2003-02

Solihull Society Land Rover Club of Colorado - Volume 2, 2003

Flat Iron Mesa White Rim Trail National Rally Update Chinaman’s Gulch Trip Basic Wheel Measurements Adventrue Team Challenge Bill Burke Training Weekend

On The Road…Moab - September 9th & 10th Bill Burke’s 4-Wheeling America 970-858-3468 bb4wa@bb4wa.comwww.bb4wa.com Personalized customer service that only a small business can offer!

We hold BLM & USFS permits to operate on public lands.

“After having worked with many of the LRNA corp. guys and other instructors, Bill... you are a refreshing and much more knowledgeable break from the normal instructor. Your type of real world instruction and hands-on approach really works and is by far the best I have seen to date.“ (Mike Smith, East Coast Rover, On the Road...Maine, 9/02)

Denver-Area Class 4WD ClassMay 17 Trail Leader Training Learn responsible trail leading skills.

Industrial, Government & Military Training Programs “...one of the most popular classes we present.” (Dee Lucas, USGS, ’02)

Private Instruction One-on-one driver training with Bill Burke.

Guided Back Country Trips The “Bill Burke Experience” — safety, assistance on the trail and a great time!

Club Guiding Special discounts for basic guiding in Colorado and Moab.

“I am so pleased I chose Bill as the trainer. There are severalothers (including some that work for LR), but I think Bill is headand shoulders above the rest, the real “Rover Guru. ...Bill really went the extra mile for us...” (Michael Sewell, On the Road…NorCal Rovers, 6/02)

Modifications We can customize your Rover with trail-ready accessories!

D-90 Rock Sliders – Custom-made by Bill. None stronger!

Solihull Society News THE PRESIDENT’S REPORT FROM THE FRONT SEAT OF A ’97 DEFENDER We have had several club meetings and officers meeting since the first of the year. We have made some changes and I will explain the logic for those changes

PO Box 480864 Denver, CO 80248–0864 The Solihull Society is a Land Rover club (Land Rover, Range Rover, Defender, Discovery) serving Colorado and the USA. Membership is open to all Rover enthusiasts.

Annual Dues are $60 and include 4 issues of the newsletter

1. DUES - The dues have been raised from $30.00 to $40.00 and we have added a $20.00 membership fee to the Colorado Four Wheel Drive Association, for a total of $60.00. The Co Four Wheel Drive Association is recognized as the preeminent Four Wheel Drive Association in the U.S. I believe because we are in Colorado, which has so many trails everyone looks to Colorado Four Wheel Drive Association for leadership. The vast majority of the membership fee goes to fight Federal Rules and Regulations that are being used to try and close trails. I believe we need to do everything we can to keep the trails open. Once they are able to succeed and close the trails it will be just a matter of time until they close trails in all National Forests and BLM Lands.

2.

DIFFICULTY OF TRAILS - We have had complaints in the past that we only run difficult trails. We are going to start having two trails in the same area so people can do hard trails or medium to easy trails if they want. By being in the same area if there is no interest in one of the trails the trail leader can join the other group. We have more and different trail leaders than we had last year. We are also encouraging them to email or set up dialog on the forum section of our web site so as to gauge interest and confirm the running of the trails. That way prior to the running of the trails they will have an idea of the interest.

3.

ADOPT A TRAIL – Once we become a member of the Four Wheel Drive Club we will be required to Adopt a Trail. They are sending me the requirements. Once we understand the amount of the work and the time requirements we are then going to pick a trail. We may pick two trails. In the preliminary discussions, we have talked about doing an intermediate trail such as Mosquito Pass Trail. We have made no decisions and we are welcoming input from all club members.

4.

NATIONAL RALLY – The National Rally will be held in Moab this year. It will be run similar to what was done last year.

We will not have a wine tasting night but we will have an opening night social hour, a vendor night and a map orientation night. Last year we spent $2,500.00 more than we took in. We have therefore had to raise our registration fees to cover costs.

Fees for Non-Member driver and vehicle is $150.00; fees for Member driver and vehicle is $125.00, passengers will pay $75.00 each. The club website now holds a preliminary schedule of events for the Rally, a copy of whick appears on the next page.

Please check it out and committ early to the event.

