tntmo

I don't know if anyone else gets days off during the week, but it looks like I won't be working on Thursday and will probably ride the Otay area around 0930.

I know the KLR clubs have tech days in San Diego, but if any of you KLR guys need the tools to do the doo-hickey mod I have them so you can fix your bike during a Honda day with the Gunner.

Take plenty of pictures and share them with us.

Yeah, I took my WR400. I had prepped my DR350 for this ride but decided against it on Friday after I rode Corral Canyon on it. I forgot how much better the suspension is on my Yamaha. I think it would be fun to do this trail with a small group and see if we could make the 3.5 miles in under 30 minutes. If you aren't comfortable climbing over rocks as you progress uphill then you won't want to do this trail.

Log off and ride??

Have you ever rode up Bronco Peak in Corral Canyon? It's not a long trail, but it's got plenty of rocks and silt on uphill sections. Similar to Allesandro on the Duallies ride.

I thought the roll chart was pretty spot on, I was blowing past people stopping to look at their GPS as I rolled onto the next section. My odometer was off +/- about 1/10 mile at the end of most sections. The only section where the roll chart was completely wrong was 12 hard (maybe 12 easy too?). The GPS was right on that section though, so I had to follow some people with new technology. Great route!

It took me a lot longer than 15 minutes to make it through Allesandro. I think I spent over 15 minutes waiting for people in front of me to clear some of the sections. If I had nobody in front of me it still would take a while. I stalled out a few times but didn't drop the bike so I am going to count it as a victory. I am going back to check it out again sometime, this time with more water for me and maybe a fan for the bike.

My bike was heating up a lot on this ride, it usually doesn't overheat. It was boiling at around 3/4 of the way through section 7. I wonder if it had to do with the altitude? My bike wasn't running as good as usual up there. My buddies KTM was blowing steam all the time too. Both of our bikes were boiling at the end of the tight singletrack part (section 10?) also. I saw a lot of KTM's blowing steam, almost every one of them at the end of section 7. The only one I saw that wasn't had a radiator fan. Air cooled bikes definitely have the advantage there.

I made it, even though all but one of my firends bailed. It was a lot of fun, I'll be bringing my wife back for the easy stuff. We did all the hard splits, I think we hit Allesandro/Hixon at a good time because there weren't too many people ahead of us. We had to wait a couple times but it wasn't bad. A lot of bikes were overheating on that trail, my Yamaha was bubbling at the end and I was pretty hot too. I drained my camelback and felt a bit of heat exhaustion but I filled it up at Hemet. We made it to lunch without issue, although there was a guy right before the end of section 10 that had dislocated his shoulder. They were setting it when we stopped and he sounded like he was in a lot pain. After lunch we hit section 11, that was the only part that I had an issue with the roll chart. It wasn't even close but luckily we had a group of Duallies come by who helped us out. I ran into Schwinn at the first gas stop but we got split up around section 6 or 7. I ran into him again at lunch, I'll let him tell his story. Anyway, we'll be back for another one.

That's great news! Thanks to everyone for taking the time to help out on this.

How is our roll call looking for this? I got my paperwork in the mail the other day, a late signup but they still got me in. I am bringing at least 3 others along with me, maybe 5. Gonna have to get up early! How long does the trip up there take?

Is there anything new on this? I haven't heard one way or the other.

The day started out pretty good. I met up with Chris and Bruce at 0900, ready to go at the Pine Valley exit. We made our way up Bear Valley Road without any issues and headed towards Kernan Cycle Trail. A small side trail caught my interest so we went that way for a bit. A break in the shade was in order. We headed down Kernan on this perfect Friday. You couldn't ask for a much nicer day, we only saw one other rider out there today. Here's Chris coming around a corner on his DR250. And Bruce on his XR650L. The group got up to Four Corners and had a visitor of the reptilian variety. This little rattlesnake took a liking to the Maxxis IT on my Yamaha. After moving the bike he was pissed off! I led us up trail #1 all the way to the end. Great view of Lake Morena toward the end of the trail along with a bit of a challenging rocky section. We decided to turn around and head back the way we came. I thought it was more difficult going up the rocks but everyone made it. As we got back to Four Corners, Bruce and I heard a commotion. I headed back down the trail and saw that Chris had a spill. He hurt his hand so we decided to take pavement home. No worries, we took the road from Four Corners back to Buckman Springs and on towards Old Buckman Springs Road to Old Highway 80. Shortly after the Border Patrol checkpoint I noticed a lot of wallowing from the back of my bike. I pulled over and saw the flat rear tire that I was expecting. I made it another 100 yards or so until I got to the shade of a California live oak. I waited for 20 minutes or so but nobody came back around. I started to change my flat tire. I took my time and got my tube changed, luckily I had enough CO2 cartriges to seat the bead. Rode back to the Pine Valley exit and everyone was gone. I loaded up and headed home. Good to know that my tire change kit works at least??

