MacDuncan

Great research Goofy, quite a few SDAR rides used that route to connect to overnight locations and extended longer rides. Thanks.

Dag nab it Moto_rph, grrrrr. Sorry to hear. I too, like all of the members here who have had a bif that sidelined them for awhile, are wishing you a speedy recovery.

That's a great report and congrats on a rewarding ride!

Yikes Zubb, you better be careful.... a posting like that which may be making fun of older folks could be sacrilege in the moto world! smiles. We all want to ride forever . And I anticipate that the last remaining bike in my stable will be a smaller dual sport (Get one Bub-hannah) Zubb, I can see myself on a trike like that still looking for adventures down the road, and maybe with you..... and although it will be fun racing you around the orange cones on your basketball court on a trike before too long, you'll still need to be careful that you don't cut the corner and tip over and get hurt - haha. And by the way Zubb, that was a nice offer by you to help that rider on ADV who high sided, as I was feeling sorry for that dude too (RIBS!!!! ) And JaJa, no need to answer as we all know if you can ride a bike, you will, and if you can find an adventure, you will, and if it doesn't kill you, it will all be good. Hope that is a long long time away still . Zubb, I didn't wear the Adventure bike chest protection in the desert, but I did wear a new Fox Raptor. I had been wearing one on the dual sport for a long time and it has taken some decent impacts to my upper body, but I do not think many riders who may be using an older one like I was until recently actually know that it is CE1 (still better than most roost protectors). My new Raptor is CE2, and it is easy to see and feel that it is about twice as think. I wear it as an outside armor on the dual sport. Level 1 protectors: The maximum transmitted force must be below 18 kN, and no single value shall exceed 24 kN Level 2 protectors: The maximum transmitted force must be below 9 kN, and no single value shall exceed 12 kN. In regard to the Forcefield you asked about, I will use it for my Adventure Bike, it was super comfortable today on my first ride wearing it, and I liked that I had in on as some of the traffic today was acting sporadic in the rain, especially as I was heading south on 15 approaching Hiway 8 and random folks started slowing way down when it poured RAIN as others used that caution to speed up to pass and fill in the gaps - grrr. It fit great in the jacket I got from you (no shoulder pads or elbow pads, and I did take out the D30 back protector to make room). I will post some pics: velcro waist band is part of the armor set, and keeps it secure. Still a little gap of unprotected area, but nice chest and front rib coverage. Thanks to those who shared support, here and on other threads. Cheers

