ISDT Reunion Ride

[skiracer]

Anyone going to the event next month?

1976 250 MC5 Original Owner
1976 Penton 175 XC

[johnbowman]

I plan on riding my Berkie. I just have to get it ready.

[dennis brown]

i am going,just a thought! it is a lot of rocks mile after mile. i rode a greeves there few years ago,won but it beat me to death,4 inches of travel is tough there

dennis l.brown

[wfopete]

I rode the White Rock Enduro there over a month ago.  The Razorback Riders had a lot of grass track thrown in but the rest was pretty rocky.  I expect long winding forest roads for transfer sections. At least the weather should be decent.

Here are the details from the flyer:

Contact Danielle Ballard, President Razorback Riders
479-461-4677 [email protected]
Gate Fee: $10 per event day per person
Gate Hours: 6am - 10pm each day
Tech Inspection: 4pm - 7pm Friday, May 14
Impound: By 7:30 Saturday morning and at the end of the day Saturday.
Rider's Meeting: 8:30am Saturday and Sunday mornings
Out of Impound: First row fifteen minutes before Key Time Saturday and Sunday
mornings
Key Time: 9am Saturday and Sunday mornings
Lodging: Ozark, AR and Fayetteville, AR Cabin rentals are also available in the
area.
Camping fees: Electric and water hook ups $30 per night. Primitive camping $10
per night. Special rates for those staying thru the ISDT/E Reunion Ride to attend
the Mill Creek Motorsports event – please email [email protected] for
camping reservations.

Pete Petrick
175 Jackpiner
Slow but Good

[johnbowman]

I agree with Dennis. The last two times that I rode at Combs, it was very rocky. (For reference, I have ridden a lot in the Colorado Rockies.) It is really rough on a vintage bike. I plan on taking it as easy as I can on the Berkie. My goal is to finish with me and the bike still operational.

With that said, I am looking forward to the challenge! This will be my first ride with any ISDT type flavor.

[dennis brown]

john ,this is my favorite type of event,get to ride 2 days with my son!

dennis l.brown

[johnbowman]

Just finished the Berkshire! I'm looking forward to the ride. I'm leaving Memphis around lunchtime on Friday to head to Arkansas.

I look forward to seeing everyone. Hopefully, the Penton crowd will show up and the Berkie and I will make it throughout the race in good shape. Fingers crossed and all prayers welcomed!

[tooclose racing]

This event was on my To Do list for 2021, but I have just returned from spending two weeks with a very sick brother in Tennessee and it has rocked my world (and schedules...) for the year.

Great to hear Mr. Bowman has got his 100 ready to roll. Mine is still very much a work in progress, maybe ready for a "test race" at our Unadilla XC in early June.

[wfopete]

Fun event. Test #1 was hilly and gnarly; the complete opposite of test #2.  A long transfer but it led to a great test #2 (grass track) ride. Moto test was a hoot.

Pete Petrick
175 Jackpiner
Slow but Good

[johnbowman]

Good morning everyone! I hope that you are all doing well.

I wanted to provide a race update on the ISDT/E Reunion Ride this weekend. First, the Razorback Riders Motorcycle Club did an awesome job preparing for and running this event. What a great group of people.

As Pete mentioned, it was seriously hilly. The views were great in the Ozark mountains. The weather was perfect. The rain held off and the temperature was cool.

The course was very well laid out. The motocross track and a grass track were next to the camping area.

Nothing like a cold start in front of a bunch of spectators to put the pressure on you. One minute sure does go by fast when you're staring at that marker and knowing that the Berkie is a cold-natured little fella. Luckily, it started first kick both days! A little extra tickler action and off we went.

Test 1 was at the top of the hill overlooking the campground. It was intermittent rocky and wet single track and double track. It was hilly, hilly! My little Berkie struggled with the tight switchbacks leading into steep, rock strewn hilly sections. I definitely had the chance to clean out the pipe.

The transfer section to Test 2 was a long (I think around 12 mile) scenic gravel travel trip with a lot of overlook opportunities to see the beautiful Ozark mountains. It was clear and you could see for miles.

Test 2 was a large grass track at the top of another hill. It would dart into some tight single track in the surrounding woods then pop back out into the field for another section of grass track. It repeated this for miles. It was some serious fun! The little Berkie loved this section. Tight trails and grass track are so much fun wide open.