Solihull Society Magazine Copyright 2003 by Solihull Society President – Pat Bickford pbickford@ai–colorado.com Vice President – Mark Stolte marks@alliancecp.com Vice President – Larry Grubbs lwgrubbs@us.ibm.com Events Coordinator I – Ali Vali avali@mho.com Events Coordinator II – Jim Hall jimfoo@purplemountain.net Events Coordinator III – Ralph Brandt rnbrandt@earthlink.net Treasurer – Pam Haigh chaigh@boulder.net Secretary – John Alden JAlden@SpaceImaging.com Membership – Tim & Colleen Clair tclair@gowebway.com Newsletter Editor – Norman Hall norman_p_hall@hotmail.com Webmaster – David Nowakowski

I look forward to seeing everyone on the trails both easy and hard.

Good Wheeling Pat Bickford

3

2003 National Land Rover Rally Preliminary Schedule:Wednesday, September 10th - Drivers Registration and Welcoming Party Thursday, September 11th - Day: Trails; Evening: Navigation Trials Event Friday, September 12th - Day: Trails; Evening: Vendor Display Night Saturday, September 13th - Day: Trails; Evening: Awards Banquet For those planning to attend: 4-Wheeling America will hold a 2-day driver training event, On the Road...Moab, September 9 and 10 for those who will be attending the Rally and want to take driver training with Bill Burke before the Rally. For details, go to http:// www.bb4wa.com/training/group.htm

Colorado’s Premier Land Rover Club PO Box 480864, Denver Co 80248-0864 Application For Membership Names: _______________________________________________________ Address: ______________________________________________________ City,, State, Zip Code: ___________________________________________ Phone Number: _________________________________________________ Email Address: _________________________________________________ Land Rovers owned: _____________________________________________ Occupation: ____________________________________________________ What can you do for the club?: _____________________________________ ________________________________ __________________________ Signature Date Please photocopy and then completely fill out the above information and mail the form along with membership dues [$60 per year] to the above mentioned address.

Accepted by:

White Rim Trail March 14th – 17th, 2003

Day 1

Having completed the required paperwork and securing our permit at the Island in the Sky Visitor Center, we enthusiastically embarked on our adventure. We rapidly During the past 15 or sop years I have been escaping to descended from the mesa’s 5,920 foot elevation trough the Moab Utah for various outdoor recreational activities. switchbacks on Shafer Trail, following the route partially Initially I was attracted to the desert area for mountain used by outlaws and cattle rustlers. As we approached the biking, hiking and camping. However more recently 4 beginning of White Rim Trail, we have already covered 6.5 Wheeling and exploring trails around Moab with friends in miles and approximately 1,440 feet of vertical downhill. the Solihull Society has been the draw, almost exclusively For the next 12 miles we passed scenic overlooks to the until this Spring.

Colorado River, La Sale Mountains, spectacular arches and rock formations before reaching our campsite at Airport One of my ambitions has been to mountain bike the isolated Tower [mile 18.3]. Gusty winds prevented one tent from White Rim Trail, the quintessential wilderness bike trip. being used that night, but we anxiously settled in for the night after a hot meal and a few beverages to ease any John Wesley Powell describes the area as “a wilderness of soreness form the saddle. rocks, deep gorges where rivers are lost below cliffs and pinnacles and 10,000 strangely carved forms in every direction and beyond them mountains blending in with Day 2 clouds”.

By Mark Stolte

White Rim Trail requires a back country permit. Thanks to Sean Gorman and Jeff Nelson’s preplanning and early request for campsites form Canyon lands National Park Recreation Office, the trip to White Rim Trail was arranged. The desert loop covers close to 100 miles, so the plan was to break up the mountain bike ride over 4 days, camp at permitted sites and rely on the venerable Range Rover as support vehicle transporting water, food, supplies and camping equipment.

Trip Participants:Sean Gorman Age 26 – Designated Support Driver Jeff Nelson – Age 31 Dan Karlwen – Age 46 Mark Stolte – Age 44

Mark Stolte Ready to Ride

After a good night’s sleep, and well rested body parts, the three of us biking were ready to take on the new day, a relatively flat route meandering approximately 26 miles along the White Rim Sandstone Layer. During the days journey we passed several scenic overlook detours but decided to only take a look at the White Crack Camp which offered a modest climb to an elevation of 5,200 feet. The overlook form the White Crack Camp area provided panoramic views of the Maze district and several Buttes to the West as well as the views toward the Green River Canyons. Tempting as it may be, visitors are discouraged form sending pot shards and rock clippings form the projectile points as archeologists need as much undisturbed evidence as possible to fully analyze the area.

With little or no mechanical failures we completed crossing the Murphy Wash and reached Murphy Camp [mile 44.1 at 5,200 feet elevation] situated high above the canyons below. As luck would have it the weather turned nasty with gusty winds and rain. We found limited shelter amongst a couple of lonesome bushes and the ledges of the Murphy Hogback. Shortly after dark the winds subsided providing a window of opportunity to boil up a pot of Torrillinni, sauté some tofu, heat up some bread, toss a green salad and enjoy our beverages or two with the group around a lantern as open wood fires were not permitted at the campsites.

