bradwill

Oh, I’m very interested. Camping off the GSA has been on my list. I’ll need to confirm schedule.

Thanks for organizing! It’s always great to meet people, share some time on a trail, and explore new places. I definitely appreciate the Noob pace and frequent catch-up stops.

I’m in. R1200GSA

Thanks for organizing. I’ll be there! I haven’t been on my bike since sheltering in place, so I’ll be nice and slow, too.

Beautiful. Thanks for sharing!

Hey Eric, I grew up on carne asada burritos and rolled tacos with guacamole from Lolita’s. Original location was on Bonita Rd near Otay Lakes but they have multiple locations now. There’s also a great Roberto’s in old Chula Vista on Broadway. And I’ll personally take my fries with my burgers. You can keep them away from my burritos, thankyouverymuch Good luck!

@erik_26 and I will be riding up from Chula Vista mainly to meet some folks and say 👋🏻

Hi @Chinen. @erik_26 set up a ride from Chula Vista up to the tech day on Saturday morning. Check it out. Maybe you can make it?

Thanks for organizing, @erik_26. Looking forward to the ride, meeting some SDAR members, and learning a little at the tech day.

Probably beyond my skill level at this point, but lurking anyway…

Hey Erik, Wherever we decide to start, I would ride there on my GSA. I don’t have any way to transport my bike other than riding it 😜 I’m open to Honeysprings Rd as well. I just explored Proctor Valley Rd to Jamul last weekend in that neighborhood.

@Chinen and @erik_26, Over in the Pine Valley Rd thread, @Bp619 suggested trying Pine Creek Rd as a easy and scenic route for big bikes. Maybe we try that one out? Here's a link to what I think is the route: https://goo.gl/maps/tJsUwdEZnpq. Looks like just under 10 miles with a 2200 ft elevation gain. Brad

Welcome, Chinen. Sounds like you, Erik, and I need to get out on some easy fire roads together. Kind of a blind-leading-the-blind trail ride. What do ya say? Brad

Hi Erik! I’ve got a new-to-me heavy adventure bike similar to your Tenere (2009 BMW R1200GSA) and I’m also just getting back into riding after a long hiatus. I’ve been poking around the local mountain roads on my own most Sunday mornings and I’m looking to start pointing the front tire at some dirt fire roads and such. I was just eyeing the Minnewawa Truck Trail up to the top of Otay Mountain in your neck of the woods. I grew up in Bonita, so that’s my old backyard. Taking some slow rides on easy dirt sounds great. I’ve been keeping my eye out for an upcoming noob ride to meet folks and compare notes about trails, tires, maps, etc. My eventual goal is to be comfortable enough to do some 2-up moto-camping with my wife. Looking forward to riding with you! Brad

Hi everyone. My name is Brad and I'm looking to get back into riding after a few years hiatus. I'm hoping to get connected with some folks here who can help A little history. I road a Suzuki DR 80 and 100 growing up in the local canyons in Bonita and then picked up a Kawasaki Ninja when I went off to college in LA. I was bikeless after college for awhile until my wife and I got a scooter when we moved to North Park and felt like outsiders without one. We sold that last year and I've been dreaming of a getting a BMW GS or similar and setting off on some rides, camping trips, and other adventures. Our family already camps a ton and I love bikes, so it's only natural... As I said, I have nothing at the moment (no bike, no riding gear, no helmet, etc). Just an M1 license and a lot of questions as I figure out what's there, what I need, where to start, etc. Looking forward to it all. Cheers, Brad

Sounds like this could be both bike AND relationship advice... Ha! Not sure my wife would agree on the relationship part. But great bike advice for sure. I appreciate the warm welcome and all the tips. Now to do some saving and shopping. Hope to see you fine folks out on the trail soon...

Thanks, Wierrider. That bike looks great. Anybody with GS experience have opinions or specific things to ask?

Thanks for the welcome, everyone. And good tip on defining my mission, TrophyHunter. I have a few thoughts, but being brand new to all this I'm sure I'm missing some things: I'm lucky enough to work from home, so this bike does not need to be a commuter, although it would be a handy for occasional trips around town. Likewise, I'm not really envisioning myself doing a lot of serious off-road riding, at least not to start. An adventure bike feels like the sweet spot of "not a commuter" and "not a dirt bike." That said, I would like to get back into riding on dirt after many years away. To start, I'm envisioning this as day trips / trail rides in the local hills and deserts. I'd like to try some overnight motorcycle camping trips with my wife. We already camp with our two boys, but I love the idea of getting out there on a bike. Eventually, I'd like to try some longer road trips to National Parks or other scenic destinations. Yosemite? Death Valley? Joshua Tree? Zion? Bryce? I'm happy with used and scratches are OK. I'm more interested in reliability, comfort, and utility than showroom condition. I'll need a helmet, boots, pants, jacket, gloves, etc. I noticed some items like that coming on going on other threads, so I'll keep my eyes open. As for me, I'm 6-1, about 185. My friend just broke 50k on his 2010 F650GS and recommended any F-series BMW 2009 or newer. I'm biased heavily towards BMW's for whatever reason, but if there's a better first adventure bike, I certainly would consider it. Oh, and TrophyHunter, I love the idea of folks riding in some examples. Maybe we can put something together? Or maybe I just show up early to the start of an upcoming Noob ride? Somebody else mentioned the Spokesmen meet ups as a place to see and chat bikes. Anybody ever meet up with those folks? Wierrider - who is Vannjoosten? Thanks again, everyone.

Thanks, 350thumber. I'm born and raised San Diego and only lived in LA during college. My wife and I have been living in San Diego since 2002.

I can also recommend http://www.bownarrowshop.com/in Lakeside. My brother-in-law is into bow hunting and frequent there. They set me up with a bow as well (that I've only used a few times).