KTMrad

Damn, you're killin' me !! I can't make it.....again. I've got to do bike maintenance this weekend to get the 950 ready to go to the ADVrider WMRS ride next week up in the Sierra.Did I mention I'm addicted to the Sierra ?!!

Here's a few photos from our Desert Dash Dualsport Ride, February 25-26th, 2006. The ride was a big success, we maxed out with the number of riders. Have been getting good comments about the ride on different message boards. We may be putting on another couple of rides next year in different areas in the higher elevations. Desert Dash Photos Amir's Photos and Video Link from Desert Dash 2006 Our Mascot Cody Boy posing with a couple of riders in Grapevine Canyon Gary from Brattin Motors BMW on his Dakar 650 GS Rider showing off on a Berm shot....... Gregg Wannabe from ADVrider Gregg Wannabe's 16 year old daughter on her 250....she did the whole ride on Sunday :clap

Desert Dash 2007 will be February 24th & 25th. We'll start prerunning, rollcharting and GPS'ing routes in late October through January. Will need some riding partners, and perhaps volunteers to help out with the ride.

So far, Sunday the 13th sounds good to me. Can I bring my dog ? He's a good dog, and friendly.

Eddie, I'm working locally on Wednesday, so I'm looking at a possible Wednesday evening departure, maybe around 8:00pm to miss the traffic. My friend Ron will probably be going also.I'll be riding my 950, fully loaded with gear. Doing some dirt up on Thursday, we'll take it easy (probably )I'll keep you posted, have to do a bunch of bike maintenance and replace some parts from my last adventure.

I'm heading up probably Wednesday night to beat the heat, camp along 395, then do some dirt up along the way on Thursday to the camping area near Tom's Place.Anyone interested ?

The turnout wasn't as good as last year, but it seems everyone had a good time.

I went riding with a new group of Adventure Riders, and I didn't even have to show them the SALUTE, they already knew it !!

March 26th....The San Diego Crew met again for a day ride along the US - Mexico Border. We started out at 9:15am at the gas station at the US side of the Tecate Border crossing. 7 bikes showed up, with 8 people. I was on my KTM950, Kevin on his BMW Dakar 650, Mad Mike with his wife Connie on the back of his BMW R100GS Airhead, John (Carguy) on his Honda XR650L, Gregg Wannabe on his KTM950, Tony D on a KTM950, and Tom on his BMW R1150GS. At the meeting point, gettin' ready to rock n' roll.... We rode along the border fence until we could go no further. At the Sportsmans Club, I had gone through it before with no trouble, so we gave it a try this time, only to come to a locked gate on the east side. The guy driving a tractor on the property approached us, and I figured it was time for some public relations. Tom and I talked with him for about 20 minutes. This guy takes care of the gun club property and the adjacent properties. He said the gates will no longer be open due to heavy use of the area by illegals. So, we headed a few miles west to get around a small lake, through some mud puddles and out to pavement on route 94 east. We rode about 5 miles to Jacumba, where we had a good lunch and beverages at the Jacumba Resort/Spa. At lunch....Left to Right - Gregg Wannabe, Tom, Kevin, John, Tony D. L to R - Gregg, Me, TonyD, Kevin, John Kevin had mentioned the Smugglers Cave area earlier, and at lunch Tom asked if anyone wanted to go there....we all decided it was a GO !! After lunch, we rode another few miles on route 94 to the junction with Interstate 8, turned into the dirt and headed up into the rocky hills around Smugglers Cave. On top of one of the mountains by the Repeater Towers These mountains are nothing but boulders, rocks, and more boulders....... Artsy shot with the bikes posing...... Jeep Trail dead-ending at more boulders.... View of the area below to the northeast....The Yuha and Anza Borrego Deserts, and the Plaster City Area. Tony D and John heading up a rocky trail Kevin attacking a section on his Dakar Mad Mike and Connie on the old Airhead Tom on his 1150GS and Tourance tires !! :eek1 Mike and Connie adventurin' along Posers.......Mad Mike and Kevin couldn't figure out which rock to pose on... :huh My 950 ready for some trials ridin' John on his XR650L, wonderin' which way to go next, and Mike's R100GS Here, Tom is explaining to Mike where he missed the nude girls sunbathing.....Mike is thinking, "Huh" ? :evil Tom attacking the steep, rocky trail heading up to Smugglers Cave Breaktime on side of the mountain with an awesome view, near the caves Many trails to explore below in "Valley of the Moon" Two of the caves.....unfortunately, some slobs left their empties behind Another in a series of caves The mouth of this cave is about 30 feet down in the earth Looking deep into another cave Mad Mike looking for dead bodies...... or was it GOLD ?? Spectacular Views from the top..... The San Diego Crew below....... Tom on top, having suicidal tendencies..... Mad Mike showin' us how to do it with Connie on the back of the R100GS Mad Mike has that name for a reason !! The group split up as some had to head home.....Kevin, Mike, Connie and I always have to get as much riding in to make the day worth it, so we stayed to explore some more, trying to find the way into Valley of the Moon......no success this time, but later we found out how to get there from some 4 Wheeler guys. After some awesome, challenging riding, we stopped back in Jacumba for some refreshments before heading back at sunset. Heading west on route 94, they followed me onto some dirt trails I knew of. One had a new fence up with private land we could not get around, once past the new home, we hit more dirt in the dark to the town of Boulevard. From there, it was pavement the rest of the way home. Kevin and I made our usual stop in Potrero. Got home after a long day, it was 11:15pm !! Another fantastic day of riding, exploring new areas with good friends, good people !!

