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Before Goofy can tell me, "pics, or it didn't happen", I thought I would drop a quick note about a recent ride. I enjoy reading about other ride Write-Ups, especially when they add insights beyond just pics, heck, I have so much to learn still (gear, routes, mechanical, etc...) !!!!.... and I learn so much from this site, thank you all!..... so I often feel that I should contribute as well. It was a special ride because I hadn't been on a pedal bike or moto bike for quite a while. I even began to wonder if I should actually have moto bikes in the stable..... (what's that phrase - hop back on the horse if you were bucked off?) ..... so what better reason to find out but to wander around the desert for a few hours (Rhetorically - if closer to 70 than 60 years old, how many bikes does one need? Udo, we know your answer. , and the Breakfast club dudes too (although recent jeep comments and new dusty outlanding rigs have surfaced, like that scary phrase, (with age comes a cage. . ) With some time off work, I saw an opportunity to zip out to Ocotillo to do a little loop and get through that Painted Gorge loop gate before it locks on Jan 1. I wasn't able to collect any my immediate rider riding buds for the spontaneous outing, but I often find some extra freedom in solo travel (contrary to all the logical warnings). I was gonna ride easy to protect a recent injury because I was not 100% yet, but I wanted to try out one of my 2 new chest and rib protection armor pieces. #1, for larger bike, likely worn under a jacket - Forcefield EX-K Harness . #2, for smaller dual sport, the Fox raptor, which now sells as CE2, instead of CE1 protection. Not actually try it out fully, just feel how felt while riding - smiles. I laughed out loud as it took me a couple hours to simply pack the gear, and load the bike in the morning (although I grabbed a few extra items in case an overnight became a choice). It was nice that I wasn't in a rush for a change. I left El Cajon around 10 am and all went well, except that I-8 eastbound road construction where 3 lanes merge to 1 just past Alpine... really?? Parked in Ocotillo, it was beautiful, warm, and the windmills were not moving at all. I brought a Ham radio tuned to SDAR channel just in case I heard some chatter. I turned on Delorme and started tracking notifications as an FYI for someone back at the house in case I land somewhere and don't move for a couple hours (while remembering that I always wait 15 minutes after my return to the truck to turn off tracking because while using the 10 minute free notifications, it can appear to someone at home that I may have biffed short of my return to original location if I shut it down 8 minutes upon arrival, if the last point was sent 9 minutes earlier). I headed out towards Plaster City and randomly turned North along the way to find the entry point to the gate for Painted Gorge Upper level (actually had to do it intuitively as I forgot to re-populate my Map 78 with ocotillo region since my trip to Mammoth and recent CABDR explorations). (Still thanking Crawdaddy for his routes in mammoth, and forever will as I show other riders the magic of that region!) Ouch, I was riding at newbie levels as the bike felt very unstable to me - grrrrr... so nice and easy was the call .. that's ok for now.... I guess.... Found the gate, it was open, Yahoo. It was really nice roaming through the PG road as the canyon was narrow. I navigated the soft stuff cautiously (boringly) and bobbled along the rocky sections, although not with a high level of confidence as the larger rocks deflected my front tire often and I lost my line a few times that put me mighty close to a steep drop. I wasn't interested in finding out if the new armor would do as it was supposed to. . About 3/4 ths of the way up, I paused.... as I was proud of my effort, but decided that conquering the earlier 10 - 20 yard sections of rocky stuff successfully (maybe luckily) did not have me prepared for what looked like a 100 yard section of rock which lied ahead... while solo... So a pit stop to bask in the temporary glory was warranted. The views to the east were fantastic! The ride down was significantly easier as I also began to feel more at home on the bike, especially in the smooth sections shown below. Upon leaving the Gorge, I rode some mighty soft washes, and some whoops, as I headed east and then north at random turning points as I planned to head towards the bridge by way of the pelican/stork at the top of a local knoll just before entering the wash to the bridge..... Some nice desert blooms all around! I don't recall if the sand climb on the right in the background is the climb to the metal stork, but I do recall that with the influx of rzrs going up it these days, it has gotten significantly more soft ( I used to casually climb it in first gear, but now need to get a 3rd gear running start to make it, but that could simply be operator error. It was a nice ride to the Bridge from there, as I enjoyed riding in the wash, while being careful not to open it up knowing that some very soft silt sections randomly appear through that section. I was the only motorcycle I saw the entire day, but a few 4x4 and rzrs were gathered at the bridge: Next stop, superstition.... But darn, the roads I used to approach superstition were so dang soft and I was zig zagging far more than was normal, and it was a bit uncomfortable knowing that some rzrs were buzzing past me going 60 mph. I pulled over a couple times to get my wits about me, and it was nice that a couple of the rzr folks asked me if all was ok. (all good, just felt a bit out of place). I have climbed superstition a few times from the west (the soft side), but thought it best if I pass it this time around. I knew that my shinko fatty up front was worn, but when I looked closer, I noticed that almost all of the side knobbies had cracks almost 3/4ths of the way down each of them..... on both sides, for the entire 360 degrees.....in fact, I could use my fingers to peel them back quite a bit (maybe the recent rocks on Painted Gorge ripped them??) and my Goldentyre rear was looking pretty smooth, so for now I will use that excuse for my lackluster performance - haha. Still pretty terrain though: I contemplated heading south east towards Camacho's diner, but I think it was closed, so I headed towards Plaster City. Finally, on my return towards Plaster City, I began to feel like I was telling the bike where to go instead of the other way around. I gambled a bit by opening it up a little, and voila, the perma smile could have been seen in my helmet easily except I was still riding through the desert without a soul in sight. I was quite happy once the machine and I became more connected. Once I hit the asphalt at Plaster City, I slowed down to a comfortable 30 mph and basked in the feeling of contentment as I rode into the sunset: A great trip! 60+ miles and a few hours of joy! Ok, I'll keep that bike for sure. . I considered doing it again with new folks the following day as there was a group meeting at the Stagecoach RV park as posted on ADV Rider, but although I drove through the park for a few laps, I didn't see any bikes... so I was likely a day early for that gathering, so headed home. Cheers.

Beautiful pics....man...this really makes me want a smaller 2nd bike.

Only a person dedicated to the craft would take the time and effort necessary to do this write up. Kudos. Looks like a great trip.