Cal Poly Pengiuns Dual Sport Hi-Mountain Enduro 2013

Smithers · Post by **Smithers** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 8:02 am

We've been watching friends ride this local dual sport ride for a while now. You must have a street legal dirt bike or enduro style bike for the ride that the Cal Poly Penguins motorcycle club puts on every year. I can always borrow a bike from a friend but getting one for my girl to ride along with me is a different matter. Some of the trails aren't so easy to traverse and whatever she is going to be riding will take on some damage. So I happened to luck out and was able to buy a super nice Yamaha WR200 the week before the ride.

I slapped some Cycle Gear turn signals on it, picked out a mesh style protective jacket for her the day before the ride and we're ready. Me? I picked up a perfect example of a dual sport bike. The infamous Suzuki DR350. I've drooled over these in the magazines since high school but had never ridden one. My good friend Tuna loaned me his and those DR's require almost no work to keep them running. Yes it might be a well ridden bike from 1990 but wow what a motorcycle.

Here we are rolling into the parking lot.. probably dead last and playing catch up with everyone else.

Smithers · Post by **Smithers** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 10:04 am

When you turn the corner into the parking lot you get quite and eyeful. I was surprised.

Smithers · Post by **Smithers** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 10:08 am

Stopping for some petrol on the way to the Cal Poly Campus parking lot.

Along with everyone else.

Smithers · Post by **Smithers** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 10:13 am

Once you get to the parking lot buzzing with bikes and people trying to get organized your adrenaline starts to open your eyes up a little. I couldn't believe how many people showed up for the ride.

Penguin Craig giving all the attendees the rundown on how everything will go throughout the day. Safety first and then tread lightly.

Smithers · Post by **Smithers** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 10:18 am

I was a noobie of course and there were plenty of riders that had been doing the ride for years and years. I didn't even have a roll chart on my handlebars so I was kinda wingin it just hoping to follow some other people. We ended up leaving at the back of the pack and basically we were sniffing out the trail by looking for the other riders tracks! We did ok finding our way. Next year I'll know exactly where to go.

Smithers · Post by **Smithers** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 10:24 am

We joined up with Jim and his daughter Kacey on the way out to Lopez Lake. The gremlins struck early and Jim's KTM tube let go which brought us to a stop. With a spare tube and some tire irons from his tool kit I was able to swap out the tube in just a couple minutes thanks to KTM's rear wheel design which just requires removing the axle nut to do a wheel change. A passer by had a small air compressor and we were back on the trail in no time.

Smithers · Post by **Smithers** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 10:31 am

After some lake road riding and the Hi Mountain pass road through Pozo we were ready for lunch. The Poly crew organized an awesome BBQ and one huge plate of food was all that was needed for the rest of the day. Besides the great food there were plenty of old friends to catch up with at the lunch stop. Then to get warmed up for what was ahead they had an enduro-cross type section that was plotted out through the nearby trees. There were piles of tires, rocks, fallen trees, chopped wood and a pool of water to splash through on the way through. I got lucky and rolled through the course without a hitch on the new Yamaha WR200 we picked up last week. It was a good decision to put new tires on it for sure.

I really screwed up and didn't have my GoPro on me through the course. This gives me something to do for next year.

This is the remaining riders once we got food and were able to sit down and catch our breath. More than half the riders were fueled up and on their way as we were getting food on our plates! I'm sure the coming years Penguins ride will turn out to be much easier now that we know the drill.

Smithers · Post by **Smithers** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 10:41 am

Time to fuel up and get the party started once again. The gas attendant didn't spill a drop... of beer.

Smithers · Post by **Smithers** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 10:42 am

I couldn't help but notice this beautiful El Camino getting the oil changed... or engine swap whatever was going on over there. I'm sure there is a story behind this picture.

Smithers · Post by **Smithers** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 10:44 am

Happy new owner of the Yamaha WR200 two-stroker. The turn signals didn't make it to lunch time but the license plate lasted the whole day so everything went just fine.

Smithers · Post by **Smithers** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 10:53 am

After lunch we had a great time touring around the marked trails that sprinkled throughout the Mike Ryan Ranch. Enjoying the private trails throughout the whole ride made all the prep work worth it. If you have a chance to go on this ride you better do it sooner than later. It's a great way to get involved with dual sport motorcycle riding and a great event to get yourself and friends out on the trails here on the Central Coast. I wish I had more time to take pictures and I will surely take more next year when things are more relaxed. I did get a lot of good video so make sure and click on a few of them and watch some of the action.

One of the best machines to take you anywhere you want to go and then further. The DR350 is an awesome and proven machine. They can be found for little money. This fine example is completely stock! Nothing has been changed but the tires and it could use another fresh one on the back. But with the smooth power delivery I didn't even notice that the tire was on it's last few miles.

Smithers · Post by **Smithers** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 8:11 pm

Some more random pictures of nice dual sport bikes.

Smithers · Post by **Smithers** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 8:13 pm

The CRF450X had an Arizona plate on it. Very purposeful bike this Honda.

Fancy KTM