CableJockey

I have owned one pair of knee braces so I'm no expert. What I do know about is that annoying rub from the velcro straps. The EVS Brace Sleeves solved the problem for me. At $20 a pair it is a no-brainer to wear them. Buy them on the large side so you can pull them up and fold them over the top of the brace to keep them up. I haven't found anything else that works.

The thread was distilled down to a "New Riders Guide". It may be a bit dated but it is a shorter read. Enjoy! http://dualsport-sd.com/forums/index.php?/topic/9795-new-riders-guide-compilation/?hl=cablejockey#entry98489

I’m writing this for all the “real” Noob’s out there who are lurking around the website, reading about all the great adventures, and trying to decide if they are ready to dive into one of these rides. What is a “real” Noob? It’s the rider who is new not only to the website but to riding as well. I’m a real Noob. I had owned a Honda CT70 that I used at work but never owned or rode a “real” motorcycle. I got my first motorcycle 2 years ago. It was a TW200 and it served me well. I put about 400 miles on it before buying my DRZ400S 13 months ago and I’m still a Noob. I consider myself good enough to be seriously dangerous and the only to get better (and have fun) is to ride which brings me to “Riding with the Big Boys and Girls”. How do you select the right ride, over the right terrain, with the right level of obstacles with the right people? It’s easier than you might think. Start by finding a group of people who are doing the type of riding you want to do. I looked (aka lurked) at a lot of websites to see what they were doing and what kind of riding they were doing and it was obvious that the SDAR riders were in the dirt having ADVENTURES and FUN doing it. There was an obvious camaraderie in the group but when Noobs would show up on the website they were always welcoming. Yes, I know this sounds like a major Noob suck up but I firmly believe it’s true. Since you’re reading this, I assume you’ve decided to lurk here. First, stop lurking. Join the club, pay your $20 to support website, and become part of a great group of people. Second, go to the informal rides section of the forum and become familiar with the different types of rides. People are always happy to add another rider to their group but the “real” Noob has a responsibility to find out if the ride is right for them. How? Easy! Just post your question about the ride with enough information for the ride leader to make an assessment of whether this would be the right ride for you. Did I follow this advice on my first ride. Not a chance. I had only ridden on forest service roads 5 or 6 times and was VERY unsure about my skills and my ability to keep up. Instead of posting my questions, I PM’d the ride leader so that if he called me an idiot, I would only be embarrassed in front of one person. I was assured that it was not a problem, I was welcome, and he would modify the ride if it got too hard and he would wait for me if I was too slow. I still owe PastaPilot a beer for that ride. See the write-up below. So what should you do? Post or PM, it doesn’t matter. Just look for something that seems within your ability, “talk” to the ride leader and go for it if what they are planning to do is within your reach. Is this the only option, No, since you’re a member, you can post on the informal rides page that you’re a new rider with xxx skill level and are interested in a ride in area yyy and wondering if anyone else is interested in going. If you don’t know the area and are looking for someone to lead, just say so. Don’t be embarrassed if you don’t get a response, it happens all the time. It might be that nobody was interested in doing it at the time you stated. Try again next week. If you’re interested in riding, having fun, challenging yourself, and spending your day in the company of good people, you’re in the right place. Just go for it. These are my thoughts on “Riding with the Big Boys and Girls”. Post yours.

I received this in an email today. If you have a spot device sitting around and have been thinking of activating it, this might be the right time.

The standard H4 bulb is 55W on low and 60W on high. The wiring is correctly sized for your 60W flamethrower IF you're only going to run the light bar. If you run your headlight and the light bar together you would double the current and that would drop the voltage to both lights and COULD overheat the wiring.

Hmmmm, That link sends you to my photobucket site rather than playing the video. I'm not doing something right. Any ideas?

Got my dirt nap on video. Turn the volume up. http://

Two days of riding is just scratching the surface. I'm ready to go again. The view from my bed in the trailer. Not a bad way to wake up.

Problem fixed, got hall pass from the program office, trailer hooked up, mobile in 5, be there around 12am.

What? Fix it. You need to get out there. Conditions should be perfect! Between the wet sand, no dust, and washouts this will be an adventure that spawns some great stories.

