PegMonkey Bad Monkey!

Has anyone noticed that there is slowly less and less riding areas? I have.
One of the prime riding areas this side of Hagarstown happens to be in my neck of the metropolis we call the Cumberland area. For years I have been riding in the Klondike area. When I was young there was a small select crew that had free reign of all the trails in the area. If I stood outside and heard a dirt bike it was either me, Shawn or Darryl. So, If I was the one listening I guess that would eliminate me from the one riding. it was'nt hard to figure out who was riding in those days. I enjoy riding in this area so much I talked my wife into building a house up there when I grew up. ( and for you guys that know where my house is, you know that was no easy feat. )

This project started out the way most projects do. Ashley, a friend of mine, was looking for a dirt bike to learn to ride. She started riding last year on a bike that was a little tall for her in the woods. She was riding a Honda NX250, not the most dirt worthy mount. The NX is also a bit of a porker for a short newbie. It was however very entertaining watching her fall over on the trail... repeatedly. }:) Needless to say, discouragement set in.. or was it common sense.. and she decided to locate a smaller machine to learn on.

Back in the early 1980s, when I had my summers off, I'd go riding all summer. There were lots of places to ride. I couldn't cover all the area in a day. Fast forward to today. I can go riding now, and cover just about every trail from Westernport to Frostburg in a day. At first I couldn't put my finger on it. I thought, hey, I must be getting pretty fast. But just yesterday I figured it out. The riding area is shrinking.

Training for off road riding can consist of some pretty boring stuff. Running is probably one of the best conditioning exercises available to those who want to prepare for the rigors of racing. But running, to all but the most masochistic of us, is boring. Face it, we like to ride because it provides that rush of adrenaline that we crave. Most of us run, those of us who do run, only because it helps us ride better.

This is a long term report on the Suzuki DRZ400 that I purchased Way back in March of 02.