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I keep some of my “bucket-List” stuff simple because then there is an actual possibility of them happening. So there is the Big B.L, (trip to Mars) and simple B.L. (everything else).

I really wanted to attend the Pine Barrens 500 this year and a few weeks earlier a friend reminded me that it was coming up. I also wanted to get an old ’91 xr250 that I bought back in July kinda in pieces (a lot of pieces were missing but ran) on the road and use it as well. Up until the day I actually left for Hammonton, NJ (ground zero for the 500) I was still working on the xr, installing a new rear tire and bolting on a rear rack that morning. I changed out the oil on the TW200 as well which I brought along as a “just-in-case” bike.

My target time to leave was 12:00 noon but reality set in and it was 5:00pm. Now pulling a trailer with 2 bikes instead of my usual 1 bike on a carrier I had to use a commercial route south to the GW Bridge which cost me 1 hour just to go 10 miles. Oh well, that sucked. The rest of the trip was fast super highway and I pulled into the Econolodge at exactly 8:00pm. Same time the first Riders Meeting was taking place, this one specific to GPS and tracks/routes.

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Scott/Jersey Jeeper was there as part of the organizers team loading the routes onto whatever device would take them. Garmin was the most popular but not the only.

Rick/Top Predator was there from Maryland. He and I shared a room. My friend Robert from NJ had been there much earlier and had already settled into his room and also set up his home-made Toy Hauler/Party Cabin in the parking lot.

After the meeting ended we drove down the road a bit for dinner at a good diner.

Next morning we were greeted by a stunning red and orange sky. Morning Sun revealed all sorts of trailers, trucks, Toy Haulers, RV’s and a lot of bikes, all dual sports and/or converted dirt bikes with lights, horns and most importantly license plates. The smell of gas, oil and other lubricants hit the air as folks were tending to their bikes for last minute repairs and or tuning. I installed a handlebar 12V accessory switch so I could use my phone app to navigate.

There was a mandatory Riders meeting about the routes, emergency’s, etc. Then basically… you were on your own to take off whenever you wanted. There was no particular starting time but they did want you to start within the hour because they didn’t want anyone left in the wood (more like a jungle) 6-7 hours later.

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I was originally going to use an app called “GPS Tracks” but Scott (who couldn’t ride with us Fri or Sat) suggested “Galileo” instead. In the end they were pretty similar.

I hooked up with a couple other TW riders that I met in the parking lot, Sparky & Ted. They had real GPS though Sparky had to turn his unit on by taking the battery out and banging it on his trailer to make it work. My kind of people. Decided we were going to ride with them until we got used to the apps on our phones. Taking off in a group of 8-9 riders Rick, Robert and I entered the first trail. Within 10 minutes we noticed folks coming back in the opposite direction giving the “you’re going the wrong way” signal. They (and we) had missed a turnoff. We waited for Sparky and Ted and the others but never saw them again. Guess they just powered through?

At certain points the route broke into a secondary trail marked in black with “BB” attached to it. This indicated a “Big Bike” route like a GS1200. It didn’t mean you couldn’t do the main route with a big bike, they were just letting you know you might enjoy it less. We hit miles and miles of the Super Sandy Section and I’m not really sure when this ended. Not fun but a challenge. I was the first one to lose it and go over when a nice hard-packed Jeep road suddenly because the Sahara. I was fine as was the bike but after that fall the xr was more difficult to start and that increased during the day. Something electrical had happened and my kick-only bike became a push-start only bike.

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Robert and his '06 xt225

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Rick and his Black Widow

The next 2 falls I had during the day were also in sand but at much slower “I’ve seen the light, Lord” speeds. At the end of the day I loaded the xr back on the trailer and used the TW the next 2 days.

