in which i do something ... a little bit dusty

and it was awesome

last week i got to ride along during the annual crawl for the cure event held at the iron range state recreation area in gilbert, minnesota. not gonna lie ... it was pretty awesome. the crawl for the cure is a charitable event where off-road vehicle folks raise money for the national multiple sclerosis society, the minnesota chapter. riders spend two days exploring the park with guided trail rides. saturday, i was able to tag along as a photographer.

a few things i learned during my short introduction into the world of off-road vehicle riding. 1 - everything you learn when you're a new driver at 16 does not apply. 2 - if that rock is bigger than your tires, drive over it. 3 - if your truck starts making funny/scraping/rattling sounds, it's probably okay. 4 - you can still plow ahead on the trail without actually seeing the trail. 5 - mud = good. 6 - rocks = good. 7 - hills = good.

our first ride of the morning was along ted's revenge (named after an old miner's helmet that was found by the crew digging the trail). tim hopped out to spot jamie as she drove. here's a snippet of the directions and ongoing commentary that tim gave jamie ...

go back a little more

give it the onion

should be able to ride outta it

back up again

hold on right there

back down a bit more

maybe give it a different line

little more

cut her that way now

back up a little more

hold on

cut her the other way

fast

hard right

go

go

go

go

wha???? 

if there's one thing that resonated with me the most after spending a day with this off-road gang ... it's ridiculous ... these guys are just ridiculous!!


ps - sounds like crawl for the cure raised over $105,000 dollars this year!!