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It took awhile, but finally have it in print.

I really have been missing riding at Big Bear this summer, though I have been keeping up with all the storms, mudslides, washouts and wild fires that have been disrupting and ruining that area lately. I really miss the forest rides. So yesterday, my riding buddy Kim took me out to Pine mountain to experience some forest riding up here. It is less than an hour's drive south of Rock Springs, and it's like a tiny Alpine oasis sticking up out of an otherwise high desert landscape. The desert is already at 7000 feet in elevation, so riding on Pine mountain brings you up to over 9000 feet. From the south rim, you can see into the "Three Corners" area, where Wyoming, Colorado and Utah all meet. In fact, there is a trail that lead off the mountain, and goes right to the marker monument. We didn't ride down there, yesterday, but instead explored all the gnarly two tracks that ran through the mountain drainages. Lots of aspen trees getting their first f all colors, and the forests are made up of mainly fir trees. We found the trails not maintained to any real degree, littered with washouts, rocks and trees. We also found some abandoned cabins and a few small ponds. It was pretty nice day, although I ended up with a head cold late in the day. Oh well, we got germs up here too.

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Wow what a fun ride! Weather was fantastic in Plaster City. Last weekend . SUNDAY I charged my cell phone , put on ALL my riding safety gear , then headed out to get gas at the Chevron in Ocotillo near the 8 freeway I was anticipating meeting some of the other riders from the SDAR group so I hustled it back to the Red Feather restaurant for a meet up. At exactly 9 am, Five and Jason showed up on their awesome KTM and Yamaha 700Tenere . Both bikes were emaculate and I was impressed. Together we made a plan of how to tackle the terrain and went over a map I made to discuss and become familiar with the obstacles ahead. First thing we did was ride out past the broken bridge on Evan Hughes Hwy, we had to go through sand as we crossed the deep wash down below. We stopped and talked about the best way to approach it Both riders did great with this 👏. Afterward we headed to Plaster City border patrol road towards Pesky Perch. There was alot of sand on the road due to the recent storms but J5 handled that like a champ. His riding experience paid off and we pressed on despite the uneven and loose terrain. The roads became washed out so we decided it's a good time to cut across the desert over to Painted Gorge. J5 started showing off his sand skills at every chance he got . I was taken aback when he decided to lead. He was crossing washes like a pro he had very impressive skill and techmique. Over at Plaster City there was smooth roads leading to a natural Painted landscape with broad strokes of yellow , sandstone ,red, black , and green and blue splashed across the mountainside. I didn't get any pics because I was having too much fun 🙃 😅. After discovering the beauty nature offered us we went back to the diner and grabbed some broc-a-sorus burgers and taters.The people at the restaurant were real nice and It was a fun motorcycle rider orientated place to eat. Thanks John and Jason for helping make a great Ride

Yes, That is what the sign said leaving Ocotillo. Figured, well heck I am this far,,, There we’re about ten Sand Bars a couple of inches thick on the way to Border Patrol checkpoint. Also a couple of 1ft steps at the edge of the downstream side of pavement. Cal trans was wrapping up grading.They had pushed a lot of sand off. So. Carrizo and Indian Canyon. The clay was just drying, the sand totally dry. Most everywhere had been wiped clean, most hard pack, some already deep and loose. This was totally in the park, on roads. On what had been roads. 75-89F at 11:00 when I loaded up. Had to get away for a few hours,,,

Happy Labor Day! To celebrate my newfound day off, I decided to try a ride on my 1200GSA. I have to admit, it was with much trepidation, since I had a complete knee replacement last month. But 5 weeks without riding was causing withdrawal symptoms, so without bothering anyone else to come along, I decided to go solo. Can I get on and off? Can I hold this beast up? Lots of thoughts going through my head. So, after a nice 25-mile ride, all I could think of was an old monk telling David Carridine, "Patience grasshopper" The knee is doing well, but having my right foot on the peg, was still causing a mild stretch.....fine at first, but after 25 miles the knee started protesting. I at least managed to quell the withdrawal symptoms temporarily, and you just managed to read the weakest ride report of the year....but IT WILL GET BETTER👌 @Zubb, I'm feeling your pain! Now I need to find some ice and watch some old episodes of Kung Fu....