Range Rover Support Vehicle on White Rim

Day 3 The morning was damp, breezy with a bit of a chill in the air. The weather appeared it may play a role in the day’s 20 mile journey to Potato Button Camp. Intermittent showers, sunshine and tail winds allowed us to make good time wit the rain evaporating almost immediately. It was apparent we were also loosing altitude as the trail drops eventually down to the Green River, which is where our group was permitted to camp. With plenty of daylight remaining, even after setting up an elaborate campsite [3 tents] and unloading most of the camping gear [coolers, tarps, folding chairs and table etc] from the Range Rover LWB, we decided to explore the Fort Bottom Trail. Sean elected to tackle the trail on foot with hiking poles in hand. The rest of us who had just completed 70 miles of biking elected to enjoy the comforts of Jeff’s LWB to propel us up the beginning of Hardscrabble Hill to the start of the footpath leading to the Fort Bottom Ruin, believed to be of Ancestral Puebloan origin. After a brief hike we approached the two storey tower [or whatever it was] which is the most interesting of the remaining stone structures situated on top of a knoll overlooking the Green River. Once back at camp, we prepared a hearty meal consisting of Cajun rice, tortillas, grilled elk sausage and whatever other food we had remaining to eat as this was the last night planned on the White Rim Trail. Once again the barometer was dropping, the air was cooling and the rain began to saturate the silty and clay soils at our camp.

A view of the Rim

Day 4

We awoke to the heavy rain and thick clouds layered through the valley. Puddles had formed around our tents and mud was collecting on any surface that came in contact with it. Today would prove the most challenging since we had to ascend Hardscrabble Hill through the sediments of chocolate brown silts, clays and volcanic ash which formed the base of the road we used to traverse the canyon walls above upheaval Canyon. We had been warned to approach this section of the trail with caution especially after a rainstorm. After breaking down camp and packing our gear into the Rangie LWB, we realized the rain was not letting up and we were going nowhere given the saturated trail conditions. Consequently we took shelter under a nylon tarp waiting for a break in the clouds.

weather broke and we decided to attempt the ascent in Hardscrabble Hill in the stock Range Rover LWB equipped only with traction control. The Rangie was packed to the gills with equipment and passengers along with mountain Bikes mounted to the roof rack. Sean remained in the driver’s seat and proceeded cautiously up the steep canyon trail. What appeared the afternoon before as slippery trail conditions had now changed into a nasty greasy trail.

Until now the Rangie’s stock tires with marginal tread depth were more than adequate, understanding momentum is your friend when driving in mud. But given the trails narrow width and numerous switchbacks along with exposure to the canyon below, there was a fine line between successfully clawing up the treacherous trail and What these poor guys faced. getting stuck, or even worse, loosing traction completely We discussed several options but decided we would wait and sliding either into the canyon wall or over the exposed side. Understanding the consequences, only Sean and I until 11.00 am before doing anything, hoping the clouds remained in the vehicle as the trail became increasingly would lift and the rain would subside allowing the trail surface to firm up a bit before attempting the steep ascent. more interesting. As this point, it is clearly evident that the It was becoming apparent to some of us that we would be electronic traction control was engaging and disengaging. abandoning the last 30 mile leg of our Mountain Bike trip. There were a couple of tense moments when the vehicle Our choices were either to hike out the trail or rely on the could have altered it’s own path and followed the ruts Land Rover to complete the trip. Shortly after 11.30 am the already laid in the trail and slid against the side of the canyon wall, but thankfully today was not going to take us

in that direction. To Sean’s credit and deliberate driving skills, we reached the top of the mesa without incises=dent or damage to the Classic Range Rover. To our satisfaction White Rim Trail proved to be an exceptional early spring mountain bike trial expedition. Members of this group are already preparing for another adventure this fall.

The End of the Trail

TRIP REPORT FOR BILL BURKE TRAINING – PRESIDENT’S DAY WEEKEND

We stayed at the Bowen Motel for $29.00 per night. Mark was happy because he was also able to wash his car.

By Pat Bickford The training was to take place on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and half day Monday. Mark Stolte, Larry Grubbs and Pat Bickford met in Denver and drove to Moab together. We stopped at Bill Burke’s home to pick up Pat’s Defender.

