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View Full Version : do it or not?


honda400ex2003
10-11-2010, 08:15 PM
Alright, so heres the situation, I am thinking about doing a bit of a backpack trip across the west side of the U.P. since i have a free weekend coming up. It is going to be about 240 miles round trip and will take me 2 days to do. I will be doing the ride either all alone or with the president of the local atv club for a while. he cant make the full trip since he has other obligations and may not be able to come at all. Do you guys think I should do it alone? I want to do it just for the awesome adventure but I am not really sure if 240 alone is a good thing to be doing in a weekend. I pretty much have it all planned on my gps along with an atv map hopefully. I have to get one this week before the trip. I have it all on my gps already or at least the major intersections and towns in the areas i will be going through. Whats the verdict, ma says im crazy to do it alone, dad says do it and that he may try to come up to do it with me for an adventure for him also. i will be getting a room over night once at the destination which is where i used to go to school so i know the area well enough to navigate and find a hotel to stay at where i know ill be able to get in just walking in. It would be all day riding, none at night or at least that is the hope. I will be carrying my 9mm, clothes, food, gas, tp, knife, matches, and some other stuff just in case something does happen. The good part is that is not far from towns along the way so that if anything does happen i can get to one of them easy enough in an hour or 2 walk if the machine does break down. I would be on our rincon also so that i can carry all of this stuff easier. It would be tough to load it all in a pack and carry it all day. although i could make better time on the 400 :D anyway sorry about the additional info. Back to the question. to go or not to go? i def want to do it and document the trip along the way. :D steve
Pipeless416
10-11-2010, 08:37 PM
i think it sounds like a cool idea, but please do yourself and your loved ones a favor and wait until somebody else can go with you. unfortunately, breaking down is not the worst that can happen out on the trails... safety first. :macho
Scro
10-11-2010, 08:41 PM
Originally posted by Pipeless416
i think it sounds like a cool idea, but please do yourself and your loved ones a favor and wait until somebody else can go with you. unfortunately, breaking down is not the worst that can happen out on the trails... safety first. :macho

x2 The quad breaking down is one thing. Wrecking and breaking your leg is a whole different level of danger. Plus it will be much more fun riding with someone, rather than riding that far by yourself. I get bored riding by myself after about 20 minutes.
CJM
10-11-2010, 10:02 PM
As much as I feel is truly awesome to do, NEVER ride alone. Nothing like a busted leg and being stuck miles and miles from any help.

If you just must do it period, a personal locator beacon would be a good thing but doesnt guarantee 100% they will come and get you should you be hurt.
slightlybent47
10-11-2010, 11:12 PM
No I wouldn’t do it: If it was a road trip I’d say yes but not out on a trail. i'd say just meat up with your friend and ride for the day and go home safley.
tri5ron
10-12-2010, 08:09 AM
I say it sounds like a Great adventure, that would be much more enjoyable and safe to do with your dad, and even some friends. It would be a trip that you would remember for the rest of your life.
240 miles in 2 days will be a tough ride. If you could make it a 3 day ride, you would have a little more time to enjoy some of the sights along the way.

I've done a 80 mile ride in one day with one of the other members here. There were 4 of us in the group.
2 -400's, 1- 250, and 1- knockoff brand utility style atv. (a Kymco 300). It was a blast, but I will also say that it was a FULL day of skilled riding.
To add another 40 miles to that would have been tough.

I say absolutely do the adventure,...
But do it well planned, well prepared, and with somebody.

btw- take a camera with you, We want PICS !!! :D
honda400ex2003
10-12-2010, 08:52 AM
Thanks alot for your opinions guys! I am starting to lean to not doing it without someone else. I have to see if the guy that wants to go is still willing. A bit of info on the actual trails, there is about 80 miles of railroad grade, with 25-35 miles of actual trail that goes through woods. They are pretty easy routes on the gravel grade but as you are saying it is tough to do it alone. I prefer to ride alone most of the time unless i ride with with my family but i usually stay pretty close to my house if i go for a ride. nothing more than 50 miles usually if i am by myself. I ve done 100 in a day but with others with me, when it is all trail it is a really long day. I can average about 25 mph on the grade so that makes up alot of time throughout the day. I have ridden about 70 miles of this grade already at different times but that still doesnt mean that it didnt change so i guess i will be waiting to see if i can find another person to go with me before the weekend comes. Thanks again guys! steve
honda400ex2003
10-12-2010, 08:57 AM
Also i will take my camera if i go and take lots of pics to document my ride. there are only a few people who have done the entire system at once from my understanding from talking to the president. I have it all planned out now, i got all of the route in my gps last night with all of my major waypoints and gas stations also. Now i just have to find someone to come with me. Anyone from houghton want to go? steve
slightlybent47
10-12-2010, 10:20 AM
It’s hard to say with not knowing the trails you plan to ride but if you say there is only 40 miles of actual trail and the rest is fire roads and gravel roads then you might be able to do it by yourself, but if you do please plan it out carefully and make a planed roughs and stick to it. Also have a time and place to meat someone and if you don’t show up at the given time they can send someone out to look for you.
I have done quite a few long rides on my duel sport where I leave my house and ride 50 miles on streets then hit an 18 mile loop in the national forest and then on to some other off road trails along the way. Sometimes i find i have travels 150-200 miles but it is all in one day. The only real risk is when you get in areas that no one travels much and your on your own.

