Welcome to the 2003 12th Annual Black Dog National Dualsport ride!

Pre-ride poop sheet

·         Last-minute update: Fire danger!  Yep, Hood River County specifically has NOT given permission to ride off main gravel roads on their land.  USFS is also requesting to stay on main thoroughfares.  With that, we are limited to basically B course routes.  That’s okay, we are sure you’ll love the routes!  We will unfortunately lose the opportunity of lengthy pieces of single-track.  Blame Ma Nature!

·         Remember: This event is in the great Mt. Hood National Forest is by permit only and there are MANY areas used for this event that are NOT open the rest of the year.  We urge people to contact the U.S. Forest Service before ever going back out on the course again at any other time other than the event!  Please don’t jeopardize future events by just following an old roll chart,  and go into places that may get us closed out due to your presence without permission.  We’ve already been closed out of one area.

·         Discount tickets will be available for the Mt. Hood Ski Bowl rides and such.  We should have some at signup.

Camping: When calling in to Mt. Hood Village [(503)622-4011], contact Kim and say you’re with the Black Dog Dualsport group and that you want to camp in the “Hemlock Meadows” area, or close to it.  If you reserved from last year – reconfirm!  Also, bring your family, since this entire area has a plethora of things to do, like golf, mtn. biking, hiking, alpine sleding, swimming, go karting, etc.  Sorry, no place for the kids to ride their minibikes though, as this is a normal, public campground.

Directions: From Portland, Oregon, take Highway #26 East towards the town of Zig Zag.  Start is at the Mt. Hood Village Campground (after milepost 38 on the right).  Amenities include camping, RV, pool, sauna, hot tub, etc.    Spaces go fast.  You must call, reserve and pay for your own cabin/camping/RV space ahead of time and ask for Kim.  Call early for available motels (they fill up fast): Shamrock: (503)622-4911, Resort At The Mountain: (800)669-7666, Mtn. Air Motel: (503)622-3169, Ark Motel: (503)622-3121.  If in doubt, call the local Chamber of Commerce at: (503)622-4822.

No free rides:  Nobody will be allowed to just show up and ride without paying unless they have our approval.  This is considered stealing to us, since we’ve gone to monumental monetary and personal efforts to make this event happen.  This is also a liability, since this thief has not signed insurance waivers, etc.  If someone is discovered riding the course and has not paid/signed up, we will take necessary action. 

--DAY OF EVENT--

                Responsibilities: You are responsible for your actions.  Don't race around public places!  People who don't understand our sport see it as noisy and dirty.  They also vote.  Set an example of a fun, enjoyable & acceptable family sport that doesn't interfere with anyone's space.  Be courteous, smile and wave.   ALL riders are required to have their rider number on the front of their bike (minimum 3”) Two-up people will have two numbers on the front.  If you don’t install your number, we will with a large felt pen at the start.   Your rider number should be on this paper for pre-entered riders.  If not, check the website.

Loud exhausts: Noisy bikes will not be tolerated.  Those of you that have been around know that a loud bike is not necessarily faster, it’s just emotional horsepower.  Plus, loud bikes don’t save lives, they end up getting our riding areas closed.  In fact, if your bike is loud, don’t bother to show up.  We are dead serious about this!  We urge you to do everything possible to make your bike quieter.  Contact us if you have questions or concerns about this issue.  In fact, we may dock points for louder bikes at the checkpoints and add bonus points for the stealthier bikes.  No bikes above 94db (per USFS request).  We have great repoir with the US Forest Service thus far and we don’t want to ruin it.  All it takes is one noisy Supertrapp riding by a wilderness area for the eco extremists to start making more efforts to boot us out.  Noise and speeding (around non-riders) are our biggest concerns from the landowners every year and it gets more and more difficult to host an event due to this.  Be a part of the solution and not a part of the problem, therefore allowing this event to continue.  While on the courses, keep your bike quiet and slow around other people and rural areas!

Emergencies: If you have any problems along the way and need to contact someone, you can call the Mt. Hood Village at 503-622-4011 and they can deliver a message to the Start/Finish club members.  You can also call my cellphone of: 503-803-7837 if it’s in range.  Be prepared for your adventure.  Have your scoot properly adjusted, tightened, and lubed.  Carry the proper tools to make repairs and a spare front tube (which can also be used for the back tire) with appropriate tire repair equipment in case of a flat tire.  Be ready to fix your own repairs.  Our friendly sweep crew will be armed with only items they can be trusted with: duct tape, bailing wire and a butter knife.  However, though they may not be Mr. Goodwrench, their word is final: if a rider argues with them, that rider will automatically be disqualified.  Bring more clothing than you would expect: better to shed a jacket than wish you had one.  If it starts to rain, you will really like yourself by bringing raingear with you.  Our motto is: If you bring it, you probably won’t need it!  If it’s hot, drink PLENTY of water before the event and take some with you.

