Busco Beach Trail Ride - Input Wanted

I wanted to start a thread to get input on the current format of the Busco Beach trail ride. This weekend I spoke to several of you and got varied input on how the trail rides go. For any of you that have attended or are planning on attending, feel free to chime in with your thoughts/opinions.

The semi-annual ride at Busco Beach started as a very informal gathering several years ago. With a small group, we mainly rode together during the ride. We took breaks together, ate together and then rode again, together. As the rides grew in attendance, we still tried to ride together but it proved to be challenging. A large group can mean a lot of waiting around especially when we have such a varied level of machine capabilities as well as varied experience levels. There is also a lot of waiting just to corral the members together at a single time to hit the trails.

The past couple of years, we have informally gotten away from large group rides. I have enjoyed these rides a little more because you really get to cover some ground and you almost always run across another group of six wheelers on the trail which is fun. The downside for me has been that I haven't gotten to ride with everyone and even speak to everyone. Granted, I am not there for as long as most of you and I stay at a hotel at night instead of camping most of the time so that's part of the reason but I heard similar comments from some of you that are there the entire weekend too.

What I'm asking for in this thread is just some feedback on how the rides are going and how you would like them to go. We can make this whatever you guys want. Is everyone content with the way things are? Do you want more structure, less structure, etc. I have tried to remain as much of a bystander as possible because I'm just showing up to ride just like all of you. My role in the forum is meaningless when it comes to the trail ride but at the same time, if everyone would prefer to have more structure, I'd be happy to put together a more structured group ride.

I was contemplating keeping things like they are now but having one large group ride on Saturday morning at 9:30 or 10:00. That way anyone that wants a structured ride with everyone else knows where to be and what time. I would be happy to lead the ride or someone else can. We could have a couple of the Busco regulars designated as additional leaders. If there are 30 machines, we could have five groups of six. We all go out together and if someone in the smaller group of six gets stuck, they help each other out and then catch back up with the larger group. This way the large group keeps moving.

I don't know. I've just been contemplating this since leaving this past weekend after talking to a few of you about it. I didn't want to sit back and not do something if you guys and gals want something different but if you like things the way they are, I'm good with that too. This is your trail ride so let me know what you like and don't like.

I personally rather enjoy the disorganization of finding a group to go with whenever you are ready to ride. I would have liked to ride with the tank guys and gals as well as you and Jennifer at some point, but I'm not loosing sleep over missing you all on the trails. One big group ride would be cool to have. Kind of like when we did the big ride at Ashtabula that started by going around the track last year. I would suggest an after lunch ride rather than morning or evening. People tend to wake at all different times and some take time cooking while others like to hit the trails faster in the mornings. Although the night rides are my personal favorite rides to run, many members don't go on them all the time. Sometimes they are beat from the afternoon, sometimes they broke down and just don't want to go along, sometimes they clean up and decide to stay that way. That's just my 2 cents. I've ridden on the big groups before and I've been there for the more recent go when you feel like rides. Both ways have their advantages.

I think the option of an organized ride,or two,is a great idea. I suggest an early afternoon departure from camp as well as a time to head out for a large Sat nite ride. I've been to Busco twice. The first time I was just "in the right places at the right times" and did a LOT of riding (despite a half crippled machine,lol). My second trip was much less glamorous. I missed out on a large afternoon ride because I wasn't aware it was being organized and was fooling around with two of my tires (that could certainly have waited), I wasn't ready when the hat dropped for that one. I spent most of the remainder of the weekend milling around camp trying to get even a small ride together. I would have welcomed the thought that there are a few "specific" times to head out. I would have just kicked back and waited. Not that I mind chewin' the fat and sippin a cold with other members but after taking time off work and trailering (thru the mountains on I77) for 11 hrs, I want to ride,not BS.

I like at least one scheduled ride early afternoon. Smaller groups are more fun but its nice to all go out together as long as there are a few guides intermixed that know the trails and the general direction we are heading. I also like the idea of the dice runs they had at the Ledges. I think $5 a piece to join the dice run and the winner takes all would be a fun addition.

I think all good ideas, this past Busco was awesome, I tend to shy away from the real BIG rides because I can't stand stopping and talking about everything. Personally I like to ride and bs when back at camp.ive learned that a little communication will help you not miss rides... It's always a great time with good people... Norm

I would like to see one group ride as I enjoy watching how people attack the trails, if someone gets hung up try for a minute or two to get unstuck then suck it up get a pull and lets ride, maybe after a ride we could all get together and sit around and shoot the bull maybe have a pot luck dinner, all in all I love to ride. I have had a blast coming and hope to make some more

I feel like one big trial ride is always a good idea. Some like to break off into groups, but it's definitely cool to see everyone who was there riding in the videos and unfortunately that doesn't always happen. I love how unorganized Busco can get because it feels like you can just hop in and go at your own pace!

