DigDug

Heck yeah... I've done that. Just show up and play stupid (or lie) and say they told you they couldn't deliver but you should come and pick it up. They typically won't turn you away once you're in there. Of course, the day you do that will be the day they can't give it to you because it's out on the truck for delivery...

Sounds like a great time. I'm glad my link to the FS website didn't scare you off. I wish I was able to tag along. I heard it was WAY CROWDED up there today. Did you run into many other people?

haha.. didn't mean to bring you down. I just didn't want you to drive all the way up there and not be able to ride. There are all sorts of dual-sport trails that you should be able to hit. I'd love to join you, but I'm out of commision for a bit. Have fun!!!

You might want to check your map and give the ranger station a call... Lots of closed stuff up there from the Butler 2 fire. From: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sanbernardino/conditions/

See, that's a great reason to join the Air Force!!! The inside scoop on that one is she's in an Air National Guard unit (notice the blue belt and the mandatory reflective belt - both telltale AF signs) and lost a stripe for that picture. That pic used to be on quite a few windows desktops in the desert too... Poor Girl...

True 'Dat! sorry for the confusion (although I've gotten my share of war-wounds at OW). :cray: Well, rather than type it all, pretty much the same thing Daryl had happen to him: Except at a different spot (same riding area) and being a hero, I tried to save it. Well I couldn't save it and didn't get my leg out of the way in time. The bike fell on my calf and folded up my ankle, rupturing my Achilles tendon. I had surgery last Friday and now I'm waiting for it to heal up. At least the surgery was free to me, bike parts cost money don't you know!!!!! :cray: Wow.. major hijack! What was this thread about anyways? Oh yeah.. O-Wells. Thanks for the link Crawdaddy!

Good writeup and good info!!! It looks like you guys rode some of the same trails I rode with my son back in July. I agree - Awesome singletrack. Check out my writeup: http://www.dualsport-sd.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1405 This is one area I wouldn't mind doing a multi day tour of... I'm up for it!!!! Riding season is relatively short up there. I tried to ride some trails when I was up there in early May. We hit snow at about 7,000 feet that was unpassable. By the 4th of July, it was clear (but dry, powdery and slick).

Still off topic.... Just make sure you keep those feet and legs out of the way... Or you'll be wearing one of these: :cray: :cray: That place is bad luck... First Hammer's head, then my foot, now your butt!!! :cray:

Darnit - now why would you go and do that to a guy. By the way... anyone beat 110.388m? I guess when I can't be riding, I gotta find some way to kill some time...

I didn't have $1800 laying around to spend on making my L a motard commuter (Heck, a brand new Honda Rebel is $3200) so I went cheap, and have been pretty happy with the outcome. I found a couple rims on eBay, moved my stock 45 tooth sprocket to it and threw some 50/50 tires on (IRC GP-110's, but when they wear out I'm going to go for some more streetly tires) them and roll. I bought a 48 tooth rear sprocket and a 14 tooth front for my dirt setup. It takes me 15-20 minutes to swap the tires and sprockets out and adjust the chain. Easily doable to go from street to dirt. I realize I don't get all the advantages of motard, but it was realatively cheap, saves wear on my dirt knobbies (running MT-21's on the dirt rims), handles quite a bit better, and keeps the rev's down on the highway (I run 70-75, no problem). Lately though, I've been toying with the idea of taking the rims off the hubs of my street rims and lacing some 17" rims up. That'd cost about $800 if I let a shop do the lacing and I just use the current rotors. Too many projects/ideas, not enough time/money... :scratch_one-s_head: By the way Gunner, looks great - let us know how it all turns out!!!

I know Toro Peak is in the same area, the next peak over, I think... but that trail and ride description looks exactly like the Toro Peak ride... even the mid pine picture break looks the same, as well as the last pitch to the radio towers. Same road. You hit Santa Rosa Mountain first and if you continue, the road takes you up to Toro Peak. This page has the best description, directions, maps and pictures: http://www.mountainbikebill.com/SantaRosaMt.htm Here's his directions: He's also got some other cool areas, although I'm not sure how legal they'd be for dualsports (it's a mountain biking site). If only I had more free time to explore...