                The Course: Past years have been hot dawgs, wet dawgs, good dawgs, killer dawgs, etc.  This year appears that it will go down in history as another hot dog.  Should be lots to talk about afterwards!  The weather guessers are saying great weather so far, just hot.  As usual, there has been an incredible amount of tree windfalls on the entire course, so making a course for you all to enjoy has not been easy.  So expect all flavors of traction (specifically on the “A” or “Advanced” course and the “AA” sections): luscious loam, rocks, roots, trees, uphills, downhills, water crossings, killer trails, but probably no (or not much) snow, for a change.  The “A” riders should have some sort of bumps on their tires, since they will need all the traction they can muster.  The main “easy” or “B” course could, of course, be traversible by an aggressive Jeep (gravel, and occasional easy trail).  We will also have a “C” course that will only consist of gravel and pavement.  Plenty of good experiences to keep you all yapping, benchracing and lying when you get to the finish!  Oh, and some of the views are nothing short of stellar!  As usual, we have some new sections that we’ve opened up or rerouted.  We have some killer new single track for the A and AA riders.  The courses consist almost entirely of US Forest Service (and some private) land and your cooperation is required to allow future dualsport rides.  Don't litter.  If you carry it in - pack it out. 

Course Marking: Bring a roll chart holder (enduro type) and believe in the roll chart.  These 2” wide charts will be your bible.  We have also provided maps, but our roll charts are much more exact.  We have painstakingly described and included every significant turn and intersection of the course on the roll chart.  We have put up confirmation ribbons out on the back country dirt roads and trails where road signs may not be obvious.  These ribbons are attached (when possible) to the right side of the course slightly after an intersection, confirming the proper turn.  There are no other markers.  The ribbons that we used are attached to clothes pins only!  Other ribbons may be lurking on the course, but they are not ours!  As usual, in the past few weeks, we have noticed that some of our ribbons have been taken down.  We will go out a few days before the event to confirm that they are still up and/or re-install them, but there is always a possibility that some unscrupulous person may take down or relocate them, hence, believe in the roll chart. 

                The course was mapped from an electronic A-Loop Pacemaker Enduro Computer that displays to 1/100th of a mile.  It has been calibrated to within a few feet of an exact mile.  It doesn’t get more exact than that!  (Nothing but the best for you riders!)  As the flyer said, there will be speedometer resets about every 10-15 miles to accommodate speedometer error should your speedo happen to be slightly off.  Throughout the ride, if you are ever in doubt: stay on the main course.  Follow YOUR selected course only.  If you elect to ride the easier route and end up just following someone else (who, unknown to you, is a more advanced rider and may be riding the A course), you may end up on the advanced sections and would really hate life.  The same goes for the advanced riders - you might be bored on the easier sections.  Elevations range from about 500 feet to around 6,000 feet, so prepare for possible carburetor jetting, temperature and clothing changes.  There may be last minute course changes, due to land closure issues, weather or people thinking we’re Hell’s Angels.  We’ll let you know what the changes are at sign-up.  Lunches will be provided for you on both days, but you can also purchase other eats.         

We prefer (and the Forest Service requested) riders to go out in segments of two bikes per group.  Two bikes allow one rider to help the other if there is a break down or if one rider gets stuck.  More than three bikes tends to create a long accordion effect, intimidates non-motorcyclists and makes a large amount of dust on the dirt roads (if the weather is dry).  If you come by yourself, we can assign you with a riding buddy of the same skill level.  Let us know.  If you break down, stay on the course!  Our friendly sweep crew will be happy to assist you if they can find you!  They will be out on the course about a half hour after the last rider leaves the start. You will be required to leave something of value (like an AMA card, Costco card, AA card , etc.) before you can leave the start of the event.  If it’s not something of value (like a business card), you will NOT be allowed to leave.  This way if you bail out early halfway through the event and don’t tell anyone, you will check in at the finish to pick up what you left and we will know you made it.  If an emergency dictates that you must take a shortcut back, tell someone the route you are going first & turn in your scorecard at a checkpoint or the finish!  If we spend all night looking for you (since we don't know if you came in or not) and we find out later that you came in without turning in your card, the club will personally put your name in as many junk mail lists as possible and publicly flog you!   We recommend riding with your high-beam light on, instead of low-beam.  It’s a little brighter, but at least you are seen by oncoming vehicles.

                Treat the back roads the same as a highway: stay to the right around all turns.  Always assume someone is coming at you on blind turns.  You never know when a log truck, other riders, etc., will be coming the other way.  Don’t end up being a hood ornament for a Kenworth logtruck.  Don’t lose your scorecard.  Two-day riders will use the same one for both days.  Don’t ride on the banks of roads!  At least not where non-motorcyclists can see the tracks.  It’s fun, but looks ugly.  Enough lecturing - you’re gonna love this ride!  Be sure to check out the NWT&T website for last-minute info.

                Festivities: Friday night at dusk will have a simple and fun ride up to the mountain for a Kokak Moment then a BBQ for a small fee, then ride back.  Cut-off time for Saturday's ride is 6pm.  At this point, we will hand out a few prizes for the Saturday-only riders.  We then plan on having an evening get together/banquet party with some films (Doug Bragg will hopefully have some helmet-cam footage!), complimentary dinner, comraderie, etc.  Cut-off time for Sunday is 4pm.  After that, we will hand out a few prizes for the Sunday-only riders and then commence to the big prizes for the 2-day riders and the big $300 cash prize.  On another note, just a few miles away in Sandy, OR, they are having a festival, should it pique your interest afterwards, and licensed massage therapist, Ilse will once again offer a soothing massage after a long day’s ride for a modest fee.  Also, don’t forget that ISDE USA Team Mgr. Gunny Claypoole will have Team USA apparel for sale to support our team in the world ISDE!

                Final requirement: Having fun – plan on it!