Before Goofy can tell me, "pics, or it didn't happen", I thought I would drop a quick note about a recent ride. I enjoy reading about other ride Write-Ups, especially when they add insights beyond just pics, heck, I have so much to learn still (gear, routes, mechanical, etc...) !!!!.... and I learn so much from this site, thank you all!..... so I often feel that I should contribute as well. It was a special ride because I hadn't been on a pedal bike or moto bike for quite a while. I even began to wonder if I should actually have moto bikes in the stable..... (what's that phrase - hop back on the horse if you were bucked off?) ..... so what better reason to find out but to wander around the desert for a few hours (Rhetorically - if closer to 70 than 60 years old, how many bikes does one need? Udo, we know your answer. , and the Breakfast club dudes too (although recent jeep comments and new dusty outlanding rigs have surfaced, like that scary phrase, (with age comes a cage. . ) With some time off work, I saw an opportunity to zip out to Ocotillo to do a little loop and get through that Painted Gorge loop gate before it locks on Jan 1. I wasn't able to collect any my immediate rider riding buds for the spontaneous outing, but I often find some extra freedom in solo travel (contrary to all the logical warnings). I was gonna ride easy to protect a recent injury because I was not 100% yet, but I wanted to try out one of my 2 new chest and rib protection armor pieces. #1, for larger bike, likely worn under a jacket - Forcefield EX-K Harness . #2, for smaller dual sport, the Fox raptor, which now sells as CE2, instead of CE1 protection. Not actually try it out fully, just feel how felt while riding - smiles. I laughed out loud as it took me a couple hours to simply pack the gear, and load the bike in the morning (although I grabbed a few extra items in case an overnight became a choice). It was nice that I wasn't in a rush for a change. I left El Cajon around 10 am and all went well, except that I-8 eastbound road construction where 3 lanes merge to 1 just past Alpine... really?? Parked in Ocotillo, it was beautiful, warm, and the windmills were not moving at all. I brought a Ham radio tuned to SDAR channel just in case I heard some chatter. I turned on Delorme and started tracking notifications as an FYI for someone back at the house in case I land somewhere and don't move for a couple hours (while remembering that I always wait 15 minutes after my return to the truck to turn off tracking because while using the 10 minute free notifications, it can appear to someone at home that I may have biffed short of my return to original location if I shut it down 8 minutes upon arrival, if the last point was sent 9 minutes earlier). I headed out towards Plaster City and randomly turned North along the way to find the entry point to the gate for Painted Gorge Upper level (actually had to do it intuitively as I forgot to re-populate my Map 78 with ocotillo region since my trip to Mammoth and recent CABDR explorations). (Still thanking Crawdaddy for his routes in mammoth, and forever will as I show other riders the magic of that region!) Ouch, I was riding at newbie levels as the bike felt very unstable to me - grrrrr... so nice and easy was the call .. that's ok for now.... I guess.... Found the gate, it was open, Yahoo. It was really nice roaming through the PG road as the canyon was narrow. I navigated the soft stuff cautiously (boringly) and bobbled along the rocky sections, although not with a high level of confidence as the larger rocks deflected my front tire often and I lost my line a few times that put me mighty close to a steep drop. I wasn't interested in finding out if the new armor would do as it was supposed to. . About 3/4 ths of the way up, I paused.... as I was proud of my effort, but decided that conquering the earlier 10 - 20 yard sections of rocky stuff successfully (maybe luckily) did not have me prepared for what looked like a 100 yard section of rock which lied ahead... while solo... So a pit stop to bask in the temporary glory was warranted. The views to the east were fantastic! The ride down was significantly easier as I also began to feel more at home on the bike, especially in the smooth sections shown below. Upon leaving the Gorge, I rode some mighty soft washes, and some whoops, as I headed east and then north at random turning points as I planned to head towards the bridge by way of the pelican/stork at the top of a local knoll just before entering the wash to the bridge..... Some nice desert blooms all around! I don't recall if the sand climb on the right in the background is the climb to the metal stork, but I do recall that with the influx of rzrs going up it these days, it has gotten significantly more soft ( I used to casually climb it in first gear, but now need to get a 3rd gear running start to make it, but that could simply be operator error. It was a nice ride to the Bridge from there, as I enjoyed riding in the wash, while being careful not to open it up knowing that some very soft silt sections randomly appear through that section. I was the only motorcycle I saw the entire day, but a few 4x4 and rzrs were gathered at the bridge: Next stop, superstition.... But darn, the roads I used to approach superstition were so dang soft and I was zig zagging far more than was normal, and it was a bit uncomfortable knowing that some rzrs were buzzing past me going 60 mph. I pulled over a couple times to get my wits about me, and it was nice that a couple of the rzr folks asked me if all was ok. (all good, just felt a bit out of place). I have climbed superstition a few times from the west (the soft side), but thought it best if I pass it this time around. I knew that my shinko fatty up front was worn, but when I looked closer, I noticed that almost all of the side knobbies had cracks almost 3/4ths of the way down each of them..... on both sides, for the entire 360 degrees.....in fact, I could use my fingers to peel them back quite a bit (maybe the recent rocks on Painted Gorge ripped them??) and my Goldentyre rear was looking pretty smooth, so for now I will use that excuse for my lackluster performance - haha. Still pretty terrain though: I contemplated heading south east towards Camacho's diner, but I think it was closed, so I headed towards Plaster City. Finally, on my return towards Plaster City, I began to feel like I was telling the bike where to go instead of the other way around. I gambled a bit by opening it up a little, and voila, the perma smile could have been seen in my helmet easily except I was still riding through the desert without a soul in sight. I was quite happy once the machine and I became more connected. Once I hit the asphalt at Plaster City, I slowed down to a comfortable 30 mph and basked in the feeling of contentment as I rode into the sunset: A great trip! 60+ miles and a few hours of joy! Ok, I'll keep that bike for sure. . I considered doing it again with new folks the following day as there was a group meeting at the Stagecoach RV park as posted on ADV Rider, but although I drove through the park for a few laps, I didn't see any bikes... so I was likely a day early for that gathering, so headed home. Cheers.

