FastRich

Well, after getting myself all hyped for this ride, fate had other plans for me. I felt my clutch slipping out in the dez last weekend and it was bad enough that I decided to order new plates and springs. They promised it by Thursday but it didn't show up until Friday. I had all my gear and everything ready to go so I could just slap in the new clutch and roll. Had the new clutch in by about 3:30 and I fired it up for a quick op test and it did the same thing and got progressively worse so I decided to check the slave cylinder (dirt bikes should never have hydraulic clutches!) and sure enough, there was fluid blowing by the o-ring and diaphragm. I tried to convince it to act right and bled it but it was toast so at about 10:30pm I gave up and decided to try and get an o-ring or rebuild kit this morning and just show up late. After spending the majority of the day searching the greater San Diego area for ANYTHING remotely related to a KTM clutch part I decided to concede the fight and just ordered the parts. So the short of it is that my Desert Dash was over before it ever started. I pre-registered so I'm not sure if refunds are offered or entertained. Either way it's a huge kick in the junk! I had to use all my wife credits to get a hall pass for this ride since her and the kid are in Phoenix for a BMX National that I would have otherwise been at and she wasn't super stoked about me missing that to begin with. Now I get to tell her I spent $115 on a ride I couldn't even show up for.

Cool, thanks guys! I'm just driving my truck out with the shell on and my bike on a hauler. Not gonna bother bringing my trailer. I'll sleep in the back of my truck and I'm assuming since this is a campground that they have bathrooms and showers. Yes? I have a portable shower and toilet I could bring but I'm not sure they'd be down with that in the middle of the campground so I'll just hope for their sake that the facilities are available.

What is the camping/parking situation at Butterfield Ranch? Do we just show up and park/camp and as long as we're registered for the ride we're good? I haven't decided whether to come out Friday night flying blind as to where to camp or just come OMG early on Saturday morning find someplace to leave my truck and sort out camping after the ride. .

Yeah, I've had the same treatment from that hag. It takes me to a really bad place when those monkeys want to touch my bike. You're right about CC though, there are a couple who are much more personable up there. Years ago it seemed like most of the rangers and blm were like that, freindly conversations, handing out maps and trash bags, generally cool and happy to engage people with courtesy. It would be great to see it again on a large scale.

Please forgive my frustration. I know that there is a VERY small minority of rangers and people in the USFS and BLM who care about recreationalists and especially people who use off road vehicles. The norm at the Pine Valley exit parking area is for the rangers to troll everyone who parks there. I'm the guy who does everything right, pays my fees, registers my bikes, runs a S/A and keep my DS bike in compliance with the letter of the law. I still get the shake down all the time! If the actual police acted the way a lot of these guys/gals do, there would be (and is when real cops do it)an outrage from the public because the bottom line is that it's illegal to do what a lot of them are doing. They seem to think they are above the law and can make up the rules to suit them. It doesn't matter if I'm on a DS ride or backpacking on a 12,000' mountain peak, I still get hassled by wanna be mall cops. In more then a few cases, they have been volunteers who are ignorant to the actual laws or regulations of the area they are "patrolling". So if you're a ranger and you're reading this, use a little courtesy and tact when dealing with people at trailheads or in the backcountry and learn the laws and latest policies. We aren't criminals, we're the ones paying your salary. True story....On an overnight backpacking trip last year on San Gorgonio, we were coming down off the summit and as we clear the last switchback to the mineshaft saddle area, the trail forks. I see a guy standing there in full on tactical gear looking like he's about to go on a door kicking OP in the Helmand province. As we get closer I give him a little courtesy nod and say "good morning", he steps onto the trail to block it and yells "papers!". For a second I really thought he was just joking around, but he wasn't. Before my buddy who's carrying our permit can even get it out of his shirt pocket, the guy is on the radio saying "I've got three detained". On his tac vest was a USFS Volunteer patch. He checked our permit and we were "released" but are you freaking kidding me! I was livid! I really wish I would have got a name or something but at the time it seemed like the best option was to stay cool, de-escalate and get the heck out of there. That incident really ruined an otherwise awesome trip.

Anyone been checked recently or know if they've stopped requiring these yet? Mine is still good for quite a while but curious if these clowns are trying to enforce it and bully people into believing it's still valid.