Sheet Iron 300 Dual Sport Report, 2002

Riders: Scott K., Tom W., Eric B., Joseph C.

Four NCWR members made the trek to Stoneyford for the Oakland M/C Sheet Iron 300 Dual Sport ride. The ride started near the OHV area of Stoneyford and went out to the Pacific coast town of Fort Bragg for Day One. Day Two took the riders back to Stoneyford on a more north route via Sheet Iron Mountain. A total of 282 riders showed up for this event.

Scott was on a borrowed YZF 400. Eric was sporting his new KTM 520. Tom was set for no gas stops with his new, HUGE desert tank. Joe was barely street legal on his XR628. I swear that license plate was attached to my bike at the start of the ride. Honest.

Our group met at the staging area and we got started around 9:30. We were one of the last groups to leave and hit the throttle hard for the first half of day one. We took all the hard splits and our group rocketed past the other riders. There were a few up hills that looked tough, but just took a good run. Our group made these hills without any problems and this put us ahead of over half of the pack.

The hard splits took most of the day. Stoneyford and Lake Pillsbury single-track trails were used to work our way over to Ukiah. We got to Ukiah around 3 pm and decided to look for lunch. We hit a deli at no later than 3:02 and the lady told us to get lost. I guess they closed at 3pm sharp? A quick trip to Carl's Jr. and Gas stop and we were back on the trail.

The second part of day one was more roads, but very scenic. We had worn ourselves out with the single track so the twisties out the coast were a lot of fun. Eric and I performed a few "carbon clean out" tests and I can honestly say that the old XR did not give an inch to the KTM. Our gear was waiting for us upon our arrival and we got to the hotel around 6 pm. We manage to pass over 100 riders even with our late start. By 6pm they still had over 100 riders out on the coarse.

Our group opted for a nice dinner at the Cliff Restaurant. Great food and an awesome view made for an enjoyable dinner. Everyone was pooped so we decided not to go downtown for any more frosties. The hotel had a hot tub, so we soaked for a while and then hit the rack.

Morning came quickly. We had some local grub, change air filters, and hit the road. The two-track heading out of town was really sweet. Tight turns and PERFECT dirt made for some awesome corners. There were real ferns on this trail also. This trail went on forever and all riders were just railing the corners. There were some great vistas with the morning fog hanging low in the valleys. Rain was predicted that afternoon, so we tried to keep a fast pace.

Lunch was at the Black Butte Ranger Station. A small general store there was serving sandwiches. Besides sandwiches, they were advertising a large ammunition supply. I did not see ammo myself. We headed out after lunch and the skies started to look black. The route chart headed out over Black Butte (7000 ft) and Sheet Iron Mountain and then it started to snow a bit. Amazing weather this trip. Day One was sweating bullets and Day Two found us in the snow.

Eric and Tom had been talking about THE DOWNHILL all weekend and I could hardly wait. Yup, it was really steep and very long. Kim's brake check in Nevada has nothing on this baby. The group made it to the bottom without a spill, but we all reckoned it would be really tough to go back the way we came. Luckily the hill up the other side was a little less steep, but just as long.

About the time we could see Stoneyford the rain started. We boogied down the mountain and made it to the cars around 4:30. A long day was met with free chilidogs and a raffle for prizes. Scott won a great Thor gear bag and I got a gift certificate for the store at Carnegie OHV. The two-day format was great and really made for an adventure. As a side note: if you think you are tough, we saw a guy riding a Honda Trial 70 mini bike for this event. All 300 miles on that bike must have taken a lot of determination.