Since we lost previous posts, I'll repost what CARGUY had to say about his first ride with us............ Here's what John (Carguy from San Diego Adventure Riders) had to say about the ride....... Good Ride! We rode the boarder road from Tecate to Bankhead Springs and Old Hwy80 to Jacumba. We actually went to the Sportsman Club where Randy?? ( I am bad with names) thought about joining the club and discussed life with tractor Bob and he(tractor Bob) still would not let us go through the property East to Jacumba and we had to backtrack a little. Some good puddles from the rain near the lake. We took a different route on dirt and came out on Old 80 at Bankhead Springs. We stopped in Jacumba for lunch at the Hot Springs resturant. Food was good, service slow but, they do have BEER! From there we went to, I think it is Smugglers cave or mine. Old Hwy 80 at In-Ko-Pah East towards the repeaters. I have been there before and now hold the record for dumping the bike twice on the same hill. Did I mention I had the lightest bike there and one guy (like I said I am bad with names) Mike, saddeled his wife Connie and still out-rode some of us. Kept it upright for the whole ride. I feel I needed the "depends" or "pampers" for dumping the XR650L twice. I had to cut early and had a good time. We did meet Tony, I remembered one, on the way out. I look foward to future rides. For the interested parties. I thought it would be some guys on big dual sports riding 70 miles down the highway and then pulling into a dirt turnout and calling it off road. There were some big bikes, BMW & KTM. The Honda kept up fine, and the only reason we went on the paved road was the dirt route was fenced or for food & gas.

Sunday, March 19th....a few of us from San Diego met to go ride the US - Mexico Border. Kevin and I planned to meet at a Shell Station in Chula Vista, and posted our ride plans for the locals. We didn't know who or how many would show, and the weather had been rain on/off all weekend. But, the morning of the ride, we had 9 riders show up at the gas station....not bad for last minute plans....... After a few miles of pavement, we hit the dirt, Otay Mountain Truck Trail, and Kevin took us up to the old WWII lookout on Otay Mountain. L to R - MikeyB, Chris, Kevin, Eric and Mark. Here's the view from the WWII lookout.....on a clear day, you can see far to the horizon on the Pacific Ocean. This place was used to scour the horizon, looking for enemy ships ready to attack or invade......... Bill S. decided a good Adventure ride wouldn't be right unless someone dropped it within the first few miles......I wasn't quick enough to get the camera out while his new HP2 was laying in the gravel The San Diego Crew.... Otay Truck Trail over Otay Mountain, along the border.... Left to Right.....Eric, MikeyB, Chris, Mark, Kevin Jim Bos on the trail with his KLR Bill (HP2) and Jim Bos (KLR) Border Patrol Jeep near the border SanDiegoland (Craig) on his V-Strom 650 Cottonwood Creek Crossing........ MikeyB Jim Bos Craig on the V-Strom...... SanDiegoland decided he needed a bath !! We crossed over many ridges, through some canyons on an awesome trail along the border........here's the switchbacks dropping down a valley towards Barrett Junction on the Kuchama Truck Trail.... Rounding a corner Looking Down Riders on switchbacks SanDiegoLand on his V-Strom The Minutemen at Barrett Junction..... L to R....Mark (KTM 950S), Bill (BMW HP-2), Jim (KLR 650), Me (KTM 950), Kevin (BMW Dakar 650), Eric (KTM 950), MikeyB (KTM 625), Chris (DR 650), and Craig's V-Strom 650. We rode a few miles of fun, twisty pavement on route 94 to the Tecate turnoff. Stopped for gas near Tecate, and ran into a group of scooter riders on Vespa scooters, some of their scooters were from the 1960's. After gas, we took the border road. It was really muddy in the first couple of miles.......SanDiegoLand dropped it in the mud, and waved everyone by. He later hooked back up with us at the lunch stop. The Border Fence on the dirt road along the Border....due to all the rain we had, the traction and conditions were bitchin' !! The Mighty 950 We took Buckman Springs, then hit some more trails and a dirt road to La Posta Cafe for lunch. After a good lunch, most of the group headed home. It was 2:00pm, Kevin and I needed some more riding and exploring, so MikeyB joined us on his KTM 625. We explored any dirt trails we could find along La Posta Rd. We found some great trails, many were overgrown 2 track.....here's MikeyB posing at one of the trails that dead-ended Kevin scouting for a way through to a trail we saw in the distance Our barkbusters came in handy as we blazed our way through thick brush and eventually found the trail. Kevin telling MikeyB he missed the all-girl nudist colony that we just passed We found a neat, narrow trail that zig-zagged for a few miles, and then another that went up a steep hill. We were in exploration mode and having a blast !! We found this awesome cliff on top of a hill at the end of this trail.... MikeyB at the point We backtracked the way we came and followed the trail out until it hit a dirt road which connected with La Posta Rd. From there, it was time to take pavement back to San Diego since it was getting late. We had been lucky with the weather, only got rained on lightly a couple of times. At Cameron Corners, Kevin and I were in need of a beverage, MikeyB headed back on route 94. Kevin and I did our usual relaxing ride back with a couple of stops on the way. Got back home at 7:30pm and had to rush to pack up for a flight to Las Vegas at 10:00pm. Talk about cuttin' it close !! :eek1 We had a great ride, great group of riders, and found some new trails to explore in the future.

