Oracle

I prefer the Gortex gear over carrying an extra rain suit. I hate bulk and extra layers and the gortex (in my case, the older version of the Klim Carlsbad) has always worked pretty well for me riding through storms in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, California deserts, etc. And the newer Carlsbad jacket has more and better venting than the one I currently have making it an even better option. Goofy, send me a PM for info on a possible Klim discount.

Call Sole Performance in Encinitas. They may be able to help.

We should have been more neighborly and invited you into the converstation. Next time for sure. I'm in Ramona too so I'm sure I'll see you around more. How was Lusardi?

That's me in the white t-shirt with my back to the camera. I passed you on the way down the hill. Hope I didn't roost you...😁

I'm curious where you ran across the bear? I had a bear run out in front of me on 1N16, just west of the crossing with 1N09 a couple of years ago.

Just a couple of comments since Goofy asked. I've attempted the NVBDR twice and failed it twice. The first time due to the Covid outbreak, I quarantined two days prior to departure, and just couldn't risk spreading it. My group, Mikey777, CID, Crawdaddy and Van, went without me. They got three days in and had to turn around due to the weather. It dropped down to the low teens on night three. It took them hours to get all the bikes started the next day, so they hung a right toward Death Valley and came south on the CABDR. Last September, we were set to give it another try. After getting my bike (KTM 500) all set up with maintenance (including brand new tires of course), luggage, and gear, I set out for a quick shake-down run around the block and proceeded to wash out in the first serious corner on Highland Valley Road. It's was a combination of brand new (greasy) tires and too much weight on the back of the bike, and the front end just washed. I slid across the oncoming traffic lane to the shoulder. I got lucky there was no on coming traffic, but I did suffer some injuries, including a broken thumb, bruised hip, elbow, and leg. This happened two days before departure. So again, I had to bow out. At the same time (September), the temps were dropping in northern Nevada to the low teens again at the higher elevations, so the group made a decision to abort NVBDR again and do a loop around Arizona. Again, a massive storm dropped south on the crew around day 3, the temps dropped, snow, and high winds, caused everyone to haul ass for the south and abort the overall mission. So, yeah, there is some challenges to these rides, even though the riding overall is easy. We'll definitely try again, probably more towards late summer than early fall. As far as maps, I do carry paper maps in my tank bag. But one thing I do before the ride, is lay the map out, and take pictures of each section of the map I'm going ride for each day. Then each day I open the picture of the section I'm riding for the day and keep it open on my backup phone, which is mounted on my handlebars. So if we stop, and need to get our bearings, I just open the pic and zoom in as needed. No need to bust out a paper map, that gets cumbersome. As far as GPS devices, I've used various Garmin devices over the years but am now fully converted to running GAIA on a Kyocera Duraforce phone. GAIA is not perfect, and there are some things Garmin does better, but the overall simplicity to hand down a million times better than Gamin. And the entire setup is several hundred dollars less than the latest Garmin setup.

Sure. First, let's be clear about one thing. Activating your Spot or Inreach, is not the same thing as activating SAR. To keep it simple, Inreach and Spot will activate a response to your emergency in the form of law enforcement and medical services, via GEOS (then forward to 911). Since Spot and Inreach know exactly where you are at, it has nothing to do with Search and Rescue (SAR). With that said, I suppose a Spot activation could turn into a SAR mission at some point if the first responders were unable to locate the person who activated their device. Now, as far as San Diego is concerned, and most other areas I'm aware of, a SAR mission will be initiated after several key members have assessed the situation and determined a SAR call-out is warranted. It will almost always start with a call to law enforcement. Usually in response to a missing person obviously (but there are other missions we handle). The reporting party will provide details to the responding officers/deputies. The deputies will advise a supervisor. The supervisor will determine if a call to the SAR coordinator is warranted. The SAR coordinator will then assess the information and make a final determination if there will be a SAR call-out, and if so, which resources. We have several different assignment groups. Not all will be sent all the time. Once SAR has been activated, team members will start showing up within about an hour anywhere in SD. The team members on the scene will start collecting pertinent information and establishing a place to set up a command post. Resources like the actual command post might take up to two hours to arrive. A supervisor will put together a search plan and start sending out teams. So, to summarize, let's say you are out in the desert and riding with a group of friends. One person goes missing. You get to the point where you need to call for help. Start by calling 911. The deputies or officers that arrive on the scene will assess the situation and make a decision on whether or not to start the SAR process. Anyone have any questions about San Diego Sheriff's Department SAR, let me know. BTW, we do have a dual sport response team, which I am a member of. I also am field certified for searches and a member of the motorized unit, which provides transportation to search teams in remote areas via 4x4 vehicles.

As your local SDSO SAR member, I approve of this message.

Good info. I should have thought of that before with all the rain and snow. So what route did you ride? 525 running good?

Also applied to LE and FD. I'm a big fan of Klim. I have two full sets of adventure gear and one set of MX gear. I recently went down on the street (don't tell anyone) in my Klim Adventure gear, slid across two lanes of traffic and into a berm. Broke my thumb and banged up a couple of ribs and my hip. My Klim gear held up extremely well with just some minor scuffs on the pants and minor scuffs on the sleeve of my jacket, with a minimal amount of burn-through in the elbow area—no road rash for me. I think I'll order some more right now. To hell with the new water heater...

Yes, they are closed.

The section of the Peace trail south of Quartzite (south of the 10) is my least favorite. The section north of Quartzite is beautiful. And there are many offshoots. You could take one of those offshoots eastward over to Almo Lake, then use the main trail to head south. There are some great camping opportunities. You could then loop clockwise to Yuma and start the section between there and Quartzite as you head back north. There are many bailout points so when you get sick of all the rocks, you can jump on two lane and slab back to Quartzite.

You know I would...

Nope. I do it the old fashion way....with a good set of spoons. I have no desire to carry that much bulk and weight with me when I'm out adventuring. The big rear tires on ADV bikes are easier than most people think....once you break the bead (the hardest part of the change). Just because the tire is bigger, doesn't means it's more difficult.

I have one in my tool box....and that's where it stays. I can see how it might be helpful for some, but I've changed 100's of tubes at this point and it just slows me down.