fudgypup 4 Posted February 27, 2013 AltRider put on their second annual "Taste of Dakar" and a few of us went again to check it out. This year it moved from Shoshone to Pahrump (Terrible's Lakeside RV & Casino "resort"). $269 got you a campsite, tracks, five meals and a chance to meet Johnny Campbell, Jimmy Lewis, win some prizes, etc... It was a bit steep given each meal had a corporate sponsor (Icon, Wolfman Luggage, etc...) but it ended up being EPIC in terms of the riding.I went up Thur afternoon with my buddy Rich and John and met two more there, Todd and Diego. I think there were about 70 in total. It was pretty damn chilly there that night; it got down to 28 degrees. Friday we rode some of last year's tracks out to Mesquite Valley and that was actually quite unremarkable compared to what came later. We stopped off at the dry lake bed on the way back to see Jimmy doing a one day class for quite a few riders (~35). We saw a few of the new Honda NC700X or whatever that thing is. Jimmy's also riding a new 990 Adventure which he was wheely-ing around the place and generally providing some great instruction.After that, we headed over to some small dunes and got in a little bit of sand practice. Saturday though was the highlight. We did the "intermediate" tracks because they scared us off the advanced ones. I heard it was pretty gnarly and I'm on the GSA and don't want to break anything. The intermediate tracks were pretty tame. Between the start and lunch I was kind of bored. Great scenery but not a challenge. Between lunch and the dunes it got more fun but once we hit the dunes, it was off the hook. I've never done dunes before either.So let me try and set this up properly, because this was probably the best riding experience I've ever had. First of all, it wasn't easy even getting out to the dunes on the GSA. I have the 21" front and that helps but still. So it's the six of us out there (two journalists from MotoUSA and four of us regulars) and they say "come one, Eric, give it a try." I said "I don't have the balls to do that." (lol)I finally mustered the courage to do it and I have to tell you it was a total blast! To top it off, here comes none other than Johnny Campbell on his Dakar 450 bike blasting through the sand and chatting it up with us! We were in HEAVEN. Unbelievable. I put together this video just to showcase that experience: Put together a more comprehensive video of Saturday's entire ride. You have to see this guy Brian Steeves from MotoUSA ride his loaner Baja 990: I will post up some pics later. Also, I just picked up a small bike so it would be nice to hit some trails soon on that. Maybe Chris or Arnie will show some charity? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CalNub 0 Posted February 28, 2013 So awesome. Thanks for sharing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fudgypup 4 Posted March 1, 2013 Here's Johnny waving to us as we passed. It was pretty cool to be riding down a dirt road and see Johnny Campbell pass you on his Dakar bike. Of course, my gopro wasn't on at the time. :(/> Nice view of Mesquite Valley. We did this on Friday as part of last year's tracks. It was scenic but not that exciting of a ride. This is where it started to get fun. We came back Friday closer to the dry lake bed and headed a bit east to an area Jimmy Lewis uses to train in sand for his classes. Found a cool little secret spring. There were signs saying don't touch jack squat because they're trying to protect it; probably the pup fish. Here's Johnny! And his Dakar bike Rich, Todd and Randy Stopped here for some chicken Saw one of the new Honda NC700X or something like that. $6700. Built to compete maybe w/the Vstrom and KLR. Diego high-sided in the dunes and cracked his fuel tank. He didn't notice it until we were on our way back. He has a new one on the way ($$). AltRider has a collection of pictures up on their facebook you can check out. A lot better ones than I took, that's for sure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HotRod82 2 Posted March 2, 2013 That looks like a great time. Gotta love that HRC 450X..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fudgypup 4 Posted March 4, 2014 Went again this year and was not disappointed. The tracks were much better, as was the rv resort (Wine Ridge). Lots of terrain variability, scenery, dunes, sand, even a flash flood. The resort had hot showers, jacuzzi, wine, food, wifi, etc... Jimmy Lewis offered instruction on Friday and Sunday and quite a few took him up on that. I did his class two years ago and it helped a lot. I need to go back. We pre-rode the intermediate tracks in reverse the day before and ran into a lot of rain, which got worse in the afternoon but made for generally great traction. Stopped in at the Pioneer Saloon in Goodsprings and had a "professional" flash us her charms. I forgot that's legal in NV. This is the bartender, not the one who flashed us. She rides Razor's in the desert a lot and wanted to see what we rode in on. And then more rain after lunch... Lots more... Interesting water crossing Go ahead, Rich, tell me how deep that is while I sip a latte Tent stakes too short for soft ground... Scotty Breauxman's new "butter" F800 with custom suspension and flexx bars Fun in sand... Karoo 3's hooked up very well Mmmmm...doughnuts More great views Tim wanted a convertible for more air flow Funny, this oil cooler says "KTM - Austria" on it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