This is a legitimate survey, anyone know people in the age group they're trying to get responses from ?Randy, I am e-mailing you on behalf of Clarity Research a professional market research company, specializing in motorcycle research. We will be conducting a research project that will give bikers an opportunity to share their opinions regarding current and future motocross motorcycle. We are looking for owners of 250 and 450 series as well as those who may be considering a MX bike in the future We have sent out thousands of postcard using magazine subscription list and the bikers that have returned the call have been 30+. We have two quotas to fill 18-27 and 28+. The younger group is where we are having problems. I have attached a flyer explaining the project with our toll free number. The project will be taking place Saturday, July15th in Fullerton. It will take about 45 minutes and we will compensate respondent $75 in cash if you qualify and participate. No one will be contacted for sales purposes as a result of your participation.Randy, if you have any ideas on reaching this age group please email or call our number with your suggestions.Thank you,Marilyn Happy--WOW! Homepage (http://www.wowway.com)

Looks like a good time at the BBQ. Looks like I missed good people, food, and beer!! I didn't make it because I was on a 10 day trip riding in the High Sierra.

Just posting.......too bad we lost all the posts from all the rides we had all organized since February.

Religious fanatics terrorize American farmersBy John StosselJun 14, 2006Media coverage of environmental regulators makes them look like dispassionate scientists. But too often they are dangerous religious fanatics.Years ago, when ranchers and farmers told me that our government's environmental regulatory agencies had been captured by fanatics so hostile to the idea of private property that they'd use the endangered-species law to drive just about every landowner off his land, I thought they were overwrought. Then I learned the story of the lynx.Thousands of lynx live in North America, but since environmental officials weren't sure whether there were any in the Gifford Pinchot and Wenatchee National Forests in southern Washington state, they commissioned a million-dollar study to find out.The discovery of threatened or endangered species would be terrifying news to ranchers and farmers who depend upon use of the land for their livelihoods. Property-rights advocate Mike Paulson told us: "We basically say if you have an endangered species in your area, we're going to take your livelihood away, we're going to destroy your communities, and we're going to make it very difficult for your families to survive." The Endangered Species Act has been used to shut down logging, take away water rights, and stop multitudes of construction and development projects.I want to save endangered species, too, but government is supposed to protect the rights of the people -- not destroy their lives because threatened animals might be in their area.For their study in Washington state, government biologists nailed pieces of carpet soaked with catnip onto trees, hoping a lynx would rub up against them and leave some fur -- evidence of the lynx's existence in this particular area. Sure enough, when biologists sent carpet samples to a lab, they came back positive for hairs from a Canada lynx.That may sound like good evidence that there were Canada lynx in the area, but actually, the regulators went to a zoo, got hair samples from captive lynx, and sent those hairs to the lab to be tested.The biologists only admitted rigging the test when they were caught. The cheating didn't surprise Jim Beers, a biologist for the Department of Fish and Wildlife for 30 years.He told me that biologists at Fish and Wildlife were on a campaign to keep people out of wooded areas. "The agencies today," he said, "are staffed with environmental radical activists." And the activist-bureaucrats don't want people living in the woods.Once caught with their hands in the cage, the biologists announced that they were not trying to cheat, they were just "testing" the lab to make sure it could detect lynx hair by sending a "control" sample. Beers said: "That's the same as you telling me that you caught them walking out of the bank with money and they said, 'Oh, we were just seeing if the system works here.'"No biologists were fired for the lynx fraud. They were just "disciplined." The fanatics protect their own.Science-fiction author Robert A. Heinlein once wrote, "In declaring his love for a beaver dam (erected by beavers for beavers' purposes) and his hatred for dams erected by men (for the purposes of men) the 'Naturist' reveals his hatred for his own race -- i.e., his own self-hatred." The "Naturist" religion, which today we call "environmentalism," elevates every other form of life above human life. The Constitution was written to protect human beings' rights to life, liberty and property, but environmentalism says those rights must be subordinated to the protection of other species. And men and women who count on their land to support them must live at the mercy of the regulators.How would environmental fanatics capture a government agency? Well, who is more likely to volunteer to take a job in a bureaucracy that has little to recommend it except that it gives you the power to use government force to control the lives of others? A dispassionate scientist or a zealot?In government, the zealots eventually take over.Read more about Give Me a Break by Stossel, John <http://www.thbookservice.com/products/BookPage.asp?prod_cd=c6443>Award-winning news correspondent John Stossel is co-anchor of ABC News "20/20" and author of "Give Me a Break <http://www.thbookservice.com/products/BookPage.asp?prod_cd=c6443>." You can listen to a free podcast with Stossel (and win a copy of his book) here <http://www.townhall.com/phrd.html?loc=http://www.texaspolicy.com/policycast.php>.Copyright © 2006 Townhall.com--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Religious fanatics terrorize American farmersBy John StosselJun 14, 2006Media coverage of environmental regulators makes them look like dispassionate scientists. But too often they are dangerous religious fanatics.Years ago, when ranchers and farmers told me that our government's environmental regulatory agencies had been captured by fanatics so hostile to the idea of private property that they'd use the endangered-species law to drive just about every landowner off his land, I thought they were overwrought. Then I learned the story of the lynx.Thousands of lynx live in North America, but since environmental officials weren't sure whether there were any in the Gifford Pinchot and Wenatchee National Forests in southern Washington state, they commissioned a million-dollar study to find out.The discovery of threatened or endangered species would be terrifying news to ranchers and farmers who depend upon use of the land for their livelihoods. Property-rights advocate Mike Paulson told us: "We basically say if you have an endangered species in your area, we're going to take your livelihood away, we're going to destroy your communities, and we're going to make it very difficult for your families to survive." The Endangered Species Act has been used to shut down logging, take away water rights, and stop multitudes of construction and development projects. I want to save endangered species, too, but government is supposed to protect the rights of the people -- not destroy their lives because threatened animals might be in their area.For their study in Washington state, government biologists nailed pieces of carpet soaked with catnip onto trees, hoping a lynx would rub up against them and leave some fur -- evidence of the lynx's existence in this particular area. Sure enough, when biologists sent carpet samples to a lab, they came back positive for hairs from a Canada lynx. That may sound like good evidence that there were Canada lynx in the area, but actually, the regulators went to a zoo, got hair samples from captive lynx, and sent those hairs to the lab to be tested. The biologists only admitted rigging the test when they were caught. The cheating didn't surprise Jim Beers, a biologist for the Department of Fish and Wildlife for 30 years. He told me that biologists at Fish and Wildlife were on a campaign to keep people out of wooded areas. "The agencies today," he said, "are staffed with environmental radical activists." And the activist-bureaucrats don't want people living in the woods.Once caught with their hands in the cage, the biologists announced that they were not trying to cheat, they were just "testing" the lab to make sure it could detect lynx hair by sending a "control" sample. Beers said: "That's the same as you telling me that you caught them walking out of the bank with money and they said, 'Oh, we were just seeing if the system works here.'"No biologists were fired for the lynx fraud. They were just "disciplined." The fanatics protect their own. Science-fiction author Robert A. Heinlein once wrote, "In declaring his love for a beaver dam (erected by beavers for beavers' purposes) and his hatred for dams erected by men (for the purposes of men) the 'Naturist' reveals his hatred for his own race -- i.e., his own self-hatred." The "Naturist" religion, which today we call "environmentalism," elevates every other form of life above human life. The Constitution was written to protect human beings' rights to life, liberty and property, but environmentalism says those rights must be subordinated to the protection of other species. And men and women who count on their land to support them must live at the mercy of the regulators.How would environmental fanatics capture a government agency? Well, who is more likely to volunteer to take a job in a bureaucracy that has little to recommend it except that it gives you the power to use government force to control the lives of others? A dispassionate scientist or a zealot? In government, the zealots eventually take over. Award-winning news correspondent John Stossel is co-anchor of ABC News "20/20" and author of "Give Me a Break." You can listen to a free podcast with Stossel (and win a copy of his book) here.Copyright © 2006 Townhall.com