Upon our arrival, Bill suggested that we take a shortcut to go in from Frisco to the Dewey Bridge and he would lead us through that. He did not think to tell us that we would be driving in wet Bentonite soil. This is some of the slipperiest stuff you will find. The shortcut was the old wagon trail. It took approximately 100 feet off the trip. It was very interesting sliding on the edges of the ravines and washes not sure if you would be on the top or the bottom of these washes. The most upset person in this whole adventure was Mark Stolte; he kept trying to figure out how to keep the mud off his vehicle. I don’t think Mark’s vehicle has seen that much mud in its entire lifetime. Once we got over the shortcut and back on the pavement, we had to watch out for Larry Grubbs car, his car looked like an elephant making dumps along the way; he had so much mud on it. We had to go around him so as not to lose windshields. We all made it to Moab.

Day 1 - Golden Spike Trip Participants: Mark Stolte 1995 D 90 Mark Handlovitch 2000 Jeep Larry Grubbs Norman Hall 1990 Range Rover Tom Cryer Sean Gorman

On day one we decided to do an easier trail so as to refamiliarize ourselves with our vehicles since most of us had not been off road in four or five months. Tom Crier and his son were along in a stock Discovery. They were looking for some fun. Before lunch, we covered the usual obstacles the Wedgie, the Waterfall, Launch Pad, and Skyline Drive. We had lunch at the canyon rim overlooking xxxxx. We proceeded through all those obstacles with no damage and little effort. In the afternoon, we did Golden Crack, Golden Stair, Body Snatcher and Gold Bar Rim. During the afternoon Tom Crier had a fuel problem with his Disco that would starve his car for fuel whenever he tried to go up any incline. We kept his car running and he was able to go out on his own power. Mark Handlovich and Larry Grubbs had to take their obligatory attempts at Double Whammy.

Neither was successful. We had dinner at Eddie McStiff’s.

Tom Cryer’s son drove about half of the obstacles and looks like a future member of the Solihull Society.

We proceeded uneventfully until we were to climb what looked like an easy piece of slip rock. Mark’s Jeep did not agree with that assessment. He ended up stripping all the gears in his rear Dana Forty. Bill Burke and Mark started disassembling his rear differential so as not to do any more damage than had already been done. The rest of us went around him to clear the last obstacle before White-Knuckle Hill. This last obstacle provided several interesting moments. Our friend Mark Stolte going up the obstacle banged one of his protection plates into a rock. Not realizing it was a protection plate and, not part of his car, he became quite agitated and used language I had not heard before, or since. Dave Lucas climbing the same obstacle not wearing a seat belt was almost ejected from the car. His right shoulder caught the upper part of the window and he was prevented from being ejected. By the time the rest of us made it through this obstacle, Mark‘s jeep was again moving. However, he was operating with front wheel drive.

By the time we had finished this latest episode, it was now too dark to do White- Knuckle Hill. We had dinner at Zak’s Pizza that evening.

Day 2 - Behind the Rocks Trip Participants: We had the usual cast of characters, except that Dave Lucas and his wife; Tammy replaced Tom Day 3 - Pritchard Canyon Cryer and his son.

Trip Participants: Fewer vehicles, more riders. Mark Stolte, Dave Lucas and his wife met us for breakfast at the Moab Shaun Gorman, Pat Bickford and Larry Grubbs.

Diner and discussed the possibility of driving with us that day. We told them we were doing Behind the Rocks and they were welcome to come. Dave wasn’t so sure but his wife carried the day and convinced him they should do it.

They did very well that day. In the morning, we did the Tiptoe Behind the Rocks portion, High Dive, Upchuck and continued on toward White-Knuckle Hill. We decided to go up it, rather than down, so we took the trail that leads by the end of Pritchard Canyon and then goes up Hunter Canyon to reach White Knuckle Hill.

Pritchard Canyon is always a fun trip. Mark Stolte was selected by Bill Burke to be our leader. The first obstacle was Commitment Hill. Mark decided to take an unconventional line. After completing this trip down the hill Mark was white and it took him about four hours to get his color back. He showed us how to do two wheeled bumps.

