Clayton Dual Sport Ride Oct 7-11 2021

James Pratt September 20, 2021
1 Comment

After a 5-year hiatus, our 15th annual Clayton dual sport ride is back. Once again we are camping at Clayton Lake State Park and riding the Weyerhouser timberland of the southeast Oklahoma Kiamichi mountains. For more details of the ride and the permits needed, click the link below:

Clayton Dual Sport Ride 2021

Camping is at Clayton Lake State Park. Each morning you will wake up thinking you are camped in the Colorado mountains.
Ride the infamous K-Trail, which runs from Clayton to Mena along the spine of the Kiamichi Mountains. While much of the ride can be done on most any dual-sport motorcycle, big adventure bikes are NOT recommended on the first 20 miles east of Clayton.
Expect several water crossings if conditions are wet.
My wife Kay Pratt rides her Honda CRF-230L across a stream near Honobia.
We always have several women who ride each year. As you can see, body armor is highly recommended. It is ROCKY in the Kiamichi mountains and some of the trails are pretty rugged. It is mostly 2-track riding, but some of the trails are washed out and rough. The scenery is stunning.
The bridge in the background over the Little River has been washed out for years. If the water is low we can ride around the bridge through a boulder field, but it is pretty rough, like riding observed trials.
You need to have the tools and skills to change your own flat tire on the trail, and do minor bike repairs if necessary. Flat tires are pretty common because of the rocks. I recommend running higher-than-normal tire pressure to protect from pinch flats from all the sharp-edged rocks.
There will be some tracks that bigger adventure bikes can follow, but for the most fun and flexibility, I recommend riding a street-legal dual sport dirt bike, aka “skinny bike”. We have had a lot of KLR’s and DR-650’s ride with us over the years, but it is much more fun and less work if you are on a smaller bike. Some years we have bigger bikes like GS’s attend, but they typically will ride some of the easier routes. Smaller bikes mean you seldom have to turn around, fall down, pick up your bike, or take an alternate route – aka more fun.
Categories: News
James Pratt
I am an Oklahoma based writer, photographer, videographer and adventurer. I love telling stories about people. A motorcycle is my preferred means of travel, and I have over 5,000 hours piloting small airplanes.

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Responses

  1. Scott Kirkpatrick October 10, 2021

    Hey James it’s #CHonda guy… would love to have copies of photos and videos from the epic ride this weekend! Good times, makin memories 👍🏼

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