I sure miss all my home state riding venues and I always will. Wyoming is a sparse, rugged and austere place, but there are tons of trails and jeep roads here. A person can ride in most directions further than their fuel tank will allow, and never see a town, a building and sometimes another human being. Lots of high desert, with little cover, crazy weather and high winds. Almost no details of my life have remained the same since I moved here...except riding.

As discussed in this thread: https://dualsport-sd.com/forums/index.php?/topic/27091-your-next-big-ride/& It seems that we have some people interested in doing some of these "Next Big Rides" but haven't quite got their feet wet yet, or maybe they want to test a new setup or haven't gone on a bike camping trip for a while. I am far from an expert and I don't have the latest Gucci gear but can probably help give some of y'all a little nudge to get out there and start your adventure. My thoughts on how this could work - just a very simple ride with some street and some dirt, long enough to see how the bike feels with your camping setup on it at highway speeds and on some off pavement stuff. Everyone should plan to be able to be 100% self sufficient but we have safety of being in a group. Camp at a place that has some basic facilities if possible, just so it's a bit easier for anyone who is a first timer. Get there early enough so everyone can set up, help each other, tips/tricks, eat, drink and be merry. About a month from now, so mid/late October. That gives people a chance to ask questions, pick up gear, old timers can get a flea market going for excess gear, etc. Thoughts??

Some good times are headed our way . Found a place to rest Ken goes for it. Crfxr makes it look easy. My bike ends up down here somehow. Search for new stuff. Lunchtime Prime Time Deli.

I've done CABDR X2, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and will be setting out with the BDR crew to take on 1000 miles of dirt on the NVBDR in a couple weeks. Each has been a lot of fun, each had some challenges (usually weather related), and each is well worth doing. As far as my favorites, I'd probably go with CO at this point. But Utah was awesome....oh heck, they were all awesome in their own way. Zubb, hit me up if you want to do CABDR. I'd might be game depending on what life is throwing at me.

Driving at the time through the Poconos and NY, I can see myself to get the bike over and ride this woods here.

For any who might be interested, here's the YouTube link for the GS Trophy going on right now. Today is Day 3. The inside joke at the qualifier this last year was "It's not a race, ok . . . GO!" As of this morning, TEAM USA is in 10th place (dammit). 3 male riders on the team. Fellow San Diegan Jim Duplease is a helluva rider, competitor and friend. I've met Cory and watched him come in first at the qualifier. He friggen' rips. I don't know Ben but hear he's exceptional. This is a little bit motocross, a little bit trials, and a lot ADV bike skills. Best coverage has been on YouTube and Instagram. For those inclined . . . enjoy.

I've had an in reach mini for a while now - simple - nice safety thingy to have. As for Solo Travel, the biggest Solo I did was from San Diego, up the Eastern side of CA (dipped in to nv a couple times) on in to central/Eastern Oregon, camping along the way. I chose correctly in terms of twisty uninhabited roads in norcal and southern Oregon, just glorious. Camped in Prineville a couple nights (exactly where I grew up fishing and camping with my dad) then headed west down the Oregon coast, stayed in the redwoods a night, then the old highway 1 out directly on the coast down to the narrow redwoods, and cut back inland for the final stretches. I enjoy riding with friends, but that 8 days on the bike by myself, just me, the bike, and my full camping load was truly awesome. Highly recommend fucking off for a week or so on your bike by yourself and camping along the way to somewhere and back. That trip was 95% paved, but was absolutely glorious because I picked the right ways to go, and Listened to friendly locals that wanted to give me routing ideas the entire way. Here is some pics from that trip.

