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MLK Weekend Trip Report


Adam @ GTP Off Road
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Overall it was a good trip. suspension is so nice.

I was meeting Doug, and his buddy Travis out there Friday morning for some runs. Mike was heading out with Jodi later after she got off work. I got up, hooked up the trailer and text Doug that i was on my way. They were a little delayed, but I headed out anyway. When i pulled in the LEOs were out in force with about 10 at the pay station. No dogs or anything that i saw. I have a Non-Holiday season pass so I paid my $10. Pretty sure that's why they stopped me. They asked about my tags on the ATVs, since I have an open trailer. No big deal, i have them, and they sent me on my way. I got to the dunes, and saw Doug and Travis were still delayed. I strapped on the helmet and went out, on my own, to take some photos and mess with the shocks. Nothing fancy since i was solo. I got some good shots of the bike with all the new parts, and found a jump spot to test the shocks. I got back to the truck to check my phone and Doug and Travis were still delayed and looking for OHV tags. Went out solo again, and found some cool ATV guys at the North pole. By this time it was afternoon. Finally, Doug showed up... and Mike showed up. Doug, Travis, and I headed out for a run, and Mike text me he wanted to go but i didn't see it in time. So we rode right by, i got sh*t for that all night. It was getting dark and I couldn't see, that's my excuse.

Mike put some new LED lights on his raptor so we did a night run (don't tell my wife.) Those lights worked great and since i was following him i could see pretty well. it was good until his light switch wouldn't work, and he got lost... lol It was still a good run, thankfully the switch decided to work finally.

Friday night, Doug and Travis came over to our spot and we hung out by the fire, and did the BSing thing. That was my first time meeting Doug, and Travis, good times.

Saturday morning was really nice, perfect day. We all get up, and Mike installed some doors on a RZR. Get all ready and head out, Doug and Travis were still asleep, so it was just Mike, Jodi, and I. Got in a nice run and back to camp, where we noticed a nail in Mike's nice new paddle. Doug and Travis finally got up, and came over for run 2. Mike was trying to find a wheelie spot on run 1 and right at the end was able to find one. So we headed over there at the start of Run 2, just at the base of the finger closest to comp. As we were sitting, there was a Artic Cat, wild Cat that came by. Heard them go up the hill, all motor no worries. then... CLANK... BANG... BANG... BANG... OH sh*t, that's not good. We hauled a$$ over there and luckly the passangers were ok. Father and daughter, in a BORROWED Wild Cat. They got out, and we tipped it back up to inspect the damage, and it wasn't good at all. 3 tires down, Plastics broken, Front Driver's upper A-Arm bent with a big crack, Rear driver's upper link bent, and i think the passenger side trialing bar was bent to. The roll cage looked to be in great shape, not like a RzR cage. they rolled at least 4 times. Since Mike had the RZR he gave the dad a ride back to their camp (there were in the old man section at the overlook.) The father wanted to have his daughter at camp when he told his wife about the accident. So i decided to give her a ride on the Raptor, we were right next to the flats so i decided it was worth it to help the guy out. Once we got to the camp, the crew was all out, but the wife pretty much. they had Radios and called in their gang. We got back to the Wild Cat with part of his crew, and they decided to just drive it, with 3 tires (both rears, one front) totally flat and off the bead. Mike was pretty sure they destoyed the paddles for no real reason. I guess they finally took Mike's advice and brought over a flat bed to haul it back. At least the people were ok, but man that Wild Cat did not stand up to that crash. It was fairly low speed, and it looked like he either turned back into the hill, hit the brakes too hard, or the back end just slid out, or a combo of all. There was no reason to roll where he did and it was just a smooth dune, very random. I did get the aftermath on video, but don't think i got the crash itself. I have to find it.

After all that we finished our run, well kinda.. lol. Got to comp and the nail came out of the tire on Mike's RZR and was going flat. Mike and Jodi headed back to camp. Doug, Travis and I decided to keep going. Travis was a leader, but riding a new Raptor he didn't want to. So i got my chance to lead. I have lead a few times, but not really a full run. It was pretty fun, and I think i did ok. There was a lot of traffic in the dunes, so i had to change my lines a few times. Dunes were getting SHREDDED. My new suspension was making me happy though. We made it to North Pole after a good run. I went from Comp, to Talladega, to North pole. We sat at North Pole for a few minutes, then headed back to camp. Lunch was ready... THANKS JODI! Later, JoeDuner came over, and we got a pretty good group with Joe leading and his Daughter on her new YFZ. That was a nice run, stopped at North Pole and all i could think about was needing to leave for work. SUCKS. So i took the flats back, stuffed all my sh*t in the truck and bounced.

Made it back for work, and even made some extra money. More work tomorrow, but I had a great 2 days at Dumont. I will be putting a new cam in the Raptor before the next trip so i will have something to look forward to. I didn't get enough time, so I am already ready to go again.

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I did get a good chunk of the crash. I got after the initial roll, so can't really see what started it but i got a few of the rolls. I will edit it down. The guy driving did say the owner told him to take it. It sucks, but you have to know if you loan a OHV to someone there is the chance sh*t can happen. I don't think we met the actual owner during any of it, so no idea how they felt about it.

It was a pretty good crash, and while there was some suspension damage, it did take most of the force, the cage, doors, and other important parts were all intact.

