It couldn't have worked out any better. I had a day with nothing scheduled and it turned out to be 72'F and sunny. I got up about 8am (it was great to sleep in!) and started getting the KLX and my son's XR50 (clone) ready for a day of trail riding. This year is the first year he can ride on public land (10 years old), and since he had taken the safety course, we were all set.

I got both bikes loaded up in the back of the truck and headed out to the clubhouse. We parked in their parking lot and started out on the 47 miles of groomed trails. This year was the first year I had joined a club and it was nice to have plan on where I was going to ride. Usually we just try to find any trail and see where it goes. Often it turns into a mud bath. Not so today!

Here is our first break. We rode up the power lines from the club house. This section was actually pretty intense. Very steep hills with lots of rocks, ruts, and loose stone. I was very concerned for my son as he is not the most experience but he didn't seem to mind. He and his little bike did fantastic!



After the power lines we veered off into the woods. This section was not muddy at all but extremely rutted. These trails are primarily ATV trails. We did a couple of miles in the woods and then popped out on to a nice fire road. Here is a little stream we found and took a water break.











After that break we did a few more miles through the woods and came upon a nice little area to eat lunch. There were wild turkey walking across the trail but I didn't have my camera out. We also found some huge moose droppings. They were very fresh but we didn't see any moose.





After a nice lunch break, we hit the trail again. This time it was more powerlines, woods, and some more gravel roads. We went a total of 12 miles and came out next to a gas station. I decided to fill up both bikes just to be sure. I hadn't run the 351 in the woods and I was surprised to find that it only used slightly more than my son's 50cc! He used .23 gallons and I used .28 gallons. Pretty amazing.







More to follow...

 

Continuing on,

The gas station was our halfway point. By then we had been riding (and taking breaks) for about 2 hours. We had taken a couple of wrong turns during the first half which kind of extended our ride a bit but we still had fun.

On the way back we stopped a few more times to mess around in some small mud puddles. I was just taking pictures.





We also took another break by one of the many nicely constructed bridges we found.







My ugly mug



Here is a shot of my boy coming up a pretty steep hill. It was actually a lot steeper than it looks and this one was pretty tame compared to some of the other ones I did not get pictures of.







Overall we had a great day. We both took a couple of diggers. My side number plate on the right is all buggered up due to one fall. I was doing about 2 mph and some how just fell over. I also fell over on some pretty gnarly rocks. (although my 10 year old didn't fall during that section so I guess I'm pretty lame!) Also, when I was pressure washing my bike off afterwards, the graphics came right off my right radiator shroud. That sucked. My bike doesn't look too new anymore. Lots of scratches, missing stickers, and even some scratches on the transmission casing! It looks like a dirt bike should!

 

Nice writeup & pics. Glad you could spend quality time with your son.

 

Great stuff, looks like your son will need a bigger bike soon

 

Nice. Looks like a nice day out on the trail! I miss summer...

 

Nice report and good to see dads out with their kids.
Cheers Jim

 

Thanks mate. My two year old is away for for a long WE trip with "The Olds" and mom. First time. I'm in withdrawal.

Good to see someone having fun though. Looks like nice country.

Second that thought on a bigger bike for the wee man. Maybe a KX 80 has his name on it?

 

Wow, what an awesome day you guys had! Great pics as well!

bootmud

 

now that is what riding is all about!! Made me smile!!

 

nice report. father son rides always turn out good.