2008 WR250R :mega_shok: :hysteric: http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/products...95/0/specs.aspx Street Legal, 6 speed, fuel injected... Although at 278 lbs dry (CA model), it seems a bit heavy compared to it's WR250F, dirt only, brother at 248 lbs.

Pretty much anywhere but Kaliforniastan... :mega_shok: I'd destroy that thing with the miles I put on a bike and the things I try and ride over. Heck, that bike would beat the living crap out of you on some of those rocky trails we ride.

True - but it's a step in the right direction for sure. With the FI, you've got a fuel pump and all the other goodies. The real question is, how much can you shed - I mean if you were into doing that kind of stuff... :mega_shok: Ugh... this is a bummer too: Electric start only: Leaving off the kickstarter keeps it light and simple.

Nice pictures, thanks for sharing. Did you guys do the last climb up to the radio towers? I've been meaning to get back up there, this time on a bike (last time was in my truck). I'll definately have to catch the next run up there.

Good to have you on board!! (yes, that's supposed to be a play on words - boat, discussion board, etc... Aww.. nevermind ) Keep an eye on the Informal rides section, there's always someone riding around here. I've been meaning to get up there and check out parts of that. It'd be nice to ride dirt for days and see the sights. You'll have to post a ride-writeup and let us know how it went.

Dang... Joliet beat me to the punch on the write-up. Like said, it was a great sunny, but not too hot day in the mountains. Besides Mickey and I, only one other taker - Joliet. Sorry for the late posting to anyone that wanted to go but couldn't because of the late notice. Anyways - enough words, on to the pics!!! The route was the same as our Arrowhead II route, made slightly (ok, maybe more than slightly) more difficult by the weather effects. Apparently, they'd received a bit of rain up there, changing the face of some of the trails. It was a day of avoiding nasty ruts and rocks that had been unearthed. GREAT STUFF!!!! We met at the good old Deer Springs Park-N-Ride and caravanned up to the Pinnacles staging area. At the staging area: Joliet showing off his new camera: We took off on the same single track near the staging area. Great conditions, good group to keep the speed up. I had to BLAST as fast as I could to get ahead of the others so I could stop, get the camera out in time and snap some shots. Here's Mickey rounding the corner: And Joliet at the same spot: Joliet coming down one of the loose, rutted hills: Mickey and Joliet working their way up the lower waterfall: Joliet winding his way up the upper waterfall: Mickey catching some air with Joliet in hot pursuit: We headed up to Crab Flats CG for a quick rest and water top off: From there we headed off to the Redonda Ridge trail. Since Mickey was in the lead, our pace was pretty quick. No major incidents on the first 5 miles or so of the trail. Here's "heart attack hill". You can just barely see Mickey about 2/3 the way up: Mickey made it to this point when he stalled. No dropped bike though. A quick kick and he climbed the summit. Here's another shot of the hill from a different angle: Joliet took his turn and had pretty much the same level of success as Mickey (except with a button press instead of a kick). At the top we took a quick water break and noted that it really wasn't that difficult a hill (or even trail) without having to bulldog. I guess hiking hills and pushing bikes at 7000'+ elevation is tiring work. At this point the trail turned more difficult, due to the rains there had been last week. The trail was dry, and therefore powdery and slick as snot, but the runoff had dug trenches and unearthed loose rocks. FUN STUFF!!!! Mickey at one of the earlier, easier washed out areas: Joliet at the same spot: Mickey later on the trail. What trail?: Joliet below one of the monster ruts: Taking different lines in the washed out spot. This is quite a bit steeper downhill than it looks: It was on this downhill that Joliet got to test out the impact resistance of his helmet. Sorry, no pics, but I heard that he beat the rock into submission. Now, for the riders that want a challenge, you HAVE GOT to get up there and ride this trail in the reverse direction (from Big Pine Flats CG southwest to Crab Flats CG). The washouts on the final hill will make this a BLAST of a climb!!!! We thought about it, but decided we wanted to include Devil's Hole so we'll be doing it on another trip. From there we rolled into Big Pine Flats CG for a quick snack/lunch and another top off of the camelbacks. Then up the hill to the Johnson Valley overlook: Over White Mountain, and down the backside. The road wasn't too much changed from last time, just hold onto the bucking bronco and don't try to make any line changes or you'll go down. I don't think anyone did. At the bottom with White Mountain in the background: We did a little poking around on the side trails, and then decided it was time to head on back. Mickey and Joliet on the single-track down into Devil's Hole: Another shot: Mickey negotiating the boulder field prior to the crossing at Devil's Hole: There may have been a stall or two, but no bulldogging for the SDAR group. These guys were doing a bit of pushing however: Hey Joliet, you ready for your turn? (Two thumbs up was the answer): Joliet splashes across the stream - ahh.. that feels good!!! From there, we tore up the fire roads back to the truck. 58 miles on the day and it was close to 4pm. Time to pack up and head down the mountain. Great time gang. Joliet, thanks for coming along. It's always more fun with a group to share the day with. Arrowhead SDAR III was another successful trip on the mountain. We ARE going back. Stay tuned for Arrowhead IV.

