Goofy Footer

If I may suggest, put Noob Friendly in the thread title. People love noob friendly rides! Also beware 5/14 is Mother’s Day

One of the SDAR principles is Tread Lightly Mud pits dry out and become nasty ruts for other vehicles. This can happen on single track too so TL is crucial. Mtn bikers also talk about letting trails dry out before riding them. If only the Tread Lightly sentiment was more widespread.

The 1997 Yamaha YZM400 was a winner! Italy’s own Andrea Bartolini was the YZM400 rider who won the Italian Gran Prix And stateside, AMA Hall of Famer Doug Henry won the final round of 1997 Supercross at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas on the YZM - the first modern four stroke to win. He beat Jeremy McGrath that race!

a YZM400 beat the Husabergs and won the 1997 Italian World Cup / Grand Prix !!

What year would you say sparked the modern Euro 4 stroke motocross wave? 1999 brought the Yamaha YZ400 to the US if I recall correctly

Don’t forget your 13mm!

Congrats on the new bike! What area of town are you in? Might help with coordinating rides Plenty of seat options for that bike - same as the DRZ400 Excellent dualsport machine!

With age comes pragmatism, motrin and yelling at people to get off your lawn

@Zubb and @spazegun2213 PM @KTMrad or @shutterrev for the address and RSVP

wow ktm rotax, never knew about this. stealing motors since the 80s!

The elephant in the room: Liquid Cooling and Marketing killed the last great 4 stroke trail bikes: Honda XR Suzuki DR (Long Live the DR650) Yamaha IT / TTR ! @tntmo @tntbromo @Reximus @350thumper @J5ive @Reximus @Birdi

Was KTM buying Husaberg their big entry into the 4 stroke world? I don’t know that I’ve ever seen an older KTM 4 stroke than the late 90s - early 2000s LC4 rattle your cavity fillings out, left side kicker bikes

Also while it’s no longer produced New, the KDX 200 & KDX 220 are so good and last such a long time that even the early 2000s models are still running! Still highly capable trail machines today. @dirt dame @mufflerbearings @socalhodaka @dsfox

Correct, Yamaha has never stopped producing 2 strokes and recently unveiled the YZ250X with wide ratio gearbox and 18” rear tire. I have seen these in the off road and desert scene. Panthera Estart kits are available, 300 big bores are plentiful and of course, the new 500 kit is out there!

@Mr.JAJA where is that wrecking yard? @tntmo’s new Kawi Dream bike has a parts trailer for hauling those goods home

@tntmo can you make it? If so bring the Kawi Dream! @Zubb are you in town or Idaho? @DSM8 hope you can make it @PaulyPickles needs to come @J5ive come and be social bring your crutches! @Mr.JAJA hope you can make it, would be nice to see you @MacDuncan this one is close to you, come by @shutterrev thanks for hosting! @Wintyfresh near your ‘hood hope to see you @KTMrad thanks for organizing this @SlowpokeShorty this is what you asked for! See you there!

