How far will you go???
#11
08-31-2012, 09:57 AM
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Well, golly JimBob!
Well, golly JimBob!
#12
09-04-2012, 07:36 AM
Join Date: Dec 2003
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#13
09-07-2012, 09:27 AM
Pro Rider
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Ontario
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#14
09-08-2012, 01:03 PM
I spent 30 years of my life desert racing, and competed in 6 different vehicle classes, including dirt bikes, ATVs, and side by sides. Riding long distances at a consistent fast pace is second nature to me. When I go ATV riding, I want to ride, I don't want to stop and BS every few miles. I will commonly ride solo, just to get in enough miles in one day. Here is a trail report I wrote a few years back when I owned a Yamaha Grizzly 700. I decided it would be fun to see if someone could ride the entire 275 mile long main loop of the Paiute ATV trail system in one day. Here is the report, 275 miles in one day is my record, although just last weekend my son and I did a 155 mile ride in one day.
Well folks, doing the entire 01 loop in one day is certainly possible. I have always gone by the philosophy that you won't know what you can do if you don't present yourself with the opportunity. So with that in mind, I set out to just see what was possible. I had no pre-conceived notions about how far I would have to go, or how fast I would have to go, just that I enjoyed riding my Grizzly, and I wanted to go on a good long ride. I chose a week day so there would be less traffic, and started very early in the morning so I would spend less time on the trail at peak times for trail congestion. And I had plans to be able to cut the distance short at several different places if I felt the need to do so. I had a satelite phone from work, my tools, two fully stocked tire repair kits, an extra 3.2 gallons of fuel strapped to the rear rack, bottled water, and some snacks with me. The Grizzly 700 is entirely stock, and had 489 miles on it when I started.
I have read two numbers for the actual distance of the entire 01 loop, with both 238 miles and 275 miles having been posted on the Paiute Trail website. The 275 mile figure is correct. I left the KOA in Richfield at 5:05 AM, and actually pushed my Grizzly out of the KOA so as to not wake up other RV'ers when I started it. I headed west on the 04 side trail that connects Richfield to the main 01 trail 10 miles west of Richfield. Once at the 01 trail I turned north, and rode at what I considered to be an enjoyable pace. The object of the day was to have fun, and if I made it far enough to complete the loop that would be secondary. I saw lots of deer on top of the mountain (~9000 ft elevation) before daylight, and at one time I slowed and stopped, and watched three beautiful trophy bucks just standing in the road ahead of me in the light from the headlights. I pulled into Salina, UT at 7:30, and refueled the Grizzly. I had used 2.9 gallons in the first 63 miles. From there I headed south on the east side of the loop, following the dirt roads that make up this portion of the trail. At 10:00 I refueled again in Koosharem, UT, and bought a bottle of water to drink, I was 140 miles into my trip. From here the trail changes to a single track ATV width trail as it climbs Monroe Mountain (10,000 ft elevation), and then turns to road again once on top of the mountain. I passed the major turn back point that would have cut off the southern half of the trail, and it was only 11:00 in the morning, so I decided to continue south on the 01 trail. The last 20 miles of trail coming into Circleville, UT are single track ATV width, and are dusty, with deep silt in places, and are rocky and rough. I arrived in Circleville at 12:15, and refueled the Grizzly again, and called my wife. Then I drove over to Butch Cassidys Hideout, which is the local restaraunt, and went in for lunch. Another gentleman sitting about three chairs down from me struck up a conversation with me while we ate lunch. He had owned two Sportsman 500s before, and had decided that he wanted a Grizzly 700 next time, because of the power steering. After lunch he asked to check over my Grizzly in the parking lot, and then asked if he could test drive it around the parking lot. He rode it for five minutes or so, and seemed impressed, telling me he was going to get one for himself. We said goodbye, and I left on my journey again, this time heading northwest out of Circleville, and back up in the mountains on the west side of the loop. The climb to the mountain top here is the toughest portion of the entire 01 loop, with 20 miles of steep single track ATV width trail, switchbacks that go on for miles at a time, and more rocks and boulders than anywhere else (and the whole trail tends to be rocky to begin with). I then followed the 01 trail north, for another 95 miles, back to Richfield, and finished the 275 mile loop at 6:11 PM. The trail from Circleville to Richfield is the most scenic, and is mostly single track, so I just took my time and enjoyed myself.
I would estimate that out of the 275 total miles that there are 10 miles of pavement, 100 miles of single track ATV width trail, and the rest is dirt roads. 275 miles in one day wasn't all that bad at all on the Grizzly 700. POWER STEERING IS AWESOME! The seat is great, and I never even developed a case of monkey butt. My shoulders were not sore. I only rode at a pace that I considered enjoyable, and slowed down for every turn that I could not see around, because I did not want to take chances with oncoming traffic. I slowed down in the very rocky sections to avoid tire damage. And overall I really feel like I rode fairly conservatively. I only met three or four other groups of ATVs coming from the other direction, and just pulling over to let them by was no big deal. I had no ATVs overtake me going the same direction I was going, and I likewise did not overtake any other ATVs going in my direction. I had no flats, and no mechanical glitches other than the velcro straps that held the Kolpin 3.2 gallon gas tank on broke at mile ~235. I had brought spare bungy cords with me, so I poured the extra fuel in my gas tank that was half empty at the time, and just used the bungy cords to hold the spare fuel container on for the rest of the trip. I felt fine at the end of the ride, but certainly knew that I had gotten my moneys worth out of this day of my life. Its too bad you can't say that about every day. This was a great adventure, and takes the record as the single best trail ride I have done.
