jse Posted October 16, 2009 Report Share Posted October 16, 2009 Here's a few photos of the area for the Octobertest this weekend in the 1700 acre Scipio off-road park in central eastern Oklahoma. We've got some nice waterfalls, creeks, rocks, mud, logs, hills, off-cambers etc....you know, real Trials stuff to play on. The 32 sections are taped and cleaned and the loop is set and the weatherperson says no rain (luckily, we do have a little water in the creeks, but no dust!). Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micm Posted October 16, 2009 Report Share Posted October 16, 2009 Looks perfect! - Especially when the moss has scrubbed off. No fat bars on the Sherco then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jse Posted October 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2009 Well, here it is Monday, and the 30th annual Octobertest is now in the history books. The joints and muscles ache, the scrapes and scratches will heal in time. The stress and mental strain of wanting to do a good job and make sure everything is perfect have slowly slipped away. The trailer and 4Runner parked in front of the shop are still jam packed with dirty bikes, muddy riding gear and a ton of Trials equipment that needs to be cleaned, sorted and replenished for the next event. It seems like I've strung several hundred miles of tape up and down ravines and rocks and in the process did more than a couple of "yahoooooooooo!"'s down the side of steep hills. The early morning alarm clock intrusions and the hundreds of miles driven to and from the event venue the last few months setting up the Trial are a blur. I'm pooped. However, those thoughts fade quickly and are replaced with the lifelong ones of the fun of working with an enthuiastic core of clubmembers who gladly volunteer their time off to help achieve a common goal, the joy of finishing off the last of 32 sections and finishing marking a 9 mile loop, of again seeing old friends and making new ones, of seeing whole families having fun together, of seeing new riders starting out on a journey I've loved for 38 years, of seeing young riders with a ton of potential correcting their mistakes each time they rode the obstacles, of seeing a young lady verbally coaching herself through a tough Novice uphill section and finally cleaning it with great style, technique and a whoop of joy, of seeing Pat Smage pick the tough lines just to entertain (and REALLY impress) the spectators, of getting some time to talk with Pat and further reinforce my belief that he is one of the nicest guys in Trials, of again seeing and having time to talk with Tommi Ahvala when he stopped by (another of the nicest guys in Trials), of saying goodby to everybody and knowing I'll see most of them again at the Kansas Central Regional 2-day in a couple of weeks. The happy list goes on and on. Man, I can't wait till next year! Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leanin Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 I may be a little bias. But, I thought it was a fantastic event and venue. Jon, thanks for all your hard work! See you in KS. Charles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jse Posted October 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 I may be a little bias. But, I thought it was a fantastic event and venue. Jon, thanks for all your hard work!See you in KS. Charles Thanks, Charles. You are one of the enthuiastic core I was speaking of. See you at the Flint Hills 2-Day! If any of you are around Kansas on the 7th and 8th of next month, don't miss the last of the Central Regional Championship Trial events. You'll want to go just for the famous "Bike Toss"......... Cheers. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil king Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Damn, that looks like a great place. I sure wanted to go, but you know how other things need to be done sometimes. I'm hoping for Kansas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grooster Posted October 22, 2009 Report Share Posted October 22, 2009 Jon, I couldn't make this year's event but it sounds like it was one of your best yet! Thanks for the color commentary of before, during, and after - it made the pictures really shine! We're looking forward to all of the Oklahoma riders coming up north for the last two rounds of the CRTC, too. It promises to be one heck of an event! Yes, we'll have our now infamous bike launch on Saturday (same bike but better!) before the big cookout at the Flint Hills 2-Day in Douglass, KS November 7-8. It never disappoints! Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jse Posted October 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2009 Jon, I couldn't make this year's event but it sounds like it was one of your best yet! Thanks for the color commentary of before, during, and after - it made the pictures really shine! We're looking forward to all of the Oklahoma riders coming up north for the last two rounds of the CRTC, too. It promises to be one heck of an event! Yes, we'll have our now infamous bike launch on Saturday (same bike but better!) before the big cookout at the Flint Hills 2-Day in Douglass, KS November 7-8. It never disappoints! Greg Greg, I understand the MiniMissle is in it's third incarnation and will be up to Booneville Salt Flats-level speed for the launch..... You might want to explain what were talking about to those who are reading this and wondering what exactly the bike launch is. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian r Posted October 22, 2009 Report Share Posted October 22, 2009 It's too bad that there was a TI event and the STRA's 58K at TTC on the same weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grooster Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 Our annual bike launch utilizes one of those micro-sized crotch rocket mini-sport bikes. One of our club members is an engineer for one of the local aircraft plants and built a launch ramp on one of the high sides to the rock quarry. We pin the throttle, give it a booster shove, and the bike does the rest rather spectacularly into the rock quarry floor below. Who says those bikes aren't useful? I'll post a shot of the carnage from this year's launch to add some color to our commentary... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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