. Many of you are already aware of Ben's (FlyNDrive) involvement in PradoPoint. I had a rare opportunity to wheel with Ben at an FjBruiser GTG. Here is the report.
This is the 1st installment of FJBruisers host PPer on their MudFling.
- Day 1 (you're reading it)
- Day 2
- Day 3 - Part 1
- Day 3 - Part 2
The FJBruisers hold a major annual event and it just so happened that I was in the area (more or less). This year's event was the MudFling, held in Shenandoah Valley, Virginia over the USA Memorial Day long weekend (24-26 May). Approximately 40 vehicles (and a tag-along gypsy - me) attended this year's event.
The FjBruisers do it in style with all the trimmings of a well organised group:
First things first... Many thanks to the FJBruisers MudFling attendees for hosting me on what has been a trip of a lifetime. Especially, a huge thanks to FlyNDrive and his lovely wife who have raised the bar in hospitality. I am in your debt.
There are so many angles to report on... these sort of trips are as much about relationships as the 4-Wheeling (as they say in USA). So, I will try to touch on both here. I'll also try to avoid rambling... too much
This is part 1 of a 3 (or will it be 4?) part trip report.
After flying into Shenandoah Valley in a small turbo-prop plane, I soon spotted Josh waiting by his impressive looking FJCruiser - Josh was my transport to the KOA campground, where the FJBruisers were mostly based.
Never having met Josh, or any other FJBruisers for that matter, it was encouraging how well we hit it off. I got a great feeling about this, right from the get go.
After a quick meet and greet with the other FJBurisers, several of them helped me erect my tent (kindly supplied by FlyNDrive) - large enough for a family of 5.
The team leaders had already taken a drive to scout out the various runs. That night was a quick team meeting over a dimming flashlight (torch) and ample amber fluid, followed by some envelope stuffing (sic).
The weather was perfect - the nights were cold and the days were cool. It immediately struck me just how much organising had gone into this event. From obtaining sponsorship, raffle prizes, trail maps, banners, waivers, support from Toyota Trail Team, lunch supplied, and so on and on. By 9am many of the FJBruisers were lined up to collect their stuffed envelopes and register for the event.
Using a picnic ground as a base, many trails were easily accessed, all just few miles (kms
) apart. The members reviewed the maps and signed up for one or two of the trail runs; typically, one run before lunch and another after lunch. The trails were rated from Easy to Expert.
Also interesting was the Trail Leader and Tail Gunner deco which was magnetically afixed. They know how to do things right!a
I rode shotgun in FlyNDrive's incredibly well decked-out beast. He also generously put me in the driver's seat for what made an awesome day, as did Andrew and the Toyota Trails Team. We headed to Dry River Run (which was everything but dry!). What a great way to start... water crossings! After lunch, we conquered a more technically challenging trail, called Dictum Ridge. Way too many pictures to choose from, but here's a selection:
The one below shows what happens when A-TRAC (traction control) is disabled. The FjCruisers have a switch to select this. Once the driver realised, he simply pressed the A-TRAC button and simply crawled from the mud bath.
Lunch was provided and cooked by the sponsors. What a good deal! They also raffled off (Chinese Auction style) a number of prizes kindly donated by their sponsors.
Embarrissingly, your's truly won a few too many prizes... I must report that I tracked down the Staun guages that were somehow exported to USA and managed to win them back - now safely returning them to Australia
During the Dry River run, FlyNDrive was noticing a strange knocking. Back at the campsite, a bush repair was needed to replace the bolt in the upper-link. Some nice airbag work.
You might also be interested in these movies.
LiveFreeAndRoam Descends Dictum Ridge in the Trail Teams FjCruiser - I'm glad it wasn't my vehicle! Listen to the scraping, oh and the horn beep - notorius with FjCruisers and cost me US$5!
If you visit my LiveFreeAndRoam YouTube channel, you will find many more vids from the trip.
Another nice touch were these grill badges.
LFaR.
PS: Some images were also provided by CGChief and Andrew from FjBruisers.