The road less traveled BY ELIZABETH FITZSIMONS MARCH 7, 2004 12 AM PT The story goes that in 1857, a young woman traveling to meet her fiancé in Northern California fell ill on the punishing stagecoach trip from the East. She stopped to rest at the Vallecito station, a desert outpost about 70 miles east of San Diego where travelers revived themselves after making the “Journey of Death” through the Imperial Valley. She died at Vallecito and was buried in an unmarked grave in the wedding dress found in her luggage. The grave, covered by a mound of stones and protected by a small fence, is still there. And so is her spirit, if you believe in such things. She is known as the Lady in White, and some say she restlessly roams the old station’s grounds, now a county park and campground 40 miles southwest of Borrego Springs on County S2. It is a ghost story fitting for the road, which on most days is so quiet you can hear a car’s approach long before it passes. How many people travel it is anyone’s guess, but except for seasonal weekend visitors to the desert, it’s usually deserted. The small number of vehicles offer “no reason for us to be doing traffic counts,” said Mike Robinson with the county’s traffic division. It may be that S2 is the county’s loneliest road. Even so, S2 is a vital artery, used to deliver groceries and gasoline to a hardy few desert dwellers, and them to civilization. It runs from the sleepy Imperial County town of Ocotillo, near Interstate 8, to state Route 79, just east of Lake Henshaw in North County. S2 is at its loneliest along the 40 miles from Ocotillo to the junction of state Route 78 at Scissors Crossing. Bracketing this stretch are tiny communities of about 300 inhabitants each. At the south end is Ocotillo, and in the north Shelter Valley. The desert settlement sits in Earthquake Valley, but landowners changed the name of their community to something more inviting. It didn’t have telephones until 1978. Midway is Canebrake, named for the bamboo-like reed that grows around a nearby well. About 20 homes on this 640-acre parcel are occupied year-round, with more people visiting on the weekends. Canebrake was once a federal homestead parcel, reserved for sailors and soldiers returning from World War II. Until the early 1980s, it survived without telephones or mail delivery. “When we first came out here it was two tracks in the sand, no highway,” said Eileen Brennan, who has lived in Canebrake off and on since the 1950s. “It’s just like living in heaven. There’s quail and bunny rabbits here every morning for you to feed. ‘Course, we got coyotes, too.” In the early ‘50s, Brennan’s son delighted in the ghost stories told by a woman called Old Mary who sold milk and bread from a 4-by-8-foot shack near the Agua Caliente Hot Springs. At 86, Brennan figures she’s outlived many of the folks from her early days in Canebrake. But there are many like-minded people to keep her company. “There’s nothing out here. It’s just a group of people that love the desert and love to live out here. It’s an entirely different way of life.” Rich history Though the number of travelers on S2 today may be few and unremarkable, the road’s historical importance is grand. And the desert it crosses, an unforgiving expanse of rock, sand and cactus, is much the same as it always was. Years ago, when S2 saw more use, some had high hopes for it. In the 1920s, it was called the “Gateway to Imperial County.” Today, at Ocotillo, it is called the Imperial Highway. The route roughly follows some of Juan Bautista De Anza’s 1775 trek through the region and U.S. Army Gen. Stephen W. Kearny’s 1846 journey to San Pasqual near Escondido, where his Army of the West was defeated during the Mexican-American War. Later, that course through the desert delivered gold-seekers to the hills of Julian and brought mail from the East. In 1851, it was part of Butterfield Stage Route, on which coaches carried passengers from Missouri to San Francisco, including the Lady in White. All of those souls made the trip on a rough dirt road. It was unpaved until 1929. Paid for by the Imperial Highway Association, the pavement extended 15 miles from Ocotillo. From there to Sweeney Pass, the road was still a meandering pair of ruts in the sand. In 1951, San Diego County built a road that followed the hillsides and traveled down the pass, but didn’t pave it. In 1953, residents pressed the Board of Supervisors for road improvements, which the county finally completed seven years later. With the paving came a granting of residents’ request to change the road’s name from Imperial Highway to the Great Southern Overland Stage Route of 1849. According to the county’s account, a minor detail eluded the residents and the supervisors. The route had never been known as “great” and the mail route did not exist in 1849. Lonely, but inviting Perhaps the best way to experience The Loneliest Road is