Do You Ride / Help Out a Motorcycle Club at Events ?

[Dirt Dud]

I have been involved motorcycle clubs for about 20 of my 57 years . And am going to get involved with another one this spring . This year i plan to ride the enduro events and see how I can do at the end of the year . To get points you need to be in a club that host an enduro or hare scrambles . But you also get to ride with a bunch of like minded people that really must love this sport . Why else would you spend so much time ,and effort promoting our sport . Many of the club riders do not compete they just want to hang out ,ride, and party a little . Some I have noticed party more than a little ! Like those guys down in the Van by the river This will be the first time I have ever really focused on enduros so I will be in the C class . I should do good ? I also plan to ride a few trials events this season to . So back to my original ? I have not been in a club for 5 plus years and now I am getting back involved . How about you any one have some great tales of classic club events were you thought you saw Bigfoot ? Do you compete once in a while or with your club members ? Do you work a Hare Scrambles , Enduro check , or a trials event ? If you ask if they need help they will always find something for you to do , it may not be trail boss but you can take down arrows . Recluse is really nice for that job ! HAPPY NEW YEARS TO EVERYONE

 

[TheLetterJ]

I'm working an event tomorrow as a matter of fact. My local club puts on 1 enduro (not a points paying event) every New Year's day called "The Hangover" and we also host an offroad poker run in March. I try to alternate between riding the events and working the events each year (ride one, work the other, and switch the next year.) I usually ride sweep, but I'm still off the bikes for a while so I'll be working the sign up table and then flagging at a road crossing. I also ride sweep for another local club's District 37 dual sport event every April.

I've never been a party-er so I just show up for rides or trail work (though I usually have my own group that I do trail work with), I've never even been to the club's annual BBQ... but I do have a van!

 

[Rod Overstreet]

Good thread Dirt Dud. I'm now at the point in life where I really enjoy helping out with cutting trail, hanging arrows, whatever is needed. Afterwards...there is nothing like riding thru the pits after a race and having guys shake your hand and thank you for cutting a fun trail.

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[barossi73]

As a landowner/rider I have been involved in annual trailride fundraisers thru my own and neighbouring property.this covers moving livestock out the way,planning loops/enduro deviations,cutting trail,Marshall duty,sweeping,arrow collection.since I got my gg the focus has been more on developing tight single track thru the native bush gullies for myself and a few mates that like the harder technical stuff.I find trailcutting hugely satisfying also, as you have to scout ur area first,then identify the best bits and work out how you will link them,which direction will ride best,difficulty,could it be all weather rideable,safety,gopro friendly or bush bash etc.only then does the cutting begin.finally the satisfaction of riding first time thru...
The downside of very tight trail is that often they are easily damaged by large numbers of riders and in the event of a serious mishap access to bike/rider,access is often difficult so i never run mainloops thru these,only enduro deviations marked as hard which limits the no's cutting up these sections.
Only bad exp was a spoilt 15yr old brat who due to poor maintenance abandoned his kx 20km into a 45km loop.I was sweeping and knew the property so headed back for a quad and trailer.some 2hrs later I eventually got his bike back to pits (singlehandedly) where to my great irritation the little bstard proceeded to rant and complain about how long it had taken for me to retrieve.not even a thank you!
All because of a front sprocket with no teeth!
Ruined my ride,wasted my time,and had th cheek to bitch at me!
On that particular ride my own property was used,I'd helped mark out and marshalled and was out til dark in rain picking up arrows.please don't treat volunteers/organisers with contempt,a lot of time/work goes into setting these events up,and please do take the time to give useful feedback

 

[barossi73]

Didn't mean to diverge into a rant there guys.guess I'm still angry about that one isolated incident.most riders do appreciate volunteers work and time to some extent.really just sayin a bit of goodwill still goes a long way!

 

[Wimpy525]

I am very involved with my Enduro club. I focus on our trail for the enduro working closely with the Trail Boss. Our club is pretty large with over a 100 members but the 80/20 rule seems to apply. Members hear work day and don't want to show up but then complain that we don't have any club trail rides. Little do they know most of our work days consist of 1/2hr to hour of trail work and 45-55miles of riding some of the best single track in the Northeast.
I have stepped up in my club the guys that put these events on are getting older and the next generation needs to step up. I get a little concerned with who will take over in the future all the younger riders seem to just want to show up and ride and often don't have any respect for the guys that put the events on as mentioned in barossi73's post. Personally I would have left the bike in the woods! I will assist a rider with a broken bike, but if he's not helping the bike stays in the woods.
Dirt Dud what club are you going to join? I'm with VFTR

