Movie Clips
So Let Me Just Set This Up A Bit
-Well on Sunday October 20th we headed out to the LaRose forest which is about 20 minutes from my place. This forest is actually a plantation that dates back some 50 years I beleive. In any case it is now used mostly by people with 4X4 trucks and ATV/Motorbike riders that wanna get out and have some good forest fun. It has some very nice trails, although theres nothing much in terms of rockclimbing. Most of the trails are just dirt or mud, with a main feeder trail that is fat gravel. In a truck, it is hard to go above 40kph because the trails are often undulating and twisty. I know that they also use the trails for skidoos in the winter. We saw 4 ATVs and one big truck while we were in there for ~45 minutes that day, and everyone watches each other's back, I've never heard of anyone having a vehicle to vehicle collision in these parts - ever.
-This is the first time that Sophie and I had been using the digital camera for video, and I think it turned out very well. In the interest of space and speed of upload/download, the files have been slightly compressed, so the sound is not exactly the best, most of the bass is taken out. However I think they are still very good. If I continue to make this type of video (and you know that I will) I will most likely be making a CD in the near future (6mo is realistic) with videos and related comments which I'll ship out to anyone who wants the top-quality video without the time to download.
-On to the movies!
-The first clip is a goody of what it looks like to splash the Niva through some big fat puddles at about 40kph. I took these bad boys in low range and with my diff locked, and in 3rd - then 2nd, gear. No comments about my forgetting the wipers ok! I haven't done this in 2 years. And yeah, I COULD take the puddles slower, and I COULD keep my niva clean, but where's the fun in that? :)
To download these videos, please use the "save target as..." function from the menu that comes up by right-clicking the pictures. Also, due to bandwidth limitations on my account, if a video doesn't work, try again later.
-This clip is of me going through another puddle, but his time as filmed by my good girlfriend and filmograph Sophie. Of course this was after I got my windsheild de-steamed, see when I went through before, my Niva took a big gulp of water down it's heater vent (I don't have my scoop anymore :( and when the water hit the heater core, which was hot something fierce, it just turned to steam and blew up and got all my windows all steamy. So lesson one: Offroading requires a hoodscoop, well unless you're boring and don't like spalshing water 5 feet above the car. Also, in case you're wondering, all the white steam coming out from everywhere after the crossing is from the water hitting the exhaust.
-So then we continue down into the forest. And come across this big fat mud hole, and I mean big. But I came in by a trail that doesn't lead through the hole but merely across the opening. I don't feel like backing up. Fortunately I can cross this little spot, go up the other side, and the trail will loop me around so that I can charge through the hole by the long side. So simple. Or so I thought.
-First of all there's this big tree at the top of the little hill where I'm trying to go. Not a problem, there's enough room for me to pass, but I need to start turning half way up the bank. And I made a rookie mistake. I let my foot off the gas when I needed to start turning. As we all know this causes me to lose my momentum and I can't get enough traction to save myself, so I sit on the bank and I can't go forward because I slip.
-Well that's no biggie, I'll just back it up and try again. Once I check the mud to see that I won't get stuck if I stop on it, I back it up so that I'm flat in the valley and try going up the hill again. But this time I still couldn't get enough momentum to keep from spinning on the way up. So OK my only option is to try backing back up the way I came, shoudn't be a problem, the bank on that side is pretty firm.
-So on my way backing up the bank, there was a little, ahem, mis-communication by my spotter, or maybe it was my bad, but more probably it was some blend thereof. So I nudged the edge of the trail just a bit, and as a result, my nose got spun around just a bit to my right. Well I'm too crooked to just back straight up the bank, but maybe I can go ahead a bit with my wheels to the left and get myself straightened out again.
-Well even the super tight turning circle of the Niva couldn't save me here, and I didn't get it turned around, at least not in one try, but I thought I could multi-point turn it. So I crept forward to get as close to the bank in front of me as possible, and I even nudged said bank a teeny bit. Well this caused my nose palting to get held up by the hard earth and took the weight off of my front right tire. And don't we all know what happens next, a spin spin here, a spin spin there, and I'm wedged in real good. In fact I just happenned to fall upon a more soft spot too, and was now stuck in a cross-axled position, with my front right tire hanging in a hole and spinning, and my rear left sitting up in the air and spinning. GREAT!
-As always I had my tow strap and ratchet winch handy, so I was able to winch my back axle against a tree enough to get the nose off of the bank, and from there, getting out was as easy as making the multi-point turn I had originally wanted to do. Well after this it was dark and I had no particular desire to be wheelin in the dark, so we packed it in for the day and headed out of there.
-Pictures.
-1. This is the hole I left behind :)
-2. Gotta love this shot.
-3. Praise the strap.