B

hey friends, i feel like one scheduled big ride made up of groups like mike said would be fun. maybe some head out in one direction, others the other way. we are bound to cross paths at some point. i was late heading out on the sat. afternoon ride, so headed out alone looking for them. never found them , but met up with mike, jennifer and friends and had a great time. seems there is almost always a group heading out. what if we had a central dry erase board posted and a short while before a group heads out, someone could write the time down when they are leaving. if you want to head out, just check to see whats scheduled or post your own ride with others thats coming up. how ever it works, it's still super fun . johnboy va.

Well I will also wade in on this one. When this started with about 6 people it was very easy to organize a ride, there were only 6 riders or so. As it grew, not so easy, but we had Race(Brian) to sound a air horn which meant 15 min until ride time. I think a board with some times for a ride would help for a more organized ride. Even if you do not want to go the direction of the group you will know at least when it is going. Some are working on their machines are caught off guard when the ride begins. The motto is everybody rides, if your machine is down there is a empty seat somewhere and all are welcome to come along or you can just take off on your on.

The board would help give some direction:

Ride time: 14:00hrs

Rally Point: Concession/Picnic area

Driver: Lewis &Peggy, Jim , Rick, Dan etc....

You just put your name on the board and ride when the time comes. This would help people schedule their tire checks, oil and water and fine tune or fix before the ride starts and you know how much time you have. Your lunch can be scheduled with the time of the rides so children can be feed, so on and so on. This in no way means you can not strike out on your own at any time. This just gives everyone a time frame for the rides. A ride could start every hour or every 2 hours I can get a big board with the dry erasers and it can be posted somewhere at the camp site. Same can be done for the night rides. Smaller groups seem to work well: 6 to 8 machines in the day time. Everyone seems to stay in one group for the night rides and that is understandable.
I a long time back would walk around and see if members were ready go but the group was small, then as we grew the air horn and now this seems a logical next step in evolution of this sport. Thanks Mike for bringing this up, I also heard some discussion on this topic.

Just my 2 cents.:)

I like the idea of a little structure during the rides. I personally would love to ride with everyone everytime that we go out, but the prolonged halts kind of kills me,, Im always anxious to go. I like the idea of the dry erase board with times and an air horn that will sound off 15 minutes prior to roll out. I remember when I first joined and attended a BB, It felt like the whole camp was riding at the same time, laughing, encouraging and challenging each other,,, it was fun. I personally don't like sitting in one area too long. i think that we should only stop long enough for everyone to tackle the obstacle at hand and to get a head count, and then we should be moving on to the next mud hole. Of all members, I know what it feels like to have an occasional break here and there. I suggest the division of smaller groups within the larger group would allow everyone to ride together without everyone waiting on mechanical failures here and there. Overall I agree with the suggestion that Lewis made. I ultimately love seeing the footage of others in the videos and of course of Karen and I when I first log on to the site. It would also be great for the newcomers to see themselves in the footage, it would really make them feel like they are welcomed. This could only happen unless there is an organized large group ride. Well this is only my two cents!

Thanks for all of the great input. If anyone else has a different opinion, don't be afraid to voice it here.

So far I think for the April ride, it sounds like we will start slow and try one scheduled, large group ride. We can set a time on Saturday for anyone that wants to go. The only thing I'm struggling with is going in the afternoon vs the morning. I understand that most of you go on the Friday night ride, stay out late and need to sleep in a little on Saturday and fix anything you broke the night before. That makes sense. I feel like it would be a lot easier to get everyone together in the morning vs the afternoon though. If we scheduled the ride for 10am, most people haven't gone out yet. However, if we do the afternoon ride, we would wait until after lunch so 1:00 or so? If so, we often lose track of time on the trails or get sidetracked fixing something, etc. Some people will still be riding, some will just have started fixing lunch.

If we did a morning ride, what time would work best for everyone?
If we did an afternoon ride, what time would work best?

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Originally Posted by fmints

I ultimately love seeing the footage of others in the videos and of course of Karen and I when I first log on to the site. It would also be great for the newcomers to see themselves in the footage, it would really make them feel like they are welcomed. This could only happen unless there is an organized large group ride. Well this is only my two cents!

