So you were the 1st to finish right?

 

Great story! I have been to Shasta myself a few times, and know the terrain you were riding in! Rough stuff! Again, great writing!

Corry

 

the story of my life............. i liked it

 

That is a great story! reminds me of some of the things I have done over the years from racing enduros back in the late 70's on two wheelers, to Buzzing around on these 4 wheel things. I would like to see more poker runs around michigan, I know of one in the UP in July, but would like to see more in the lower for a us trolls.

 

I have to say, this was a very refreshing post to read on the forum. It is unlike any of the other posts that I have read. I to am remended of previous dice runs and long to attend them again. My riding is limited now and I really enjoy reading about other riders adventures. Thanks for the story. By the way, I don't think Rambo would have been crazy enough to ride on a flat tire in harsh terrain for 25 miles.