dirt dame

It is s'posed to be hot throught the weekend, so if you're goin' 'splorin' this weekend you gonna be one toasty critter out on the trail. That's the only way I can 'splain it.

I don't think so. I remember some kind of little Calfornia stickers or plates sold probably at 7-11 or Kmart back in the 80s, but I am still rooting for die-cuts

I have been looking into getting brighter lighting for the TE, since I think my tail light might have been brighter than my stock headlight. I should have taken it and put it up front I found out my stator can power up to 80 watts of lighting, but if the system runs through the battery I need a rewind and a regulator/rectifier. I was thinking of getting a standard Baja Designs headlight assembly and putting a 55w light in it. That is the cheapest, simplest way for me to fix things up so far. The stock shell and reflector assembly have a wierdo socket/base combination that won't accept any current halogen bulbs or else I could run one of those "cool white" PIIA bulbs in it. So if anybody has anything good on this thread that I could use, I'm all ears.

How's the sticker plans going, any progress or fresh news for us sticker junkies? Inquiring minds want to know

You got too many gigs Just put in a pre-recorded set and a life sized cut out of yourself and go riding! I could whip up some side dishes. I can make a mean (and by that I mean tastey) tater salad or pasta salad to go with our dinner stop.

I have often thought of doing something like that, but I have such goofy scheduling at work I never know when I get days off from one week to the next, sometimes. Still, I am interested, maybe I can discuss it some with you on the next ride we both go on. I have gone to two schools; advanced rider safety training and Keith Code Superbike roadracing school. They were both fun, although as you might imagine, the roadracing school was more fun

Youza!

Okay, I am really getting tired of dry dirt Let's all pray for rain

Happy birthday you little whippersnapper you. Hope to see you on one of our senior shuffleboard rides

Too bad more people didn't show up for Papaalex's trail ride. It was great fun for the most part I took the green slug, loaded it and everything I would be needing for the day, on Friday night so that all I would have to do is load the ice chest in the morning and off I'd go. And yet, as I was driving towards Deersprings exit this morning, I felt like I had forgotten something; I just couldn't think of what it might be. Alex was there and we waited till 7, but no other riders showed, so we took off. We arrived at Pinnacles before 9 AM and started to gear up for our departure. It was then that I realized what I had forgotten to bring-my knee guards! That is almost like riding nekkid My poor old knees would be pulverized if I fell on 'em, so I made a mental note to self "do not crash". Alex should have made that note too, but more on that later. Since Alex was still feeling some of the effects from the cold he's had, and I am just generally lethargic most of the time, we decided we would try not to do much, if any "black diamond" stuff. We started with a nice 8 mile loop on single track that was challenging enough and quite scenic before we headed up the jeep road to Dishpan Springs. Neither of us remembered it being so chopped up 3 months ago in the first hard section, which we both managed to pick bad lines through and had some difficulties. Dishpan springs, itself was a piece of cake, except for all the weekend warrior yahoos cloggin' up the joint with their 4 wheel drive vehicles and bodies. Papaalex almost ran over a guy who was on foot, who didn't see him coming up. From there, it was off to Crab Flats Campground and then the easy way to the trailhead that led to John Bull, which we rode part of, along with some other singletrack stuff till about 2:30, when we decided to head back to the staging area for some cold refreshments and an early start home. We had been trading lead and dust eater positions all day, and when I am behind I roll back on the throttle till all the dust has cleared, so I was back a ways on the trail on our way back, and picking up speed, when I glimpsed a bike down at the next junction. I realized it was Alex! At first, I thought maybe another bike was down too, maybe there had been a collision, but as I got closer I could see only one KTM laying on the ground, front end dug under in the outer berm. Alex was up and moving around when I pulled up and parked, but he wasn't picking up his bike, a sign that the rider is concerned more about his own well being than that of the machine. I asked him if he was alright, but he didn't seem too sure if he was, and took off his helmet to "walk it off". The crash was definitely a "bell ringer". Meanwhile, I picked up the KTM and inspected it. The bike seemed to have fared better than Papa did. He was apparently tired and was going pretty fast, maybe 25 or 30 miles an hour, and didnt see the turn come up. He tried to slow down, but hit some bumps and rocks, which caused the front end of the machine to wash out and turn under. He went down on the front of his visor and his left knee. Infact, he hit his knee so hard, it was skinned even though he had knee guards on. I inspected his helmet, but no scratches on anything but the front of the visor. At least he didn't hit a "Hammerin Hammer" rock with his face! After regathering his wits a bit, we continued on, as we were luckily only about 3 miles from our vehicles. At the truck and nursing an ice cold "barley pop", Alex thought he might have sustained a groin pull as well as the other bruises and contusions that will certainly make him a stiff movin camper by tomorrow. Other than that last event, the ride was pretty darn fun, as usual. There aren't hardly any pictures, because we were too busy ridin' to be taking shots. It was 65 miles on the odometer when we finished up at about 3:30.