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Fred, that is a great point and that's the biggest downside for me when we ride in smaller groups. I just don't get footage of everyone. I used to try so hard to get as many members in the video as I could but lately it's been a lot of video of a small handful of people that I end up riding with. I hope everyone understands that I'm not trying to purposefully leave anyone out or worse, show mainly video of Jennifer and I riding around. :)

B

Tried this 4 times and clock ate it each time so here's what you get.

11am 4-5 hour trail ride with planned lunch is much easier to manage. It's easier to deal with the inevitable stucks or breakdowns with 10 guys wanting to help than 10 guys holding flashlights. 30 machines at night can easily spread over 1/4 mile.
Seems any more than 15 machines on a night ride becomes unorganized.
My opinion,maybe wrong, but mine.

I like Lewis's idea's. The board could also share info,who's videoing on which ride,etc. I agree with Jim's summary of the larger night rides,perhaps 2 or 3 smaller groups could "schedule" for the night rides.

I love this group, and enjoy riding with all of you. It does suck to miss out on some of the rides and to not get to ride with each and everyone of you like Mike said to start with. I like the idea of one large group ride on Saturday. I would say Saturday morning around 10 would be ideal, you get enough time to sleep in and for those that got maintenance issues, you get sometime in the morning to work on things. The afternoon brings heat and with some of us driving from long distances away, a nap would do the body good.

I am an early riser (6 or 7) and would gladly help anyone that has issues in the early morning. Lewis' idea with the dry erease board is great. You could post Start time, who's leading and those in that group. I would also add in trail/direction you are going because if there are some that can't leave at that time they might know the trails well enough to catch up. This would even be good for smaller group rides if they wanted to post what time and direction they headed out in just in case others wanted to catch up and join them.

I will say one of the great meeting spots on the trail is where we met up this last ride by the bridge (the one I was stuck under) that is right next to that one open area that everyone gets stuck in where Jim was up to his knees in on the night ride. Also for a large group ride it would be cool for those of us that have ants in our pants to scout ahead for nice mud holes or obstcales for the group to go though along with by-passes for the new riders and then double back for the group. That way you are still moving instead of sitting for a long time. When it comes to smaller groups I know some just like to ride, some like the mud, some like the swamps, and others don't care but if it is posted where you are doing, it might attacked others that want to join. Just wanted to add my thoughts.

I like the 10:30 to 11:00 start time for the day group ride on Saturday and as Jim said 30 machines at night is a bit much the ride gets lost in the translation. There is very little to video in the dark except the occasional "did you see that" item. Saturdays are when all are on site and wanting to ride with each other. With at least one structured ride I think it would fit what we are looking for as far as the group ride. Fridays we can still use the same tactic for a ride or two. A little structure is good. The board could be used for many things to help make the event more fun for all. I think one thing that I miss was in the evening all the (guys and ladies) would sit down with something that they prepared and we all ate together and fellowshipped. Will this work now, don't know with such a large group, but it sure was fun. I know you members that travel very far want to get as much stick time on the trails as possible with a balance of fellowshipping with the members= Putting names to faces is always nice. I look forward to each ride with the group and come away with NEW great memories for the scrap book.

Just my 2 pennies.:wavey:

One of the many factors in us not attending the Busco rides over the last few years is how little riding we actually get to do for the money we spend. Back when there were 6-15 of us attending we covered a ton of ground in a weekend, and still managed a ton of socialization. The last several rides have been an exercise in trying to plan a ride without leaving people behind and instead of social time, running camp to camp to plan. The second factor actually pertaining to the ride is that when I show up, I am usually expected to lead. I don't mind doing it some, and almost always can find camp if we get lost but I would like to ride back in the pack and actually see what other people are doing sometimes.

I for one am not a fan of "the big ride" although I would gladly participate (not lead) in a 10am Saturday ride. I would also be willing to lead one ride per day and I'm sure my wife would ride back of the pack to make sure no one gets left. Along with a dry erase board with times, we could laminate a google earth map of the park and # zones on the map to indicate general direction the ride is headed. Then on the dry erase board, mark a leader, a zone, 10 empty sign up slots and a tail rider. Fill in your name and show up if you want to go. This would have to come with the understanding that if the posted leader mangles a machine or is having an epic time on a 10 am ride, someone else has to step up.

Racerone3. 2pm saturday Zone 6 (swamp behind camp). Racerone3sgirl
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Those who don't want any structure, don't sign up for rides and do your own thing.

This does nothing to address the issue of not getting to ride with everyone, but as the event continues to grow that has gone from hard to nearly impossible.

