for those of us off road minded

[Submariner]

4. I never got a chance to ride one of those long travel single-shock bikes

When I watch the Supercross jumps and the air they get today, I can only imagine the spectacular spine crushing crashes I would have, if I came down from that high on my twin-shocks with about 4 measly inches of travel.

After 2 years as a novice C-rider, I made it to amateur B-rider status where I had to leave it. I knew I was not going to make it to expert A-rider, and fly across a muddy boulder field like Smith and the Europeans. My 250WR was more than enough power in the forests and mountain trails of Vermont and New Hampshire.

I tried motocross once at the local Southwick track. I was proud that even with my wide-ratio gear box, I had blown off most of the close-ratio gearbox bikes coming in 4th at the 1st turn. When I had a Laugh-in type flop over at the 5th turn, my wife and friends in the stands said the next 16 bikes used me and my Husky for traction coming out of that turn.

I noticed a couple of the European riders take partially inflated tire tubes and hang them over their shoulders, or around their waist, and wear their oil-skin enduro coats over them. Another rider told me it saved almost 2 minutes during the flat tire fix process, which as you know means everything in the time trials race.