Aren't you in the Navy?

It looks like we're going to get a pass to play tomorrow!!! I was thinking about taking Jr (aka Wheat Grass, aka Rooster) and our bikes and doing a little dirt riding. Normally, we'd just hit Pine Valley for our dirt fix, but the fire danger has the place closed. Right now we're tossing around 2 options - McCain Valley/Lark Canyon OHV area (a little pre-desert season desert riding) or maybe heading up to Lake Arrowhead for more of those mountain trails. Both are about the same drive time for us from San Marcos, and both should be about the same temps according to The Weather Channel (highs of 80-82). Anyone wanna get dirty with us? We're open to suggestions on locations/difficulties. Okay, here's the plan. We'll meet at the Deer Springs Park-N-Ride on the west side of I-15 (the one by the gas station/C-store) and plan on heading out of there by 7:00am. That should have us up to the Pinnacles staging area and riding by about 9:30. We'll figure out a route when we get there. If anyone is coming from elsewhere and wants to meet up there, check this thread: http://www.dualsport-sd.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1438 for directions to Pinnacles. If you want us to wait for you at the Park-N-Ride and you're running late, give me a call on my cell at 760-579-3184. I'm sure there are more that want to get their single-track on with us!!!

Sorry I firmed this up so late. Jr and I were out with Mom, paying for our kitchen pass. See the updated first post in this thread if you want to come along. Hope to see some of you out there!!!!

I drove my Silverado pickup up there last year. Crew cab - short bed. No problems. It's a fairly well graded dirt road for pretty much the climb. The only difficult section is right at the end (probably the last 1/4 mile to the tower if you go that far) where it gets rocky and steeper. I would think it would be no problem at all on a KLR even if you have to hoof it for the last section (we did when we drove the truck up there). I enjoyed the heck out of it and was wishing I was on a bike the whole time. From the top you can look to the north and see Palm Springs. Look to the south and you can see Borrego Springs. You're the highest thing around - like flying in a plane. Here's a link to a mountain bikers site on the trail: http://www.mountainbikebill.com/SantaRosaMt.htm

I just got off the phone with the ranger station. Everything is open!!! The only restriction is no campfires. Looks like it'll be a small group and Arrowhead is the place to be! I'll post more details once we get plans firmed up. As far as routes, I'm open to suggestions...

I was thinking a quick day - hence Pine Valley. Then it closed, so I was thinking a little further out - to McCain Valley. Once I plugged it all into the map/driving time thing - I found that Arrowhead was only a little further, and we tend to enjoy riding up there more than Lark Canyon (a fun, but relatively small area). Last I checked the FS website, everything was open after the fires. I'll try and call up there and confirm that with the rangers. We'd love to have you along!!!

I'm thinking pretty seriously about dirt dame's idea - McCain Valley/Lark Canyon. Place is like a mini-track, lots of fun and my son can tag along. Then again - if we can swing a full day kitchen pass, Lake Arrowhead is just about the same length of drive from San Marcos. Hmmm... But I really should stop hijacking this thread.

That's still like 3 weeks away. We'd better get to some rain dancing!!!