Also if you have an extra battery for your phone then charge it up and take it with you. Hopefully there is cell service the whole way.
Good luck and have fun and be careful.
honda400ex2003
10-12-2010, 10:43 AM
I finally got a map today to see how it looks. I have it all planned out pretty well and am already getting things to add to the bag on the rincon to go with what i listed above for food, gas, gun, and such. I already have it plotted in my gps also so i will be carrying that and using it as a guide too. i will have chargers for my phone, my gps, and any other stuff along with extra batteries to carry also. I will have my rain jacket, winter hat, gloves, jacket, boots, enough clothes to go for the night, and all of the other essentials to have along to sleep over. man this is shaping up to be an epic journey to say the least. right now my dad is going to try to make it up and go with me so ill see what he decides to do along with hearing back from some others that i am waiting on. :D This could happen still this weekend if i can find someone to go. I am def confident in knowing most of the trails and that most of them are heavily ridden by other orv people in trucks, atvs, dirtbikes, on horseback, and on mountain bikes on some sections. Now that i have a map i can def plan it out even more and decide exactly how i want to go. Ill report back with my findings later today and the rest of the week. time to do some school work so that i can go this weekend. :( steve
mxduner
10-12-2010, 01:59 PM
You will have no regrets if you go, with or without anyone. i would love to do the trip, but am machine less at the moment. The temps are decent yet in our region. just bring extra clothes when yours get wet. also, pick up a cheap tent in case a rain storm comes in. or you cant get a hotel. and try to call the towns gas stations for there hours! and some of those town hours don't always mean anything either. I know from experience:D

bring a long rope /strap in case you get stuck or and flashlight if these were not already mentioned.

is this a 3 day trip? i hope so if you want to document
honda400ex2003
10-12-2010, 03:15 PM
Thanks for the info i will def pack that stuff also and find out about some of the stations. I plan to do all of the riding during the day so that should not be a worry since I am leaving at 8:30 on saturday and will ride all day that should give me plenty of time to ride before nightfall. It is only going to be a 2 day trip over the weekend. just there and back to take the trails and enjoy the weekend. :D steve
slightlybent47
10-12-2010, 03:25 PM
Take some spare gas; you don’t want to run out of fuel!
I’d go with you buy your too far away.
Plan for everything you can think of, and then plan some more.
honda400ex2003
10-12-2010, 03:35 PM
I have my kolpin 3 gallon flat mount tank that will be on the front rack with the bags full of the other stuff on the back. I have been planning, checking, planning some more, then checking again already and it is only tuesday. I will be adding things to the bags tomorrow probably in hopes that the trip is still on for the weekend. :D steve
honda400ex2003
10-13-2010, 03:35 PM
My dad may be coming so that is really cool! i have the gas cans on the machines already now that i may be taking the 400 and he may be riding his. I have tools packed in the middle part of the bag, tow strap, knife, clothes, rain jacket, lighter, flashlight, leatherman, batteries, chargers for the phone and the rechargables in the gps. ill have my 9mm on my side, toilet paper is packed, ill get my tooth brush, shoes, and soap ready friday night and before i go, and some other smaller things to take. If it is raining the trip isnt happening so i wont be taking a tent, i have extra bungy cords on the machines. I have to pack the food friday night also. other than that i dont think i need too much more to make it for the night. :D it is looking promising now. steve
CJM
10-13-2010, 07:37 PM
Seriously get that personal locator beacon anyways Steve, will save your arse should something really bad happen.
honda400ex2003
10-13-2010, 07:38 PM
Ill def look into that! I have heard good things about the spot setup. it can be traced on google maps and such along with alerting if there is an emergency. Thanks, steve
CJM
10-13-2010, 07:54 PM
When I go backpacking or hiking I carry one. You just never know what may happen.

