[bikeslut]

First of all, I would like to thank SDLineman for the recon and planning of this trip-

Mother Nature conspired to keep me from riding the second day, but we got a good ride in the first day

The potluck went well, although there was SO much food, I couldn't really try half of what was available. Tacos, and burgers...margaritas and pina coladas...brownies and pinwheels...lots of stuff. Jeff hosted that too at his palace

The Kabins were kozy, and that worked out well for Kody and Laurie.

I'll start pisting pics and telling stories after I unload...

Thanks again Jeff and all of the potluck contributors, and my ride partners.

Also a BIG thanks to Jeff for the aborted "bikeslut tow" effort. Film at 11

[pyro]

[bikeslut]

arrived at Sassy's Diner to find a lot of the peoples already eating... Here they are in my Blackberry Image Quality Gallery



- on the back of Sassy's Diner Menu, they tell the story of "Sassy" The pet Wallaby they had for years, and they named the diner after... as I am reading the story to Cody, I get to the last paragraph

Sassy was eaten by a coyote... ouch



it made him melancholy

checked in to the kabin, and Laurie is happy... on-line school, heater, coffee pot, referigerator, pint sized tub, and DOORS between us and the kids



end of day one- tomorrow we ride, and go birdwatching!

[dsfox]

YES, thanks to SDLINEMAN for organizing, ride recon and hosting a great weekend....and the KOA staff was very accomodating and helpful....It was another great adventure with SDAR....Thank you everyone...I had an awesome time...
FRIDAY
Made great time past Ocotillo Wells and Westmoreland...then began what became an eery journey up the LONG East side of the salton sea, past not much but abandoned buildings and houses....kind of EERY....We all trickled in between noon and 9, and most enjoyed a delicious all you can eat spaghetti dinner at the lodge..Thanks to Crawdaddy for uploading many of us with some tracks and ride options...
And thanks to Hobiee and Kim for splitting their Kabin with me...nice to be inside vs. tenting...the Kabins were very nice....
SATURDAY
We split into various groups of sorts for rides of varying length and destinations...ride One for me: I headed out with KTMomma (Hobiees lady) and CMYER, we rode the canal road, Bradshaw trail, train trellis and some slot canyons with cool formations and scenery...the desert is very green...Not sure which canyons we explored, but might have been The Pinnacles, or Red canyon?.....It was KTMomma's longest ride ever and she did Great.....even in some legitimate sand in the canyons.....Hobiee should be proud....he was watching the Little Hobiee....(now K, go get your permit !)
Ride 2: Bat Cave and Oasis loop: with Trophyhunter and Mrs. Trophy, CMAYER31, CMYER and KLRoger....fun little loop with nice scenery and company.
I then took advantage of the Natural Hot spring pools they have at the campground, you have to add cool water to be able to enjoy the 140 degree hot mineral springs...then cleaned up and headed to the DELICIOUS Pot Luck, carne asada, carnitas, chile, yummy desserts and sides....fun to fellowship with about 30 members and family.....
SUNDAY
Rain began EARLY...so many of us enjoyed the free pancake breakfast that is included with your space, before reluctantly surrenduring that the rain was going to beat us today....Still an Awesome time with Great rides....enjoyed meeting some new folks....Well worth the slightly longer than normal desert commute....Heres some pics...

Hobiee enjoying a "ride"



KTMomma (you go girl!)



RIDE ONE saturday











Ride TWO







I made them all shimmy out on the log..for a great photo op......don't you think?..



At Kabin.....







Sad to Leave, but bye for Now! ps: Nice touch that this campground has 5 pm checkout on Sundays....Great for riding....If rain cooperated...

[bikeslut]

Saturday morning was very nice... cool temps, and a mile breeze... Me and my two kids latched on to Jeff and his son Robert (on the quad)

we make the run over to Red Canyon

between Robert wanting to slow down on the rocky road, and Eric inability to get his XR70 on top of the sand, it was a long, slow trip

we stopped at The Trestles, and Morgan made a run to the top... but petered out halfway up


another stab at it, and he made it


Eric and Robert resting in the shade



we make the turn on Red Canyon and run into Don Johnson, Jim and Jim... no typo



so we turn around and see the real one





her we separated from Jeff... Eric had ENOUGH sand, and Kody was sick back at the campground




kids that climb on rocks

[Crawdaddy]

I’ll second Bikeslut’s thanks to SDLineman for setting up the KOA weekend……

Caitlynn and I headed out relatively early on Friday and we were able to get set-up and also get in one short ride on the bikes……she enjoyed riding the CRF230F despite a few slow speed tipovers…

Our camp on “Snob Hill” (shared with Slowdown and Hurry up)





Caitlynn ready to ride the CRF230F for the first time:



Out on Coachella Canal Rd……..Peace-Out!