After that, it was pretty uneventful until we got to some potholes just before Rocker Knocker. We were alternately practicing guiding and, we guided Larry a little off the desired line. He was at an angle of greater than 50 degrees

but prevented from going over by a rock in his rear quarter panel. The look on Larry’s face showed that he did not Pat Bickford who had done pretty well during the previous appreciate this or, the pictures being taken. three days ran into a couple of problems this day. But thanks to the expert spotting of Norman Hall, the mad We then continued on to Rocker Knocker where we had a Aussie, he was able to get Pat through this trail. After 50% success rate. Shawn Gorman and Pat Bickford made it completing the trail we all met back at the Bowen Motel over the obstacle. After Rocker Knocker we had lunch. We and started returning to civilization. then proceeded to go the rest of the way through Pritchard Canyon. We got to practice our winching techniques going over the Rock Pile. When we finished Pritchard Canyon, it was still early so we decided that today was the day to do White-Knuckle Hill. We all proceeded through Hunter Canyon to White Knuckle Hill. Pat Bickford was the first and, literally leapt up the obstacle. He looked like a pouncing frog. Shaun Gorman drove up very smoothly and made it look like a piece of cake. We got to practice our winching techniques with the other two. After completing White Knuckle Hill we continued on to the sand dunes. We met our previous compatriots Tom Crier, his son and Dave Lucas and his wife at the dunes. The most awe-inspiring sight was seeing Tom Cryer’s Disco totally airborne above In Summary: the sand dunes. We then went to Buck’s Grill House for dinner. Bill Burke presented awards and we all went home The Best Driver: Shaun Gorman in spite of being in a after a very satisfying day of learning and practicing. diesel, he drove most obstacles effortlessly and made it look simple.

Day 4 – Lower Helldorado Trip Participants: Pat Bickford, Mark Stolte, Shaun Gorman On our last day we decided to do a short trail so that we could get out by noon so that Pat could fly to St. Louis on business and, the rest of the guys make it home at a decent hour.

The Cleanest Car: Mark Stolte’s white Defender never seemed to get dirty; it was cleaned & polished every day.

Instruction: The object of these days was to learn to be better trail leaders, learn to be leaders, learn how to handle difficult situations and, to be prepared for almost anything.

Bill Burke did this in an excellent manner. He got us through all the obstacles, instructed all of us on how to be leaders, taught us all to practice our spotting skills and, helped us all to be better drivers. It was four days well spent.

disassembled and reassembled the entire vehicle. Craig [too many Davises, Craig?] Davis in his ’96 Disco. His wife had to work or we would have had another Davis driving a disco. Rich Dekkard in a sputtering ’97 Disco. Blamed the altitude. Ed Aldrich in a Vermont rusted ’88 Rangie with Vermont plates. Ralph Bradt in his African safari Series with the appropriate roll up soft top. Dan & Karen in a ’99 J**p TJ. Karen got to drive also. Charlie Haigh designated spotter, sans vehicle. Hans Schulze ’95 white D90 soft top.

[And unofficially and only part of the trip, Ray in a ’69 titled Bronco.]

Second phase was the up and down look. That’s where participants riding with each other for the first time subtly walk the line checking out each other’s equipment. [don’t be tempted to gutterize your mind, now] Polite questions about setups are a disguise to answer the question…where’s the beef.

CHINAMAN’S GULCH APRIL 13, 2003

by Hanz Schultze So what should we expect for the first trail ride of the season in spring? Snow? Rain? Breakage? Timidity?

Bravado? Sparse participation? Oil and water personalities?.

First phase was the polite introductions and get-to-knoweach-other small talk. The polite participants included: David and Kara [please be the right spelling] Garbs each taking turns in the white ’95 D90 hardtop. Kara would attempt to impersonate a counter-weight. Scott Launer in the Rover green ’97 D90 automatic [more about that later] hardtop. Chris Davis in his ’94 naked [no outside roll cage] ’94 D90. Charlie told me that Chris bought the D as a salvaged vehicle and with only his small bag of tools,

Third phase was to determine the trail leader. Most had not driven the gulch and some that did suffered from Alzheimer’s. Rich opened his mouth about something that everyone else interpreted as voluntarism and…we had our leader. What resulted were directions by committee, which, to the surprise of most, resulted in no track-backs.

Here are some highlights of the trip.

I swear I’m speaking English, he seems to say. Charlie appeared in 61 of the 124 pictures I kept. Veerrryyy busy.

He also demonstrated the art of spotting while holding a camera in one hand.

As the D slides into danger Kara’s bailing out of the counter-balance theory.

Here she’s gesturing to David about his counter-balance theory,butuneducatedaboutwhichfingertouse.

Charliiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Craig and Rich became buddy buddy, talking that Disco jive. Rich was trying to talk Craig into selling ancillary parts off his Disco, like the corner guards, his CD player etc. to finance offroading parts.

Scott taking on one of the harder obstacles and showing some flex. Someone opined that having an automatic may be unfair advantage. Well, someone retorted, there are no classes such as stock or slightly modified, or modified.

