Koonzee

robertaccio: Thank you for the tire information. I am quite happy with the paddle tire and will swap wheels as needed. Ride safely. David

Slaugo: Hello. I am short on time....but I simply want to drop a line to THANK YOU very much for the wise words of wisdom about the world of Glamis. Your advice is golden! I wish I knew this prior to the Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday break. I am returning to Glamis this weekend. Your information will certainly help with navigating. I will also have a GPS with a backtrack feature, a Garmin/Delorme InReach Exploror SAT comm device and a 2.64 gallon fuel bladder to compliment my 3.2 gallon fuel tank during this trip. Therefore, I will have approximately 5.8 gallons. Giant Loop Coyote luggge arrived this week as well and it will provide a little peace of mind by traveling with a tent and sleeping bag. Compression sacks are GREAT! I like your idea of burying gas in various areas. With every trip, I am learning more about the area and tips on navigating. As you know, Glamis is huge and there is a lot to explore and learn. Thanks again for your generous & GOLDEN keystrokes and for keeping one foot in the SD Adv Rider Forum although you are in TX. BTW, your T7 looks great. I test rode a T7 recently and was quite impressed with it. Yamaha hit the mark perfectly IMHO. I had a XT660Z Tenere in AUS and thought it was nice, especially the dual under seat exhaust for symmetrical saddle bag mounts, fuel capacity or touring range. The T7 is twice the m/c as the XT660Z in regards to the engine and transmission, IIRC. Ride safely and have a great MLK Jr. holiday weekend.

and the Veteran's Memorial.

For those who have not ridden Glamis, here is the Swingset. It felt great to relax on the swing for a few minutes.

All: Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great holiday. Slaugo: Thank you for your post and suggestions. I will certainly checkout Gordon's Well & Buttercup. If you have not already explored CO, I would highly suggest exploring the region around Ouray. It is a special place. Hopefully, you are not too far from CO. Telluride & Taylor Park region are nice also. Checkout the Backcountry Discovery Routes. There is beauty everywhere... I almost moved to Austin 18 years ago but decided to move to San Diego after receiving a job offer with 3Com. Sometimes, I wish I could experience a few years in TX, especially Austin's music and festival scene. iHeart Radio is providing my fix for local country music from TX. I am originally from Ohio. Goofy Footer: Thank you for your suggestion of exploring the areas east of Glamis, Picacho SP and south of Yuma. It is appreciated. I had another good ride at Glamis and am fine tuning my riding, gaining trust in the motorcycle and learning what is needed to be prepared in the desert. I am really loving the CRF450X. What a piece of awesome engineering. It runs strong and cool. Engine temps were between 150-180 this past weekend while hauling me around the dunes. No regrets with the CRF except for not buying it sooner. I am unsure of my desert tank capacity, but it was good for 4.5-5 hours of constant riding, dune climbing and idling at the top of the dunes. Although I have had a couple close calls.... I have not dropped the CRF yet. In order to enjoy the dunes without the stress of managing time (daylight) and precious fuel, I will definitely travel with a fuel bladder (US Military obtained in AUS) and a very lightweight tent and down bag in the future. It is not a pleasant feeling to get lost, ride to the top of 50+ dune peaks and backtrack to scout out an exit route, all while burning precious daylight and fuel. Lesson learned! I was surprised very few duners were out January first. Most campers must have traveled from far away and used Jan. first as a travel day. The early morning rain made the conditions perfect IMO. Once I was south of Oldsmobile Hill, I probably rode two hours without seeing any duners (side by sides, motorcycles, etc). While trying to reach China Wall, I got turned-around and ended up far southwest of China Wall and rode as far 'south' until I could see white campers. I thought I was facing 'south'. Then, while trying to ride north....(I was actually riding east), thinking the next dune would provide an oasis or landmark to expose the route home. If you ever attempted to ride west to east across northern third of Glamis you can relate to endless dunes. Prior to riding 'north' (true east), I passed the Swingset and Veterans Memorial. A stranded 25 year duner veteran who was waiting for a side-by-side belt was a road angel. He helped me with directions and suggested a couple landmarks to ride towards. Ironically, after talking with him, I gravitated towards the eastern course again and never saw the mountains with the communication towers we discussed. The wind was also becoming very strong. I finally saw some duners in the far west riding south through a wide wash....the easiest route to the true north. I rode the wash/route and gravitated towards an eastern route again...thinking I was traveling north. The campers that I thought were in the south, were actually the campers in the west at Roadrunner, per the veteran duner. Another set of side-by-sides eventually crossed my view and provided more optimism that I was exiting via a northern route. I ended up exiting the dunes around wash 22 or 32. ( I am unsure.) Another road angel provided some fuel as a precaution and I managed to return to camp without any fuel issues. My camp was just west of the Glamis Beach Store. I will return during MLK Jr. holiday weekend and hope to test my Garmin Basecamp routes for parts of the Grand Tour (China Wall, The Wall, The Ceiling, Phil's Wall, No Name(?), Swing Set, Granite and Oldsmobile). The Veteran duner also suggested Duner's Diner. It appears to be a must-do destination at least once for a heart attack breakfast. I simply need to workout the logistics of refueling or carrying more fuel for a 6-7 hour day with sufficient reserve for getting lost. Take care & ride safely! Cya down the road... or on the dunes!

