Triple Dam Ride - SE KS!

[troy]

I just returned home from a 2 day ride routed by my brother, KC. KC does a lot of work in the SE corner of KS and was excited about the dualsport potential of the area, so he built 2 days worth of routes.

It turned out FANTASTIC. Really some great riding down there. We based the ride from Fall River where we camped at the state park. Day one was 178 miles with a large loop SW to Independence and back. Day two was 122 miles heading up to Toronto and back. Exactly 300 miles for the weekend.

We rode the best minimum maintenance roads I've ever seen in KS, so many creek crossings and low-water bridges that I lost count, found four "Bridge Out" bridges that we were able to cross and three we could not, saw a cattle drive, a hidden stone arch bridge, abandoned railroad tracks, a tiny off-road trail area to play in, and crossed 3 lake dams. (Fall River, Elk City Lake, Toronto Lake) We also came across cattle out of their fence and on the road 4 times I think.

Combine all that with perfect riding weather, and wow what a great weekend! Thanks, KC!

If any of you get a chance to ride down that way, be sure to check out the roads North of Fall River lake and find the min maint NE of the lake.

[fatburg]

+1

Great ride!!!!! Some of the prettiest Kansas scenery I've seen. Even got some free maintenance out of the deal, thanks for the carb rebuild KC I'll try to post up a couple pics tonight when I get home.

[ajayhawkfan]

This past summer I road the area a few times. It is a great place to ride. I wish I could have joined you.

[troy]

Eddie, how was your hunt? You are probably out there every weekend this time of year, eh?

[ajayhawkfan]

I have been hunting every weekend. The first 2 weekends I passed on 2 very nice bucks at 5 yards. Last weekend I saw only small bucks and does. It should pick up as the rut approaches. I high hopes.

[will_kc]

Yeah, it must be nice to have a weekend free . This time of year always seems to change our priorities...

Opened the last pasture for the cattle.
Scouted three big bucks that are bedding down in one of out pastures....
Set up "Fort Doom" for fall turkey.
Calling coyotes for fall "fun shooting".
Cutting fire wood for the heating system.
Mounted my second rear tire (kenda 270).

Switched over to leather for riding... it's getting chilly.
We still do our two-up "try a new restaurant ride" and some geocaches.


Is anyone organizing a LOCAL fall ride anytime soon?

[Hank Moody]

Heck with hunting Eddie. How about them Jayhawks!!!!!!!! Who would have thought that the national media are mentioning the Jayhawks and national championship and it is not for basketball. If you are going to the game this weekend let me know. Huck the Fuskers! Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

[ajayhawkfan]

I never thought I would see KU being a dual sport college! I am looking forward to the KU MU match-up.

I am not going to the game. I will be hunting this weekend. I will be hunting every weekend until I get one.

[Hank Moody]

Dang just bring your gun to my house there is this large, I think you call it a buck, by house almost every morning. My son and I counted the horns on it and there were between 15 and 18. My son said 15 but I counted 18, well any it's with 4-5 other deer without the horns. You could shot it in the morning on Saturday and head out to the game...

[ajayhawkfan]

Get pic and if big enough I'll be there. LOL

[Hank Moody]

Get pic and if big enough I'll be there. LOL

Okay here is one
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1070 ... 5683AwEEnz

[Hank Moody]

Just kidding no big bucks, there are a few doe's every now and then eating my flowers. Just trying to get you to the game!

[fatburg]

Here a few pictures from the weekend:

http://picasaweb.google.com/fatburg/FallRiverResized

[britt]

I spend a lot of time around elk city res. and have wanted to spend a weekend riding that area. A lot of the roads i like are closed from the flooding. Im hunting there all next week. Next time you ride that area i would ride along. p.s. Troy, I bought a 97 dr350 all stock except acerbis tank. Any tips for mods. would be appreciated. Gonna take a while to accept the purple, but ill get over it.

[KC]

Thanks for the pics, Fatburg! The ride turned out much better than I ever expected...much thanks to Troy, Ryan and Tracy for exploring with me and making it a success. There is still plenty to discover in this area as we had to cut out miles of my routes on both days due to running out of daylight. Amazingly enough, we only had to re-route a couple times because of one road closure and a couple of "missing" bridges! I look forward to getting back out there as soon as possible. I will make riding there again a priority sometime next spring.

[troy]

Troy, I bought a 97 dr350 all stock except acerbis tank. Any tips for mods. would be appreciated.

I wondered if you were going to get yourself another small dualsport after selling your KTM! Good for you! The DR350 guru is Jesse Kientz. You can just call him and he'll spend an hour on the phone with you if you want. He can explain in precise detail what you need to do to fix about anything on that bike. He also stocks and sells most of the common parts people need for that bike. I like to give him business when I can because he has helped me a lot with my 99 DR350SE.
http://www.kientech.com/

See Jesse's site for the most common mods -- you can cut the top out of the airbox, rejet the carb, and upgrade the exhaust. I'm not sure how much power I really got out of these mods, though. It sounds better for sure. It has more pep, but not a lot more. It's still a wimpy machine. After your KTM, you'll never be satisfied with your DR350 power for sure. BUT, she's reliable and very capable!

I found a guy who custom builds a steel rear fender rack, and I've been very happy with mine. It's $100, though. If you want one, I can probably find the guy again. Let me know.

Next time we hit SE Kansas, we'll put out an invite to the community. We were not trying to exclude anyone, but it was an untested area. We were a bit nervous about the idea of leading a bunch of people in unfamiliar territory on an untested route. Good news is, we found it to be very good, and plan to do more rides in that area. For most of our riders, because of the distance, it really makes sense to make an overnight camping trip out of it. Plenty of camping options in the area with all the lakes.

[fatburg]

Is this the rack: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 0137350775

[troy]

Is this the rack: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 0137350775

Yes. Good guy, good rack.