FODS I - The after action report

The cast:

RenoJohn

BlueStreek

Cindy

Evil_Henchman

Uberkul

Christy

Highlander

DougC

TwoWheelNut

OrangevaleFJR

What is FODS?

FJR Owners Dual Sport Gathering as can be seen here: Click for FODS thread

First of all, to everyone, thanks for coming and contributing to the fun and friendship. I had a blast!!! I look forward to the next FODS (assuming I can make it). After all, we don't own this name...FODS can be anywhere with anyone. Even twenty miles up a jeep trail.

The fact is that the dirt road that we rode in on certainly has it's challenging parts to it and it was in rougher shape than when I went up it earlier in the year. Tim got is Vstrom in there without a tip over so I guess it wasn't over his head. Good riding! I know there were points on the ride where I was thankful to have my DRZ instead of a KLR, much less a Strom. I ended up impressed with what those bikes can do!

I also learned a lot about riding my DRZ. I learned how to jump!!! That's a good thing. It makes going over big bumps a lot more fun and actually easier.

Special thanks go out to Paul (Evil_Henchman). I don't think anyone here will disagree that his contribution to the fun was huge. We all agree, Paul has to be at every FODS! :yahoo:

Some of us (not me) were willing to pack everything on a bike and rough it; making food a secondary concern. It didn't end up that way. Diced watermelon, smores (kind of), sliced mango, potato and onion scramble for breakfast, steak and salmon with garlic potatoes for dinner all added up to quite the comfortable culinary experience.

Special thanks to Uberkul and Christy for carrying all my stuff and also bringing Cindy along and for cooking that dinner! Tim...the potatoes were awesome!

The riding. Did we do any of that? Honestly, yes, we did. Not much. We mostly sat around the campfire and swapped, or listened to stories. It was a great time of people getting to know each other. I heard IBR stories, hunting stories, riding stories but nobody shared any ghost stories. I guess times change

I took no pictures. WHAT?!?!?! I was having some much fun I didn't want to interrupt it with photography. Also, carrying a camera through dirt bike riding isn't a great idea unless you have a dust proof carrying method. However I saw several cameras pulled out and used during the event and I look forward to those pictures. I suppose I could take a picture of a certain bottle of...nevermind. :lol:

I'm gonna shut up now and wait for other comments and pictures and discussion to come out of this. I look forward to seeing ALL of you again!

Wow what a great weekend! That was about as casual of a group get together as I could imagine. Seems like everyone had something to contribute to make the perfect weekend. It was a treat meeting Doug (DougC) and Paul (Evil Henchmen) who brought great stories and great food. Not a bunch of riding but that didn’t seem to matter much with the good company.

Doug, I hope you keep me in mind when you want to run that Oregon trail, it looks like it would be a ton of fun. You are the real deal on wheels and I hope to ride with you again soon. Paul… I swear you are the real Santa Clause! Only you pull your two reindeer and every time you would come out of your sleigh you would have another treat for us kiddies. I think I speak for all the FODSers (FODsies?) when I say your hospitality was off the chart and you are welcome to any gathering of the Nor-Cal folks. Hell, we might even chip together and pay you to come!

Christy and I got to know everyone a little better and had a great time seeing Steve and Cindy (Bluesteek), Dave (Highlander), Tim (Two Wheel Nut) and John (Reno John) even did a fly-by. Big thanks to Andrew (OrangevaleFJR) for putting this first of hopefully many DS rides together. Great vision for seeing the opportunity, you nailed it! :yahoo:

OrangevaleFJR said:

First of all, to everyone, thanks for coming and contributing to the fun and friendship. I had a blast!!! I look forward to the next FODS (assuming I can make it). After all, we don't own this name...FODS can be anywhere with anyone. Even twenty miles up a jeep trail.
Special thanks go out to Paul (Evil_Henchman). I don't think anyone here will disagree that contribution to the fun was huge. We all agree, Paul has to be at every FODS! :yahoo:

I'm gonna shut up now and wait for other comments and pictures and discussion to come out of this. I look forward to seeing ALL of you again!

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First, thanks to to OrangevaleFJR for ramrodding this event and also to the participants. I had a blast and would do it again just about anytime. The people make a successful event the riding is great fun but secondary.

Second, Paul you are the man. Thanks for all your supplies and provisions. Now we have to work on getting you a street legal bike.

I got home last night around 8:15pm after following a group of Goldwings and Harleys through Lassen. I was driving with one hand, taking photos with the other, and was still held up by eight motorcycles. Sheesh!!

I did take some photos during FODS which I hope to post sometime today on Galley 3

dougc

I had a great time and I'm glad I met every one of you. Everybody pitched in, not just me. I just happen to have all the comforts of home with me when I do these things. And I can't wait to do it again. I plan to do it at least one more time before the snow flies.

As for the riding, all things considered I think we got just the right amount in as a group. As some now know, dirt riding can be somewhat exhausting and you don't want to be pushing anybody's limits. It's way better to say "I wish we would have ridden more" than to say "This wouldn't have happened if I would have stopped when I started to get tired". Better yet, make it a 3 or 4 day event. :good:

Thanks again Andrew for putting it all together!

Wow, what a great time we all had. I can't wait to get out and do it again.

Thanks everyone for a really great weekend. The only thing wrong was that it went by to fast.

Thanks to Andrew for putting this together.

Paul, you are not so evil. Thanks for being there. You are the man.

DougC was great with his tales of the IBR and other stories.

Brad and Christy, thanks for hauling all the gear. you guys are always great to be with

Dave, the ride just wouldn't be a ride with you. Next time bring Diane.

