We have this local trail we call "The River Trail" which is a good mix of mud and technical riding through the woods down by the river. (There are no vans down by this river :)) There is one section that is washed out going up a fairly steep hill. Now, 5 minutes earlier I went up and down a hill that was steeper than this one, but this one requires a 45 degree right turn part way up to go around the worst part of the wash out. The last two times I have either gone up or down this section, I have scraped the heck out or torn off my fenders. This hill is my nemesis.
Ok, we pull up to the base and I tell the guy following me we need to stay to the right, so here we go. I hit the hill kind of half ass until I make the turn and I hit the throttle. All seems fine until I get hung up on some exposed roots and stall out. No problem, I’ll just let off the brake and let the engine braking ease me back down. Only problem with this, I was still in low and there was no engine braking! It took about two seconds to realize that I was in trouble and started riding the front brake. I had to make that same turn careening down the hill that I made going up, but it’s off camber and I was going to fast so I blipped the rear brake a couple times. Tires grabbed just enough to throw me to the right and over she went. It was a slow motion roll and I nearly saved it, but luck was not on my side today. My 2up seat slowed the roll enough that I was able to stop it upside down before it made another 10 or so rolls down the rest of the hill. A couple seconds later the engine cut out with me on my ass and my Grizzly upside down.
Luckily the only damage was bent handlebars a shifter that’s hard to throw and some oil that ran out by my display. I should have taken a picture so I could join the GROC club, but I was a bit shaken by the whole ordeal and was concerned about damage to my machine.
We got the Griz righted, I did a quick walk around and bent the handlebars back up. I took off back up that hill with a full head of steam and didn’t let off until I was at the crest. The rest of the ride was uneventful.
After analyzing the ordeal, I settled on two main factors.
1. I wrongly assumed I would hold traction up that hill and went into it slower than I should have.
2. I wrongly assumed I would have engine braking when I backed back down the hill in Low gear.
Had I either hit the hill faster or hit my brakes as soon as I got hung up, I would have been alright.
Oh well, it could have been worse.