Important Issue......even though it's not in our area, it's in the Sierra Nevada up north, with great riding.....we can't afford to lose this......... Louis Purdy writes to us: Hello friends of the great outdoors. I just received and email from Del Albright as many of you have. This is another attempt to grab an enormous amount of land for Wilderness in our own back yards. This biased attempt is called the Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest Plan Revision and must be stopped at all cost. Pass this on to all your Ranch, RV and sightseeing friends. A copy of my opinion to the land grabbers is below. If you believe as I do, Please fill out your own comments to the Forest Service Plan Committee and click send to Forest Plan Teem Dels email with the link is also enclosed below. My opinion.... Too much forest is already inaccessible and "Wilderness" areas without groomed roads are the most vulnerable to forest fires. Lack of accessible roads has made firefighting much more dangerous and unsuccessful resulting in massive wildlife and timber loss. Enough is enough. We have enough Wilderness. The mindset of the wilderness advocates is severely flawed and needs to be argued extensively. I live nearby the Toyabe Wilderness and witnessed first hand the fire destruction and comments by the firefighters noting the lack of access to areas that could have been saved if more equipment could have reached many areas but roads were blocked off. Creating another 1.35 MILLION ACRES as Wilderness may as well be called a controlled burning zones where nobody benefits and wildlife dies. When it come to the discussion of "Demand for Wilderness" We must not overlook this, According to the National Visitor Use Monitoring Study for this forest, which was conducted in the year 2000, only 1.1 percent of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest visitors spent time recreating in the current wilderness areas in this forest. So where is the need (“demand”)? Clearly there is no need for an additional 1.35 million acres of wilderness in this forest for the 1.1% of forest visitors that currently recreate in the existing wilderness areas in this forest. Most RVers are law abiding citizens who stay on the trails. Our local 4-Wheeler Club takes good care of the trails and teaches our youth to tread lightly, pick up trash, even if not theirs and wash vehicles of possible weed seeds prior to heading out on adventures. We also provide a great service to firefighters by grooming trails. Closing roads at-will has been a the practice in some places where the Forest Service had no authority to do so. These areas must not stay closed and should be identified. We must have more time to accurately map these roads and trails and re-establish them as off road trails, roads and fire access routes. Another concern is that there are numerous historic sites and roads in already declared "wilderness" and Wilderness study areas. These Historic sites are and will be forever inaccessible except by a few who can backpack for several days. This means only a few people are able to hike to these sites and most of them are not historic minded but the RVers in general are. Wilderness designation originally was intended for areas that Humans never tread on or traveled through. These proposed areas are full of historic sites, road, trails and scenic wonder. For these reasons and more not mentioned, We hereby reject the Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest Plan Revision and believe it to be a biased attempt to close an enormous amount of forest and heritage to nearly all the public. Respectfully Submitted, Louis J. Purdy Round Mountain, NV Please feel free to send your comments & voice your opinion to: Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest Forest Plan Revision Team 1200 Franklin Way Sparks, NV 89431 Michael Hampton, Forest Planner Voice: 775-355-5314 Email: r4_h-t_comments@fs.fed.us ----- Original Message ----- From Dave Hurwitz, Snowmobiler and concerned motorized recreationist about the Humbolt-Toyaibe National Forest: Below is a letter I just wrote to the Pahrump Valley Editor in regards to Forest Service employee Tom Baker's comments at the recent public meeting discussing the Humboldt-Toiyabe Forest Plan Revision. My guess is that they won't print it since I live in Washington State, but it still made me feel better writing it. I strongly encourage you folks to participate in this forest plan revision. I am including some information below to help you do so. Dave Hurwitz Snowmobile Alliance of Western States ____________________________________________________ Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest Plan Revision Home page: http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/htnf/projects/fore...lan/index.shtml Timeline for the Humboldt Toiyabe Forest Plan Revision http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/htnf/projects/fore.../timeline.shtml Comprehensive Evaluation Report Summary 6/06 1 st round Public Open Houses 8-11/05 2nd and 3rd round Public Open Houses Spring and Fall 2006 Proposal of Revised Forest Plan to Public 3/07 Formal Comment Period Close 7/07 Pre-Decisional Public Review & Objection (RF) 8/07 Environmental Management System Completion 7/07 Plan Approval by Forest Supervisor 10/07 To get on the mailing list for this forest plan select the link below and fill in the required information. http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/htnf/projects/fore...n/contact.shtml _____________________________________________________ Pahrump Valley Times Editor, Regarding your article titled “1.35 million acres is potential wilderness” that was published in your paper last Friday June 16th, 2006, I find it very disturbing to hear the biased remarks regarding motorized recreation that were spouted by Tom Baker, legislative liaison for the U.S. Forest Service. “Cut new paths”, “jeeps come tearing through”, and “off-road vehicles go trampling”. Do these remarks sound like they should be coming from a supposedly unbiased neutral government employee that works for the Humboldt Toiyabe Forest Service who has been hired to manage this forest for multiple-use activities, of which one of those popular activities is motorized recreation? Does he also not realize that not only is motorized recreation a popular and legitimate form of recreation on OUR public lands, but that also numerous handicapped and senior citizens use motorized or mechanical transport as their only means to enjoy THEIR tax paid for public lands? Mr. Baker also states that "If you look at the acreage that we said is capable of being wilderness, those areas have been closed to vehicle use for a number of years anyway ... They have been considered roadless areas for some time”. There is no law or forest service policy that requires roadless areas or Recommended Wilderness Areas (RWA’s) to be closed to motorized recreation and treated as de-facto wilderness. Why have they been previously closed? Roadless areas are open for all forms of multiple-use activities in most national forests, as well as many other management classifications in this and other national forests. As for the RWA’s, Forest Service Manual (FSM) 1923.03 describes how these areas should be managed. This policy states that, “Any potential wilderness area recommended for wilderness or wilderness study is not available for any use or activity that may reduce the area’s wilderness potential. Activities currently permitted may continue, pending designation, if the activities do not compromise wilderness values of the potential wilderness area.” Obviously continuing existing use in RWA’s does not “reduce” the wilderness potential, if these areas could be recommended for wilderness in the first place in areas where motorized use is currently allowed. “There has to be the demand for wilderness area out there". I can agree with this statement. FSH 1909.12 requires the forest service “meet the tests of capability, availability, and need” when determining new areas for wilderness recommendation. Section 7.23 further states “Determine the need for an area to be designated as wilderness through an analysis of the degree to which it contributes to the local and national distribution of wilderness. There should be clear evidence of current or future public need for additional designated wilderness in the general area under consideration”. According to the National Visitor Use Monitoring Study for this forest, which was conducted in the year 2000, only 1.1 percent of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest visitors spent time recreating in the current wilderness areas in this forest. So where is the need (“demand”)? Clearly there is no need for an additional 1.35 million acres of wilderness in this forest for the 1.1% of forest visitors that currently recreate in the existing wilderness areas in this forest. I strongly encourage the motorized public to participate in this Humboldt-Toiyabe Forest Plan Revision that will determine how OUR public lands will be managed for the future, or they may just find a gate across their favorite trail when this plan is completed in October 2007. Dave Hurwitz Chairman - Snowmobile Alliance of Western States http://www.pahrumpvalleytimes.com/2006/06/...ews/forest.html 1.35 million acres is potential wilderness By MARK WAITE PVT After several years of research, a list of 1.35 million acres of land in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest capable of being designated as wilderness was presented to the public during an open house at the Tonopah Convention Center June 7. The list includes 376,220 acres in the Tonopah Ranger District, including areas around Arc Dome, Table Mountain, and the Toiyabe Range in Nye County. Restricting off-road vehicle users seem to be a major target of the revised plans. The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest includes national forest areas throughout Nevada from Jarbidge to Las Vegas and Reno to Elko. Tom Baker, legislative liaison for the U.S. Forest Service, said it was the first revision of the plan for the Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest since 1989. The need for wilderness is determined partly by public input, like the open house in Tonopah. "If you look at the acreage that we said is capable of being wilderness, those areas have been closed to vehicle use for a number of years anyway ... They have been considered roadless areas for some time," Baker said. Baker said he was often asked why wilderness areas are needed. He said it's a quality of life issue. A lot of people would like their children or grandchildren to see Nevada the way it was. Baker emphasized that wilderness areas aren't off limits to everybody. They are open for hiking, horseback riding and camping. But people would not be able to drive all-terrain vehicles and cut new paths through them, Baker said. "The difference is, between the BLM and the Forest Service, BLM will identify an area that becomes wilderness study area; then they will manage that area as wilderness. When we say an area is capable of being wilderness it continues to be managed as national forest until Congress acts on that," Baker said. For an area to be a wilderness area, he said, "Those areas have to be pretty much as the good Lord made them. There has to be the demand for wilderness area out there." Baker outlined some of the points that were made during the open house. "When we were down in Tonopah, one of the things that came out was the roads that were not on the map," he said. "We asked people to get us that information. We're going back and reevaluating, did we miss anything? If there's concurrence and everybody said this does meet the criteria for wilderness, that information goes to Congress, and it's up to Congress to act. It's not our call to establish wilderness areas," Baker said. Baker said many people are concerned about increases in vehicle use in undeveloped areas. "Hunters, fishermen don't particularly like to have 35 jeeps come tearing through their hunting area," he said. "Ranchers, some of them who feel it may be an inconvenience, would rather have the land stay the way it is than have off-road vehicles go trampling across their grazing allotments." Baker said some ranchers in Ely were supportive of the wilderness designations. The study identified 174 permittees on 261 grazing allotments across the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, of which about 85 percent have active 10-year grazing permits. Forest fires and the proximity of people to National Forest lands, have also changed a great deal since the 1987 plan, the study notes. U.S. Forest Service planners say maps of vegetation show sagebrush has been reduced due to grazing, climate change and fire suppression, which has allowed strands of pinyon-juniper trees and cheat grass to spread. Aspen and cottonwood tress are declining across the West, which provide habitat for wildlife and plants. The plan looks to restore river habitat and maintain or restore old growth forest. The plan would also address treatment of noxious weeds. The priority areas on the list in the Tonopah Ranger District include: Georges Canyon, 97,713 acres; Table Mountain East, 83,623 acres; Secret Basin south of the Arc Dome Wilderness Area, 61,040 acres; Mt. Ardivey, 36,960 acres, an area west of Peavine Canyon in the Toiyabe Range; Alta north, west and east, 34,207 acres; Rock Canyon, 26,083 acres; Four Mile Canyon, 22,578 acres; Spanish Peak, 9,962 acres and Table Mountain West Valley Basin, 4,044 acres. In addition 100,397 acres in the entire Toiyabe Range is part of a separate list for inclusion in the Austin Ranger District. For comment or questions, please e-mail webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - 2006

