Vintage Veloce

Great suggestions thank you all!

Is there anyplace at legal I can ride my dual sport near San Diego in the summer that isn't way hot? I'm not an early riser, so the 6am ride thing doesn't happen for me. Typically I just hang up my gear until late fall. But are there any legal dirt rides of interest at altitude maybe? Something near Mt Laguna or Palomar? Heck, I might just go do some dirt roads up there...

Strangely, I had never discovered McCain while I had my KTM. Due to back issues, I recently sold the KTM and bought a much lighter Talaria MX4 ebike. I've been taking it out to McCain and trying to learn my way around. I have modest skills and am pretty slow, especially on a trail I don't yet know. But here is a video I captured last Wednesday. (It's not like some of the rocket rides I see some of you guys posting, but I had fun.) The ebike has been great for me as it is so light and low. For those that are curious, I seem to be able to go about 24 miles and still end the ride with enough battery to be secure (say 20-40% left over). For me, that's about all my back can handle, so it works out fine.

Somehow I hadn't heard about this. Apparenly the County of San Diego isconsidering a new off road park. There is a meeting Jan. 30. at 6PM. More info here: https://www.sdparks.org/publicmeetings/ I plan on zooming in to voice my support, please join me!

On my 2013 350 EXCF, I had a big tank to start... and it ended up I never really went that far. I was always lamenting that I put too much gas in and had to deal with the extra weight. I think mine was a KTM branded tank. I ended up replacing the big tank the smaller 3.2g Acerbis tank, and I was much happier. Still plenty of range for me. I think I typically got 40mpg... The tanks are shaped so they don't really feel much wider at your knees. But the weight is real. The biggest tanks replace the stock radiator "wing" bodywork and use that area for fuel. The somewhat smaller ones like the 3.2 gal keep the stock radiator wing bodywork. Big: Smaller:

Wow, I received an actual reply from Maxxis!

I called them. no answer yesterday. Maybe I'll call again... but I'm not sure the office drones in the USA will know what that marking means. One side. This is what I think. Surfing the web I have found other Maxxis tires with standard ">direction>" markers. I'm feeling more confident this some other confusing mark.

I know some of the gang here runs these tires. After I mounted my new Maxxis Desert IT tires... I notice these small markings. Of course, I didn't mount the tire with this direction of rotation. But is this really a direction marking? I've never seen one like this and I found a post elsewhere where someone says it is not. The tread isn't directional. Hmm... I looked at my Maxxis mountain bike tires, which are directional, and they have a traditional ">ROTATION>" marking clearly labeled. Does anyone think I should remount my tires with these pointed forward? Man I hope not...

Yes, that was exactly the slippery issue. It was OK, but I suspect that in the year the surface is nicer. As I hoped, my suspension is much cushier... I need to go someplace more familiar to make some adjustments... but that will wait to fall when the desert cools off. I'm much happier riding in temperatures below 80 degrees!

I made it out to Lake Arrowhead this week to test out my freshly serviced KTM suspension. Bike ran fine, but I found it rather slippery and hot. 😉 Some sections were bit harder than I like to tackle alone. I had made a bunch of GPS tracks to use and have attached them. But the one labelled "loop 23mi" is an actual filtered track from the trip. Tracks are attached at the end of this. Hopefully someone else can enjoy them! Lake Arrowhead Tracks.GPX

Thanks Oracle. Good idea to check the Forest Service maps Looks like there is this little nest of roads/trails North of the lake. Probably about 3-5 miles of pavement to get there from the South side of the lake. 😉

So... we were going to Big Bear, and but my wife has expressed a preference for Lake Arrowhead. Any recommendations for an easy 50 mile trail ride in that area? I'm looking for good and easy jeep trail level stuff (but no or very little pavement). I'll be alone and just looking for very easy dirt touring. I plan on breaking out my "California trail maps", but if anyone has any great recommendations, I'd love a GPS track? (Obviously Big Bear isn't that far, and so maybe I'll truck the bike over there for a ride too, but is there stuff right around Lake Arrowhead?)

If you are up for a fiction movie, are into old Italian stuff, and road racing is also cool to you, check out this: It's fantastic.

Did you ride that with George? He just retuned my suspension, so it would be cool to ride a route he knows and then give him my feedback....