Btw, if either of us learn we are incompatible riders after two minutes or two hours, we can simply go our separate ways. No hard feelings. I understand a trip to Glamis involves considerable time, effort & expense. I don't want be the guy to prevent someone from 'riding their ride' at their pace. No problem. It goes both ways. I have done a lot of solo riding. I have learned I prefer to finish the ride/goal without injuries or destroying the motorcycle, than pushing the limits of either myself or the motorcycle. I car camp in Yukon XL and use a motorcycle carrier. I am fairly simple at camp. I try to bring enough to address most mechanical issues while away from home. Spare parts & tools are a higher priority than excessive camping & cooking gear. Cheers, Koonzee

350 Thumper: Hello. I have ridden with both the paddle & knobbies in the sand dunes. I like the paddle better and will be riding with it in the dunes in the future. I travel with both since I have an extra set of wheels. Thanks asking. Koonzee

Btw, my other ride is more than 200 pounds heavier than the CRF. What a difference 30 years of newer technology, 200 pounds of less weight and a proper suspension makes when riding in the sand! At least I can pick up the CRF by myself....

San Diego Adventure Riders, Happy Holidays! I am posting to learn if anyone on the forum may be interested in exploring Glamis Dunes this weekend (12/7) or during the week between Christmas and January first. Last month, I finally purchased a CRF450X and recently went to Glamis Dunes during the Thankgiving holiday weekend. Although I still have a lot to learn about riding sand dunes, I had a great time. I explored the dunes relatively close to base camp (north side) and even climbed Oldsmobile Hill. (What a 55 years old guy will not do to feel 13 again!!!) Anyhow, it would be nice to join one or two other riders to explore Glamis Dunes further from base-camp, just in case of a mechanical failure or injury. I would eventually like to visit all the points of interests within Glamis and perhaps cross the dunes north to south or vice versa sometime. By the way, I live in the Sorrento Valley area and am interested in exploring other off-road recreational parks in SoCal within a half a days drive. Since the CRF is street legal, I am also open to a mix of both on and off road routes. Cheers, Koonzee