DAY 5 - LAST DAY We left Porterville at 7:15am, took County Roads to Fountain Springs and then to Glenville, some roads we've done many times on other Airhead BMW gatherings. From Glenville, we took route 155, which is almost as good as the Mighty 190, but is much more direct to get to Kernville. Route 155 twisties Took this shot over my shoulder.....not too bad Got to Kernville 9:00am for breakfast at a favorite spot....Cheryl's Diner Here's one for y'all.....OH NO...food pix !! Nice, relaxing breakfast outside Lake Isabella was close to full capacity, due to all the runoff from another heavy winter of snowfall in the Sierra History on Bodfish Caliente Road, town of Havilah 1867 Schoolhouse I like to check out historic places Switchbacks on Bodfish Caliente Road, another favorite twisty road Famous Tehachapi Loop....major engineering feat Wind Farms in Tehachapi...there must be thousands of windmills here Needed gas so we rode by Willow Springs Raceway. We saw bikes at the Streets of Willow track and wanted to stop, but decided to blow it off. Went and got gas in Rosamond, then down Highway 14 to Angeles Forest exit, took the awesome twisties to Wrightwood for a traditional beverage stop, before the freeway haul home. Celebrated our last 5 days of riding with....what else, but a cold Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Like the "Priceless" One last FYYFF for the road Cody Boy is happy to see me home And, now it's time for........ Another great 1316 mile Adventure Ride, to the spectacular Sierra Nevada mountains. I'll be getting another fix, going up around July 4th to Bishop to explore more routes. If you want to read about last year's solo High Sierra Adventure, go HERE

