On Sunday it was time to unload the Sherpa.  I had my friend Lee Lawson come over and give me a hand, and he was a huge help.

of course, after the bike was unloaded, I was sitting on it, and "dropped it" and foolishly grabbed it in a way that wrenched my back as it slowly descended.

Despite my minor injury I felt I had to go on a ride.  I geared up and rode up Old Fort Road, bypassing the busy Highway 97.  Sticking to back roads I was able to arrive at Hagelstein Park, north of Klamath Falls.  On a long straight stretch I accelerated and got it up to 72 mph, and it would not go any faster.  I decided to ride up the gravel road to the top of the ridge  I really enjoyed the way the bike handled...where the rear end of my Ninja sliding around feels like impending disaster, the Sherpa's rear end sliding a bit under power felt fun.  Where the Ninja's front tire felt like it might dig into gravel, the Sherpa's front wheel felt like it was floating over the gravel, and I know I whooped and laughed in my helmet.  Perhaps this was the missing aspect of riding I had missed since my mini-bike days.

I came down off the mountain, and as traffic was very light, I decided to ride the highway home, and the Sherpa handled better on the pavement than I had thought it might.  Yes, this would be a good bike to ride on roads to the places I want to explore off-road.