Had a great ride, but did skip Camacho's as the web site stated that it was closed. FYI.

Thanks for the prompt Goofy, and for the info on ADV rider (san Diego zone, and the link there to the riders cruising around later this week from stagecoach). I had planned all along to ride this week to find the gate to Coyote unlocked before Jan 1, and then buzz up to the bridge, and then over to superstition, and then with a possible stop at Camachos and end it with a cruise through Yuha back to ocotillo (on a 525, not a T7. likely solo). I'll carry some gas unless I plan for a quick stop after superstition. I am hesitant to open invite due to a recent biff 9 weeks ago that still has me sidelined (Damn ribs are taking forever!! and still haven't ridden yet). So unsure if after a few miles I will need to throw in the towel and baby it home. I'll likely calmly cruise to enjoy the winter desert. Might rain later in the week, so packing up tomorrow morning may be the choice, but not sure yet. Goofy, well done on the prompts for Anza and Death Valley. Thanks, Mac.

I normally think of those trailers as cargo trailers. If different, not sure. In general, for a quick desert trip and/or an overnight or 2 without extra camping items, I use my Joe Hauler for 1 bike, or a small open trailer for 2 bikes. For multi-day trips, especially in other states or Northern CA, where I will carry many extra items for friends and family, I prefer to use a small cargo trailer as it feels more secure than the front seat of a truck when I am out on a ride all day, or even out for a bite while traveling. I can store bicycles, chairs, bbqs, tools, etc more easily and more securely. Also, the weather factor is super cool. On cold rainy desert rips, my buds and I usually end up in there to cook, chill, and stay out of the rain/cold. And, even though my camper may have room for a bud, the dudes who snore set-up camp in the cargo trailer so we all have a good sleep. Many times, especially at panamint springs DV, folks pull up with their cargo trailers and open them up and low and behold, the modifications are similar to a travel trailer, so if you are crafty, that is a nice option if you don't have a camper and aren't into using a tent. Hope that is info you were looking for (many videos about how to customize those to meet your needs). Cheers

FYI,

Holy Smokes, dizzy from reading the hundreds and hundreds of posts on adv rider. And as is usually the case, the experts were right here on SDAR. Well done!

Bump, because...... I often do all the leading for my riding group, so I told a few buds that I would be buying them a GPSMAP 78 this holiday....., and charging them for it. . They politely nodded in agreement. By doing so, when I make tracks for the group ride, and install it on their new Garmin from my basecamp, they can lead for awhile on our 8-10 hour day rides, and BDR pieces. That way, they can spend some time watching the devise for turning spots while looking in the mirror to see if all are ok behind, while also communicating that there may be a big rock in the road, or on-coming traffic while navigating the lead..... and share the responsibility that comes with no dust! And, for the increased safety issue that they will know where they are in case of a wrong turn or.......... the rare bif - ahem. However, oh my, dang, there does not seem to be any Garmin GPSMAP 78 available any more, (discontinued?) and the replacement doesn't have too many good reviews, and pricey. (PM if you have one to sell that is sitting on your shelf unused). If you know of a replacement that works well, please share, or maybe, since this original post is almost 2 years old, have many of you mastered this new set-up (specifically the first video on Jan 5, 21 on this thread! looks super cool) and be willing to offer a workshop for a few others? I have an iphone, but I can learn something new if a shift to android is needed.....also, if you use this set-up of a samsung android as kindly shared by. @97xr400r, do you also have to pay for a service like verizon too, or add it to your existing phone account (if for satellite use only?). Thanks, Mac