DAY 4 Packing up and ready to leave the Silver Maple Motel(nice place, reasonable price $75 was the going rate) in Bridgeport 1880 Courthouse in Bridgeport Headed north on 395 to the Sonora Pass - route 108 turnoff. Up and over the Sierra Nevada mountains heading west. The Pass Road heading down into the valley Fellow biker enjoying the weekend ride. Breaktime in the snow Stream running under the snow After dropping down from the pass, we took a turnoff to the quaint little town of Tuolomne. Then Ron took me on some great little, narrow one-lane twisties (only to be found on County Maps) that headed down to the Tuolomne River. Today would be most, if not all, pavement :cry I guess the local kids really like this bridge Folks enjoying other fun forms of recreation on Memorial Day Weekend Just one of the narrow, one-lane twisties We really had to keep the speeds down and watch the corners for oncoming cars. Here's a view of one twisty road on the steep hillsides along the Tuolomne River. Stopped in Coulterville for lunch at 3:30pm, a big biker hangout Neither Ron nor I had ever stopped here before The plan from here was to try to get to Porterville tonight, at a reasonable hour, since I didn't want to make the last day a long one and get home at 10:00pm like I usually do on a ride like this. So, we had to take some fun, backcountry twisties to hook up with the dreaded Highway 99 south. At one point, heading towards Merced Falls, I knew Ron passed the correct turn to head to 99. He turned around and we both stopped. We looked at the map, and saw we had another option, so we headed southeast to find "Indian Gulch Road". This looked interesting on the map, and I said to Ron, "We might even find some more dirt" !! Indian Gulch was a narrow, unmaintained one-lane road through farmland, and then connected with Indian Gulch Extension....... AHHHHH, this turned into dirt, one more last dirt road of the trip. We had to stop and celebrate. Ron blazing the trail ahead Ron loves to Pose E-9-R....yep, a Poser Too Big Bro and Little Bro posing After this last, fun dirt section of about 15 miles, we hit the 99 south and arrived at a Motel 6 in Porterville for the night. We decided we would wake up and try to hit the road by 7:00am tomorrow. Last Day to be continued.........

