All good things must come to an end......

#1
The weather here was going to be really nice today. I decided to take my repaired Hawg-Ty ( closest mini I own to a Baja mini ) for a ride up my mountain.
I also wanted to try out a new still camera mount for the handle bars.
I left my drive way to gain access to a trail going up to the summit of my mountain.
Part 1 of 2
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I picked up the trail looking forward to a fun ride up to the summit.
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This trail is used by our Mule Deer and a few mountain bikers.
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The trail goes along the side of Thunder Mountain for about a mile until it meets up with a fire-road going due East.
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There are some boulders and tree stumps you need to be aware of as well as lots of cactus.
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The low pressure balloon tires never loose a grip.
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The torque converter I installed has all the power to pull myself over the rocks without too much trouble.
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The whole time I'm climbing a tens of feet every 100 yards or so.
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There are many dead trees due to Bark Beetle infestation. I've lost about 50 trees on my property alone.
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I'm almost to the fire road haven ridden close to a 1/2 mile.
Then the real climb starts to the summit.
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I've been riding this fire road for 30 years now. I see a pole ahead that should not be there.
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At the junction that you take to the right is now construction and a very wide road that is new as of this week!
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Some one has felled a tree blocking the road to the summit. All sorts of line for survey work is everywhere. The trail to the right is brand new.
I guess the property was sold and now will be closed to the public. The road to the left climbs for another 500 feet to the summit at 9,000 feet ASL.
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The fire road access used to be 8 feet wide,now it has be widened to 15 feet.
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I turned around heading back home with a feeling I have just lost a good friend. Not only did I ride here my wife and I walk our Greyhounds here as well.
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I got back on the remains of the fire road that is 80 years old and started the ride back home.
Part 2 to follow
 
#2
Part 2 of 2
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I reached the end of the fire road and decides I would take the long way home though another neighborhoods roads.
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I picked up their dirt road a rode it the one mile to the "main drag".
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Well maintained but boring. I didn't want to cover the mini with dust so I took my time listening to the gravel bouncing around the mini's fenders.
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Reaching the road that passes my home,I turned into the sun and rode the last mile back home.
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I opened up the throttle and blew out some carbon hoping a loose dog did not want to be tire fodder.
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I hit my private road and climbed the couple hundred yards to my home. The drive is very steep,the camera does not catch that.
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Arriving home, I realized this may be my last ever trip up my mountain let alone the summit. A tradition I've been doing for the last 31 years has come to pass.
My closest trail mountain is 12 miles away now. At least that will not go away hopefully for the rest of my life riding my minis.
"Don't Look at your minis, RIDE them".
Rob.
 

toomanytoys

Well-Known Member
#6
I have one trail loop left from when I was a kid. It gives me about a 10 mile loop. Some gravel roads, some dirt trails, a sand pit, creeks, a pond and old refuse mile from a strip mine. I hit this probably 5 times a week on my bike in the height of summer. I wish my bike had an odometer!

Everything else has been taken up for gas wells.

We cut these trails in the early 90s as kids and rode them for years and years....!
 
#9
The new property owner has shut down two Roads. He has threatened and chased away two woman horseback riding and hikers off of "his roads" according to a friend on one of the fire road communities. He is from out-of state ( you can imagine where) and thinks he owns everything in sight.
This week the locals on the fire road communities are going to meet with the new owner and the police to discuss his illegal control over public access roads.
One road is for Forrest Fires the other is a National High Pressure ( buried ) Gas Pipe Line maintenance road , going into Texas a few hundred miles away. Both are public Right of Way dirt roads.
I asked to be there to confront this "gentleman".
 

toomanytoys

Well-Known Member
#10
I see you get out of state people thinking they own everything too!

We used to get people buy a couple acres of old strip mine land then then they throw up gates and fences every where. Even on what they didn't own. We educated ourselves on property lines and access. We made their lives miserable with wire cutters, super glue and popsicle sticks. I wouldn't be so animated these days but at 15 we weren't afraid to make trouble.
 

SAS289

Well-Known Member
#11
I see you get out of state people thinking they own everything too!

We used to get people buy a couple acres of old strip mine land then then they throw up gates and fences every where. Even on what they didn't own. We educated ourselves on property lines and access. We made their lives miserable with wire cutters, super glue and popsicle sticks. I wouldn't be so animated these days but at 15 we weren't afraid to make trouble.
"People thinking they own everything" can work both ways. I recently found out that a "local" individual made a deal ($$$) with hunters to hunt on my property without my knowledge or permission. We wouldn't have known about it if we didn't find so many trail cams and deer baiting. A neighboring farmer gave us all the info we needed including names.