to start in Ocotillo, where the distant mountains look like crumpled brown paper bags. Spilling out before them is an endless repetition of soft-looking teddy bear cholla and the spindly ocotillo. Later this month, officials in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park say the desert, fed by recent rains, will hit its peak for wildflower blooms. At Sweeney Pass, the mountains close in, squeezing the asphalt from both sides as S2 twists and turns through canyons, past places where people have come to get away – some permanently, some just for a break. Everyone has their own reason and their own pursuit. On a recent afternoon, a shirtless man did push-ups on a rock next to his car. He had pulled into a little nook off the highway, a space clear of rocks and brush, and begun a workout with 40-pound barbells. Muscular, tanned and sweating, he stood in the sand wearing ankle-high socks, but wasn’t interested in talking. Farther north, a fork to the left leads to the Agua Caliente County Park and its general store, the spot on which Old Mary’s store once stood. The first sign of life this day was Paul Dobrasin, who steered his off-road motorcycle into the small parking lot shaded by pepper trees. He had just crossed 40 miles of desert on dirt roads, a bone-shaking journey from Ocotillo Wells that left him parched and his motorcycle low on gas. But the store was closed, and the soda machine outside out of order. He sat on the curb, studying his map, as a skinny coyote trotted along the road behind him. Dobrasin, who is 50 and lives in San Pedro, camps at Ocotillo Wells and spends his days riding his motorcycle on the road or the web of dirt paths near it. Hugging the turns and gliding along S2’s undulating asphalt, it is as if Dobrasin is flying. No one is around to distract him. It is just him and the road. At the thought of it, his suntanned face softened, and he smiled dreamily. “Oh, S2 is great.” Back on his bike and heading north, his image shrank in the distance. The quiet returned. Hangers-on At Butterfield Ranch mobile home park, the history of S2, the ghost stories and decline of the ranch are kept alive by a hardy group. The 100-acre park, hard by the highway, once was home to as many as 500 trailers, RVs and campers. Thirty years ago, there were year-round residents and waiting lists to get in. Much like S2, there were high hopes. A dozen occupied mobile homes remain today. Knee-high grass droops over the concrete spaces that used to be filled with RVs. The clubhouse is closed, and the pool is empty. The flight from Butterfield Ranch began in the 1980s. For some, living in such a remote place had lost its charm. “These were older people who were scared to live so far from a hospital,” said Barbara Searles, 46, a park resident. Today, a building that once housed the Butterfield Ranch Restaurant, destroyed by fire in 1998, still has black soot marks above the windows. Once the only place to get a meal for miles, it has never re-opened. A store, post office and lounge also were heavily damaged, and also sit empty. Searles supports herself and her 9-year-old daughter by collecting sage and selling it for its restorative powers. She has begun organizing residents to improve the park. She wants to bring people, and pride, back to Butterfield Ranch. In Searles’ plan, the residents would buy and own the land together, and the area’s history would be incorporated into the new park. As difficult as life can be out here sometimes, Searles said she would never leave. “I can’t even fathom going back to the city,” she said. Searles doesn’t watch television. And she doesn’t care to journey to Ramona or Imperial, a small town near El Centro, just to see a movie. The simple life is a good one when you are raising a child, she said. Searles’ daughter goes to elementary school in Borrego Springs, where there are “no gangs, no drugs, no living in the fast lane,” she said. An empty chair The quiet and the desert’s austere beauty are what have drawn Washington state resident John T. Stone here for many years. Stone has set up what looks like an outdoor living room next to his motor home at Agua Caliente County Park. He has arranged two chairs neatly on a rug. But instead of looking to a television, they face out across the desert floor. A covey of quail skittered across the road near Stone’s home away from home. “I like the sound they make, that soft cooing at night,” said Stone, 78. For years, he and his wife traveled from their Pacific Northwest home to this campground. This year, Stone has come alone. His wife died last fall. Stone said he loves the desert and plans to stay until April. At least that is the plan. He will see how he feels. He’s never been here alone, and he may get quite lonely, he said. What better place to grieve, than on The Loneliest Road? Elizabeth Fitzsimons: (760) 737-7578; elizabeth.fitzsimons@uniontrib.com