San Diego Adventure Riders, Hello. I posted the following URL recently in my introduction thread. However, I thought it would be more appropriate to share my gallery within this Four Days & Longer Trip sub-forum. Since I do not have a trip report, I will let the videos and images tell the story. Most videos are only 10-12 seconds long and provide a much better impression of the moment than the images (such as the video of the holy men of Nepal). SD Adv. Riders forum members may enjoy the sub-galleries titled Motorcycle Misc. Wheels which includes anything with wheels and many motorcycle/landscape images. If you enjoy motorcycling, photography and exploring different cultures, I would highly recommend a comparable trip. Australia: 6 months on a Yamaha Tenere XT660Z (Large fuel tank, fuel efficient; Bought & sold locally) India & Nepal: 3 months on a Royal Enfield Himalayan (Best domestic motorcycle for India's rough roads. RE's service shops are excellent. Rented my RE for $9/day out of New Dehli) Thailand: 1 month rental on a Honda CB500. The best rental bike available for Thailand, IMHO. Northern Thailand has some of the best riding I have ever experienced. The CB500 was great, even at 6'3"-6'4". New Zealand: 2 months on a Honda Africa Twin XRV750. Bought and sold in NZ. Music festival & Elvis fans may enjoy the Australian video galleries. Scroll down to near the bottom of the sub-folder for the Parkes Elvis Festival. When I flew into New Dehli, India during mid-July, I did not know a soul. All I had was a cheap hotel in a 14th century village near the airport that still did not have city water infrastructure/utilities...after 700 years! It felt great to eventually replace my Tuk-Tuk transportation with my own wheels! I slept above braying donkeys which were housed on the first floor\barn of homes and in creepy old 1970's heart-shaped beds of old hotels (I slept on the covers in my riding gear). My favorite memory was sharing a home with a mountain family and joining them for breakfast. The carbureted RE Himalayan carried me across passes almost as high as 18,000 feet. I did okay at higher elevations also. Please browse the sub-galleries titled Locals, Tourists & Critters. Although I rode through some incredible scenic areas, the enjoyable encounters with the locals are my fondest memories of all. Finally, a Samsung Galaxy S8+ was used for most images and almost all videos. A Canon 5D Mark II was used for many of the landscape images. See ya down the road... Cheers! https://koonzeekoonzee.smugmug.com/share/dkunze GPS Tracks for India & Nepal: A good day...and memory.

Zubb: Please try again. The links are correct. Good luck. Checkout some of the 10 second videos... some of my favorite memories. ShutterRev: Thanks for kind reply. Yes. I had some great experiences. Is your username a combination of two passions? Shutterbug & Revving Motorsports? If you are interested in international travel, I highly recommend it. It is easier than most would anticipate and very affordable in India, Nepal & Thailand. I rented a Royal Enfield Himalayan for $8.90/day for three months for India and Nepal. In AUS, I bought a nice Yamaha Tenere XT660Z and toured for six months. In NZ, I bought an Africa Twin XRV750 and toured for two months. (I started in NZ with the AT and was going to ship/ride it during the other tours, but I quickly learned it was too expensive and added the risk of shipping delays.) Northern Thailand was my favorite place to 'actually ride' due to being mostly rural areas with perfect roads with hardly any traffic. I rented a CB500, which is one of their larger motorcycles. Two or three weeks would be enough to experience the Ladakh region in India. If you enjoy the solitude of riding in our southwest region, especially northern Death Valley, you will love Ladakh! If you enjoy photograph, the Ladakh region is heavily influenced by Tibetan Buddhism. Leh has Buddhists, Hindu, Christians, Muslims and probably more religions represented. I am glad you enjoyed a few of the photographs. If you need a laugh, check out the holy men of the Nepal videos. Btw, the RE Himalayan has provided a much needed touring motorcycle for India. It is the perfect ride for India and the dealer support is second to none! Cheers! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Ladakh#:~:text=Tourism is one of an,the Leh and Kargil districts. Direct flight from SFC to New Delhi. Domestic flight to Leh for your motorcycle rental. (Leh's rental for prices will be higher than New Dehli's rental prices but if you are short on time it is worth it.) Here are my gps tracks: (At times I was less than ten miles from Pakistan and simply across a lake from China. The local mountains... Passes crossed during day prior to arriving to Leh. Leh is an adventure sports destination. IIRC, there are many popular treks out of Leh, some reaching as high as 20,000 feet! "Rising up to 20,000 feet, Kang Yatse is one of the most wondrous peaks in Ladakh."

SD Adventure Riders: Cheers! I feel like I have lived a couple lifetimes since my last post on the forum. I am sorry for being away for so long. Within my introduction post, I made reference to my interest in traveling overseas for a bit. Well, since I am among like-minded folks on this forum, I thought others may enjoy browsing a gallery from my recent solo trip to India, Nepal, Thailand, New Zealand & Australia. I hope to see ya down the road... Enjoy! https://koonzeekoonzee.smugmug.com/share/dkunze