DAY 3 We walked over to Dale's house and went to breakfast at the country-club with he and his wife. We talked over a good breakfast, about riding, off-road legislation and land use battles (Dale is very active in the off-road community up in the Bishop area), and more riding. After a good breakfast, we said our goodbyes to Dale and his wife. We leisurely packed up our bikes (that's what I love about vacation and trips....no rush, no agenda) and left Bishop at noon. We rode a few miles on pavement north out of town, and then immediately hit the dirt road to Fish Slough and the Volcanic Tablelands. Indian Petroglyphs.....hundreds, maybe thousands of years old Red Rock Canyon Ron Ron coming down a jeep trail. We started out on a main dirt road on the other side of the mountain, which eventually became a faded, barely used jeep trail. Ron asked if I was sure it was the right way. I said, "No, but I'm pretty sure it will cross that ridge and drop down the other side to connect with another trail". He said "OK, you lead". The trail started going up a steep, loose, rocky uphill. I stopped to make sure Ron was OK. He said he was having just a little trouble, all the weight on the rear was making the bike want to lift the front wheel going up the hill, but he agreed to keep on going. We made it up and over with no problems. Ron with the bikes, and the White Mountains in the distance, to the east Studly Adventurers Posing After many miles of scenic dirt roads and jeep trails, we came out on the Benton Crossing Road, headed east to route 120, which we took a few miles west to a dirt road turnoff on the map. This headed into Adobe Valley. The narrow two track trail reminded me of a route I did last year in the Mono Basin, which turned into nasty, deep volcanic ash. I told Ron I hoped this would not end up being the same type of terrain. He said, "Well, let's give it a try and see". So we rode down this narrow trail, our panniers smacking the sagebrush and bushes as we rounded each corner. We passed Antelope Spring and other natural springs and lakes in the area. Fortunately, the terrain never got too soft. In some places, we couldn't tell if the terrain was wet and we were going to sink in and be swallowed, but it was all fairly dry. Miles of this trail went through beautiful, tall grasses with white, hard packed dirt.....I felt like I was riding on a beach.....it was awesome !! Stopped at this old cabin Adobe Valley with White Mountains in the background After riding through a short section of deep, volcanic ash, the trail followed a powerline through the Adobe Hills. Here's a view of the Adobe Valley below, as we climbed higher in elevation This powerline trail hit us with all types of terrain....rocky uphills and downhills....soft, deep volcanic ash.....rutted out areas.....some sections were a bit challenging....here's Ron on one rocky downhill Ron at the California - Nevada border No Comment Looked like we were going to ride into some heavy rain We hit pavement again for only a few miles west, Highway 167, then found the dirt turnoff to take us into the Bodie Hills. We stopped at this unique, old structure....not sure what it was, maybe an old well ?? As we headed northeast in the dirt, luckily we rode away from these storm clouds Mono Basin and Mono Lake Ron checking out the view Heading towards the Bodie Hills Many miles of dirt roads led us to historic Bodie State Park (ghost town). We stopped at the entrance station and asked the woman if the dirt road leading over the mountains to Masonic Ghost Town was open. She said, "Open yes, but we wouldn't advise you go. We had a truck get stuck there last week". I said, "Well, that was last week. I think we have to give it a try". I looked at Ron, and he agreed. She wished us luck. We both had already seen Bodie Ghost Town, so didn't stop this time, but got a few photos from outside anyway We turned north on the dirt road to Masonic, which would take us all the way to Bridgeport in the dirt. We quickly climbed into the clouds until we came to this.....Ron surveying a possible crossing I tried following a set of 4x4 tracks across the snowdrift, but the heavily loaded KTM just wanted to slide This made me feel like I was riding across Antartica The weather looked pretty bad on the mountains close to 10,000 feet, but we continued on. We found a way up and around the huge snowdrift and pressed on. Ron going around the second snowdrift Ron going through the third snowdrift We stopped here, when we saw the next huge snowdrift covering the road in the distance As far as we could tell, there was just too much snow up there to continue on. Even though we had to turn around, I think Ron's still havin' a great time here !! Here, I'm going back through one of the drifts Ron, give it MORE GAS !!!! OOPS....Too late !! With a quick push, he was through the snow. Look close, here it was snowing on us As we went around the last big snowdrift, a pickup truck saw us and he decided to head the opposite way, the direction we just came from. He must've thought he was going to be able to continue on....I tried waving him down to warn him that it was impassable, but he didn't see me. Oh well, guess he'd find out for himself. We had to ride west from Bodie to pavement, then a few miles into Bridgeport, where we decided to get another motel room for the night. We had just ridden 140 miles in 7 1/2 hours, and less than 30 miles of that was pavement. What an awesome day !!!!! Had a great dinner and beers over discussion of our fantastic riding so far, at Rhino's DAY 4 to be continued.........