I liked our whippy-do (Oops, must have caught bad spelling bug from Hamster ) I mean our whoopy-do night ride alot. Nothing better than getting together with other people who enjoy the finer and simpler aspects of a relaxing evening of group riding, fellowship and dining. I'll be in if I can.

I must admit that originally I had no plans to ever do a night run. I had done some on street bikes and didn't enjoy them all that much, was bored and couldn't see very well. I took a pass on the night ride a couple of months ago, and although the ride report looked fun enough, I didn't feel that I had missed that much. So when the post came up for this ride, I was pretty much of a lurker until the bitter end, D day, zero hour.... and then I decided to hang out at the chuck wagon maybe. Next thing ya' know, I was out pre-riding part of the course on Thursday with the TE, trying to imagine what it would be like to ride it at night. The only thing I got to imagine however, was how it feels to ride it with no clutch! Next, I decided I would ride the green slug maybe, because it has fairly decent lighting on it, but in the final moment before hauling out the loading ramp at 3:30, I made a sudden change of heart and opted for some real night adventure with EUROPEAN TRAIL BIKE WITH STOCK LIGHTING Yes folks, you too can hone your nightriding skills just by riding one of these amazing machines. It's so easy, you can do it with your eyes closed-or at least it won't make any difference We started off from Four Corners and rode down our very own trail that the club volunteers put so much time into clearing and sprucing up. From there we cut down Morena Stokes to Buckman Springs and then up Bear Valley. Then it was off to Pine Valley and some more dirt. By now the sun had gone below the horizon and the night air was rapidly darkening. I was waiting to see how well my headlight was going to work. The other bikes ahead of me were already casting circles of light on the ground in front of them, but my Husky wasn't doing that yet, although I knew that the headlight was on because I could see it shining faintly on my front fender. The evening got progressively darker and still no beam on the ground. I wondered if maybe the light was adjusted too high or something. Finally night fell. Boom. There was a beautiful full moon in a sky littered with loose clouds, the air smelled wonderful and my machine hummed and churned under me like a transparent ghost. Finally I could see a weak yellowish orange patch of light about the size of a billiard table in front of my bike. It lent the ambience and wattage of a candle to my evening and I puttered along, wrapped in velvety blackness, peering at the moon through the pine trees. It was magical. I couldn't see much of the ground or any of the bike, but the machine moved with such great feel and feedback, it was almost like riding in another dimension, dreamlike. I was using all of my senses to ride and not relying on visuals. Finally on Thing Valley road, I had some riders spot me their headlights where we were moving faster. In case you can't tell, I enjoyed my night riding dirt experience quite a bit. After we reached pavement, it was agreed on by all that we were starved, so after tanking up at the casino, we hightailed it down the highway to meet our chef of the evening, Ride Orange along with Joliet and other friends. Chicken wings (and shrimp, or so I am told....I seemed to have missed the prawns somehow)awaited us under the friendly yellow glare of portable klieg lights. The evening was delightfully humid and barely cool with about a million crickets and some classic rock serenading the hungry diners. After chowing down and relaxing a bit, I rode back to my car and loaded up to leave, as I had to go to work in the morning. Carguy was gathering up some hardcores to ride the second half of the ride, although we had spent four hours riding before supper and it was now about 10:30. It was indeed the kind of evening that you never want to end. I got to meet Chief Gunner, Backhoedoc, Terrible um I forgot some numbers, the new guy Jim and of course there were others from past rides as well, all great company. I'm so glad I tried a night ride. It was really a unique experience and fun in a different sort of way than a daylight ride. I would gladly do it again in a heartbeat. Thanks to all who made it happen, whether you were on a bike or part of the ground team. I might do a little research on fixing up the lighting on my bike before the next night ride though as I was fairly well aquainted with the trails and roads we were on, but I might not fare so well on unfamiliar terrain.

