5th Annual Clayton 2006

Our annual Clayton Dual Sport ride is just around the corner, October 13-15, 2006 at Clayton Lake State Park. This ride is appropriate for all types of dual sport, street and off-road riders. We normally have all types of rides going on, from easy graded-road adventure tours to knarly dirt-bike only singletrack rides to paved street rides. In the past we normally break up into 4-5 groups so you can always find a group to fit your riding needs.

Once again this year we will have a Saturday night BBQ at the pavilion. Cost is $10 per person and the food is served at 7:00 pm, leaving plenty of time that day for riding. We pull out of camp for the day's ride each morning at 9:00 am so you have plenty of time for breakfast and gasoline. Showers are available at the campground and a limited number of motels are available in Clayton. You will need an Oklahoma Land Access Fee to ride in the area. You can get them at any Oklahoma convenience store that sells hunting license, including the store in Clayton. Be sure to get this item, since not only does it help to keep this huge riding area open, it will cost you over $250 in fines if you get caught without one - which has happened.

For your ride you will need plenty of water and maybe some snacks, since we are often out all day long and it can get hot. It is a good idea to bring some tools, a spare tube and patch kit, and a GPS if you have it. We will be riding in some very remote, rugged areas and it can easily be 30 miles to the nearest gas station and much further to a town or hospital, so ride accordingly.

For more information on the ride check the forum.

Vintage Dirt Track Races

This weekend was the Vintage Dirt Track Racing Association flat track races at the OKC Fairgrounds speedway. I ran down to photograph the event and watch the races, but the rain started moving in as I arrived. These guys race all types of old equipment and have races throughout Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas. I was able to catch these pictures before getting soaked.

OK Dual Sport Maintenance Day

Today we had several riders show up at Gary Miller's workshop in Edmond to perform some in-depth maintenance on their mounts. Dominated by KLR's getting their "do-hickey" swapped, it looked like a Kawasaki service tech convention. "Endo" Connie even had her Sherpa there to change the oil, adjust brakes and grease the bearings. While it was hot, Gary's shop is situated with a north/south open door so a nice breeze, along with a couple of fans, kept the temps bearable. A few people on DRZ's showed up, but being the durable mount they are, not much maintenance was needed on them. The KLR's are quite durable except for this so-called "do-hicky" that always seems to break. We had one broken do-hickey this morning and one with a broken spring that would eventually break the "do-hickey".