Motorcycle Dual Sporting (Vol. 4) - Dual Sporters & Thumper Humpers Compilation – Four Stroke Single Cylinder Motorcycling: Backroad Bob's Motorcycle Dual Sporting, #4

Backroad Bob's

Motorcycle Dual Sporting (Vol. 4) -

Dual Sporters and Thumper Humpers Compilation

(Dual Sporters and Thumper Humpers &

More Dual Sporters and Thumper Humpers)

Backroad Bob's

Motorcycle Dual Sporting (Vol. 2) -

Dual Sporters and Thumper Humpers

by Robert H. Miller

Published by RHM Company Intl.

Second Edition

Copyright 2011 Robert H. Miller

Copyright and Trademark Notices

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including unauthorized reproduction, and/or distribution without monetary gain, is a Federal offense punishable for up to five years in Federal prison and a $250,000 fine. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system without written permission from the author. Copyright exists automatically even if the work is not published or has not been formally registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Backroad Bob is a protected trademark of RHM Company Intl.

Second Edition - License Notes

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

CONTENTS

DUAL SPORTERS:

BLACKWATER - THE RETURN

BUYING A DUAL SPORT

DUAL SPORT DILEMMA

DUAL SPORT HISTORY

DUAL SPORT TIRES

DUAL SPORT TOURING

DURTY DABBERS 1994

DURTY DABBERS 1995

DURTY DABBERS 1996

DURTY DABBERS 2000

EAST COAST DUAL SPORTING

GABBY OLD GUY

IN THE BEGINNING

NATIONAL HARE SCRAMBLES 1997

NATIONAL HARE SCRAMBLES 1998

TOWER CITY TRAIL RIDERS

WEEKENDER

WHY DON’T

THUMPER HUMPERS:

A BIG SECRET

BEGINNER’S BIKE

SAIL & RIDE

THE EVENT 1998

THE EVENT 1999

THE EVENT 2000

THE EVENT 2001

THE SINGLE LIFE

THUMPERS & TWINS 1996

THUMPERS & TWINS 1997

Foreword to Backroad Bob’s

Dual Sporters and Thumper Humpers

By 1990, I had ridden motorcycles through every state east of the Mississippi River, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and five Canadian provinces, but I wanted to do more. I wanted to explore the back roads across America, see the Isle of Man TT Races, examine everything that's foreign at a European Grand Prix, and experience the canopied forests, cascading streams, and towering mountains of Pennsylvania's state forests.

Over the past thirty-eight years I've done all this and taken thousands of photos of the places I've been and made millions of memories of the unforgettable people I've met. Along the way, I've recorded my experiences in hundreds of magazine articles, and traveled hundreds of thousands of miles by motorcycle in the pursuit of my dreams. If this sounds like something you'd like to do, then these articles are a valuable tool to assist you in fulfilling your dreams too.

The resulting articles have appeared in American Road Racing, Backroads, Blue Ribbon Coalition Magazine, CC Motorcycle News, Cycle News, Motorcyclist, PowerTech Quarterly, Rider, RoadBike, Sport Touring News, STAReview, Thumper News, Thunder Press, Turbo News, Trail Rider, Twistgrip, Winding Road Motorcycle Times, and the book Turbocharging, Supercharging, and Nitrous Oxide.

These articles are the fruits of a trial and error tree planted decades ago. The bad roads, the dead end trails, and the nasty places have been left out. What remains is a four-decade distillation of motorcycling in 38 American states, five Canadian provinces, five national forests, ten Pennsylvania state forests, and eight foreign countries. These articles contain valuable information that will save you time and money and enable you to efficiently plan your own adventures while avoiding the mistakes I've made. Let each article be a preview of your own adventures. - BRB

