2014 Pine Barrens 500
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Not too many people go out to ride in sub-freezing temperatures, but today was different, I was headed to South Jersey to join a hundred plus bikers to go play in the Pine Barrens. A blustery 27 degrees hit me as I mounted my bike.
I double checked that all of the vents in my Klim gear were closed, eased my bike out of the garage and headed out on the road. After about an hour of slab carving I arrived at the Travelodge, Hammonton, NJ, which was to be the start/finish of the Pine Barrens 500.
The parking lot was filled with bikes and trailers from all over the east coast. Everyone in a likeminded, ride your heart out mode in one place together. Today was going to be amazing.
I made my way to the PB 500 headquarters where I saw Pine Barren’s mastermind – Jack O’Connor sitting at a table showing some people how to use their GPS units properly. He saw me and without a word, pointed toward the hot coffee and I was off.
With my second cup of coffee in hand, I made my way to the riders meeting where Jack went over the do’s and don’ts for the day. The day would cover just over 200 miles through the Pine Barrens, mostly unpaved roads, trails and fire cuts.
Jack introduced me to Bob Coleman, Chris Grimm and Andy Giordano, part of his event staff. They are part of the Washington Area Trail Riders and came up from Virginia to lend a hand. Our job for the day was to mingle with the riders and offer whatever support that might be needed.
At around 8:30, riders started to head out and hit the trails. It was 32 degrees with not a cloud in the sky. We pulled out with only a few riders behind us. After riding for about 3 to 4 miles, the pavement ended abruptly and turned into a hard, packed sand surface.
It appeared we were in the middle of nowhere. We cruised at a nice clip until we approached deep, loose sand. Needless to say, that got my attention. It’s been a while since I’ve been riding on the beach - on a 600 pound bike no less.
The terrain turned out to be challenging. At this time, we assisted a rider who dug his bike up to the axle in the sand. With the exception of the loose sand, there were not many technical sections that offered much of a challenge.
That being said, there were quite a few puddles that still had a layer of ice on the top. Most of the riders were skirting the side or taking a turn off around the puddles when they were available. I was getting frustrated.
I was on a new bike with new riding gear. I was so clean that I looked like I just stepped off a Revzilla catalog page. I wanted to get dirty!
As the miles clicked by, I noticed that the ice covered puddles were breaking up and riders were going through them rather than around. I was going for it. I saw my golden opportunity.
There wasn’t a trail around this puddle… how deep could it be? The puddle was pretty small, three or four bike lengths to the other side.
I was going slowly but had some momentum. I was ready for a splash and mud but when my front tire completely disappeared, I was convinced I was about to go for a swim. Fortunately, I accelerated and managed to climb out the other side.
That puddle with water and mud was almost three feet deep. I was lucky to make it out. The rider behind me wasn’t so lucky.
After he dropped his bike and stepped aside, we were able to pull it out without getting too drenched. One of the other guys that stopped to lend us a hand was a local and offered us this advice… “AVOID ALL WATER, unless of course you are wearing SCUBA gear!” Well, at least I got dirty!
We approached a small hunting lodge that turned out to be our lunch stop. The front lawn was packed with bikes and people sharing stories of their morning ride.
I was ravenous and ready for a rest. Inside the lodge was a buffet line with chili, sausage, cheeseburgers, pasta salad, hot chicken noodle soup and coffee. All the food offered was fantastic and much needed as we still had over a hundred miles to go.
The terrain in the afternoon was much the same as the morning - pine and oak trees and more sand. We came to an event check point where we had some water and discussed our next track.
The guys that I was riding with decided to take the enduro track. This would take us through some smaller trails and change the technical aspect of the ride. The trail was so tight that I had to weave my handlebars through several small and narrowly grown trees.
It slowed the pace quite a bit but was really fun. I learned that that section of the day was for smaller bikes and should not be attempted on a bike larger than 950cc’s. Oh well…
At about 150 miles into the day, I could feel the fatigue setting in, but the ride was not about to end. Whooptie Doos were next on the agenda. There were several sections of them with breaks in between.
I could feel my legs aching as the dips got bigger and longer. Clearly, I need to spend more time on the elliptical machine.
As my energy and the sun faded, we turned onto a paved road for the final push back to the hotel for a well deserved cold one. Everyone’s face was tired and dirty but the smiles were everywhere you looked.
We all agreed…sand is a challenge, but when mastered, it can be a lot of fun! As I shook hands with my riding partners and swapped emails, I learned that they run the Shenandoah 500 - a 500 kilometer trek through the Shenandoah mountains.
Looks like I’ll be sharing the trail with these guys again on their turf next year! Jack, thanks again for letting me tag along. I had a great time and will definitely be back next year!
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