Ex: about 4 years ago I went backpacking with a friend and hurt my knee somehow. I had to hike many miles back to the car and it truly sucked, took another 3 months for it to heal. Had it been worse and I couldnt walk at all or was to hurt or whatever I really wished I had that beacon with me at the time.
honda400ex2003
10-15-2010, 08:49 PM
well we got everything pretty much situated for the trip in the morning. I have the camera ready to go, all of the other stuff ready and we will be shoving off tomorrow morning for the big adventure. Too bad i cant rip the 250 for the trip, i dont have any mixed gas or a tank to mix it so i guess the 400 it will be. I cant wait!!!!!!!! steve
tri5ron
10-15-2010, 09:30 PM
I know you and Pops are going to have a great time.
Ride hard, Ride safe, and take lots of pics !!!!

Make sure you get a good pic of You and Dad next to each other, sitting on your Quads.
(later , print it out large, and frame it).
(It will make for a great Chistmas gift to give to him).

Wish I could go with you guys.
Have fun.
CJM
10-15-2010, 09:39 PM
Have fun Steve, take lots of pics and enjoy the time with your dad. its gonna be a trip to remember.
honda400ex2003
10-15-2010, 09:45 PM
Will do guys! It should be a great trip! Ill report back on sunday when i get home again. I wont have the computer tomorrow night. ill probably make anew thread about the trip itself. steve
honda400ex2003
10-16-2010, 05:24 PM
update: we made it the destination and just finished eating :D 150 miles in for the day :D It was a great day of riding and spending time with my dad! ill post pics when i get home tomorrow night! steve
Scro
10-16-2010, 06:05 PM
Originally posted by honda400ex2003
update: we made it the destination and just finished eating :D 150 miles in for the day :D It was a great day of riding and spending time with my dad! ill post pics when i get home tomorrow night! steve

Sounds like a great time! Looking forward to the pics.
CJM
10-16-2010, 07:41 PM
Awesome Steve, cant wait to see pics!
tri5ron
10-17-2010, 10:24 AM
Hey Steve,
are you going to be standing up at the computer for the next couple of days ? :D

I'd bet you butt is going to be pretty sore ! But Well worth it !
I hope you and your dad have had a GREAT time !
honda400ex2003
10-17-2010, 03:47 PM
What a trip! We finally got back in. 278 miles total- 144 yesterday and 134 today. We went a bit further yesterday cause we went to get gas at the station in mass city. It was definitely a once in a life time type of ride thats for sure. We got some really cool pictures so ill post them up when they are done uploading.

It was also great to do it with my dad, we ride alot but nothing like that. we got to do it together which was really cool, im glad he made the trip up here to ride with me. :D

We had about 60 miles on blacktop, 40 of rocky woods style stuff and the rest was rail road grade stuff. the blacktop is def tough to ride on for that long, your tires whining really gets old fast lol. we didnt really have a whole lot of trouble on the trails since i knew most of it already so that was nice, we had one detour with about 15 miles left yesterday but just had to go around one section of trail that they were working on. i knew the roads that we could ride in wakefield. it is nice because all of their roads are open except the state ones so it made rerouting easy enough. that was part of the extra 10 when we got to the loggers that told us to go around them. lol.

anyway, ill post the pics up. man what a ride! steve
honda400ex2003
10-17-2010, 03:55 PM
heres the first pic to click on and go through the album
http://img440.imageshack.us/i/imag0001l.jpg/

they are also below but not in order.