The transfer to the last test was a long double track section meandering down the mountain back to the campground. Sections of it were rocky for miles. Imagine a smaller version of Colorado with small, loose baby heads covering the trail. Not so much fun on a vintage short travel bike. I saw several long travel bikes go down from underestimating the treachery of the rocks. Luckily, no one was injured. The upside is that it gave us the opportunity to tell stories about "how we barely survived." I'm sure that the stories will grow with time.

Test 3 was one loop of the motocross track and grass track. The motocross track was really fun. It had a couple of table tops and some really great banked turns. Once again, great fodder for "stories" of how riders jumped so high that they thought that they would get a noose bleed from the altitude. My vision is not so great these days. I thought that they were a little closer to the ground. The grass track was really fun with some great sweepers. It made for ample opportunity for passing. Not so great for a 100cc running as fast as it can up against 400cc monsters.

At the end of day 1, me and the little Berkie were in 1st pace in my class. We had held off the Hodakas, but just barely. Greg Van Deventer and Hodaka Dave were a force to be reckoned with.

Day 2 started off great. The bike started easily. The warm up to the first test went well. The first test was great. I lowered my time from the previous day. I felt really good on the bike.

On the transfer to the second test, I started to feel a strange vibration like my transmission wasn't quite right. The bike would run smooth on the flats, but would struggle going up hill. It would just come and go. I was purposely trying to take it really easy on the transfers since the transfer times were so generous. By the time that I got to Test 2, I heard a strange noise coming from the engine. When I came to a stop at the Test, I felt a really bad vibration. All of a sudden, I went from first place to just hoping that I would finish. I started Test 2 babying the bike along. By the middle of the test, I knew that I wasn't going to make it. The engine started making really loud noises that it shouldn't be making. Within a few hundred yards, I knew I had to quit or risk severely damaging the engine. As I coasted to a stop, the engine seized.

There I sat in the beautiful grass field. The little Berkie had done all that it could do. It wanted to go home. I was really sad as rider after rider passed us by. I pushed the Berkie out to the last known point before Test 2. Course volunteers offered their condolences and much appreciated water. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity (in reality less than one hour), I got to ride the sweep vehicle back to the campground with one of the nicest volunteers that I have met in my life. He gave me a history of the area and residents as we rode along the scenic drive.

When I got back to camp from my ride of shame, all of my buddies gave me alternating hard times and emotional support. I was really bummed. After looking at the bike, we determined that the rod probably gave out.

I now sat as a spectator to watch the final test on the grass track. It was fun to get to watch for a change. I saw all of my buddies battling it out in search of gold. I was already resigned to coming back again to try for a shot at redemption. I was seriously bummed to not medal. The Hodaka guys offered their heartfelt condolences on my engine failure.

I sat with Tom Flores waiting on the awards ceremony. Tom was gracious enough to tell me some stories from back in the day. Each story just added to my deep respect for the Penton community helping to develop riders and friends. Tom also told me the story about how the Hodaka owners lobbied to get the Berkshire allowed in the AHRMA 100cc class. That gave me an even greater respect for those guys. They truly are a great group of people.

To my surprise at the awards ceremony, I got a bronze medal. Luckily, the rule book for the reunion rides is not nearly as stringent as the rules for the real rides were.

I am so glad that I got to experience a "very little" taste of what the riders went through in a real ISDT event. The impound. The cold start. The tests and transfers. The struggle to overcome terrain and keep your bike running. But most of all, the chance to share all of this with people that love riding and these old bikes as much as you do.

To anyone that has ever thought about doing this, as Nike would say, JUST DO IT! Find an old bike, get it running, and go have a hoot with your buddies. You'll make a memory that will last a lifetime and enjoy every minute.

Well, I better get to work. I need to get everything done and get home to pull an engine from a Berkie. The next race is only two weeks away.

[Richard Colahan]

John, that's about as fine of a race report as I've ever read! Many thanks for a great read...and sorry for the bike problem.

quote:Originally posted by johnbowman

Good morning everyone! I hope that you are all doing well.

I wanted to provide a race update on the ISDT/E Reunion Ride this weekend. First, the Razorback Riders Motorcycle Club did an awesome job preparing for and running this event. What a great group of people.

As Pete mentioned, it was seriously hilly. The views were great in the Ozark mountains. The weather was perfect. The rain held off and the temperature was cool.

The course was very well laid out. The motocross track and a grass track were next to the camping area.

Nothing like a cold start in front of a bunch of spectators to put the pressure on you. One minute sure does go by fast when you're staring at that marker and knowing that the Berkie is a cold-natured little fella. Luckily, it started first kick both days! A little extra tickler action and off we went.

