CDT Summary and Outtakes

Our total "on trail" mileage for the trip was 2,725 miles. We did the trip in eleven riding days, which in hindsight was a bit aggressive. Adding a day or two of riding to the agenda would make for a more relaxing trip.

We all enjoyed the diversity of terrain we traversed and the fact that we did it on 450 - 500 cc dirt bikes.

For tires, we recommend running the Pirelli MT43 DOT Trials tire front and rear. We all had these on the rear and they worked great and lasted the entire trip. If the weather in the Southern section of the route is projected to be wet, you may want to opt for a knobby. On the front we ran the Pirelli Scorpion Pro as well as the MT43. Both worked well, though we favored the MT43 for the route.

Now that we are done riding and mothers and wives are no longer worried, here are some outtakes from our ride. Ed won the prize for most crashes, though we all had a couple minor spills and tip-overs along the way.

The following link will take you to a picture show featuring nearly all of our pictures from the trip (16 minute duration)

Here are some outtake pictures:

First injury - pinched pinky from a tire pump. Notice the cleanliness of the nurse's hands :)

Tommy tip-over. I pulled up to park, put my foot down, and found the road height was much lower than I anticipated. Over I went.

This was a very difficult section were we had to drive in the forest to get around a bunch of downed trees. We all had tip-overs in this area.

This was in a section of New Mexico that we went through after a morning storm. This was a slow speed crash where I came around a corner and found that the road within my path was not there. Nothing I could do, but brake really hard. No harm; me and the bike were fine, mainly due to the soft sand.

Rain water had eroded this section of road significantly. I was not looking for this particular hazard and did not see it until it was too late.