Hey Tntmo, Nice video, and.... I think I resemble some of those remarks - haha Once again, well done on the coordination of the event. Lots of folks really appreciated your efforts!! It was so very true what you were sharing just after your reference of a rider down. Riding solo, emergency communication devise, trying out new bikes with new gear, and newish tires, purposefully searching for the traction (and slipping points) for the bike, as that is exactly what I was doing (although a better location to experiment may have been more wise). Heck, I had anxiety watching your video as you purposefully spun your tires on the "marble road". :). I'll get over it. This morning, I touched my bike for the first time, as I need to fix a few things, and until today I was unable to hold a bike off the kickstand due to the injuries. Note: 4 weeks and a day later. I will also hold a beer high as a toast to wish Bubba for a quick recovery as he was heading out to hang with you all! A member asked me what happened, and this was my PM reply cut and pasted below. Thanks again, I'll be riding soon, as I am mostly grumpy that the desert is cool and I am not in it. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Thanks, I knew you knew when you arrived that I was digging deep to appear ok. Earlier, I let tntbromo?, who was sweeping, go ahead because I wanted to practice some riding stuff, and actually go more slowly to smell the roses. I knew the largeness of the group would allow for an easy catch up, and even if not, I knew where the campground was located. I had also brought beers for folks (1 for me) and shots for folks who were staying to camp (none for me), and I also brought my sleeping pad pump, as the blowing up of a sleeping pad is one of the worst tasks for me when quick pirate camping. I figured some folks would like that. In the area where I crashed, I was actually enjoying the view of the cross-over trail, and occasionally trying some slide braking since that road is so marble-y. I was not actually trying to do power slide turns at the time, but was preparing to do so by seeing how how quickly I needed to snap the throttle for the rear tire to let loose and spin. However, I messed up when I spun the back tire while going about 25+ miles per hour while I was in the center of the road on the hump, so the rear tire spun off the center berm, and slipped ~15 inches to the left of the front tire track, the sensation was that I might go down on the right side, so I started to put my right foot down (hence, no rear brake), and my thought was to stay off the front brake as I thought that would guarantee a front wheel slide out and I would go down even quicker..... so I worked hard to stay upright..... but at that instant, since I let up a bit on the throttle, the rear wheel hooked up ...... all of that was within 10 ft, and 0.1 seconds...... next, I was moving at high speed at a 45 degree angle off the road straight toward the cliff, and embedded in the cliff, was a massive boulder. I saw it coming, so at the last instant, I let go of the right handgrip and pulled my right arm up against the side of my body and slightly jumped off of the bike. The side of my body hit the boulder and I instantaneously stopped and dropped, right on top of the bike, where I sat dazed for a few. The crunching sound of a couple broken ribs, and torn cartilage, both laterally and against my spine had me worried, but it didn't feel like I had spine damage, nor a punctured lung, so I opted to calm myself and head home. I grabbed my delorme where I could get it easily in case I had to pull over and drop to the floor. Once home, I went straight to bed, where I didn't move for a couple days, then went to doc to get X-rays. It has not been fun. 2 weeks out of work. That has been my worst moto bif in my life, so pretty lucky still. But likely just like your recent injury, we will be lucky to heal, and ride another day. . I actually think a large percentage of adventure riders do not wear chest or rib protection, just elbow, shoulder, and spine protection in the adventure jackets, which is a bit ironic given that we go 80+ mph on dirt on 500+ lb bikes. And, I ALWAYS wear my fox raptor (CE2) on my 500, so what was I thinking - grrr. I would bet that you have a seen quite a few injuries given your experience. I will swing by in a month to chat about some of the armor options soon. Thanks again for circling back and checking up on me. It was appreciated. I really think one can learn by reading info like that... especially older newbies like me. Cheers. Mac

Tough day, navigated well, all the best to you and family!