There is only one class…the open class. Chris getting more ideas on either disassembling or assembling his vehicle.

Ralph, attempting to pull Ed into danger.

If you look closely at the bumper and undercarriage, you’ll see the Vermont rust Ed is so proud of. In the background you can see Chris either disassembling or assembling his vehicle. Kara conquering one of the harder obstacles.

Ralph demonstrating new gesture he learned in the wee hours of LoDo. Chris, caught between a rock and a disinterested spectator.

Chris’ natural position.

Oh, let’s cut it out. Here’s the

handsome devil.

But really, we all had a good time.

WHY? Because we all have a good sense of humor. Right? It doesn’t get any better than this. Thanks for the ride.

Rich showing off his under wares…on his way to the top.

Picking his next obstacle.

Each year Land Rover Clubs in the United States and Canada are invited to send a team to compete in the Adventure Team Challenge. The winners of the event become the North American Land Rover Club Rally Champions. In 2001 Sean Gorman, former Club President and friend, Dan Cooper, competed and managed to bring home the 1st place trophy for the Solihull Society.

Unfortunately in 2002 no club team was available to defend the event.

· Use of vehicle equipment (winches, snatch blocks, tools, etc.) · Physical Challenges (this is where fast, sometimes creative thinking comes in to use setting up and executing command task assignment using vehicle carried or provided equipment). Do not laugh, Norman and myself have been trying to get fit to survive this part of the competition.

This year a team is being entered from the Solihull Society in an attempt to “win back” our club the title. The team will consist of myself Larry Grubbs, current club Vice President, and Norman Hall, club Editor. We will try to ignore the fact that we will have an Australian attempting to win a North American Title and will temporarily consider him a token American for the duration of the event. So far our team has been very active in securing sponsors to help us get my Range Rover ready for the event. Those companies who are assisting us at listed at the end of this article.

The week-long competition rally is designed to give Land Rover clubs (big or small) the opportunity to have a representative team test their driving, navigation, and endurance skills against other Land Rover Clubs in the United States and Canada. The winning team earns the title as the North American Land Rover Club Rally Champions.

Each clubs’ representative team must comprise of one Land Rover vehicle [ours being a 1990 Range Rover], each vehicle having a driver [Larry Grubbs] and navigator [Norman Hall] competing. Each team will be responsible for their own camping equipment and provisions.

At the end of each day after all the teams have completed the Special Tasks they will be given instructions (via GPS coordinate waypoints) as to the next event location.

They must make their way to the new site that night set up camp and be ready to go first thing the next morning at the new location. The event locations between the start and the finish will be kept under wraps because navigating to those locations each night (via the GPS waypoints) will be part of the event (sealed Emergency Maps will be furnished to the teams if they become lost, but points will be subtracted if they are opened).

The teams will be scored in Special Task events that fall into a number of different categories. Individual tasks may include some or all of the following disciplines: · Driving skills · Driving Maneuverability (gymkhana courses, trials courses, maneuverability exercises, etc.) · Navigation/route finding (locating or following Waypoint locations using GPS coordinates, or using tulip charts to reach the task finish line) · Orienteering (map and compass work)

Performance in most, if not all, of the Special Tasks will be judged relative to times taken. This does not imply that high

speed driving ability is required. Points will be awarded relative to performance in each Task and the Team with the most points after all the Tasks have been run will be designated the Adventure Team Challenge winners and the North American Land Rover Club Rally Champions.

problem due to a large amount on fresh oil on the track.

Jim stopped the group to check all vehicles. Larry Grubbs found that he had lost a seal on his left front shock, it had literally exploded. Larry and Norman then turned around and headed back to Moab to get repairs. Later Larry told us that he had a new part being shipped in from Denver, no parts beign available in Moab despite considerable searching on their part. Now we were six.

Teams entering the competition will be subjected to 5 days of grueling challenges as they strive for the honor of victor on the Adventure Team Challenge. The event is apparently suited for all levels of skill but will challenge even the most experienced teams with the diverse terrain; steep rocky trails through wooded areas, tight trials courses, classic prairie conditions (flat open expanses with deep mud sections), heavily overgrown section roads, water crossings, forests, etc.

We will put a post event article in the club magazine to let you know how we all went, or if we actually survived.

Our Sponsors [Please support them as they support us]:Superwinch Motorcars Ltd Land Rover Flat Irons Simex Tires 4 - Wheeling America High Coutnry Performance 4x4 Star Accounting Solutions

The first section of the trail is moderate with a couple of ledges that have to be navigated along with a hill climb.