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at least the Wildcat didnt get run over by a Ford Raptor like the RZR did....

what I heard was a RZR rolled and another person in their line didnt even stop and ran it over with a Ford Raptor...Raptor hd 1 rear tire touching the ground and the other 3 off the ground......everyone was ok though

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Good write up Adam. We had a great time riding with you guys and hope we can get more rides in the future. It's nice to meet good people. We got up a bit earlier today and looked over to Mike and Jodi's hauler but by the time we got all our stuff ready they were gone. So I put my 20X10X10's back on and we made a short run through the bowls behind comp. There was some pretty good sand today from all the wind they had last night. We went over comp, made a couple runs up comp, then headed over to banshee to see if I could tell a difference from the 21's. Other than starting in second from a dead stop, It was pretty much neck and neck on speed...though I think the 21's pulled harder through the top and they were A LOT softer over the ruts and bumps so I'll probably stick with the 21's, especially since im getting a port soon. My stabilizer was worth every penny!!!! Travis richened up his raptor a little to get rid of the pop...he still has a little but he thinks it was better. He's gonna get the autotune I think. After that I put my dirt tires on and made a short run through sperry wash, we came back and I drove the finger to Mike and Jodi's to let them know we were leaving and to thank them for the drinks but they still weren't back yet from their ride. We were gonna head over there last night but figured they might want some alone time haha. All in all, even with all the issues getting there, it's always worth it and can't wait to go back!! Glad everyone was safe this weekend, sometimes I just don't know what goes through peoples heads out there.

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I saw a Ford Raptor in the dunes on my way back Saturday i think, it didn't look like it was off the ground though. I must have went by after i guess. that sounds pretty damn crazy, i'm sure that wasn't fun to be in either of those vehicles. Being strapped into a RZR, rolling then ran over sounds like a pretty sh*tty experience.

Does anyone know the people that were in the camp that had the Wild Cat?

That was the most of the BLM people i had ever seen, of course this was my first "official" holiday weekend.

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We got out there Friday morning and made some runs. There were still some untracked lines and some fast runs but a lot of sharp razors and drop offs. Got up early Saturday and went over to Mike (Marble MD) camp to get the doors I ordered from him. Not only did he bring them to the dunes but he said lets put them on and proceeded to get the tools out and we installed them. Above and beyond customer service to say the least ! Thanks again Mike. The doors are awesome and work perfect. I met Rap Rider and Sandchick while I was there. Nice meeting you guys. After the install I went back to camp and grabbed some people in my group for some duning. We got in some good riding and chilled at the fire Saturday night. We got up Sunday, had breakfast and started loading up as my girlfriends daughter and her boyfriend had stuff they had to do and they came out with us. Overall another great weekend at Dumont with friends and family.

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Great weekend. Got a lot of riding and driving in. Had hardly any down time. In the dunes most of the daylight hours and most of the Night on Friday. Had a great time watching Sarah Rockin her new to her 450. She did great. Got video just need to edit it down. Great meet Doug and Travis. Good guys and fun to hang out with. Dunes were in great shape with a lot of the witch's eyes missing that used to be there. Way easier to get a good line going. I did not take many pics. Just some of Adam jumping. I will post up later. John. No problem on the help with doors and we will have to get a run in next time.

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Good to meet you all too Mike! It may not have been a fast night ride for you guys, but it was pretty fast for me being only my second time night riding. Itching to go back already....here soon I'm tearing down my topend for a port job along with my carb so I'll be out of commission for a couple weeks....probably sending it off in Feb.

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Edited by flavtfan
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Had a great time out at the dunes. Hardly anyone there. Had some very fast paced rides with me and my buddy chasing me in his racer truck. In fact i had so much fun that on monday when i left i decided to take one more dune ride instead of leaving and going to work. Karma kicked in and i got stuck leaving. Still a day stuck in the dunes is better then a day stuck in the office. Hope to see everyone presidents!

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I changed things up a bit and went to Glamis. The ASA has been asking me to go for a while now and I thought this weekend would work. I'm glad I did. It was nice to get out in all that vastness and worry about having enough gas to make it back to camp. Luckily, that wasn't a problem. Hit all the major hills and finally got to visit the flagpole, something I have wanted to do for years but seemed to never get to. Hung out with some friends at Olds and even managed to get in a shoot for the magazine. We camped in the washes which is ok but the trains running all night took a little getting used to. Made it to the drags on Saturday. Basically unorganized mayhem but still worth the trip out there. Some really fast rails for sure. I got a lot of photos which made the ASA happy and even got hit up by the BLM for some work. The bowls between Osborne and Olds are awesome! I seemed to keep going back for more. All the big hills are wooped out in the middle but there was plenty of good sand on the ends. Great trip! I'm still going through all the photos but here are a few I used on my Facebook.

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Had such an awesome weekend I barely took any pics.

The sun was just going down when we rolled in Friday eve. We literally found our place, dropped the back pulled out the quads, gassed up and went on a twilight to dark dune cruise to the N Pole. :headbang1: Headed back, set up, got dinner cooked and Doug and Travis came over and we headed out for a don't tell Adam's wife night ride :ninja: hope she never joins DDR or takes a look at this to see what Rappy is really doing out there in the dunes.. :laughing: ( I still claim photoshop :nah: )

Back to camp for fire and conversations.

Up early the next day, just in time for a little customer service, door install while I made the boys breakfast. The day was spent riding, riding, and riding some more.

Went over to visit Joe Duner's campfire Sat night, and was treated to some awesome campfire brownies, cooked in a box covered with tin foil.. YUMMMM!!! :eat:

I brought a box home yesterday to give it a try next time we are out!!

Sunday was a repeat of Sat and we stayed until Sunset....

Great meeting everyone this weekend, even met some fellow duner-hikers :headbang1:

I will see if any of my pics are post worthy and get them up tonight.

Edited by sand chick
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