 

[Dirt Dud]

5 years or so ago I helped at 4 VFTR events and got recruited to help HMDR with a few events . Both clubs are great clubs with a need for more help from guys like us . The High Mtn guys are local for the most part and I have ridden with them more . Plus I am sure I spotted BIGFOOT when riding with High Mtn ! Then again there sure was alot of smoke down by that there river next to that darn van HAPPY NEW YEARS BRAPPPPP

 

[hadfield4wd]

I've not been in any kind of Enduro Club. I was heavily involved in the 4x4 community. Had a small shop where I built chassis on the side, custom roll cages, axle work etc etc. i was president of a club for a couple of years and also on the board of another club. We worked hard at trail maintenance, relationships with NFS, keeping trails open. In fact one of those trails I still ride on my dual sport.

But I had my fill of 2 things.

1) it takes a lot of time. And when I got out 5-6 years ago the kids were young and needed me around more and activities to do together. (Hence me getting back into riding and then getting into it). Plus we are very involved in the Boy Scout Troop. So we hike, camp or backpack a lot. (All this is now coming closer to an end). My oldest boy (17) will age out next year my youngest (14) has said he doesn't want to continue. So I may have some time on my hands coming up. (I also have a 19 year old daughter in college)

2) stupid people. I got tired if people trying to do things politically in a little 4wd club. It was stupid. It got to the point I hated it. When I wanted to go wheeling I'd call a small group of like minded friends and we'd go have fun.

There aren't any clubs that I've seen around here but there is a very active racing series. VCHSS. I don't know if I'll ever race. Just don't want to damage my knee anymore. Same thing I want to go riding I load up the boys toys, call a couple friends and we hit it.

I tried starting a dual sport group with a friend. We are both on very dirt oriented bikes. We just would announce rides and all kinds of people and experience would show up and I was comical. There were some really good riders on BMW GS 1200 that could walk a rocky section then novices on yAmaha XT's that couldn't change their oil or afford new tires. Got to be more of a hassle than anything. So it's back to phone calls

I'm not opposed to a club I would just take it slow.

 

[SS109]

I'm very involved with my club, the Trail Riders of Southern AZ. Been a member now for 6 years.

Every year I volunteer to work our club race, The Copper Classic hare scramble (coming up March 5th!). I run Tech every year and work somewhere else after tech closes. For two years now I have also been on the race committee and oversee all volunteer assignments.

I also serve on the Singletrack Committee which works to maintain, keep, and develop new legal trails. We recently were awarded a $300k grant (OHV decal money!) to develop a new trail near Tumacacori, AZ in conjunction with AZ State Parks and the U.S.F.S. It will be the first part of a three phase project that will eventually go all the way to Lake Arivaca! We are currently working in two other Ranger districts to develop more trail. We also were awarded another grant to represent and oversee OHV relations in all of Southern AZ. For those reasons I have also become an OHV Ambassador with AZ State Parks.

Lastly, I host rides pretty regularly to increase the awareness that there is a club that represents dirt bikers in Southern AZ and try to recruit new members.

That all being said, we have members that do way more than I do including the little things most people overlook. One is a fellow GG lover and is a member here on the forum. I'll let him toot his own horn, if he wishes to, but he is one of those that goes above and beyond. I salute you, Steve!

 

[Wimpy525]

5 years or so ago I helped at 4 VFTR events and got recruited to help HMDR with a few events . Both clubs are great clubs with a need for more help from guys like us . The High Mtn guys are local for the most part and I have ridden with them more . Plus I am sure I spotted BIGFOOT when riding with High Mtn ! Then again there sure was alot of smoke down by that there river next to that darn van HAPPY NEW YEARS BRAPPPPP

Well we probably ran into each other I joined VFTR after moving up from York to Catawissa in 08. Was on my 525 at the time most of the members call me Big Rob.
I ride with a bunch of the High Mtn guys, good group and need they need the help. We ran our enduro together this year was fun and added to our event but I would like to see the Shotgun enduro back on the schedule.

 

[Dirt Dud]

We have ridden together a few times for sure . You are hard to forget so how did the name Whimpy get attached to a guy your size ? SS109 my hat goes off to you ! If we can get more people involved with the dirt bike rider clubs we will all be better off for sure . I was in a hillclimb club that had alot of assets and $ , so there were alot of politics for sure . The dirt bike clubs seem to be free of all that stuff . Who else has a great club story ?