ShocknAwe

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/36270119#36270119

or plated dirt bikes?

Yes. No one at lunch the first day w/us took the trail on the second half of the first day. It was a lot of riding around in circles and riding slab. Apparently a tree fell down and partially blocked the trail. Consequently, they updated the track/route and told riders to follow the route. I cringe thinking about that fateful night lost in Yosemite. The lunch was good and well organized. Hopefully, the GPS tracks will be better this year.

awesome - u should give a night course on how to do this - thanks for the pics and write-up

John, I thought we learned that snow, although rideable, gets worse as you go up before? Fyi: $150 SPOT 2 coming next week. I drove my bone stock Xterra thru Anza Borrego yesterday. My midwest pals thought I checked the map and GPS too much. But it is easy to get lost and knowing ur on the trail usually helps enjoy the ride. When they wanted to try crossing Diablo Dropoff thru Split Mountain, I looked at our water supply before doing it. Your points are well taken and reinforced. Stuck without injuries + hiking some miles out + burgers = a day that could be worse. Thanks for the self-deprecating comments and write up.

was on the phone with Baja Pits yesterday and some guy named Ken K said he was a SDAR member chatted with me about racing the 500 - apparently this guy has a plated XR650R he pyros to Baja 500, races solo, and pyros back - This has to be the gnarliest "dual-sport" story I have heard of. His Honda XR650R is on display at Fun Bike Center. Shouldn't the Baja 500 have a "solo" winner class? That is serious endurance and love for the sport. His bike gets up to 115mph. He finished the Baja 500 last 3 years solo in around 18 hours. Very impressive and hardcore. Anyone know who I am talking about? Is he a card carrying SDAR member? he said anyone can race the 500 solo if they can operate a jackhammer ten hours straight

if you could ride, cool down while starting a charge on 1 pack, swap out to the other pack ride some more, come back and swap again you could ride all day without having to wait too long between motos. but at 3500 bucks per batt pack the accessories page lists the battery pack at $2,950: http://www.zeromotorcycles.com/shop/index....dex&cPath=2 hopefully this will decrease substantially over time

Has anyone test drove the Zero DS (Dual Sport)? http://www.zeromotorcycles.com/zero-ds/ It is $10k, but there is a $1k federal tax credit and a $1,500 state tax credit. I estimate sales tax and fees to be around $1k, so you could probably get out the door for around $8,500. If you drive it to work and save $50 a week in gas (compared to a car), that is $2,400 annual savings. In theory, it could pay for itself in less than 4 years.

http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2010/02/two-americas-public-sector-vs-private.html

i'd be the best D.A. - hard on real crime - soft on victimless - focus on new wave of fraud crimes - kissin babies and ridin dirt bikes - wooooohoooooo!!!!! US Atty Generals office is right below me at work - those guys and gals are the real deal - usually very sharp lawyers that work hard and deserve a good living - i'm sure some are nazis but generally they are a sharp group of folks with a high conviction rate - u must factor in the present value of pensions - if the average American man lives to be 77 and retires at 65, that's 12 years of pension compared to most private sector equivalents - hard to compete with a good pension (if u live longer) - state DAs often don't make a whole lot more than state cops

mimi, i'd be happy to photograph you - out of town this weekend but maybe next weekend if no one else volunteers first

No one knows how universal healthcare will pan out. Consider how socialism in healthcare might help the capitalists. Elderly and indigent Americans already have access to universal coverage via Medicare and Medicaid. The rich can afford anything. That leaves the middle class, which is comprised of private sector and public sector employees. The public sector workers have health insurance. Universal coverage might put the private sector middle class on an equal playing field with the government workers. There is a reason why Big Lots, Walmart and other big private employers support universal coverage. The Capitalists should think outside the box and realize this socialism will help them compete against the Communists by cutting one of their biggest expenses (medical insurance). If there's going to be socialism, I'd rather have my tax dollars insure the health of other Americans than waste it in Afghanistan. If you cut defense spending in half and end the "war," there would be enough money to pay for universal coverage. If America tries to have both forms of socialism/communism, it will drive itself further into the ground. History repeats itself.