At one point I left Caitlynn down on Bradshaw and rode up a rocky spur to snap a pic of the Coachella Canal down below and Salton Sea in the distance:



Father/Daughter self portrait to prove we were there….



The Friday night spaghetti dinner was tastey and it gave us a chance to mingle a bit and set loose plans for the Sat ride……

Caitlynn and I headed out on Sat morning with Spyder and son (Daryl?), Trophy and his trophy wife, Slowdown and Hurry up (Ron and Jon), and KLRoger……..we rode a loop I dropped into a Mapsource planning file…… The Loop: KOA- Coachella Canal Rd – Bradshaw – Red Canyon – Gas/Lunch up at 10 FWY – Powerline Rd. – Meccacopia – Coachella – KOA = ~73 miles......Caitlynn rode the quad on Sat which turned out to be a wise decision because that would’ve been a big loop for her to undertake on the bike….

SPOT Link will be active for one week if you'd like an overview of the loop on Google - http://www.CrawdadRacing.info

A few comments

Coachella Canal Rd. is a perfect training ground for any new riders.....relatively flat and smooth.....it runs from the KOA up to the Bradshaw trail after ~8 miles.......you then have the option of hanging a right on Bradshaw or continuing straight on the canal rd which will take you all the way over to Meccacopia/Box Canyon.....

Bradshaw was a dusty/rocky mess when we hit it since there were a lot of other folks out on it......nothing special.....

Red Canyon Trail is VERY fun.......ridgeline riding for ~12 miles up to a Powerline Rd. which connects the Red Canyon Trail and the Meccacopia Trail

Gas/Food Option - once at the Powerline Rd. you can continue straight another .75 mile until you intersect another Powerline Rd......take a right there and it'll run you over to the 10Fwy......cross the Fwy to top off the tanks/belly at a Chevron/Frosty Burger.......and, if interested, visit the George Patton Museum.

After gas/lunch we back tracked to the Powerline Rd. that runs between Red Canyon and Meccaopia........it was surprisingly fun........minimal whoops.......a high speed/8 mile blast over to Meccacopia.....

Meccacopia is a fun trail.......a little bit of everything with views of Salton Sea.......fun.....

A few pics along the way

The crew, less Spyder and Daryl, out on Bradshaw:



Caitlynn rounding a bend on Meccacopia Trail



The crew on a bluff along Meccacopia overlooking the Salton Sea:



Daryl, Caitlynn, Jon with Salton Sea in the distance:



Caitlynn giving me the "hurry up and snap it" stare:




The narrows of Meccacopia:

Jon:



Caitlynn



Ron and Daryl:



Spyder and KLRoger:



KLRoger:



I uploaded/edited my active tracks from our Sat loop and cleaned up my planning file in that regard.....I'll kick it over to Strega to host on his site for anyone who would like to have it/ride it.......

[bikeslut]

on the way back, we stopped to play pn the trestle...








Eric leading the way


and Morgan riding sweep


it was along this stretch that a tree pulled my new radio cord out, and in to the rear wheel... $75 down the drain

Oh well... we're going birdwatching at the Salton Sea... sounds fun and easy! w00t!

[bikeslut]

birdwatching:

Nice... I'll drive my wife down to look at some birds




they have these narrow roads that lead really close to the water... sweet... how close shall we get?

oh... turn around? uh...



yeah... I actually got stuck... it was a very small rise, but the mud was as slick as snot... uh... Jeff... you got a 4X4 and a tow strap? Ozzy isn't around to bail me out

WAIT!! unload everybody out of the truck, and I was able to "just" make it

Thanks any way Jeff!!

