On Saturday November 12, 2005 Speedy is excited about today's ride ! YEHAAAAAA! The weather forecast
is once again very good for the Speedball's & Brad from Virginia is coming up north to see IF we are for REAL???
Brad is the District Manager of Sales & Marketing for the " Coleman Power Sports " franchises &
Speedball David Price told him about us a year or so ago & his tales about us intriged him . Being new to the atv sport
after riding dirt bikes, street bikes & mountain bikes his whole life , he wondered IF atving could be as much fun????
I personally met Brad at the Southern Maryland ATV Park last year & we instantly formed a bond between us about
atving. Today Speedy was going to show Brad WHY we LOVE the sport so much & hopefully after today he will feel the
SAME ???
Dan & Tom from Maryland & Mike Yucha would join Speedy & Brad for today's Great Adventure & by a little
after 9:00am the five of us are rattling across the Pa. mountains towards Waverly, a small hamlet northest of Hazelton.
Mike would be trail boss today with Speedy & the others jockeying for trail position throuhout the day. We motor
up & over mountain after mountain until we cross the highway to V-Force John's gas station & spot familar faces unloading
& getting ready to ride. Jim & his brother from N.J.( dirt bikes) & Chris Cooper ( 250R ) have decided
to launch from this location . Due to his open heart surgey Chris can't handle a heavy utility quad as his breast bone heals
, so for an hour or so he'll cruise on his sport quad & enjoy the Great Outdoors as long as possible. After chit chatting
with our freinds for a few minutes, Mike yells " Burning daylight! " & with a few chuckles Speedy & the others remount
our quads & head north.
The miles click off fast as we head north & goes rather smoothly except for some butt puckering
moments as we encounter a few narrow & very rocky & boulder infested ascents that the sport quads
need to wheelie up & over. Dan , Tom & Mike spot us to ensure our safety in case things happen to go wrong.
SAFETY is priority # 1 !
By noon we reach McAdoo & refuel at a local gas station & soon there after head down the trails towards the
last leg of our northward journey . A mouth watering lunch awaits us in Waverly & my mouth waters in anticipation
of the superb grub forthcoming . Things go great until we encounter a hunter who happens to be the town commissioner
who DOES NOT like atvs & reads us the riot act & threatens to have us arrested & fined for various infractions
. With no cell phone signal & Speedy once again acting as a diplomat to defuse the situation , he finally tells us to
" Get the Hell out of here & DON'T come back " !!!!
We retreat back towards
McAdoo & head off in a new direction , but still intent on feasting at the local eartery in Waverly for lunch.
My tummy is seriously growling as we finally rumble into Waverly & before long our waitress Sue is delivering our scrumptous
hot sandwiches & ice cold sodas to our tables. The only sound heard now is " Chomp, Chomp , Chomp " as we wolf down these
savory sandwiches & chug our sodas to refuel our bodies for the long trip back to Frackville.
As we fire up our
trusty quads , a little child waves & is tickled to death as we return his waves & rumble off towards the trails
that becon . Along the way , we encounter a group of atvers & dirt bikers who have a Yamaha " Rhino " acting as
chuck wagon for the rest of them. LOL! With big aftermarket wheels & tires it has no problem going up & over anything
in it's path. Brad & the others roost & play in the soft & sandy terrain after the group passes , while
photos are snapped & Speedy let's his lunch settle.
After numerous photos are taken we head south across mountain after mountain & eventually head up a long &
extremely rocky & boulder infested trail that seems to go UP for a long time! As we reach the pinnacle we are awed
by the view that confronts us! WOW! Far below us is I-81 as it snakes it way north & south through the Pocono mountains.
You can be sure a few photos are snapped! LOL ! After savoring the BEAUTIFUL view for awhile, we descend down this
boulder infested trail & find it is even STEEPER & ROCKIER then the earlier ascent ! PHEWEEEEEEEE! Everyone
is happy to finally reach NORMAL terrain! LOL!
