HardCharger

I'm with ya on this one. As a long-time DS rider those comments reign true over here. We can't let the "what if" take control of us when we ride pavement. We need to be VERY aware. No zoning out, no getting comfortable. I cruise around all over SD & Mex always looking, looking & looking, making sure I'm seen, or planning a clear out if I'm not. I think dirt ridin' hones your skills for street, too. You get much more sense of what's ahead, what's beyond that curve or how big that drop off might be. Now I've got my first street-only MC & it's all transferring nicely. I call my VT500 my "little" bike because of its low standover height. Really fun & I get to save my knobs on my Thumper a little bit more these days... I tell you what, all that dirt bikin', quad ridin' & bicycle ridin' all helps with how to deal with the "what might" happen out on pavement. You gotta be sharp & "feel" the other drivers out there 'cause they sure aren't payin' attention to you & if they do, it's only for a moment since they'll usually get distracted & forget you're there. When you're out on the road you always have to be on the look out. Never trust your mirrors, either. Gotta have an out, always. Gotta cover the brakes, clutch, be ready to powershift or pull that extreme avoidance maneuver, even jumping up & over a bone head driver that "might" pull out or turn right in front of you. City streets are the worst but that doesn't stop me from headin' out for a ride. That's where the bicyclist in me kicks in. From my experience, freeway ridin' is much safer...

Thanks Gents. I've been hoping to find more folks that like to ride these AAV's, or All-Terrain Assault Vehicles, a little more freqeuntly than some of my busier riding friends. Laguna Hanson is one of my more favorite rides. Did that from Tecate to RSV one time. All of about 240 miles in one day. Great ride with that memorable fuel stop & great local burritos at the top there. Yeah, I was readin' the rides forum & was thinkin' long & hard about going (somewhere) today but being Mom's Day & all I just couldn't get my Kitchen Pass for a ride. Gotta do what you gotta do... Definitely gonna make the time here really soon. Last (3-day) ride was in late March. It was an 850-miler from Tecate down the dry lake to San Felipe to Puertocitos. Then from Ranco Grande to Coco's corner to Catavina up to Santo Tomas through Ensenada & back to the Estados Unidos. Can't wait for more like those. Hasta.

What's up folks? Short-time lurker, new member HardCharger or HC here. Been ridin' the big Red Thumpers since the early 80's. Very familiar with most of the local SD riding areas, Four Corners, McCain & Lark, Ocotillo & northern Baja. Done a lot of informal Dual Purpose rides before the new term Dual Sport was invented. A lot of the good places to ride that were somewhat close have long since been shut down, Mercy Road, Brown Field, etc. during my time in the sport. Now I'm ridin' a heavily dirt & Adv Riding modded BFP, or Big Fat Pig, my '98 XRL. I'm lookin' to hook up with others here in SD for some dirt, DS or pavement ridin' with the group's locals. Got all the gear, a good Thumper & the right attitude for some excursions north, south & east. Anything to the west (almost) puts me in the Pacific... I'll be checkin' the informal ride section to see what's up & who's ridin' where. Lookin' forward to meeting some more DS riders here.