Check this out! Way cool retro fun. @tntmo this is right up your alley. @nostep might dig this too

Holy Hell @tntmo we found your People!! I’m going to start a new thread for that. Incredible.

Riding a Pre-1960s motorcycle sounds a lot more fun than running 26 six minute miles after sacrificing beer, ice cream and candy But, can that ancient bike make the 26 miles without breaking..

Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail Arizona and California Map of the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail Courtesy of the National Park Service Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail traces the route followed in 1775-1776 by Spanish commander Juan Bautista de Anza II, who led almost 300 colonists on an expedition from Mexico to found a presidio and mission near San Francisco Bay. The trail, which is over 1200 miles long and today can be traveled via an auto tour, commemorates, preserves, and invites visitors to explore elements of the Spanish colonization plan for its northern most territory. Visitors can experience key remains of Spanish colonization: the presidio or fort (military), the mission (religious), and the pueblo or town (civilian). Many of the sites along the trail are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. In 1774, Juan Bautista de Anza, a captain on the Spanish frontier stationed at the Tubac Presidio, requested permission from the viceroy of New Spain, Antonio Maria Bucareli, to prove that a land route from Mexico to Alta (Upper) California was possible. Spain was in need of an overland route to Alta California, because existing sea routes were too dangerous, and the Spanish needed to secure their outposts in this area from Russian and English exploration and colonization. Bucareli granted Anza permission, and with the help of American Indian guides, Anza identified an overland route in 1774. With the success of this first expedition, Anza gained permission to recruit potential settlers for a second colonizing expedition. By October of 1775, Anza had convinced nearly 300 people to take their chances on a new life. He persuaded people to join him on a colonizing expedition to Alta California by telling them stories of lush resources, plentiful land, and new opportunities. A culturally diverse mix of peoples of American Indian, European, and Afro-Latino ancestry put their trust in Anza and became a part of the expedition. The settlers, their military escorts, and the 1,000 head of livestock included in the expedition traveled to presidios, missions, and through the countryside for about five and a half months until they reached their final destination. By June 27, 1776, Lt. Moraga, one of the main lieutenants on the expedition, led the settlers into the area that is now San Francisco. Anza had decided on this site as the final destination on March 28, 1776, after exploring while the rest of the group recuperated from the journey in Monterey. Anza made sure that the settlers reached their final destination and that Spain successfully established its outpost in Alta California. Anza’s expedition changed the course of California history, and descendants of the expedition live on today. Artist's rendition of Juan Bautista de Anza Courtesy of the National Park Service, Artist David Rickman Travelers can explore the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail and experience this historic expedition. Commemorating the trailhead of the United States portion of the Anza Trail from Mexico is the Anza Trailhead Room with its exhibit on the expedition, located on the second floor of the 1904 Nogales Courthouse in Nogales, Arizona, where the National Historic Trail begins. Today, Nogales high school students study the trail's and their community's history through the Anza Trail Ambassadors program, coordinated by the Santa Fe Ranch Foundation in partnership with the national Park Service. Moving north along the trail from Nogales, historic stops include Tumacácori National Historical Park, the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park, and Mission San Xavier del Bac. On October 17, 1775, as the expedition made its way from Nogales toward the Tubac Presidio, where they planned to make final preparations for their journey, Father Pedro Font held mass for the expedition at the Tumacácori mission. The mission, now preserved in Tumacácori National Historical Park, also contributed a small herd of cattle to the expedition. Over the next few days, the expedition members prepared for their journey at the Tubac Presidio. Here, the group gathered over 1,000 head of cattle, horses and mules to transport food supplies and tools, to provide food on the journey, and to help establish new herds once the expedition members settled at their new home in Alta California. By October 23, 1775, the Anza Expedition began the journey from Tubac Presidio. Visitors can explore the remains of the presidio and sometimes catch a re-enactment of the expedition’s passage through Tubac at Tubac Presidio State Historic Park. About 45 miles north of Tubac is the Mission San Xavier del Bac. On the night the group departed the Tubac Presidio, the expedition experienced the only death en route when Maria Ignacia Manuela Pinuelas Feliz died from complications from childbirth. The expedition stopped at Mission San Xavier del Bac to bury her, mourn her death, and to celebrate three marriages of the expedition’s members. Visitors can see the over 200 year old mission church that was started here in 1783. Saguaro National Park Courtesy of the National Park Service Continuing north and northwest, the expedition passed through the areas that are now Saguaro National Park and Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. At Saguaro National Park, visitors can experience the desert much as it was at the time of the expedition. The wild vegetation, including cacti, ocotillo, creosote, ponderosa pine, oak, and Douglas fir, provided the raw materials used by the local American Indians and the Anza expedition. Traveling north from the vicinity of Saguaro National Park, the Anza expedition camped about five miles from the Casa Grande ruins. On October 31, 1775, Father Font and Anza took a side trip to visit this 14th century Puebloan ruin and to check the accuracy of previously recorded descriptions and measurements of the site. Continuing on their journey, the Anza expedition safely crossed the Colorado River with the help of Palma, their American Indian guide, and his Yuma tribe. Yuma Crossing State Historic Park preserves the site of this crossing. After safely