Posted April 3, 2007   Email   Print

Hitting the trails (literally) for a cause

Story by Bill Kresnak
Photos by James Holter

Here I am, decked out in full off-road riding gear, lying flat on my back in the dirt being poked by briars, laughing like a madman inside my helmet.

How did I get here?

It all started back in the office at American Motorcyclist magazine when Associate Editor James Holter invited me to ride with him in the April Fool's Day Off-road Poker Run at The Woods at Kaeppner's Place in Logan, Ohio.

The run is for a good cause—it's a fundraiser for the Ohio Multi-Use Trails Association, which is dedicated to preserving and creating riding trails. The poker run is sponsored by the Buckeye Dual Sporters club.

The weather forecast called for thunderstorms on the day of the ride, and Greg Harrison, the AMA's senior vice president for marketing, communications and road riding, bet me a dollar I wouldn't go.

So I had to.

Sunday morning rolled around and, as Harrison predicted, I had trouble rolling out of bed.

But, hey, the ride was for a good cause, and my pride and honor were at stake, not to mention a dollar.

So, after stopping for some coffee and donuts, I drove over to James' house in the pouring rain. There, he introduced me to my mount—a 1981 Yamaha XT250 with a trick paint job on the gas tank.

He decided to let me ride that rather than one of his many screaming dirtbikes just in case I wrapped it around a tree. James was going to ride a 2007 KTM 450EXC, which is a few steps higher on the evolutionary ladder than the XT.

We loaded the bikes into the trailer and headed out on the 45-minute trip to the private riding area.

About halfway there sheets of rain rolled down the truck's windshield and the wipers could barely keep up.

Lightning ripped the sky. Thunder boomed.

"This is great!" James said. "We'll probably have the trails to ourselves!"

I nodded in agreement, looking forward to a full day of riding.

At the riding area, we stopped in the paved parking lot. The rain had stopped and the sun was beginning to peek out from behind the clouds. We knew the trails would be muddy and sloppy.

We unloaded the bikes and then rode down to the staging area.

There, Bill Kaeppner, rider extraordinaire who organized the event, signed us up for the poker run and then pointed in the direction of the trail.

Before heading off I got my picture taken with Kaeppner and his wife, Sharon, because, as the government affairs editor of American Motorcyclist magazine, I consider Kaeppner one of my heroes for all the hard work he does to protect the riders' access to off-road riding areas.

With the picture-taking done, James and I hopped on our bikes and headed toward the trail.

James has ridden off-road for a decade or two, so he knows his way around the woods. I, on the other hand, am a novice off-road rider. I get on a dirtbike about once every four years.

The first couple hundred yards of trail were flat, but in some places the water was shin deep, and the mud almost as deep. Small trees had fallen across the trail in several spots.

"This is the life," I thought as we powered through the slop and mess.

Soon we came to a 150-foot-high hill. Our first major challenge.

We picked a line and powered up the hill, lofted our bikes over a foot-high jagged rock and threaded our way at breakneck speed to the top.

"This is a gas!" James said, smiling under his helmet. I nodded in agreement.

We continued on the trail weaving our way through the trees, wheelying over logs, practicing our trials techniques on piles of rocks and tree stumps, and generally just having a good time. The old XT kept up without a whimper.

Then, we rounded a bend and there it was: the hill from Hell. We stopped at the bottom and shut off our bikes. Then we just stared at the top.

The hill wasn't that high—only about 300 feet—but it was almost straight up in places. The trail up it was about four feet wide, with trees on either side that seemed to be saying, "Hit me, hit me."

The trail was all mud, with what can only be described as a small river of water running right down the middle of it. The mud was only about a foot deep, but there were rocks in the trail that had rolled down the hill, and trees that fell across the trail when their roots gave way in the rain-soaked soil.

It would take a Herculean effort to make it up this hill.

I put on my helmet, kickstarted the XT, then pinned the throttle.

The bike bounced off rocks and bucked as I rode over fallen trees. The motor was caked in mud and the little XT started to overheat.

But I made it to the top. WOO HOO! James followed on the KTM.

After a high-five, we continued riding the trails, soaking in the scenery, and enjoying the ride. Then we decided to head back to the staging area to draw poker hands and see if we won any prizes.

We stopped at the top of the last gnarly hill between us and the flat, meandering trail that would lead us back to the staging area.

"I'll go first," James said.

It was only about a 150-foot hill, but I guess I was more tired than I thought. About halfway down, the front end tucked and I augered in, ending up lying flat on my back being poked by briars, and laughing.

James got a good laugh out of that and took my picture.

Back at the staging area, about 60 people were on hand drawing poker hands.

"That was a great ride," James said as we sat on a picnic table eating hotdogs and drinking water.

Before handing out the prizes for the poker run winners, Kaeppner gave a little speech about how important it is to join a local club, a statewide organization, and a national association—the AMA—to fight unfair laws, land closures, and to protect your right to ride.

Almost everyone who took part in the event won some kind of prize, like off-road riding jerseys, grips and caps.

It was a perfect ending to a perfect day of riding.

We'll be back again September 9 when Kaeppner hosts another poker run to benefit the Ohio Multi-Use Trails Association.

We hope it rains.

 © 2007, American Motorcyclist Association