That I personally may or may not be ready to die is a pretty myopic and narcissistic point of view- I don't live in this world alone, and I'm obligated to consider others. They may be sad, or they might celebrate- but I'm not alone. I was an early adopter of SPOT specifically because of the tracking feature. If I die out on the trail solo, I don't want resources to be spent trying to find me with S&R folks, aircraft, wife and kid living in anxiety and emotional torture while my whereabouts remain a mystery. I don't want to be responsible for the waste of public time and money (and the chance that diverted resources will cost another person) because I was entranced with my own navel and my own existential mortality. Perfect example of this is the guy who rode Otay alone a few years ago, and had a (reported) cardiac event. Hundreds of volunteers wasted their time and energy because he simply could not be bothered to consider his family and carry a locating device. Was it two weeks before his body was found? Two weeks of hell for that guy's family. Scrape me up off the desert floor (you might want to bring a truck) and be done with it. Strip all the good parts off my bike before it's impounded. My wife can more quickly cash in my measly life insurance policy and, after an appropriate week or so of mourning, easily find a far more prosperous individual with whom to share her remaining years.

@tntmo I planned around the hots, left at 5 am for the ride there, and back. Arrived same time, 10am when it was just starting to breach in to f-u hot zone haha.

This bike has been to the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and most places between. It will do it for you, too! 53,000 miles, I just performed the valve adjustment (one exhaust valve was out of spec) and installed new Iridium plugs, new air filter, oil and filter and rear drive fluid. It’s ready to go. Big Happy Trail boxes, a Shad top box, Oxford heated grips, PIAAA and Rigid lights, skid plate, engine crash bars with highway pegs, USB charger, Stream windscreen, probably more… $6500

I am sad for your soon-to-be loss!!! I've never met a person who owned these that didn't get a little teary-eyed reminiscing after they sold it. Good luck with your sale. I'm kind of surprised at the low asking price.

Dib on the mikuni and Magura. Can you hold this till I am back mid October please? I am in Pennsylvania till than.

I took a ride up Pine Creek Road this morning. It is open now. The fire stated just past the second creek crossing and burnt north east. Pretty bad, but not as bad as I thought. Still some beautiful area there. Fire fighters in one tanker truck still working the area, so be careful.

*** Research at your own peril - Goofy Footer is not responsible for any legal advice nor medical outcome! *** All insurance plans are different. All jurisdictions having authority are different. All rescues, medical issues and emergencies are different. Your needs are different than mine. That said, Garmin offers a variety of plans --> https://my-geos.com/products SOS Coverage and What Happens When Triggering SOS --> https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=dENvi0yoo51ib0Zh8L4El6 Saved by Garmin inspirational (marketing?) stories --> https://www.garmin.com/en-US/blog/saved-by-garmin/ _________________________________________________________________________________ @J5ive - I hope this thread is informative for you. Skills and knowledge empower solo riding (and all riding). Welcome! @Zubb $24 / month Garmin InReach likely includes your sat texting capability and possibly tracking? The actual EVAC insurance isn't widely expensive as noted in the first link above. @bfar33 dope beach pic and love the bike! Did you replace the DR650 with a WRR for Baja? I may take you up on that offer to Rent the InReach - I'll pay!! Maybe we can meetup for Beers and Baja talk sometime. @Reximus is a baja junky too and needs his fix. @paulmbowers agreed - the nuances of the insurance plans are important to know. Let's say I rent @bfar33 or @Zubb 's InReach... if I activate it (not them, Me) I'm not covered in the insurance plan. If @bboyle9 activates His InReach for me, I'm not covered in the insurance plan. ________________________________________________________________________________ In terms of cell phones being used to access 911 - my understanding is if your provider doesn't have cell service the 911 call will route to the nearest alternative provider's tower to make the call. Ex: your verizon phone doesn't have service in Anza Borrego so the 911 call will roam and route through AT&T as a safety courtesy. However... if you are in an area of NO cell service -- aka remote places we ride, then you are SOL and need Satellite Comms.

As stated in a different post...Easy Rider did it for me - I wanted to explore the US on a bike - via back roads. I still get out and ride my HD's as much as I can. There's just something about it I can't explain...my wife know's I have the soul of a gypsy. Now it's Youtube, watching all the BDR stuff, trips in Alaska on ADV bikes. In fact, just got back from Alaska, I rented a BMW GS850 up there and did about 1,300 miles paved/dirt (60/40). My inspiration to do Alaska had a lot to do with the Youtube video's I was watching (also, got to check off my 49th state I've ridden a bike in) My new goal is - to do some BDR's on my Tenere 700

Don’t be around rednecks, they will take you out.

Yes, I was thinking about heading south from Vegas using CABDR section 3.