Well, just when you think you have everything in your toolbag and it's so heavy that you are almost literally draggin' yer butt around, something else comes along As you may know, if you have been bored enough to follow my ride write-up posts, I have been spending alot of time riding Pinnacles/Arrowhead lately. Last week on the KLX with Papaalex and the week before, twice on my TE, by myself. The second ride out on the TE, I had crashed on a steep, offcamber downhill, bending the rear left turnsignal and breaking the front left one. The bike fell against a downed pine tree trunk of rather substantial girth, causing the controls to dig into bark, rocks and the ground in general. Everything on the clutch side of the bars was tweaked, rotated and covered in dirt, and fluid which I thought came from my gas tank vent hose, but looked a little suspicious, so I examined the master cylinder closely and made sure that the clutch had proper pressure before proceeding with the rest of my ride. All seemed good and the rest of the ride went happily without incident. When I got home, I washed the bike and degreased the mess on the master cylinder. Then the bike sat in the garage until last Thursday. I wanted to take a quick spin in East county on Thursday, so I shuttled the TE out to Pine Valley and offloaded to embark on some pavement and trails to the east, including Thing Valley road. At first, all worked great, but as the ride went on, I noticed that the clutch lever was getting softer and softer. Finally, there was no clutch disengagement at all, and I could see that fluid had been leaking out and down the handguard. I stopped and checked the cylinder cap screws. They were tight. Then I removed the cap and peeked inside. Hmmm, no fluid. Nothing appeared to be damaged, so I concluded that somehow in the Arrowhead crash, the master cylinder was impacted in a fashion that caused it to flex momentarily and make the inner bootie drop out of postion on its sealing edge. The rest was history. I replaced the bootie and cover and finished my loop. It was a little incovenient, but not so bad, just had to find neutral before stopping and taking a little run to get in gear. Still, I'd rather had a working clutch. On my way home, I stopped at NCY and bought two little bottles of magura blood. One for the garage and one for my tool bag. I flushed the remainder of old fluid which was so contaminated with dirt, water and degreaser that it looked like Italian salad dressing, out of the Husky and made everything all better with new rosey clear mineral oil. Everything is good, after a test ride. But a two ounce bottle of clutch oil is a great thing for any euro-bike rider to have in the old toolbag, especially if you are in technical situations where you really need your clutch. even if your master cylinder or cover gets damaged, a small bottle of fluid and some JB Weld Quik might get you back to your vehicle safely. So I recommend Magura Blood as a cheap compact extra on the trail just for peace of mind.

Now I am kicking around the idea of riding the first half of the ride, as alot of it will be during daylight. Now, I just have to figure out what bike to take. I think the KLX has brighter lighting than the Husky.

Haha What's that last one....how to do a polish wheelie with your friends?

Ahh, that looks better

Sounds like fun, except for the night part. I can't see worth a darn and as I have said before, I have enough trouble staying upright during the day. Maybe I'll drop by the chuck wagon just to say hoody-hoo, if I get a chance.

Well, on the weekend it would take a little less than 2 hours, more if you are driving at a leisurely pace. If you left early on a weekday, there's no telling what kind of commuter traffic you might hit near Riverside. The mileage is about 105 to 110 miles, depending on what kind of detours you might make and about 115 miles if you skip trying to get on 215 south on the way back and just book west on 91 to 15 south, cause the freeway is under construction and a real confusing, slow mess. All the legal roads and trails are clearly marked with signs that say whether or not you need a licensed vehicle and the severity; green circle-easy, blue square-moderate and of course black diamond-hardest. I like blue square trails the best, they offer some challenge and are scenic, without making me work too hard or do a bunch of bulldogging. I am more familiar with trails near Pinnacles, because that is where I stage each time. Alot of good stuff there. For me to get to Crab Flats, I have to ride a black diamond jeep trail. It is not too bad but has a couple of intimidating spots in it. Alex and I rode a little black diamond single track stuff and took turns pushing one another at least once or twice. We didn't feel like getting involved with a lot of work so we opted out of most of the harder stuff. Ground is slick and loose this time of year and most all the creeks dried up, but it might rain up there this weekend, so maybe you will find some traction.

So what's JR gonna ride?

Well, on the weekend it would take a little less than 2 hours, more if you are driving at a leisurely pace. If you left early on a weekday, there's no telling what kind of commuter traffic you might hit near Riverside. The mileage is about 105 to 110 miles, depending on what kind of detours you might make and about 115 miles if you skip trying to get on 215 south on the way back and just book west on 91 to 15 south, cause the freeway is under construction and a real confusing, slow mess.

Gosh, ya lose your tail light and buy a new bike. Congratulations. At least your brakes'll work now

I'm in. Too bad for the rest of yous guys

Okay, as long as we aren't postin' just doggies, here is a picture of Gracie, my cat,( also known as Peefur The Cat-it's a long story...)an American short hair tortoiseshell genuine barfcat, pictured here wondering where her bikini bottom went Peefur the adventure cat(as long as adventure means napping )

Hmmm, lotsa lookee-loos, but no takers? Temps will be around 89 degrees at Arrowhead on Saturday, so it won't be all that hot and the scenery will be great as will the roads and trails. I can't believe that nobody else wants to go on Papas ride. I'll go, no matter who or who doesn't come along, and the rest will just miss all the fun