My body is hurting right now...a sign of a great ride!

Could not sleep before my 4th ride...I was pretty excited to hit the trails. I bought a few spark plugs in case I fouled. Still have not updated the FI...waiting for the software.

Me and my friend pulled into Buffalo Rock in Ottawa, IL about 10:30. There were a lot of people. Lots of KTM's, wr's, yzf's. We unloaded the bikes and I was worried about starting and fouling with many eyes grabbing a look at the silver beauty. I press the green button once...5, 4, 3 ,2, 1....starts on one crank.

I finish getting ready while it warms up..its idling fine. I hop on and the ride begins without a hitch.

Just so I don't leave anyone one hanging I had absolutly zero problems in 3 hours of hills, sand whoops, mx track and plenty of lugging my sorry ass out of bad situations. My love grows stronger each ride. BTW...my lights work. The missing ground wire bolt was the problem.

Last time I rode at Ottawa I was on a cr250. Lots of clutching and tire spin. The only time I clutched the e besides on shifts was if I got thrown back from the torque... I'm used to the 2 stroke in the tight trees.

The bike was great in the sand whoops. One hill climb I did is sticking in my mind. There was no direct line up. It curved slightly through the trees with a nice 3 inch rut down the middle. I was wrecked by this point...out of shape. My friend on the WR went up first in second gear. By the time he was at the top he was lugging and downshifted into first for the last 10 feet. I decided to go for 1st. I have much better tires, he has 500 miles on his stock meats...pretty bald...so I figured I would not be hurting for traction. So I make my approach..10 feet into it I have to dodge a big branch and I scrub speed but stay on. About half way to the top I am moving pretty slow but still commited. I think I had the front wheel 4 inches off the ground the rest of the way up. Thank C'dale for smooth power, Ohlins and Michelin for the traction. I did not have the energy to push. That called for a victory dance.

The bike felt great in the air. It felt great snaking through the trees. The smooth power kept me out of trouble. It is actually more bike than my skill level needs but I can deal with that. People are floored to see it on the trail. One guy came up.. "Oh man! a Cannondale!"...and started taking pictues of it. I am happy with this bike. It is worth the uncertainty of an unproven product. I got some pictures I will post as soon as I figure out how to get them on my laptop.

John