Soooooo, I have a problem at work and may not make it to the ride. I will make sure that Panamint knows the site will still be used even if I'm not there so please use it. flexfab, I sent you a PM

vanjoosten, Yes, there is PLENTY of room for more tents and bikes. Please join us. The group site is in the back row to the far right (as you enter the campground) John

Gonna be camping , tent ect. Get off work thursday at 5, too late to ride up. So plan on leaving friday morning at 5 or 6 in hopes of a noon arivall time in an attempt to get an afternoon ride friday. Making reservations tomorrow for a tent site. Jesse Jesse, The group site still has free camping available. Join us if you want to. John

I won't know if I'm coming up Thursday morning or evening until tomorrow. If I get out early, I'd like to ride 1-2 Thursday. I'll post my schedule tomorrow. Anyone interested in a late afternoon ride on Thursday?

It looks like DV got a significant amount of rain. Should make for epic riding except for the pesky washouts and debris on the roadway. I'm hoping that the road closures are cleared by the weekend. Attached is today's DV's morning report. You can find them each morning at the link below (Morning Report under the Green Features heading). Highs for the weekend should be 70's to 80's on the valley floor 60's at Panamint and 50's in the mountains. I'm almost loaded and ready to go, see you there. http://www.nps.gov/deva/index.htm John Morning-Report.pdf

I'm taking my little 6x12 enclosed trailer to haul the bike and sleep in. Maybe a mini version of a toyhauler but she ain't no RV.

They say the group site will handle 30 tents so there is plenty of room. The worst case scenario is that we have to pay something for extra vehicles. Come, camp, and enjoy.

Excellent, I added you to the list. See you there.

Hodnettjj, If you decide to camp, there is room in the group camp site. See my earlier post. CableJockey

I needed to change from a tent site to something else because I'm bringing my motorcycle trailer. So I decided WTH, I'll just get the group site. It has power to charge phones, a fire pit, etc. Group Camp Site: Up to 30 people Great site for large groups such as scout troops, student groups, motorcycle and off road groups. Site has a small stage with power for a P/A system, a large fire pit and picnic tables. Site is 80′ x 35′. Parking is limited to 5 vehicles. Arrangements may be made for additional vehicles for an additional cost. We do not have a limit for the number of tents, as long as they are contained within the site. PSR is flexible on the parking arrangements and will let us go over the limit some as long as we are good neighbors. The limit is 5 vehicles and they consider a motorcycle 1/2 of a vehicle. I'm betting we won't have a problem if we have 3 or 4 vehicles and 5 motorcycles ...... and are good neighbors. There is plenty of tent space so if we go over we may have to move a motorcycle or two to a friendly tent site. This is not a share the cost arrangement. Come, park, camp, and enjoy. Let me know if want on the list: Vehicles: 1. CableJockey - John 2. Goofy Footer 3. 4. Motorcycles: 1. CableJockey - John 2. Goofy Footer 3. 4. 5.

I just checked my reservation. I don't have a site number assigned so it may be first come first served sorta arrangement. Maybe as it gets closer we can pull together a list of who is going and what they reserved and we (I'll volunteer) can work it with them in advance to get everyone in the same general area.

Greg, The last thing you have to worry about is staying ahead of me. I always ride at the back of the pack because I'm the slowest and want to ride my ride without feeling pressured. The good part is that those of you who can ride like a scalded puppy can also get to ride your ride ..... you just have to wait at the intersections. I will certainly bring my DRZ (150 mi range) and probably bring the KLR in case I get in the mood for a long easy ride. There will probably be a full spectrum of bikes but it looks like more DRZ size than the adventure bikes. One thing to note, in this group the guys that have the adventure bikes can ride them. First beer is on me. John

Flexfab, I was in the midst of planning a ride out of Tecopa to see the Noonday, Gunsite, War Eagle, etc mines. I've read about them but haven't had the chance to visit. I have no information about mines around Panamint Springs. I was going to create a route based on what the topo maps showed (crap shoot method). If you have experience in the area, I'm happy to follow and buy you a beer. John

Flexfab, There is more to ride in DV than you could do in a week. I found tracks for DV in my Garmin directory. I think I got them from the Dual Sport Moto website but their mapping function appears to be down so I can't verify. I have attached a PDF of the tracks and according to Mapsource, it covers 1340 miles. I'm going to put together some tracks for visiting some local mines if you're interested. No matter what, you won't be bored. If anyone recognizes these tracks as their work or whose tracks they may be, please let me know. It's bad Karma to share someones work without their permission. Death Valley Tracks-modified.pdf John

Join us! Plenty of room for another rider and plenty of riders to pair up with.