My wife is pretty hard core and was fuming about this. She made a point to middle finger every trail cam and suggested that we use them for target practice. I convinced her that we should make a deal with the hunters and we did. One of the guys we dealt with must have seen the trail cam footage because he asked "Were you the guy on the mini bike?".
 

I74

Well-Known Member
#12
The new property owner has shut down two Roads. He has threatened and chased away two woman horseback riding and hikers off of "his roads" according to a friend on one of the fire road communities. He is from out-of state ( you can imagine where) and thinks he owns everything in sight.
This week the locals on the fire road communities are going to meet with the new owner and the police to discuss his illegal control over public access roads.
One road is for Forrest Fires the other is a National High Pressure ( buried ) Gas Pipe Line maintenance road , going into Texas a few hundred miles away. Both are public Right of Way dirt roads.
I asked to be there to confront this "gentleman".
Definitely want to know how that goes down.
 

MJL

Active Member
#13
Sorry about the loss. We recently lost a little riding area to new home construction. About every little patch of woods I used to play in has been developed. Not much good for minibiking, but I support our local land conservancy. Not all, but some of the land they buy is open for hunting, hiking, and such. I might have to tag a bike someday just so I can ride forest service roads.
 

toomanytoys

Well-Known Member
#14
"People thinking they own everything" can work both ways. I recently found out that a "local" individual made a deal ($$$) with hunters to hunt on my property without my knowledge or permission. We wouldn't have known about it if we didn't find so many trail cams and deer baiting. A neighboring farmer gave us all the info we needed including names.
Both are bad people.
 

desert rat

Well-Known Member
#16
I know I will have problems with people on my new ranch. I don't know how many have been told they can hunt on it in the past but this year it is marked no hunting. Also people see my tags and think I am an outsider , not so. I have owned a home 6 miles away from the ranch for many many years. We are only there for a month out of the year but the rest of the family can use it for visitors any other time. I don't have "ridding trails" but the fences have been cut and driven over. This year I will be putting a barn with a lot of equipment in it and fuel tanks. Theft is a big problem on ranches and a 500 gallon tank of fuel is about what 3000 - 4000 bucks. I have done a lot of research as to what I can and can not do. Hopefully there is a use easement for the access road to the other homes if not they can legally close the road down. That would be a dick move but legal. Fire roads can have access control installed at the owners property line BUT the owner MUST grant access for fire control. The fire trucks will pull down any gates that get in the way. Just be careful when messing with a land owner. If you are armed while trespassing things will go south real fast. I own the land that the train runs on, the old highway is on, the power lines and the gas lines are on. I must allow these because they are in my title as usage easements. This is part of my ranch. Hopefully the owner can be reasonable and a good neighbor.
 

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I74

Well-Known Member
#17
I know I will have problems with people on my new ranch. I don't know how many have been told they can hunt on it in the past but this year it is marked no hunting. Also people see my tags and think I am an outsider , not so. I have owned a home 6 miles away from the ranch for many many years. We are only there for a month out of the year but the rest of the family can use it for visitors any other time. I don't have "ridding trails" but the fences have been cut and driven over. This year I will be putting a barn with a lot of equipment in it and fuel tanks. Theft is a big problem on ranches and a 500 gallon tank of fuel is about what 3000 - 4000 bucks. I have done a lot of research as to what I can and can not do. Hopefully there is a use easement for the access road to the other homes if not they can legally close the road down. That would be a dick move but legal. Fire roads can have access control installed at the owners property line BUT the owner MUST grant access for fire control. The fire trucks will pull down any gates that get in the way. Just be careful when messing with a land owner. If you are armed while trespassing things will go south real fast. I own the land that the train runs on, the old highway is on, the power lines and the gas lines are on. I must allow these because they are in my title as usage easements. This is part of my ranch. Hopefully the owner can be reasonable and a good neighbor.
That's actually a nice looking area.

Hope things don't turn to sour.

I
 
#19
@Rapidrob I can and do feel your pain sir, I grew up in the Sacramento Mountains, Last time I was there OH MY Goodness the changes where I grew up are mind boggling. 500 people lived there year round now it's unbelievable, gotta be 3000!
Many heartfelt prayers my friend please keep us posted to the outcome...

Mark
 

joshua. c.

Well-Known Member
#20
I hate to hear about loosing trails, If when people have no ware to ride they end up ridding on the streets which is way worse, off road trails are much better.

By the way toomanytoys I kind of want to hear more about these hijinks with cutters, super glue and popsicle sticks, It sounds like it would make a verry amusing thread.
 
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