Okay, this is a good time to bring this up again. I thought I posted this here too, but maybe I only put it on ThumperTalk. Here's the link. http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=477496 I am going to make a point of having one filled out with me, along with a few blank ones for the new people I ride with to fill out before the ride. Maybe we could make a custom one up just for SDAR rides and make it standard operating procedure before the ride begins? Tom

When I posted this, I meant to stir the pot a little bit. I wasn't looking to point fingers at my riding partners that day, but rather to point fingers at all of us to make sure we do two things. #1: Watch out for the rest of your group. #2: As the Boy Scouts say, Be Prepared. I used to be one of those guys who never carried the repair stuff. I only recently picked up the fender bag, tire irons and inflator. I have never changed a tire on the trail until the other day, never had a flat on the trail. I thought it was one of those things that happened to someone else. If you ride off road, learn to change your own tires in the garage where there is beer, music, etc to get the tricks of the trade down and then when you have to do it in the dirt on the side of the trail you will have the required skills. Here's a few links to some cheap gear to get you started. It's the same junk that I have and it worked. http://www.rockymountainatv.com/productDet...dFamilyId=15582 http://www.rockymountainatv.com/productDet...dFamilyId=16591 http://www.rockymountainatv.com/productDet...dFamilyId=13067

Well......I was more than a little upset when I got my tube changed and didn't see anybody come back. When I got to the staging point and everyone was gone, that didn't help my mood much. I stopped off for lunch and settled down about it. I know Chris got hurt, so he and Bruce were probably pretty concerned about that and they just spaced it. I am going to make a point next time I lead a ride to ensure that everyone is responsible for the next rider. It all worked out okay this time, I had the tools and dumb luck to be able to fix the bike and ride back(ran out of CO2 and broke my inflator). Anytime these guys want to ride, I'm ready to go again. Just watch out for each other out there!

I've got the day off Friday, gonna probably hit up Corral Canyon early am(before 9). Anyone want to join up? Or another suggestion to ride that day? Let me know. Tom

Okay, I'm set for meeting at the Pine Valley exit at 0900. Might be a warm day so bring pleny of liquids. All you can eat fish and chips at Majors Diner after the ride.

I have a dirt newbie friend who would probably enjoy that. Keep me informed.

Hope you enjoy your DRZ. I have mine set up for supermoto now, it's a lot of fun and only takes about an hour to switch it over to dirt trim.

What happens when you get a free lawn mower that doesn't run, a free Honda GL650 that runs but is missing the front forks, a welder, a kegerator and a demented mind?? It's not even close to done yet, but when it is I have no idea what to do with it.

Steve, I have a friend who is an absolute newbie to dual sporting, he has a KLR650. Is the trail portion of this easy? I am trying to get him off-road but he is nervous about anything much more than a gravel road. He has been street riding for quite a few years so he is a competent motorcyclist, just needs the off-road experience. Tom

This trip report isn't motorcycle related, but there were some cool places to check out on this trip. After the rain on Friday I decided it would be a good time to take the family to see Cedar Creek Falls. I have wanted to go for a long time and Sunday worked out for everyone. I'm sure some of you have taken Pine Hills road right before Julian, or Eagle Peak road that branches off it but I have never been in that area. You follow Eagle Peak road to the trail head and there is a parking area. There was an awesome looking road there, but it was gated off with a sign that said it was closed due to poor condition. Looked plenty passable on a dual sport to me, I don't know where it goes though. Here's the kids on the way down to the river valley. This used to be a road at one time. This is Mildred Falls, the tallest waterfall in San Diego county. It doesn't have much flow unless there are heavy rains, but it's over 100 feet to the bottom. This goofy looking guy is me at about the halfway point. It's a bit over 2 miles to the falls. The kids again, this time crossing Cedar Creek. Here's my wife and daughter crossing Cedar Creek at another point. There it is! Cedar Creek Falls is about 90 feet high, with a nice punchbowl at the bottom. There were some college aged kids jumping in when we got there. Looked cold to me. The top of the falls. It was a really nice hike, the route back up the hill was a lot more difficult but not bad. There were some roads/trails I noticed but there were signs stating that it was Helix Water District property. Wish I knew someone who worked there so I could explore. After the next rainfall I am going to explore the Three Sisters waterfalls that is somewhere in the area.

I've been a big fan of motorcycle road racing for a long time and love going to watch it live. Anyway, the AMA Superbike series is headed to Fontana this weekend (28th/29th) and I'll be heading up that way on Saturday. They also have some awesome Supermoto racing every year. If anyone is interested give me a holler. I'm riding my DRZ up there since I finally got all the parts completed for my GS500 rim conversion.