Test 1 was at the top of the hill overlooking the campground. It was intermittent rocky and wet single track and double track. It was hilly, hilly! My little Berkie struggled with the tight switchbacks leading into steep, rock strewn hilly sections. I definitely had the chance to clean out the pipe.

The transfer section to Test 2 was a long (I think around 12 mile) scenic gravel travel trip with a lot of overlook opportunities to see the beautiful Ozark mountains. It was clear and you could see for miles.

Test 2 was a large grass track at the top of another hill. It would dart into some tight single track in the surrounding woods then pop back out into the field for another section of grass track. It repeated this for miles. It was some serious fun! The little Berkie loved this section. Tight trails and grass track are so much fun wide open.

The transfer to the last test was a long double track section meandering down the mountain back to the campground. Sections of it were rocky for miles. Imagine a smaller version of Colorado with small, loose baby heads covering the trail. Not so much fun on a vintage short travel bike. I saw several long travel bikes go down from underestimating the treachery of the rocks. Luckily, no one was injured. The upside is that it gave us the opportunity to tell stories about "how we barely survived." I'm sure that the stories will grow with time.

Test 3 was one loop of the motocross track and grass track. The motocross track was really fun. It had a couple of table tops and some really great banked turns. Once again, great fodder for "stories" of how riders jumped so high that they thought that they would get a noose bleed from the altitude. My vision is not so great these days. I thought that they were a little closer to the ground. The grass track was really fun with some great sweepers. It made for ample opportunity for passing. Not so great for a 100cc running as fast as it can up against 400cc monsters.

At the end of day 1, me and the little Berkie were in 1st pace in my class. We had held off the Hodakas, but just barely. Greg Van Deventer and Hodaka Dave were a force to be reckoned with.

Day 2 started off great. The bike started easily. The warm up to the first test went well. The first test was great. I lowered my time from the previous day. I felt really good on the bike.

On the transfer to the second test, I started to feel a strange vibration like my transmission wasn't quite right. The bike would run smooth on the flats, but would struggle going up hill. It would just come and go. I was purposely trying to take it really easy on the transfers since the transfer times were so generous. By the time that I got to Test 2, I heard a strange noise coming from the engine. When I came to a stop at the Test, I felt a really bad vibration. All of a sudden, I went from first place to just hoping that I would finish. I started Test 2 babying the bike along. By the middle of the test, I knew that I wasn't going to make it. The engine started making really loud noises that it shouldn't be making. Within a few hundred yards, I knew I had to quit or risk severely damaging the engine. As I coasted to a stop, the engine seized.

There I sat in the beautiful grass field. The little Berkie had done all that it could do. It wanted to go home. I was really sad as rider after rider passed us by. I pushed the Berkie out to the last known point before Test 2. Course volunteers offered their condolences and much appreciated water. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity (in reality less than one hour), I got to ride the sweep vehicle back to the campground with one of the nicest volunteers that I have met in my life. He gave me a history of the area and residents as we rode along the scenic drive.

When I got back to camp from my ride of shame, all of my buddies gave me alternating hard times and emotional support. I was really bummed. After looking at the bike, we determined that the rod probably gave out.

I now sat as a spectator to watch the final test on the grass track. It was fun to get to watch for a change. I saw all of my buddies battling it out in search of gold. I was already resigned to coming back again to try for a shot at redemption. I was seriously bummed to not medal. The Hodaka guys offered their heartfelt condolences on my engine failure.

I sat with Tom Flores waiting on the awards ceremony. Tom was gracious enough to tell me some stories from back in the day. Each story just added to my deep respect for the Penton community helping to develop riders and friends. Tom also told me the story about how the Hodaka owners lobbied to get the Berkshire allowed in the AHRMA 100cc class. That gave me an even greater respect for those guys. They truly are a great group of people.

To my surprise at the awards ceremony, I got a bronze medal. Luckily, the rule book for the reunion rides is not nearly as stringent as the rules for the real rides were.

I am so glad that I got to experience a "very little" taste of what the riders went through in a real ISDT event. The impound. The cold start. The tests and transfers. The struggle to overcome terrain and keep your bike running. But most of all, the chance to share all of this with people that love riding and these old bikes as much as you do.

To anyone that has ever thought about doing this, as Nike would say, JUST DO IT! Find an old bike, get it running, and go have a hoot with your buddies. You'll make a memory that will last a lifetime and enjoy every minute.

Well, I better get to work. I need to get everything done and get home to pull an engine from a Berkie. The next race is only two weeks away.

Richard Colahan
1969 V1225
Upper Black Eddy PA