Looking for recommendations near SE Portland OR

[2smokebloke]

Hey thumpertalk! Thanks for having me! First post cherry right here. I learned a manual transmission by learning how to hide an old Kawasaki trail bike from the late 70s or early 80s when I was about twelve years old, back in 2002 (my memory was hazy it was probably an 80cc). My buddy's parents owned 40 acres of hunting land in Wisconsin with trails all over the place that we used to rip up on quads and other toys. Needless to say we were unsupervised adolescents who occasionally overshot our skill level. I remember once a friend taking the dirtbike out and the rest of us waiting for him to return from his lap when we began to think it was taking too long. A few of us jumped on quads and raced out to find him at the turn around spot pulling the bike out of the creek... lol! I suppose my point here is I've got fond memories riding two motorized wheels. ?

fast forward to autumn of 2016 living outside of Rocky Mountain national park in Colorado. I found myself itching to ride again and spontaneously looked up a place out of Estes park that rented all types of motorized death machines. I booked myself a yz230f and my roommate who had ridden and was fairly comfortable (definitely more than I was!) a crf125. We tore through those Rocky Mountain washed out forest roads and had a blast. The trail was plenty wide but the boulders posed some good challenges for me, not having ridden in a while, probably going on fifteen years. I was stoked. As our rental session came to a close I told the dude working the show I'd really like to ride the Ktm 250 xc next time. They told me to take it for a quick down and back and I guess I showed them I had enough control that they gave me the green light. 

Needless to say next time out was SO MUCH FUN. I was hooked on two strokes and the two fifty would one day be mine. 

Couple weeks ago I got a bike on Craigslist and got to ride it the very day I got it. Went up to browns camp and tore up some single track as well as some loose gravelly fun-speed roads. I'm learning how to control my balance and I think the right word is roost through corners. I'm a fast learner and I'm always looking for new tips and tricks. Also have plans of learning my engine inside and out. Maybe you guys here on thumpertalk will be my savior in times of motor trouble. ? 

my goal in writing this post is to introduce myself, maybe get some good recommendations on where to ride near Portland, or perhaps meet some new buddies to ride with, perhaps coach me a bit on some technique as I continue learning and becoming a better rider. I'm looking to go a couple more times this year and definitely need more friends who share my hobby. Buddy system people!

so yeah. Thanks for taking the time to read my post! Hope your week goes well! Feel free to pm me if you want to link up on the track/trail.

-andy

1989 YZ250WR

 

[dusty8474]

My favorite trailhead would definitely be diamond mill. There's tons of gnarly single track and some nice trails that flow really well. I'm fairly new to dirtbikes having only ridden since 2013 or 2014. I'm also new to Oregon but I'm loving it so far and am also always looking for new places to ride and people to ride with.

[trackmaster]

My ktm buddies always tell me to go fast and take chances! I must be a huge disappointment to them.

[2smokebloke]

I'm headed to browns camp today anyone else?

[irme42day]

You could try North West Arizona.

[2smokebloke]

That looks great.