bdarling

Sounds like a great morning. It's so good to see you back in the dirt! Hopefully I can join you guys next time, I've just about got the hang of this baby thing...for now. -B

This was a really fun event, thanks for including us! -Blake P.S. I think I left my silver Seven-Zero-Seven helmet in John's trailer.

If anyone wants to be in the Hell On Wheels group, please let me know by Thursday so I can shuffle the groups. I will make the final adjustments on Thursday at 7 PM, so get your requests in now! -B! P.S. At 50 riders, is this still considered an informal local ride? :-) Nice work building this thing up Craig. Our own Paul Revere!

The advantage of camping on the south end is that there are two decent non-controlled camping areas nearby. Ocotillo Wells even has vault toilets and picnic tables.

What if we flip the ride so that we start in Idylwild and end at Butterfield. If Butterfield is full, we can always rough it in Blair Valley or Ocotillo Wells.

Very nice! I succumbed to temptation and decided to ride Santa Ysabel with you guys, but the first little sandy patch made me tense up and my torn rib cage muscle reminded me why the doctor said no off road riding for a while. I was sad to ride home, but I'll be back in action by May. Thanks for posting pics. -B

Riding into town on The Smoker at 8.....feel free to walk into Amerient (same parking lot as Packard's) and join me for breakfast and/or coffee between 8:15 & 9.....looking forward to the meet and greet with some "new to me" folks.....welcome to SDAR. See you there in about 30 minutes.

Craig, Are you leading the pre-run this Saturday? I'll be joining you guys for the SYTT and Black Canyon, but I have to head back home and get back to work in the kitchen when we hit the 76. If you guys make it to Anza, will you consider coming back down the Cooper-Cienega trail and report back on the condition of the road? That's our backup in case the Palomar Divide is in bad shape for the big bikes. -Blake

Depending on the weekend, I'd love to join up. Would April 7th work for anyone?

Agreed. Completely. I rode this trail numerous times on my r1100r with street tires and no dirt experience. SYTT is a great trail!

I recommend that you check out the Dual Sport Riding Techniques DVDs and find a place to practice some of the drills. I usually go to the Torrey Pines glider port to practice my turns. There's also a good little area at the west end of Lake Sutherland where you're not going to bother anyone. Your apprehension towards riding in sand is totally natural, just get a little more time in the saddle under controlled conditions and you'll be fine. You can also bypass these trails and hit the easier stuff with us.

It's definitely 1200GS-able, I've run that trail many times on the 1100 and it is no harder than the top end of Grapevine.

That's unfortunate. Perhaps we can start a petition?

Good point. Route edited!! Wait! If the Santa Ysabel TT is open, why don't we head up to Pamo Road and take SY TT over to Black Canyon. We can ride Mesa Grande out to the 79 from there.

I'd say let's let the Hijinks thread be what it is: an on-going update for the next ride in line. Right now, it looks like this will be the next big ride.