DAY 2 Ron wanted to go to the Mule Days parade to meet a lady who actually lives outside San Diego, I wasn't crazy about going to the parade....Ron said, "c'mon.....it's Memorial Day Weekend....let's relax a little, plus, this is the largest NON-MOTORIZED parade in the US". So I figured, "why not". I'm actually glad we went, I thought it was pretty cool. Bear with me through these parade photos.... An actual "20 Mule Team" Thought y'all might like this one !! Mini Mules Marshall's Posse Looks like Wyatt Earp and his Gang Ron and his lady friend Ain't that cute ?!! The first motorized vehicles down the street were the clean-up crew....lots of "piles" in the street ....and the scenery on the sidewalk adds to the photo.... After the parade, we rode to Dale's house, ready for some ridin' !! Finally got to see Dale's creation, he'd been telling me about since he got it....his homemade dualsport.....check this out, it's a BUELL FIREBOLT !! Completely stripped and done-up just the way Dale wants it !! Dale said, "you want to hit dirt right away, from my house?" Well, what do you think....of course !! After gas, we followed Dale half a mile from his house, through a gate to the Canal Road, which is dirt. All of a sudden, Dale was gone....he was crankin' on that Buell. He waited for us at the turns, and then we crossed 395 and he showed us more dirt to get to our destination of the day....the Buttermilk Loop. I would not have known these trails myself, so it was great having a local show us around !! On one ravine crossing, the uphill side was loose and I watched Dale motor up it, but then his bike stalled at the top. After, I told him with some type of knobby on the rear, he would've made it up no problem. He said that wasn't the problem, his Buell has an intermittent electrical stalling problem, it just happened to cut-out just before he reached the top of that hill... On the way, we came to a stream crossing that was running too fast....if we fell in it, we'd be swept away. So, Dale took us to another crossing over the same stream....this one was a little tricky....definitely didn't want to fall off this little crossing.... Ron being a backup for Dale as he crossed....Dale's handlebars barely fit between the railing, so he was real cautious !! Ron at the first crossing Ron at second crossing half way across Here, I'm starting across the first one What made this tricky, is your bars were up against the railing on both sides, which were not centered with the steel grates below....so your tires were over to the left edge of the grates....just as I was almost across, my right handlebar hit the right railing, so my wheel turned to the left....I thought "don't panic now....keep up your momentum, slowly, and don't let that wheel drop off the edge !!" Luckily we all made it across with no problem. We had to take a few miles of pavement, heading up in elevation towards the Buttermilk Loop, and Dale knew of a different way in than I did last year. As we got up about 8,000 feet, it started snowing lightly on us. The clouds looked like bad weather where we were heading. Dale took us off the road on some neat trails that went up the steep sides of a mountain to the main dirt road for the Buttermilk Loop. Ron and I couldn't believe how well Dale was doing on that Buell, with Supermottard Tires, low ground clearance, through rocky, loose terrain. Ron crossing stream Beautiful forests, trails and scenery in this area Takin' a break....Ron and Dale Mountain peaks hiding in the clouds Looking west towards the Owens Valley Another stream crossing, I remembered this one from last year.... Rocky canyon, and snow covered peaks in background 950 Poser After the Buttermilk Loop, Dale took us on some single track trails....:clap Big Bad Ron.... I was having a blast on these single track, when I spotted some soft sand.....and did just what I didn't want to do....lost the front in the sand. The bike landed on it's left side, against the side berm of the trail. I couldn't get any leverage underneath to lift it up. So, it took me about 5 minutes....my friends would be proud of me, I had to drag the 950 on her side, to the opposite side of the trail, get the rear off the edge until I had leverage to lift her up. Once I had her upright, Dale and Ron came walking back down the trail, and helped lift the rear end back onto the trail, so I could just hop back on and continue on. We rode quite a few miles of fun single track....still couldn't believe how good Dale was going on that Buell....the only time I saw him go fairly slow, was through a wooped-out section. Dale on his Mighty Buell Firebolt Then we headed down into a canyon, past some old mineshafts...Dale said he got some gold out of one of them many years ago. In this canyon, we came to a stream....we had to ride up the stream a ways, then turn left to get to the other side. I watched Dale go with no problem. Next was Ron... Ron turns the corner.... I hear Ron yell, so I yell back...."What, did you dump it?" Yep, he dropped it in the stream. I rode by Ron to the other side, so I could get off quick to help him pick it up. Now, the bike wouldn't start. We thought the worst, but after letting it sit a few minutes, Ron cranked it and she started firing....finally started up. Water was blowing out the pipe Dale smiles as Ron gives me the Salute !! We figured there was just water in the exhaust, she was running good. Lookin' better, no more water out the pipe... Out to the main road and back to town, Ron setting a waypoint. Look, it's me again.......and more trails across the road, to go layout next time, going up to Coyote Flat. We rode 5 hours and only 60 miles, but it was primarily dirt, and awesome dirt it was !! Ron and I relaxed back at the motel room (we got the room for another night, didn't feel like finding a campsite). By the time we called Dale, he didn't want to go to dinner that late, so we agreed to meet for breakfast on Sunday morning. Ron and I went out again to Whiskey Pete's for more a hootin' and a hollerin' :1drink To be continued for Day 3............

Sorry about the forum problems........go HERE to find out what happened If you need to sign-up again as a member, go ahead, it only takes a couple of minutes. Hopefully the other database gets restored soon, with everything on it from the last few months.

Sorry about the forum problems........go here to find out what happened http://www.dualsport-sd.com/forums/index.p...p?showtopic=172

The computer servers were changed, so they have to restore the latest database with all the newest posts. All the posts will hopefully be back up in the next couple of days.Sorry for the inconvenience.

A woman from Los Angeles, who was a tree hugger and an anti-hunter, purchased a piece of timberland. There was a large tree on one of the highest points in the tract. She wanted a good view of the natural splendorof her land so she started to climb the big tree. As she neared the top she encountered a spotted owl that attacked her.In her haste to escape, the woman slid down the tree to the ground and got many splinters in her crotch.In considerable pain, she hurried to the nearest doctor. She told him she was an environmentalist and an anti-hunter and how she came to get all the splinters. The doctor listened to her story with great patience and thentold her to go into the examining room and he would see if he could help her. She sat and waited three hours before the doctor reappeared. The angry woman demanded, "What took you so long?" He smiled and then told her, "Well, I had to get permits from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management before I could remove old-growth timber from a recreational area. I'm sorry, but they turned me down."

This should be shown everywhere, especially in Driver Ed courses !! http://www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/campaign...ia/howclose.mpg RL