Acknowledgments

I’d like to thank everyone that ever rode with me, invited me on a ride, gave me an idea for a ride, helped me when I’ve been stranded alongside a road or trail, or struck up a conversation with me when I’ve been on the road or the trail. There are thousands of you, but the ones I remember the most are: Joe, Robert, Paul, Ron, Barry, Bob, Tom, Sydney, Stewart, Sam, Oop, Moose, Cong, Lucas, Rock, Randy, Mark, Gary, George, Allen, Steve, and Dad - great riders all. The editors that thought I had something to contribute deserve a tip of the hat too. I’d also like  to thank everyone that ever fought for this great country. You have done, and are doing, a job that many Americans don’t have the nerve or the will to do. We should all be thankful for your sacrifices. I’ve had the good fortune to travel outside the United States and I’ve enjoyed immensely the foreign places I’ve been, people I’ve met, and things I’ve done, but there is no better feeling than returning to the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Spending weeks on the road or days on the trail can be surprisingly isolating, but I’ve managed to make hundreds of new friends along the way. Get out there and make a few new friends of your own.

Introduction to Backroad Bob’s

Dual Sporters and Thumper Humpers

The following  thirty-eight published magazine articles from the Dual Sporters and Thumper Humpers CD begin with eighteen stories compiled from fifteen years and 43,000 miles of dual sporting from Vermont to Tennessee. From the legendary Blackwater events, to buying a dual sport, to dual sport history, to touring on your dual sport - they’re all here. Four reviews of a perennial Pennsylvania favorite, the Durty Dabbers Dual Sport, coverage of two National Hare Scrambles Events, some advice on what and how to carry a weekend’s worth of necessities on your dual sport, to a humorous look at dual sporting are included as well.

The second half contains ten articles and takes a look at Thumper Humpers - the endearing term used to describe the individualists that tour on their single-cylinder four stroke motorcycles (Thumpers). These riders think nothing of going cross-country on a motorcycle the average rider wouldn’t take across town. Some of them compete in endurance rallies and 1000-mile days aboard their Thumpers. One article reveals what good road bikes Thumpers make and another makes a case for the dual sport as the perfect beginner’s bike. Seven others recount Thumper events from 1996-2000 held in Pennsylvania and New York. The final story takes you along the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal in the scenic Delmarva Peninsula.

Blackwater Dual Sport Ride - Return of a Legend

by Robert H. Miller

© 1997 RHM Company

www.backroadbob.com

A REVIVAL

This year Racer Productions will revive the Blackwater 200 Dual Sport. A combination of political and environmental factors led to a two-year absence. During that time, common belief was, There will never be another Blackwater because a negative environmental impact study based on the effects of the 1993 Blackwater 100 Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Race. Just as it was building its own favorable reputation after 1994's confrontation with a shotgun-wielding local (he objected to a few hundred dual sport riders legally crossing near his back forty), the dual sport ride was stopped.

Luckily, no one was hurt as land speed records were broken coming off that mountain, but despite this incident Carrie Coombs-Russell daughter of GNCC promoter Dave Coombs and wife of 1991 National Enduro Champion Jeff Russell, wouldn’t let it die. Canceled at the last minute in 1995 and `96, after being scheduled as part of the AMA/Suzuki National Dual Sport Trail Ride Series, the Blackwater Dual Sport Ride, and the story behind it's resurrection, deserves telling.

HOW DID IT HAPPEN?

Patterned on, and using some of the same trails as, the GNCC, it was a challenging, three hundred mile, low-key, two-day event. It didn't have the private land access problems, the overburdening crowds of spectators (there weren't any) or the rowdy actions of the participants (average age -  42 years) that doomed the GNCC event. So how was it stopped? Even for two years? It was through guilt by association with the GNCC race. The invasion of tens of thousands of GNCC fans, and a couple of hundred riders, overwhelmed the facilities in the small town of Davis, WV. Spectators, and nature calling, accomplished what video-wielding, helicopter-riding environmentalists couldn't - end forever a legendary, and legal, off-road riding event and next in their sights was the dual sport event.