On to the border patrol checkpoint... so... "SIR"... where is all the mud from? Who is in the back? Are you all US citizens? You weren't the clown that was off flopping around near the shore were you? The helicopter pilot was laughing his A$$ OFF...

[dstss]

Man this place gets lonely on a Sunday night after a day of rain. We are staying until tomorrow hoping to get one more ride in before going home. Hopefully Beezz stuck it out and is still around. At least got a couple of good rides in on Saturday. The wives in our camp have all decided they want to come back to spend Mother's day here at Glamisnorth. How cool is that? Enjoyed meeting bikeslut, dsfox and several others at the pot luck. Its been a great weekend, (even with the rain).
The entrance to the Oasis

Looking down from the Bat Caves

My son and daughter in law at the Bat Caves looking back at the lake.

[Zoot]

Wow that looks awesome! yet another place for me to set the motorcycling hook with my wife

[TrophyHunter]

Thx to Jeff for setting this up and the recon. C-Daddy provided a great lead Sat morning. Laura & I split off at Red Canyon as the mob rode the rim trail (Red Canyon Trail).

We rode Red Canyon & every spur off of it including the Pinnacles. This was perfect riding for Laura and her longest day ever. The AM ride combined with dsfox's Bat Cave / Oasis loop totaled about 70 miles for us.

Potluck was great, loaded in the rain Sunday AM & headed out.

No pics as computer is on it's last legs...pics won't upload......

Great time..met some new folks & enjoyed all.

[dirt dame]

Looks like a good time was had by all. Great pics. wish I could make some of these trips with ya'll.

[hobiee]

Well that airplane pic deb posted was all the riding i got in this weekend, i suffer from meningitis induced migraines and had the joy of one on saturday out of nowhere. Sorry i missed everything but i am super happy Kim got to share in the joy. Huge thanks to Deb for showing her the ropes and to Charlie for helping out Deb thanks for sharing in the joy that is a 20 month old at bedtime, i love him to no end but sometimes the nerves get pushed all the way to the limit. I plan on getting Kim more comfortable and hopefully she loves it as much as i do. Thanks for a fun time even if it was to short as i see i missed some great riding but I'll be back soon enough.

[dsfox]

hey Hobiee, Sorry you missed the riding....I'd like to head back there too , lots to explore.... I so much enjoyed hanging out with ALL of you, and the little man is awesome....I think he likes me, so maybe he'll let me babysit so you and the wife can get out once in a while.....glad to do it, and glad to take Kim out....I'm still kind of newbish compared to most of you dirt freaks, but it's nice to get more ladies out to enjoy the adventure....Get her an electric start and she'll be loving it even more...lets ride again soon...

[cmayer31]

Big thanks to SDLineman for putting this together and hosting everyone at the potluck Saturday night. Also, thank you very much to Crawdaddy for the GPS tracks! It was great to meet a large group from SDAR and was an all around amazing weekend.

I got to camp Friday days and set up in the tent area which I'm not really sure is part of the campground I really appreciate all the offers to move indoors and get more comfortable, but I truly enjoy tent camping and have my gear organized such that it's a really quick process to set up and tear down camp. All of my gear has been weather tested to the extreme and it really is as comfortable as inside for me.

Casa de campo:

Not a bad view at all:


I swung by a few camps Saturday morning and figured that there'd be enough people out there that I didn't mind exploring solo and catching up later in the day.
Bradshaw trail:


Red Canyon:




Some of the ridge roads that I road up onto:



Then dropped back into some random washes and headed off to Bradshaw Ridge/ May's Wash Road:
Started off as a packed road with some fun little whoops and fairly hide speed desert riding:

Then it turned into deep sand and although I had a blast, it started to wear on me, so this was as good a spot as any for snacks and water:


Got out of the deep sand and decided to find the Pinnacles. I ran into Trophyhunter and wife coming out of the canyon. They pointed me to the entrance and a fun little offshoot with a cool window looking up through the rocks:



On the way back I caught up to dsfox, KTMomma, and Charlie (?), so followed them back to camp and tagged along on the Bat Cave / Oasis afternoon ride:






Another great ride with the SDAR group. I hope the weather broke for those who hung around Sunday. I hit some weather heading north, but made a big loop through some areas I'd never seen and had a pretty fun drive home.