agreed, this is stock on my 400 and what I like - the longer first gear comes in handy so u can stay in first gear on really tight stuff sounds like my 2 stroke, which I sold last night for $1,700, would have been perfect for this trail how well u know the trail is important too - maybe hike it first :rtfm:

Those trails rocked - water streams and ruts everywhere. You had to watch out for ruts even on the fire road - good quick ride. Whoever was behind me on the steep trail I laid the bike down on could probably hear me get stuck in neutral and lose much needed momentum. I wrestled her like a bull until parking it sideways in a rut then positioning it to ride out. The engine winding in first or second for too long causes it to lose something - hard to get back into the saddle of the power band and know what gear you are in - same thing happened with BS on Stagecoach. Other than that those two issues, which rarely occur if you stay on top of it, the 2 stroke is great for those trails. A better rider could make that machine sing in Corral Canyon. A bolt came out of the front caliper as we were approaching the new trail. The first sign was little or no front brake - followed by a weird feeling / noise on the front tire. I tried catching BS and yelling but he was too fast. Then the front caliper came off and was bouncing around my front wheel. I pulled over and pulled out my trusty VX170, gave a shot out, FN came back to assess, zip tied the front caliper, and rode trails back to truck. It was an awesome day of riding, wanted more but very satisfied, car wash off Main St, and two new $0.59 cent bolts from Motoworld (keeping original for spare parts). That 200cc two stroke is fast and twitchy, which comes in handy on trails like today but can get u in trouble too. Wooohoooo - good ride. On way home, saw big Harley rider with sidecar with canine passenger. Perfect weather, good day. Fun watching these mx guys jump around.

that is absolutely the intent Bob, is this your maiden voyage on this new trail (trail 11)?

unfortunately u can't buy Spot 2 on their web site - only the original SPOT - so i will also wait to let the dust settle

They ride a fast pace, but have the patience to crawl out when necessary. Javi, is anyone still interested in racing the Baja 500 in June? YHEA Im interesting, we need get together and talk about this cauz we need to planning ahead of time, call me 619) 672-6622 are you going San Felipe? i probably cannot get a hall pass for both San Felipe AND the Baja 500 - will call u about planning/pitting/bike/gps, etc.

good analysis

They ride a fast pace, but have the patience to crawl out when necessary. Javi, is anyone still interested in racing the Baja 500 in June?

water crossings: http://s816.photobucket.com/albums/zz86/ph...der%2003142010/

water crossings: http://s816.photobucket.com/albums/zz86/ph...der%2003142010/ The water crossing was challenging. Those helicopter pilots were talented. The guy who did the rescue decided not to get back to the helicopter by walking up the trail. Instead, this guy in yellow just starts hiking and climbs up the mountain like Spiderman.

http://s816.photobucket.com/albums/zz86/ph...der%2003142010/ beautiful day and ride with a big group of dual sporters - thanks - get better soon to injured rider

lol I like Huell's style - fun to watch that curious man FN's photodocumentary begs questions as to where the line really is, when this U.S. to Mexico train was active and how passengers get back into the U.S. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/1998/ma.../ticket-tecate/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZNKhT_YvpQ

I still don't get it... Cripes, participating in a hijack of my own thread. In the last write up, everyone wanted to ride thru the train tunnel and there was mucho discussion about if it came out in Mexico. As Shock mentioned, the above statement was made re would the tunnel actually end in Mexico or was it a few feet off on Google. Hence the need for the tape measure in ref to a passport. A trip to Baja would be shorter than that explanation. Hijack OFF touche - gracias senor

Hmmmm, Bikeslut to the white courtesy phone for interpretation of intentionally vague and ambiguous posts. From the previous ride write-up, 2Wheels stated: "The boundary lines Google shows can be a few feet off. The border fence is about 3 feet inside the United States."