It was intentionally designed using public roads and trails where, with permits, it should have been guaranteed a long future or, at least, a lot more than the two year run it enjoyed. While publicly claiming they missed off-road motorcyclists, local officials privately hoped they'd just go away after clean and green mountain bikers discovered the millions of acres of public land surrounding Davis. Officials now had no reason to reopen trails erosion-closed to four-wheel drive vehicles - even though passable by dual sport motorcycles. No money for repairs, was the most common quote when questioned why bridges and roads weren’t maintained and soon after No Motorized Vehicles signs appeared on public dirt roads that became de-facto bicycle paths. Mountain bikers filled area resorts to capacity and didn't have the environmental baggage of the motorized events. Almost overnight, motorcyclists weren't needed anymore. Now, at the resorts, there's more summertime mountain biking than wintertime skiing business.

THE INFAMOUS BLACKWATER

As dual sport predecessor, the Blackwater GNCC had a long, but chaotic, history. It was laid out by woods rider extraordinaire, and sometime masochist, Dave Coombs. Just finishing was an accomplishment for any amateur rider. For the pros, a top ten finish constituted bragging rights. Its reputation only grew when video cameras became available to record the nearly impossible, near-vertical assault on the clay banks of the Route 93 river crossing. If you weren’t one of the first riders across, you needed heaven’s help once it got wet. The outrageous tales associated with the Blackwater 100 only increased its popularity until hordes overtook Davis. Everyone knew it was the beginning of the end when the party got bigger than the GNCC, but Dave saw what was coming and made plans to have a dual sport event, the Blackwater 200, just in case.

The first Blackwater dual sport ride and the last Blackwater 100 were held in 1993 at different times of the year. The 100's fate was sealed when e.coli (coliform bacteria found in the human intestinal tract) levels in nearby streams rose to unhealthy levels and road closures began after the local power company, whose land encompassed much of the 100's route, was frightened by the liability potential contained in the study. They didn't want an e.coli outbreak on their property. Once this private land was no longer available, the 100 was history and the dual sport ride became totally dependent on public lands. Recent forest road closures brought about by Wilderness designations eliminated much of the former dual sport route. When questioned about this year's lack of challenging single track, trail boss  Jeff Russell said, We worked with what we had.

Despite this, both Carrie Jo and Jeff are quick to point out this area’s natural beauty still has a lot to offer. Blackwater Falls, Canaan Valley, Fernow Experimental Forest and Otter Creek Wilderness Area to name a few. Nearby attractions are 4862' Spruce Knob, the highest point in West Virginia, and Seneca Rocks, a 900' vertical rock formation. All are part of Monongahela National Forest.

DELAYS, DELAYS

Permits for the 1995 dual sport ride were repeatedly delayed. Large scale support at that time may have saved it, but that support never materialized. Approval wasn't received until late spring, but by then it was too late. There wasn't enough time to organize, promote, and advertise the event. Still, the Russells didn't give up. Almost to the day of the event they struggled to put it together, but without success. Intentional or not, the delays effectively killed it for that year, but Carrie and Jeff wouldn't take no for an answer. They were determined to share this wonderfully scenic area and didn’t want to see their dual sport riding friends denied the magnificence of the 1930s, stone and wood, CCC-built Blackwater Lodge or the Blackwater Gorge view from the Great Room so they stunned officials and requested the too late approval be advanced to 1996.

In 1996, with a year’s head start, they were surprised permitting took so long. Not wanting to make any more enemies, they sat back and waited. According to Carrie Jo, We felt patience was best. Finally, approval arrived, but again it was too late. Blackwater Lodge wasn't available and there weren't enough other rooms in the area to support the 300+ riders wanting to say, I've finished a Blackwater. The weekend wasn't a total disaster. Racer Productions' Starvation Point event was moved to the traditional Blackwater date - the third (Father's Day) weekend in June. Then they hoped for better luck in 1997.

NOT THE SAME

Even when this year's Blackwater 200 Dual Sport is held, it won't include the difficult and dramatic sections of past events or the ten mile rock run that yielded the most spectacular sight of any East Coast, off-road gathering - the view from atop Cabin