Within fifteen or twenty minutes the Speedball's arrive at the Hazelton train tunnel & Brad is
once again AMAZED at the wonderous beauty contained within the Pocono Mountains ! I think we are making a believer
out of this former dirt bike rider . HE! HE! Sure enough he can't resist the calling of the darkened chamber & turns
on his Raptor's headlights & enters this cavernous chamber & splashes & almost floats his way to the
far side before reversing his course & exiting with a BIG SMILE & GRIN that seemed to go from ear to ear ! LOL!
GREAT TO BE ALIVE!!!! YEHAAAAAAAA! Dan , Tom , Mike & I have made this trex numerous times , but still remains
one of our favorite places to visit & to bring first timers.
Speedy suggests a
bee line for Shenandoah , so Mike hands the trailboss duties over to Speedy for the remainder of the day. With an evil
glint in my eye & an itch to crank it up a notch , I fire up the V-Force & roost away as the 22" Bear Claws
send mounds of gravel skyward. YEHAAAAAA!
Mike , Brad , Dan & Mike give chase as we blast down this
flat trail that seems to go on forever as it winds it's way around the mountain. As we exit the flat soft trail
& exit onto rocky & uneven & rugged trails, I get in that " ZONE " & maintain an almost GNCC pace
as we travese up & over mountain after mountain. The V-Force is riding the crest of the rocks & dipping &
swerving around huge mud holes & wheeling across the smaller ones as we blast across mile after mile of trails
as we head south. WHAT A BLAST!!!!!!
Within a hour we are refueling
in Shenandoah & catching our breath before the final push to Motel 6. Once refueled we head off for the AC/DC
coal banks & I make a bee line for the hillclimbs . HE! HE! As I approach the
front side , I slow up for a moment & in TOTAL darkness drop the hammer & head UP a steep coal bank !YEHAAAAAAA!
BLASTING UP in total darkness is such a RUSH! Almost like launching a rocketship to the moon !
The V-Force makes easy work of this coal bank & I begin to blip the throttle & play with the hill , but near the top
I am started to see a set of headlights real close! HUH????? Who's this???????? As I crest the hill I see it's Mike Yucha
& his Susuki 700 Twin Peak's 4x4 who was hot on my A$$ ! HE! HE! I laugh & " High Five " Mike & we share
a good laugh. LOL!
As we reverse our course &
head back down , we spot three sets of headlights NOT moving & scattered at weird angles across the face
of these huge coal banks. I NEVER thought these three atvers would follow Speedy & Mike up these huge
coal banks in the DARK , but here they were ! LOL! Being skilled riders , Dan , Tom & Brad bury their quads in the
soft coal bank by spinning deeply into the soft coal. Tom safely backs his Susuki King Quad back to level ground & then
assists Brad on rerouting his Raptor to safety. Dan attempts to back his Kawasaki 700 Pararie 4x4 back down the hill, but
the quad slides sideways , digs in & ejects dan into the dark abyss below. OOPS! Being soft & forgiving , Dan is OK
& with the help of Tom & Brad , they rescue the last wayward quad.
After alot of chuckles & laughter , our happy atvers head out for the last leg of our all day Great Adventure. Speedy
sets a frantic pace & after crossing the last main highway outside of Shenandoah, Speedy blasts off into the pitch black
night with four sets of headlights frantically trying to keep the V-Force's tail lights within sight. It's a crazy pace as
we BLAST up & over the last mountain & slam through mudhole after mudhole with little concern about getting
wet ! YEHAAAAAAAA!
As we
crest the last dirt mound into Motel 6's parking lot , the night air is filled with squeals of delight & high five's &
hearty laughs from ALL! What a grand way to end an all day ride! " It don't get NO BETTER then this " is echoed by each &
every atver who showed up for this Great Adventure! We all find it hard to say " Good Bye " , but eventually bid each
other " Goodnite " & " Safe trip home " & head off for our respective rooms for the night.
Hope YOU can join us for our NEXT Great Adventure!
Your AARP atv buddy!
SPEEDY RACER