fording the river, the expedition continued north into what is now California. Once in California, the expedition moved northwest through what is today the 600,000 acre Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. After crossing the desert, the expedition traveled up Coyote Canyon and made camp along Coyote Creek from December 20 to 22, 1775. With water provided by the creek and a little pasturage close by, the expedition’s animals recovered and the settlers could recuperate. The campsites within the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park are marked with the California Historic Landmark plaques. Anza Borrego Desert State Park Courtesy of Rich Luhr, Flickr's Creative Commons Rested and ready to go, the expedition moved on from the desert northwest toward the Pacific coastline. En route to the Monterey area, the expedition passed by Franciscan missions and by the presidio in what is today known as El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park. Some soldiers of the original garrison were members of the expedition. On January 4, 1776, the expedition reached the Spanish empire in Alta California at the Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. This mission is still a working parish with a museum and gardens. By March 2, 1776, the expedition reached Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, where the travelers rested for a day before continuing north to Mission San Antonia de Padua. Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa is now restored and has a museum. Mission San Antonia de Padua is a working parish and informational exhibits can be found on the grounds of Fort Hunger Liggett nearby. Mission San Francisco De Asis (Mission Dolores) in San Francisco Courtesy of the National Park Service Six months after leaving the Tubac Presidio, the expedition reached the Monterey Presidio on March 10, 1776, where the group rested. The Royal Presidio Chapel, where Anza delivered the expedition travelers, is a National Historic Landmark that has been in continuous service since 1794. The mission is open for tours. As the travelers rested and became familiar with the Monterey area, Anza set off to determine the location of the new San Francisco presidio and mission. By March 28, 1776, he decided on the area that would best suit the new presidio and mission; and by June the settlers moved from Monterey to San Francisco. These settlers built the beginnings of the Presidio of San Francisco and the Mission de San Francisco de Asis. The site of the Presidio of San Francisco site is now part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Visitors can explore Fort Point; the site of the original presidio around Pershing Square; a remnant of the presidio comandante’s house; many trails; and a visitor’s center. Nearby, the Mission de San Francisco de Asis, or Mission Dolores, is the oldest intact building in San Francisco and stands as a lasting testament to the legacy of Anza’s expedition. Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail covers over 1200 miles of rich and diverse history. The historic sites, stops, and views are plentiful - travel it today to discover and explore an important chapter in American history. https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/american_latino_heritage/juan_bautista_de_anza_national_historic_trail.html ^^^ https://anzahistorictrail.org/ The 1775-1776 Expedition In 1773, Juan Bautista de Anza, captain of the Tubac Presidio in Sonora (now southern Arizona) was commissioned by the Viceroy of New Spain, to find an overland route from Sonora to California. This land route would be a more reliable means for supplying the Spanish outposts in California than the current method of resupply by ship. An overland trail would also help the Viceroy fulfill the king’s order to begin colonizing Alta California in answer to recent explorations along the west coast of North America by Russia and England. In January 1774, Anza’s group, which included a small group of soldiers, servants and a priest departed Tubac for California. For many weeks the party journeyed across unexplored deserts and mountain ranges. Along the way, the expedition encountered a number of Native American groups, forming an important alliance with the Yuma tribe along the Colorado River. The Anza party reached San Gabriel Mission, near today’s Los Angeles, on March 22, 1774. Anza had completed his instructions to find a land route to California! When Anza returned home to Sonora, he learned that the Viceroy was very pleased with his accomplishment. In fact, the Viceroy asked him to organize and lead a new California expedition as soon as it was practical. This second expedition would include a much larger and diverse group of people, including women and children, and settlers as well as soldiers. In March 1775, Anza assumed the responsibility of recruiting families and organizing supplies for this first colonizing expedition to Alta California. He spent many months preparing the newly recruited families for the difficult journey. Then, on October 23, 1775, the group left Tubac. For nearly five months they traveled by horseback, mule, and on foot; arriving at the Presidio of Monterey on March 10, 1776. The trip had often been difficult and the colonists had endured lack of water and food, life threatening weather conditions, debilitated and dying animals, and roads that often seemed impassable due to rain, mud, sand or snow. At least twice the expedition was hampered by desertion of servants or military personnel. Nonetheless, only one woman died (due to childbirth complications) and four babies had been born. Without the help of Native American tribes they met along the way, the expedition may not have been so successful. In June 1776, the colonists, led by Anza’s second in command, Lieutenant José Joaquin Moraga, were given permission to continue their journey to San Francisco Bay and build there the presidio and mission for which the colonists had left their homeland.

Good info thanks. I remember years ago going north down the hill from the fire lookout was rough at the time. But, I was also on a pitbike.. Any idea how long the biggest loop takes? I will map out the mileage when I get a chance

Back to the topic at hand @socalhodaka & @Zenosan check it out @Covered in Dust time to build your collection

You’ve jogging in the San Diego sun while he is training like Rocky 4 in the MN snow! Milville, MN native and ex pro AMA motocross & supercross star Alex Martin just completed the Los Angeles Marathon in under 3 hours. A new @tntmo goal?