Well folks, doing the entire 01 loop in one day is certainly possible. I have always gone by the philosophy that you won't know what you can do if you don't present yourself with the opportunity. So with that in mind, I set out to just see what was possible. I had no pre-conceived notions about how far I would have to go, or how fast I would have to go, just that I enjoyed riding my Grizzly, and I wanted to go on a good long ride. I chose a week day so there would be less traffic, and started very early in the morning so I would spend less time on the trail at peak times for trail congestion. And I had plans to be able to cut the distance short at several different places if I felt the need to do so. I had a satelite phone from work, my tools, two fully stocked tire repair kits, an extra 3.2 gallons of fuel strapped to the rear rack, bottled water, and some snacks with me. The Grizzly 700 is entirely stock, and had 489 miles on it when I started.
I have read two numbers for the actual distance of the entire 01 loop, with both 238 miles and 275 miles having been posted on the Paiute Trail website. The 275 mile figure is correct. I left the KOA in Richfield at 5:05 AM, and actually pushed my Grizzly out of the KOA so as to not wake up other RV'ers when I started it. I headed west on the 04 side trail that connects Richfield to the main 01 trail 10 miles west of Richfield. Once at the 01 trail I turned north, and rode at what I considered to be an enjoyable pace. The object of the day was to have fun, and if I made it far enough to complete the loop that would be secondary. I saw lots of deer on top of the mountain (~9000 ft elevation) before daylight, and at one time I slowed and stopped, and watched three beautiful trophy bucks just standing in the road ahead of me in the light from the headlights. I pulled into Salina, UT at 7:30, and refueled the Grizzly. I had used 2.9 gallons in the first 63 miles. From there I headed south on the east side of the loop, following the dirt roads that make up this portion of the trail. At 10:00 I refueled again in Koosharem, UT, and bought a bottle of water to drink, I was 140 miles into my trip. From here the trail changes to a single track ATV width trail as it climbs Monroe Mountain (10,000 ft elevation), and then turns to road again once on top of the mountain. I passed the major turn back point that would have cut off the southern half of the trail, and it was only 11:00 in the morning, so I decided to continue south on the 01 trail. The last 20 miles of trail coming into Circleville, UT are single track ATV width, and are dusty, with deep silt in places, and are rocky and rough. I arrived in Circleville at 12:15, and refueled the Grizzly again, and called my wife. Then I drove over to Butch Cassidys Hideout, which is the local restaraunt, and went in for lunch. Another gentleman sitting about three chairs down from me struck up a conversation with me while we ate lunch. He had owned two Sportsman 500s before, and had decided that he wanted a Grizzly 700 next time, because of the power steering. After lunch he asked to check over my Grizzly in the parking lot, and then asked if he could test drive it around the parking lot. He rode it for five minutes or so, and seemed impressed, telling me he was going to get one for himself. We said goodbye, and I left on my journey again, this time heading northwest out of Circleville, and back up in the mountains on the west side of the loop. The climb to the mountain top here is the toughest portion of the entire 01 loop, with 20 miles of steep single track ATV width trail, switchbacks that go on for miles at a time, and more rocks and boulders than anywhere else (and the whole trail tends to be rocky to begin with). I then followed the 01 trail north, for another 95 miles, back to Richfield, and finished the 275 mile loop at 6:11 PM. The trail from Circleville to Richfield is the most scenic, and is mostly single track, so I just took my time and enjoyed myself.
I would estimate that out of the 275 total miles that there are 10 miles of pavement, 100 miles of single track ATV width trail, and the rest is dirt roads. 275 miles in one day wasn't all that bad at all on the Grizzly 700. POWER STEERING IS AWESOME! The seat is great, and I never even developed a case of monkey butt. My shoulders were not sore. I only rode at a pace that I considered enjoyable, and slowed down for every turn that I could not see around, because I did not want to take chances with oncoming traffic. I slowed down in the very rocky sections to avoid tire damage. And overall I really feel like I rode fairly conservatively. I only met three or four other groups of ATVs coming from the other direction, and just pulling over to let them by was no big deal. I had no ATVs overtake me going the same direction I was going, and I likewise did not overtake any other ATVs going in my direction. I had no flats, and no mechanical glitches other than the velcro straps that held the Kolpin 3.2 gallon gas tank on broke at mile ~235. I had brought spare bungy cords with me, so I poured the extra fuel in my gas tank that was half empty at the time, and just used the bungy cords to hold the spare fuel container on for the rest of the trip. I felt fine at the end of the ride, but certainly knew that I had gotten my moneys worth out of this day of my life. Its too bad you can't say that about every day. This was a great adventure, and takes the record as the single best trail ride I have done.
#16
09-12-2012, 01:16 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Massachusetts
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We went from Bingham, Me to Greenville, ME and back to Bingham. It was a 130 mile round trip. That's the the longest single day trip I've done. The trail was mixed with paved roads, dirt roads, old logging trails, old rail beds, some technical (not a lot), but for the most part it was just decent riding.