When we reached the small slick rock hill and descended to the dirt track below we found the trail had been blocked by a dead tree. We were rerouted back up over a rock shelf and onto a dirt road. We followed this road over a considerable distance to the main dirt road. Going the new route bypasses the waterfall and a very nice view overlooking the canyon.

Solihull Society Moab Flat Iron Mesa Trail Moab Thursday 4/24/2003

by Nick Weede

Our group assembled at City Market Saturday 9 AM. We started with seven trucks. They were: Jim Molter in his “Chief” D-90 who was trail Leader, me in my 2000 Discovery as tail gunner, Hans Schulz in his tricked up D90, Alvi Vali in a 1993 Range Rover, Scott Laner & his father Chris in their D-90, Jerry Stuart in his new Jeep Rubicon & Larry Grubbs and Norman Hall in Larry’s 1990 Range Rover. Jim led us up to the trail head, through the From here we climbed the first obstacle and started the gate onto Flat Iron Mesa. second leg of the trail. Soon we arrived at an obstacle called the Tilt-A-Whirl”. Everyone had a good time here.

Everything was going fine until about a half mile into the Each truck had a rear wheel well of the ground while trail when I radioed Jim that there could be a serious

descending. We stopped here for lunch and headed off to Easter Egg Hill. This obstacle is usually in good condition.

However, this was the week following the Jeep Safari and the obstacle was made very difficult by the Jeeps chewing up the trail. All trucks needed a spotter down the hill. The group made it with no major damage. Continuing on we squeezed past the rock near the cliff and canyon drop off.

Nick Weede on Seven Mile Rim. Yes the angle is real

After this the trail has a few stair steps to climb and a dirt road out. We were again diverted off the trail by a new barbed wire fence. We took the diverted trail to the highway. It was a nice cool day with plenty of sunshine.

Some thoughts stand out in my mind from the trail. Jim’s expert leadership was much appreciated by all, Hans whose truck will go anywhere, and Ali who is always looking out for the wellbeing of all in the group. All in all it was The Solihul Group Relax after Wipe Out Hill another wonderful day on the trail.

Mary Moulter

Solihull Society 2003 Events Please visit www.4x4trails.net or Charles Wells Trail Books for info on trails and ratings.

Please contact the trail leader before the trail ride dates to let them know you are going.

If you are interested in leading trails that are TBD, contact Ali Vali at avali@mho.com Date 05-18-03

Description Contact Info. / Trail Leader Carnage Canyon near Boulder Hans Schulze Trail is rated difficult. zxblade@msn.com 05-24-03 TBD Pending trail openings (snow) TBD 06-08-03 Spring Creek Trail near Downieville Trail is rated difficult and very rocky.

TBD 06-10-03 Club Meeting - 7:30 PM Zangs Brewery, Denver I-25 and 23RD Ave. 06-14-03 Twin Cone Peak Trail - Summit of Kenosha Pass Ali Vali Trail is rated moderate to difficult. avali@mho.com 06-15-03 Bill Moore Lake Trail near Empire Trail is rated moderate and short.

TBD 06-28-03 to 06-29-03 Battlement Mesa near Parachute Larry Grubbs Difficult Trail. Overnight camping lwgrubbs@us.ibm.com 06-29-03 Wheeler lake Trail near Alma Ali Vali Trail is rated moderate to difficult. avali@mho.com 07-9-03 to 07-11-03 Rubicon Trail near Truckee California Norman Hall Very Difficult trail. norman_p_hall@hotmail.com 07-19-03 McCallister Gulch Trail near Camp Hale Tim Clair Trail is rated moderate and very scenic. tclair@gowebway.com 07-19-03 - 07-20-03 Holy Cross Camping Trip near Leadville Larry Grubbs Difficult trail, damage possible, lockers lwgrubbs@us.ibm.com 07-26-03 to 07-27-03 Blanca Peak near the sand dunes Hans Schulze Trail is rated most difficult, lockers required.zxblade@msn.com 08-02-03 Club BBQ and Swap Meet Tim Clair More information TBA tclair@gowebway.com 08-10-03 Trail Run, Jenny Creek near Rollinsville Doug Davis Trail is rated Moderate and short.

