Elevated Wake Park (Lexington, NC)

My experience at cable parks is limited to the trips I've taken to Shark Wake Park & Cajun X Cables. I'm a beginner when it comes to ramps and sliders, for sure, but I have been keeping a close eye on the creation of new parks in the hope of finding one closer to my home in Virginia, eagerly awaiting my next visit.

Elevated Wake Park is the newest addition to this list, celebrating its grand opening Memorial Day weekend this year. Due to COVID-19 precautions, I decided to sit out the inaugural weekend and plan my first trip to the park the following weekend to avoid the large crowd.



As I've found at other parks, the staff was superbly friendly and stoked to share the experience with their patrons. I was delighted to spend the day taking runs on the course, becoming more and more comfortable on the features as the day progressed. I was DEFINITELY the least experienced rider there, but happy to watch the veterans shred the park.

(All photos are TAKEN by me, not OF me)

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A post shared by Dennis (@sweetschoolbus) on May 30, 2020 at 2:01pm PDT

I stayed at two state parks during the trip - Occoneechee State Park in VA & Morrow Mountain State Park in NC. Although these sites are generally intended for tent or car camping, I lucked out and found suitably spaced trees in order to hang my hammock.



To route my ride, I followed the CaliMoto app to find rural roads. During my ride back, though, I came across a flooded section of road. After guesstimating its depth [incorrectly], I attempted to cross. BIG MISTAKE!

I pushed the bike back out and wisely decided to remove the spark plugs in case water had filled the cylinders - which it had. After about an hour of that process, I rode to the closest auto parts store, swapped the milky oil for new fluid, then got back on the road. Although it wasted quite a bit of time, I learned my lesson without ruining anything. I think next time I'll stick to the rule of walking the road before attempting to ride through it.



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Sprockets & Chain

After changing my chain & sprocket about a year ago, I've experienced a strange phenomenon - excessive chain stretch.

At first, I figured it was just the initial break-in but every time I'd check my chain it would be suspiciously loose.

I decided to simply replace the chain and sprocket and start fresh. While performing the install, though, I figured out the culprit! The sprocket body features a bushing that has the ability to slide in or out. If it happens to slide out while installing the wheel, it has the chance of becoming wedged in the wrong position. The wheel will tighten like normal, but the sprocket body will be sitting just barely outside its normal position (probably off-center as well). This means that the tight/loose spots are enormously exaggerated. Not only that, but the sprocket might slip back into place after you've set the chain tension, relieving the tight spot and creating a slack chain.

I was relieved to figure out this issue and easily avoided it upon reassembly.

Perhaps due to this issue, the chain stretched 1.5 links and the rear sprocket teeth were relatively worn, so I decided to swap them for arguably higher-quality components. The front sprocket seemed fine, but I think I'll replace it as well since I upgraded to a rubber-dampened sprocket.



I bought all three components from The Sprocket Center and would highly suggest them to anyone looking for these parts. The site is well organized and they list options available based on your bike. Even add-ons like a chain tool are listed before checkout to make sure you have everything you need to complete the job.

As a side note, I discovered these two sticks wedged behind the sprocket cover - proof that this Vstrom spends some time off the beaten path ;-)





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