A WARM WIND IN WYOMING

 
 

 As Raeph sat idly by the creek a warm wind gently blew through the Cottonwoods and his mind flashed
back to his youth when he and Priscilla would spend the lazy days of summer walking hand in hand
along the tumbling brook. Well not this weekend Jose, its the CASPER SPECTACULAR and there will
be close on a 100 gentlemen on trials bikes, old and new, crashing through the undergrowth and
bouncing off the rocks in the rivers!

 So, 3 days of Vintage Trials, and if you can't stop riding, another two events for the Mosteller Cup
bringing a total of over 160 sections for the Ironmen who like to ride both Vintage and Modern. Day 1
will be Saturday so the plan is to leave early Wednesday morning and complete about 500 miles and
then finish off the run arriving Thursday lunchtime leaving enough time to see the sections and help
out as required.



 

Nicely detailed, let the journey begin

 As usual the 0800 departure slips to 0900 but then with freshly detailed coach and trailer (again) we
set off for Rawlins WY via Moab, Grand Junction and Craig. Crossing over into Utah we find that the
roadworks at Monticello, which were in full swing last year, are even worse! To the untrained eye (mine)
there appears to have been absolutely no progress and in fact it looks terrible as now we have all 3
roads up at the traffic lights and complete mayhem from the flagmen. Eventually through the chaos
and on to Moab and finally turn on to 70 for Grand Junction where at least there is some scenery and
people!



 

Now that's a Beehive !

 The drive along the Colorado Valley is very pretty and Brenda is mentally planning a night stop at
Palisades for some fruit and wine tasting next year. Off the freeway and north through Rifle, Meeker,
Craig to the Wyoming line and Baggs. It has to be asked, "Who the FH told these road builders to cut
lines across the road every 20', it's like being on a freight train and the Starship does not enjoy the
continuous bouncing over this non stop cattle grid!

 Finally we cross the "line"........ and as if by magic the roads are deserted and as smooth as silk! At last
my eyeballs stop banging round in their sockets and normality returns, mile after mile of nothing and no
signs of habitation as after every crest another 7 miles of road sweeps to the horizon and the driver is
given hope that maybe, just maybe, over the next ridge there will be Nirvana. As we crest another one
the signs of a freeway appear and hope is restored. On the golden road and soon tales of cheap diesel
come up and a "Flying J" is forecast a few miles ahead. Refueling done, time to hide out like Butch
Cassiday amid the sea of 18 wheelers until dawn when we will disgorge and replenish all other things
of a liquid variety.

 The super crock pot has given up it's bounty, the crew are well fed and washed, and after watching a
film retire to the muffled sounds of 18 wheeler generators. Dawn breaks, the 18 wheelers have all
changed, and now with empty tanks and full ones too, the last 125 miles are an easy task. More miles
of nothing but plenty of wildlife either side of the road so plenty of photo ops and soon we are looking
down on Casper and pick up the ring road taking us south to the turn off for the venue. Off the road and
on the track to our destination we find Ed searching for a cell phone signal but press on to our familiar
birth where we dock the Starship for it's 5 day stay.



 

"where the deer and the antelope play"

... Raeph and Priscilla continue their blissful existence in their Mills & Boon romantic novel setting totally
unaware of what is about to befall their secret place. Meanwhile Trialsmasters Fred Martinson, Dan
Straka and Bob Strohman have been hacking their way along brook, bog and hillside carving out
sections old and new with chainsaws and brush cutters to provide us with 33 sections for our 3 day
adventure.

 Red, blue and pink ribbons deck the hillside and creek around the start area so time to unload a bike
and see what the "Three Wy Amigos" have in store for us. Some familiar variations on themes in the
rivers but a lot of new tight twisty stuff too and a lot of leaping through trees where the chainsaw has
been in action. More log crossings, some in water, and some classic rock filled uphill streams
reminiscent of my early days in Scotland. Well this all looks like fun and I'm not seeing clean cards this
weekend, and on what I've seen I'm thinking ALL class leaders will be losing 20+ if they have a really
good day!

 A couple of sections stand out as being a shade ambitious, namely, Saturday 3, a series of tight tree
crossings and adverse banks, Saturday 5, an even more ambitious set of leaps and tight turns, and
Sunday 5 on the hillside with some very nasty rocks, loose dirt and tricky exit. There are some others
that I can't wait to ride which are perfect for me including the 9, 10 combo on Saturday and Sunday 1
which was an "optional" section a few years ago.




Saturday 2, a Virgin Swamp of Mud





Saturday 3, a fallen tree that resprouted which we go through twice




Sunday 5, up the rocks on the right and round the one at the top.......?




From the end of Saturday 9 looking up the full length of 10


.........and, for anyone looking for the best example of a TY250A Yamaha my SSDT replica is available at
a fraction of what it cost or is truly worth. Its on E-bay if you want all the details or on this blog under
SSDT REPLICA. You can call 970 882 2483.












TONY DOWN