My 2¢

There are lots of free "find my friends" apps out there that run off GPS coordinates and show you everyone on a map on your smartphone. It would be nice to find a good one and designate it the official one for the ride. That way you would know if someone was left behind or be able to join up with a ride in progress. Sounds good in theory at least.

Race good to hear from you again. I was thinking the same thing about the laminated map. Several of the regulars could do the recon and mark some routes on the map. I think that a lot are worried about not being able to find their way back or worry about a mechanical problem and return to camp machine left in woods. This is not the case as far as i know everyone has made it back in some form or fashion. I don't mind leading either but do not want to do it all the time. I do not always go through all the mud holes but do not mind to stop and smell the mud if members want to jump in. There is no really getting lost unless you cross the road or river you can only be detained or misdirected internally in the park. I don't do as much night riding due to vision but will go time to time. Our one landmark for night rides is the lite tower but sometimes it is obscured by the trees but you will pop out somewhere on a main trail head and be good to go. I have a lead foot if i am in front a lot of times and like to haul butt in the trails when i get a chance:laugh:but i will not leave anyone behind. The wife and i plan to make a trip or two to Busco for a day ride and can do a little trail marking prior to the end of the year.

:top:

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Originally Posted by MAX IV Mark

There are lots of free "find my friends" apps out there that run off GPS coordinates and show you everyone on a map on your smartphone. It would be nice to find a good one and designate it the official one for the ride. That way you would know if someone was left behind or be able to join up with a ride in progress. Sounds good in theory at least.

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Great Idea Mark,, I like it!!!!

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Originally Posted by fmints

Great Idea Mark,, I like it!!!!

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He stole that idea from swift. Swift puts those apps on all his lady friends phones to make sure he is at least 1 mile away when 2 of them intersect.

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Originally Posted by amphibious drew

He stole that idea from swift. Swift puts those apps on all his lady friends phones to make sure he is at least 1 mile away when 2 of them intersect.

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Swift is a smart dude!! Very clever!!

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Originally Posted by amphibious drew

He stole that idea from swift. Swift puts those apps on all his lady friends phones to make sure he is at least 1 mile away when 2 of them intersect.

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Back in the good old mid 70's,my friend and I were sitting on his parents front porch when a group of about 20 girls came around the corner with a piece of rope terminated in a very interesting looking loop. They all had 2 things in common.
1. Find Bobby Kimble
2. Use the piece of rope
Bobby could've used a cell phone with some clever apps back then!!

I'll leave this thread alone now :)

Race glad to hear from you. Miss yall once again. I aggree with you about not leading all the time. I don't mind doing it but I also like being in the middle or back to enjoy the mud. I was just thinking this morning about using Google Earth to mark the trails I know on a map and to post once there at Busco so others can mark trails they are going on in case others want to join. There is a plenty of area to cover and I am sure everyone wants to cover as much as they can. I like the idea of a gps link/app that we could use to follow or catch up with a group. I am not that tech smart but I am sure someone here is.

I'm DUMBER THAN A ROCK

Ok ok I'll lead, but I don't know where I'm going, that has not stop me before!

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Originally Posted by Shawn H

Ok ok I'll lead, but I don't know where I'm going, that has not stop me before!

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Perfect! 6 years ago none of us knew where we were going.

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Originally Posted by racerone3

Perfect! 6 years ago none of us knew where we were going.

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Sometimes the best rides happen by mistake. Knowing where you're going only matters when trying to get back to camp.

hey guy's , this is going great !! sounds like by the time april comes we will have this down to a science. and we have all winter to fine tune it. fun for sure.
and if we can get don and his boys to show, who know's how it will turn out. johnboy va.

Being in the back can be exhausting though....and dusty.

Hey Lewis, I wanted to tell you that we had a great time riding this year. I also had fun talking about the marines with you. My girlfriend Amy had a blast and said she definitely wants to return in the spring. When you get a chance could you send me the info for the guy in NC that works on the Argos. I want to get mine up there and have it serviced and looked over before the next ride. I hope all is well with you and the wife. And we look forward to seeing you next ride.

Well I wanted that post to go to Lewis but it posted on the board. Sorry about that. I feel that busco is perfect the way it is. Little rides are great and one big ride would be great.

The guy you're looking for is Ken Bost at Bost Argo in Rockwell NC. 704-279-5736

Thanks John, Peggy and I had a great time and it was great to meet Amy and all the children. I can always sit down and talk with a fellow Marine, that is just the way we roll. Race gave you Ken's number and he is great and will get you all squared away. I look forward to seeing you guys at the next ride, good to see you back riding with us again.

Semper Fi
Lewis