Something was "squishy" in my boot but I really didn't want to look at it or tell the other guys at the time:
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Wire cutters and electrical tape. Perhaps after dogs... man best friends:
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This was a mostly dry day, easily avoidable waterholes, sand, sand, sand and at one point some real enduro trials way into the Pines. Extreme whoops developed over 50-60 year and some spots where is was difficult to even get your handlebars through. That was super fun. At a bit more than 40 miles which took us many hours, we headed for lunch (it was 3:30pm by then) at Lucille’s. Part of the food package with registration. Lots of bikes there and still coming in when we left so we were not way behind. Starting to get darker and colder with an impending storm on it’s way we rode 40 miles of pavement back to the motel. Scott met us and after snacks, beers and some Tito’s in Roberts Toy Hauler we headed to dinner at PIC-A-LILLI Inn in Shamong, NJ. We drove as it was cold and just starting to rain.

These fire-cut & enduro trails were insane!!
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Glaze over Day 2, Big storm over the night. Another rider and friend Chris joined us and we headed out into the remnants of a Nor’Easter, still raining when we started. This was a muddy vs, sandy day. I think we did less than 25 miles of the trails. One drawback on the technology we were using and our inexperience using it was, if and when you left your “tracks” it was difficult to find your next waypoint or where to start again. Thank goodness Rick was able to learn as we rode, even better sometimes with his $3.99 phone app than some folks were doing with their $600.00 Garmin Montana’s. While fun in the woods getting wet from above and below it ended up being a blowout for us navigation-wise. Returning to the motel wet and cold it looked like a lot of folks didn’t bother to ride in the storm. We partied in Roberts trailer again and later that evening attended (again as part of the PB500 package) a big dinner at a nearby Golf Club. Nice event, good food, nice presentations and a bunch of raffles. The 3 other folks at our table did the entire 160 miles that day. Fu*king Hardcore!

Needless to say there were not many if any folks booked at the motel that weren't a part of this off-road rally:
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Ricks "Black Widow" got a little blacker. It was nice to ride dirt rather than sand but that didn't last long in the PB environment.
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Rick & Chris. Chris has an '06 xt225 identical to Roberts.
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Engine looked like it was exhumed from an Egyptian Tomb after this ride. Certainly not a good situation for cooling. Rick chipped them kinda clean the next day.
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Day 3, we attended the morning meeting but rode to nearby Basto Village where we browsed the gift shop, museum and waited for Scott to show-up with his 701. Jeep roads and trailed were now topped-off to capacity with mud, wet sand and huge waterholes from the storm the day before. Lots of fun. Again after 40 miles we decided to go to lunch and headed to Alan’s Clam Bar in Egg Harbor City. Had a great meal and then back to the motel to load-up, take showers and leave for home. I also had about a quart of water in each boot so was looking forward to draining them.

Robert & Chris's identical xt225's
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Been a week today and between a fishing trip that happened on my way home and an 80 hour work week, today will be dedicated to cleaning up the bikes and putting all my gear away. It was a really incredible experience. I’m not particularly a fan of relying on GPS ONLY to do a ride like this. I like the colored ribbons, arrows and signs to help you on your way with GPS as secondary. I understand from some other riders the recent Shenandoah 500 was all GPS too so maybe that’s the way these things are going. If so learn how to use it before you go. You could absolutely not do this type of ride with a map or route sheet. These are hunter and hiker GPS’s, not the turn-by-turn ones you use on the street for your car or bike.

Sunday the Big Gun came out. Scott's 701:
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Lunch at Alan's Clam Bar. It was warm enough outside to eat at a picnic table. All of us were too much of a mess to actually go inside.

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Clockwise starting from you left: Scott/Husk 701, me/TW200, Rick/TW200, Chris/xt225, Robert/xt225.


Are you kidding!!!!
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Besides my minor toe injury (guess I'll be losing that toenail) our only other close call was when a tree jumped out in front of Chris and threw him and his bike in different directions. I worked with him yesterday and he seems fine. His handle bars are a little bent-up. At the dinner event the night before it was announced a rider with broken arm and another with torn ACL. Ouch, a quick recovery to those folks.

The video posted here does not contain any riding footage. The organizer asked folks not to post any due to them being used by groups opposed to any "recreational" motor vehicles (Jeeps, Dual Sports, 4 wheelers, etc) access to The Pines. Basically taking things out of context. For that and all the work that it took to put together such an event, I have no problem. I have tons of other videos posted of riding The Pines. but it will give you a good feel for what this was about.
The common sense advice during the safety meeting is golden and something I think we all know anyway.

 
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