96discovery@eazy.net 08-08-03 to 08-10-03 Crested Butte to Aspen via Taylor Pass Ali Vali Camping Friday and Saturday night near Reno Divide. Moderate 4-wheeling, scenic avali@mho.com 08-12-03 Club Meeting - 7:30 PM Zangs Brewery, Denver I-25 and 23RD Ave. 08-16-03 Summit County-Georgia Pass, Middle Fork Ali Vali of Swan, St. Johns Trails are rated as easy to moderate avali@mho.com 08-30-03 Iron Chest Trail near Buena Vista Larry Grubbs Trail is rated difficult. Rock sliders and clearance is recommended. lwgrubbs@us.ibm.com 09-10-03- 09-14-03 National Rally Moab, UT Pat Bickford More information will be posted. pbickford@ai-colorado.com 10-14-03 Club Meeting - 7:30 PM Zangs Brewery, Denver I-25 and 23RD Ave. 12-07-03 Holiday Party Mt. Vernon Country club

Basic Wheel Measurements

There are several critical measurements to take into account when selecting a wheel or when replacing your stock wheels with aftermarket wheels (wheels and rims being used interchangeably in this article). Among these important measurements are: 路

Wheel Diameter o

This is the total wheel diameter when measured from bead seat to bead seat. When replacing tires you of course must know the wheel diameter, but this will be stamped on the old tires. If you are browsing through a stack of wheels that are not stamped an easy way to determine the diameter is to measure the maximum diameter from rim to rim and then with a ruler measure the distance from the rim down to the

bead seat. Subtract twice the distance which you measured down to the bead seat from the rim to rim diameter and you will have the correct wheel diameter. Wheel diameter is a critical consideration when changing or altering brake components. It is also believed by many that 15" wheels have a superior bead design and better bead retention than 16", 16.5" or 17" wheels. ·

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Wheel Width o

The wheel width or rim width is the distance between the outside edges of the bead seat. Most popular rim width for 4x4s would be 6", 7", 7.5", 8" and 10". Rims wider than this are usually only used on trucks with extreme overwidth tires. The tire manufacturer will publish guidelines for what rim width should be used with which tire. In general 7" rims will comfortably work with tires up to 10.5" wide, 8" wide rims work for 9.5" up to 12.5" wide tires and 10" wide rims are used for 12.5" and wider. Many rims will not be available in width wider than 8" and rims wider than 10" are much more difficult to find.

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Rim width relative to tread width has an effect on bead retention when aired down and on the overall tire profile. In general a narrower wheel (from within the manufacturers guidelines) will result in a more rounded profile with a slightly smaller footprint but with slightly greater protection of the wheel.

Narrower wheels also may retain the bead marginally better when aired down than will the wider wheels.

Wider wheel provide a flatter tire profile and greater footprint. Since the rim is wider it will not be as protected from the rocks as would a narrower wheel with the same tire. The tire carcass will exert less pressure on the wider width bead when aired down and a wider wheel may thus be marginally more likely to lose a bead when pressures are low. Wider wheels, with less sidewall bulge, may reduce the rubbing of large tires on the springs at full turn.

Backspacing o

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Offset o

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Backspacing is the distance from the inside rim surface to the backside of the wheel mounting surface. It determines how far a wheel (& tire) sticks into or out of the wheel well of the vehicle. Wheels with a lot of backspacing will stick further in. Wheels with little back spacing will stick further out. Sometimes when swapping in wider axles 4x4 owners will switch to a wheel with much more backspacing to compensate. You should note that the backspacing measurement is critical when considering the wheels clearance of the suspension, braking and steering components as well as the body. All of these must be considered in both normal conditions and when at full suspension travel or articulation.

Offset is the distance from the exact wheel centerline to the inside wheel mounting surface. Offset and Backspacing are related. A large amount of offset can change the leverage and the loads on axle or wheel bearings and so if possible you should stay (within reason) close to the stock wheel offset. In addition to changing the load on the bearings changing the offset significantly will change the turning radius (of the tire) and may effect both steering response and steering stability.

Bolt Pattern [see diagram on opposite page] o

The bolt pattern has two essential parts. The first is simple it is the number of bolts. The second is the diameter of the “bolt circle”. The bolt circle is an imaginary circle which passes through the centerline of each of the hubs wheel fasteners. On a wheel with 4, 6 or 8 bolt holes the measurement is simple: Just measure from the center of one hole to the center of the hole directly across from it. On a wheel with 5 bolt holes this is not possible. The next best thing, which will provide a “close enough” approximation is to measure from the center of one bolt hole to a line (or ruler) that is drawn between the opposite edge of the two opposing bolt holes. The bolt pattern is then indicated by the number of bolts X the bolt circle diameter - for example a 5x5.5" bolt pattern is 5 bolt hole arranged around a circle which is 5.5" in diameter. This may also be referred to as 5 on 5.5"

Article courtesy of some website I was browsing

The Solihull Society PO Box 480864 Denver, CO 80248–0864 www.SolihullSociety.org