FYI, for those who may want to consider chest and rib protection..... From what I have read recently, the tekvest seems to be the primary choice for those who have had a rib injury already, followed by a close second place choice of forcefield (which may be the one Zubb had under his sweater?) (and that folks wear that backwards for better rib protection). But there are more choices as evident in this thread. I had often thought about chest protection on my adventure bike (even though I always wear it on my dual sport), and have occasionally thrown on a chest roost deflector, except a couple saturdays ago, I lagged and didn't wear any armor on my chest, but I think I will wear something more substantial from now on as it isn't much fun waiting a couple weeks before you can grab a beer from the top shelf of the fridge 🤨 Zubb, that marakesh looks like a leisure suit, maybe they have it in light blue. . and I am sure that the man in black was popping off about your dis about all black attire, not that there is more info about a BMW suit. AND! Next time, I will avoid practicing power slides to see if I can tell if the wheel looses traction slower when packed for camping, especially along a skinny road on the side of a cliff that might have the tire hook up and throw me straight into a boulder bigger than me! Live and learn - cheers.

Howdy all, In a recent post, Zubb shared the following, "use separate armor under a shell when needed" , which is the focal point to my post today. And, as I looked at the recent Newb Camping post pics, it was a bit unclear what the 15-ish riders were wearing for armor. Unless Zubb has been hitting the weights quite seriously, it looked like he had some protection under his sweater, but he has also mentioned that he may be looking for other solutions in the future. For other riders, it was not apparent whether or not they had chest protection (even though likely, and hopefully, spine/shoulder/elbow protection) I have a few jackets, and in each one I have taken out the rubbish padding and inserted D-30 or other for more protection. Many of us have (or have had) 2 bikes, with one being a bike that you might trailer to the desert or mountains, and the other being one you might ride from your garage to the desert or mountains. In over simplified terms, a dual sport and/or an Adventure bike. And, as you step into the garage to prep for a ride, whether it is to load gear into a bag, or put gear on, you may have to decide which gear will be your choice for the day. For some of you, it may be the exact same helmet, armor, clothing, gloves and boots for either bike/ride. Yet, for some of you, you will reach for your dual sport gear, or your adventure gear, which are mutually exclusive (except maybe synthetic under garments), and those 2 different outfits may even be stored in entirely different cupboards. For me, I generally don't intermix my gear much, but given a recent bif, and that I ride solo often, I may need to reconsider a more specific piece of ATGATT (all the gear, all the time). Hence, why I chose to tack on to this previously written post about upper body armor). Even with some research, it was difficult to find the specific difference between chest armor and roost protection (normally a mx term for rocks tossed up from other riders). (although this article reads well - https://gearhonest.com/roost-deflector-vs-chest-protector/ ) hmm, maybe knowing what "street only" riders wear on a touring bikes (goldwing, FJR, R1200 , or even a cruiser like a Road King) would help to better understand choices). This post has some good options, but maybe there is more info I can consider from the many riders who take off from their garage with the intent to ride through dirt and rock, as well as hundreds of hiway miles, in a single outing. I just bought a 2nd fox raptor (so one will be free of tricep and shoulder pads), but not sure if that is the answer. Please feel free to share insights you have learned, so not only I can learn, but others who may not be attentive to the reasons and choices can gain insights as well (because frankly, nobody wants a fellow rider to have a rib injury) . What do you wear on your adventure bike to protect rib cage, and why? Cheers. Mac