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/8775/imag0034ez.th.jpg (http://img28.imageshack.us/i/imag0034ez.jpg/)
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/8829/imag0033bm.th.jpg (http://img242.imageshack.us/i/imag0033bm.jpg/)
http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/4421/imag0032wl.th.jpg (http://img801.imageshack.us/i/imag0032wl.jpg/)
http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/3472/imag0031sd.th.jpg (http://img97.imageshack.us/i/imag0031sd.jpg/)
http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/3778/imag0030a.th.jpg (http://img29.imageshack.us/i/imag0030a.jpg/)
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/1130/imag0029a.th.jpg (http://img100.imageshack.us/i/imag0029a.jpg/)
http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/6986/imag0028fv.th.jpg (http://img704.imageshack.us/i/imag0028fv.jpg/)
http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/2610/imag0017cw.th.jpg (http://img411.imageshack.us/i/imag0017cw.jpg/)
http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/3961/imag0018tr.th.jpg (http://img810.imageshack.us/i/imag0018tr.jpg/)
http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/6277/imag0019uh.th.jpg (http://img638.imageshack.us/i/imag0019uh.jpg/)
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/5283/imag0021bu.th.jpg (http://img246.imageshack.us/i/imag0021bu.jpg/)
http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/46/imag0022x.th.jpg (http://img230.imageshack.us/i/imag0022x.jpg/)
http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/4170/imag0024xh.th.jpg (http://img821.imageshack.us/i/imag0024xh.jpg/)
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/5249/imag0026r.th.jpg (http://img153.imageshack.us/i/imag0026r.jpg/)
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/6913/imag0016l.th.jpg (http://img20.imageshack.us/i/imag0016l.jpg/)
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/5261/imag0015q.th.jpg (http://img232.imageshack.us/i/imag0015q.jpg/)
http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/8933/imag0014vq.th.jpg (http://img684.imageshack.us/i/imag0014vq.jpg/)
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/7840/imag0013k.th.jpg (http://img219.imageshack.us/i/imag0013k.jpg/)
http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/9801/imag0012f.th.jpg (http://img52.imageshack.us/i/imag0012f.jpg/)
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/1074/imag0011r.th.jpg (http://img89.imageshack.us/i/imag0011r.jpg/)
http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/3030/imag0010ng.th.jpg (http://img251.imageshack.us/i/imag0010ng.jpg/)
http://img814.imageshack.us/img814/4996/imag0003sy.th.jpg (http://img814.imageshack.us/i/imag0003sy.jpg/)
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/1867/imag0004rf.th.jpg (http://img257.imageshack.us/i/imag0004rf.jpg/)
http://img688.imageshack.us/img688/725/imag0005eh.th.jpg (http://img688.imageshack.us/i/imag0005eh.jpg/)
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/7642/imag0006q.th.jpg (http://img696.imageshack.us/i/imag0006q.jpg/)
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/5210/imag0007c.th.jpg (http://img227.imageshack.us/i/imag0007c.jpg/)
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/4797/imag0008h.th.jpg (http://img209.imageshack.us/i/imag0008h.jpg/)
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/6093/imag0009y.th.jpg (http://img232.imageshack.us/i/imag0009y.jpg/)
http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/4760/imag0002wk.th.jpg (http://img375.imageshack.us/i/imag0002wk.jpg/)
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/714/imag0001l.th.jpg (http://img440.imageshack.us/i/imag0001l.jpg/)



enjoy guys. The stream was down by marinesco, the cemetery had stones from 1821-1889 by a guy named august along with a bunch of other cool old tombs. there are a couple of us at the beginning of the trip when the machines are sitting together still and we are packing up, the train was at one of the major waypoints of the trip since that was the last set of grade going to wakefield as we went down. we didnt make any more turns off till we got to ironwood. the pond was just on the side of the trail somewhere that i said for my dad to drive over and i would take a picture of him. Image 0034 is when we got back today with our winter hats and stuff on.

it was a cold day today with a high of only around 45 and it was 33 when we left this morning. there was ice on all of the water this morning as we rode along with frost just about everywhere else. talk about a cold ride. :eek2:

the numbers on the pictures got messed up but if you click on one you should be able to go through the whole album on imageshack to start at the first picture then go to the end. there is even a video of the stream where we had turned around to take the picture. lol


It was awesome thats for sure! steve
honda400ex2003
10-17-2010, 03:57 PM
this is the first picture

http://img440.imageshack.us/i/imag0001l.jpg/


the first picture above is the last picture. lol. steve
tri5ron
10-17-2010, 08:24 PM
WOW ! GREAT PICS !
and a great ride to share with your Dad !

Looks like you guys had a FANTASTIC time !
MAN, I am jealous, i'd love to do a ride like that.
so,.... let me guess,... Is this going to be the first trip, of the new "Annual ride" you guys do together?

Glad you both had a good time.
memories to last forever !

So now answer my question,....
How's your butt feel ?
:D :D :D :D :D :D
honda400ex2003
10-17-2010, 08:37 PM
oh whoops, i had the answer to the butt question in my first one but it didnt go through so i had to type it all again. lol my butt is def sore but thats about it. my back is stiff also a bit but i feel pretty good for going that far. my dad said the same pretty much. we are both just really tired out from being cold all day and riding most of the time. I dont think it will be an annual ride thats for sure. way too much for a once a year deal, more like once in a life time. lol we always ride though so that is not a big deal. it may be trying to ride somewhere different every year but it seems to get tougher every year since i am always getting more and more busy. I try not to let that happen though it is always important to have time for the family. we all ride together every chance we get so that is nice. lol thanks for the compliments guys! steve
honda400ex2003
11-19-2011, 09:23 PM
bump for an epic ride with my dad! :D cheers to hopefully doing something like this again.

steve
buck440
11-20-2011, 06:20 AM
i think a couple day trip would be pretty fun but gas and beer would take up too much space. maby lots of stopping for the view would save fuel?