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XC and Dune Run? Anyone interested and Can it be done ? West TX
Posted by PHIL on 12 Feb, 2013 02:25 -
Hey Everyone ,
Ive been throwing around the idea of trying to put an XC race together, I know there are several members from west TX. I am located in Horizon City, TX with the desert literally right behind my house and as I was explaining in my new member intro , I would like to know if anyone knows anything about putting a race together? I know its not an AMA sanctioned thing, but the desert is county land , Id be willing to do the foot work with trying to get a permit or whatever. Anyone try and do this before? There is miles and miles of deserts roads and jumps and anything you can think of for desert riding and I know there has been some Xc races out there before, I just dont know by who. Also if anyone were interested in puting something together , we have red sands dunes out there for some dune running, Drags, whatever , the law is pretty cool about camping and such. Anyway I know this is only messy general details but I wanted to know IS THERE INTEREST and would anyone come out if I could get it together? Talk to you guys soon!
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You can count me in, though I don't think there's anyone else in this area.
Lots of guys in Texas though, a couple of us got together to ride at Kermit a few years back.
Last year I was trying to find a house over there and I saw a few south of Horizon City where Lockheed Martin and the new school is at.
Buy a house right on the edge of town and all you have to do is open your gate to ride, that's pretty cool.
So, why would you need the county's permission if everyone already goes out there to ride anyway?
Unless you were intending on getting a LOT of guys together for a race with checkpoints and all that good stuff, would it really be a problem?
Not really sure how big of an event you're proposing I guess.
I'm with you though, there's a TON of good riding out there, and while the dunes aren't big most of the trails getting to them are solid sand.
It'd be pretty awesome to ride all the way out to the mountains, or over to Cattleman's for some drinks.
What we NEED to do is figure out how we can get our quads up to White Sands so we can dodge unexploded ordinance and get irradiated as we're duning
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I think youre right west tx , and yeah Im not saying its gotta be the Baja , but 10 -15 bikes on a 20 mile course might be in order. I dont know honestly if its an issue at all to host something like that on county land , I suppose it shouldnt be a problem. If you PM me West TX Ill give you my address for google earth and you can check out the birds eye behind my house , Id say its 10-15 miles as the crow flys to the Mountains and Query that youre talking about. The best riding is definitely up at the base of those mountains. I think it may be a thing were Id have to get it all put together and course mapped out , then try and get the guys from AZ to come over, but really I think if someone is within 400 miles we could make the drive worth it. And yes a ride out to Fabens would be fun absolutely , the one thing I like about the far east side is the communities seem to be pretty atv friendly , just about everyday there a group of riders at the gas station there in horizon who rode there to get gas and the law leaves them be. I think we might be on to something here man. Shoot Ill break out the smoker and BBQ too to boot.
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im in ,and west and its been a long time that we went to kermit
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Checkpoint 1: Kermit dunes
Checkpoint 2: El Paso
Checkpoint 3: TERLINGUA -
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kinda far from checkpoint a to b dont know where c is at
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I thought they did a Poker Run in Odessa, TX?
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I've never heard of it...?
I wouldn't want to do much riding in Odessa though, there's nothing but thick mesquites and prickly pears all over the place.
There's a salt flat between Stanton and Big Spring that's a lot of fun, but I'd rather go ride at the flats by Dell City. -
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Isn't there an ATV park between Stanton and Big Spring on right off of hwy 20 old 80?
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How many miles can we get out of the LT ? Like I said I'll start checking out routes and measure distances with my truck
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Isn't there an ATV park between Stanton and Big Spring on right off of hwy 20 old 80?
That's the one I was referring to, I should have specified that there was an ATV park there.
There's more than just the salt flat to ride on, lots of trails all over the place.
You'll know it when you see it, there's a dirtbike with a rider sitting there by the gate 24hrs a day...dude's been there for like 10 years at least.
He doesn't even move, I'm thinking nobody fed the guy but he's on a dirtbike so it wouldn't have been too hard to drive through McDonalds.How many miles can we get out of the LT ? Like I said I'll start checking out routes and measure distances with my truck
That's a tough one.
First it depends on terrain, if you need paddles or if dirt tires will work.
Second, is it a balls to the wall race, endurance, sunday drive, exploring new trails and occasionally stopping?
Third, the 250, 500, and hybrid all have a different range.
I've found that the 250 has the shortest legs out of all of them, because you have to keep it closer to being on the pipe at all times.
The 500 can be lugged down some, it has enough power to keep the RPM's low and save fuel.
A hybrid has a smaller tank than a zilla, but the zilla's larger fuel tank is somewhat negated by the heavier frame.
In mixed dune/sand trail/whoops (perimeter trail here in Kermit is a great combo of both), going at a relatively fast pace between 3rd and 4th gear, my 250 would hit reserve at 16 miles round trip.
I'd say it had another 5 miles or so left in it.
My hybrid would run the trail ALMOST twice, ran out of fuel with probably 2 miles to go (roughly 30 mile range from top-off to empty)
It's crazy how a larger engine will go so much farther on the same tank.
I wasn't keeping very close tabs on 210zilla's fuel mileage when he came out here to ride, but it seemed to be somewhere between the hybrid and 250.
Time enroute through the perimeter trail varies a lot.
Best time was 24min, and depending on rider experience somewhere between 45min and 1hr so you can get an idea of of fuel burn per hour.
The real problem is that your trails are too rough for paddles, so dirt tires are a must.
When you run dirt tires in sand, mileage and power go WAY down due to tire slip.
If you run in pure sand (sand that's at least 2ft deep without topsoil mixed in, so it flows around the tire and slows it down), then expect to see 50% performance compared to pavement.
With paddles, they should bring you up to 75-85% performance (depending a lot on tire choice) compared to pavement.
Sandy trails (the ones you wouldn't run paddles on) aren't nearly as bad on dirt tires, there's enough topsoil and/or rocks mixed in to maintain traction and flotation.
Expect to see about 80-90% performance compared to pavement.
Straight dirt varies a lot, since some dirt trails have loads of traction and others slip like crazy, but in cruise configuration fuel burn should be nearly the same as pavement depending on smoothness.
Buy yourself a 1gal gas can and strap it to the grab bar, top it all the way off, move the petcock to reserve, and GPS the distance covered (or set up a measured course to ride on).
Ride it till it quits, pour in the fuel, and head back.
Try it again under different conditions (all out racing, low speed, cruising, etc.) to get the best idea of how far you can take your LT.
It's one of the most important aspects of endurance racing, not the all out speed but conserving energy (and fuel) so you can make the finish line. -