RenoJohn, thanks for helping me pick up my bike ( Yea I dropped it again, gonna have to work on turning around.)

And what party would be complete without Tim the Twowheelnut.

You all are really great to be with and made our weekend. Thanks! :yahoo: :clapping:

By the way, the ride from Meadow Lake to Washington was a hoot. With all those dirt roads that we passed by on the way, the area obviously has many, many more days worth of adventures to be had. As we ate lunch on the balcony of the Washington Hotel overlooking the Yuba River, some ideas concerning staying there and riding from Washington came up. Hmmm...

James Burleigh said:

T.T.I.U.W.P.

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That's just what I was thinking. Uh....what?

This Thread is Useless Without Pictures!

I'll echo the above comments on the good time. Thanks for putting this on OV and a good group of folks.

I'm kicking myself for not getting my shit together enough to enjoy the full weekend out there. However, those bear stories that Mrs Uberkul was telling might have sent me home scared iregardless .....

Thanks to all for the fun, -Steve and company ..thank YOU for helping me pick my FAT trailie up ....ya really should have brought the dirt bike but had lots of fun anyway.

Only took a few pics, but here they are. No street pussies at meadow lake ...only real riders

FODS, The First, 2007:

Andrew had an idea… “Hey, lots of us have dual sports and adventure tourers, so why not do a DS/AS ride?”

Capitol idea, Sir Andrew! Let’s, shall we? So, on the 15th of September, 2007, a new event was born…

I give you some pictures of the entire, bloody affair sans actual shots of us riding. The thick, moto-generated dust would simply tear up our delicate digitals and really wasn’t worth the risk.

The plan was to meet in the parking lot and ride into the camp site at Meadow Lake, a PG&E reservoir, then ride the surrounding roads. Easy, yes? No! :blink: Andrew’s pre-run had the roads in much better condition and although the dual sports had little trouble navigating the boulder strewn trails, the larger and heavier adventurer tourers were severely challenged. So were the noob riders, namely yours truly. I never navigated such terrain and had a few too many close calls, yet I never dumped my Lil’ Pepe, and it pulled me through despite my many miscues. Great bike, my Wabs! :wub:

Dougc followed our little group in his 4 x 4 truck and how he got through and over some of those roads is a mystery to me! So bad were these roads that the violence actually dislodged his Honda’s tie-downs – twice! mg: He rolled into camp with the poor thing listing heavily to port as the two starboard tie-downs finally gave up and let go for good.

Making camp, we found Evil already there and all of the camp details were handled by him. Great guy, that Evil! More on that later… Now for some pictures!

Highlander assumes the position after the exhausting ride (he did it in and out to meet the morning crew!):



Doug, Andrew and Uber (Brad) discussing the afternoon ride:



Tired horses:



Camp:



Andrew cooks up some stew for lunch:





My woefully under-classed Wabs and it’s dusty patina:



ZZzzzzzzzzzzzz… Dave and Steve caught napping:



Reno ‘No Street Pussies’ John graced us with a brief visit. Nice to see you, buddy!:



Can we go ride now?! Huh? Can we, can we?!!!!





Gratuitous camp shots:





Meadow Lake :





Hiker Dave:



Driftwood:



Tall tales begin:





The Axe man cometh:



Take that, you, you, you piece of wood, you!:



Leaning Tower of DRZ:



The Mother Ship, Paul’s (Evil Henchman) camper and lifesaver:



More rides:



Story telling – no politics, though!: :lol:







Mr. and Mrs. Uberkul. I think she’s saying, “Oh, damn! Not this story again?!”



Dinner!:





More...

Cont'd:

“No! Really, the fish will be okay! We’re professionals!”:



The bluestreaks, Cindy and Steve:



Twizzlers!:



“Well, if it wasn’t for that tremendous funk that Iggy was emitting, I woulda finished!”



This guy absolutely rocked! Paul went above and beyond the call of duty… besides setting up the camp with the rangers, securing the permits, cooking breakfast, offering shelter for the weak of camping, providing auxiliary lighting and cooking stoves, he also brought an extra bike for the use of anyone who asked! Paul, my friend, you have raised the bar for hospitality and kindness! My hat’s off to you!



In the end, kudos to Andrew for setting up this ride and to the rest of you for letting me tag (way behind!) along. Great company, great times, great riding! When is the next one?!

Great pics Tim and John. Thanks for making this thread worth something!

I heard rumors of an October ride further South.

I am writing a post for a ride in June, 2008.

Plus whatever anyone else comes up with.

Great pic's Tim !

OrangevaleFJR said:

Great pics Tim and John. Thanks for making this thread worth something!
I heard rumors of an October ride further South.

I am writing a post for a ride in June, 2008.

Plus whatever anyone else comes up with.

Click to expand...

Can't wait

Bluestreek said:

Great pic's Tim !

OrangevaleFJR said:

Great pics Tim and John. Thanks for making this thread worth something!
I heard rumors of an October ride further South.

I am writing a post for a ride in June, 2008.

Plus whatever anyone else comes up with.

Click to expand...

Can't wait

Click to expand...

You guys had waaaayyyyyy toooo much fun! :yahoo: Good on yuh! :clapping:

Une??? Hmmmm, I should be riding and have the KLR repaired by then.....

WTF????? :lol:

I have no idea what we were talking about but it wasn't what it looks like.....Drink it [SIZE=14pt]Drink it[/SIZE] [SIZE=36pt]DRINK IT!!![/SIZE]