Fear and Loathing: Chapter 1 SD to Las Vegas Direct

[Goofy Footer 539]

"Every now and then when your life gets complicated and the weasels start closing in, the only cure is to load up on heinous chemicals and then drive ride like a bastard from Hollywood San Diego to ___________..."

Click my SPOT link to track my progress

[Bagstr 288]

O'Dark to Dark? Ride'm Cowboy!

[Goofy Footer 539]

It would probably help if my SPOT was tracking correctly...

Im in Anza, 101 miles from my front door. Quick powernap while the sun rises then I'll continue on.

[Goofy Footer 539]

Desert Hot Springs has to be in the Top 10 for hardest cities to find gas in!

After Anza I started getting sick randomly. I blew chunks on the trail and lost a lot of time.

This morning was freaking COLD in the valleys. I totally didnt think to bring warm gloves - my moto gloves were worthless.

The journey continues...

[paulmbowers 236]

Do you have the eerie feeling of being watched?

You are!

[Leoffensive 0]

Haha crazy dude.

You get a chance to mess with the stock muffler yet?

[Afry 1]

1383423196[/url]' post='162146']

After Anza I started getting sick randomly. I blew chunks on the trail and lost a lot of time.

Effects of the Peyote?

Seriously - stay hydrated!

[Bagstr 288]

Soo Tim, you fear the food in Anza and Loath cold in the valleys? Leaning on my shovel wondering if you spend the night in BB, Or streak back to the beach. For my money, I hope you have a good friend in Big Bear.

B

&

[Goofy Footer 539]

In Calico now, gasing up then heading off to make the best use of the remaining light. I'm at 298 miles.

I'm trying to stay hydrated, haven't ate much of anything.

Peyote ha, try 5hr energies, a red bull and m&ms!

Leo, the stock can wouldn't fit my header. I went and bought a Q4, picked it up last night and I'm greatful I did!

[Goofy Footer 539]

In Baker. Rocky trails at night definitely keep you on alert.

[kato 53]

Cool, good travels Tim!

[kkug 147]

He must be on his way to another Bachelor Party

[WARP9 0]

I bet he's in Pahrump ;)/>

[Covered in Dust 163]

He made it to Vegas at 1 in the morning. Does not look like he's doing return trip today unless he's just going to slab it back this afternoon. The kid is tough.

CiD

[Riggerdan 147]

Tim

I'm staying at the LVH AKA: the luxurious Las Vegas Hotel working on the SEMA show

if you need a place to crash hit me up

Also can hook you up with fellow riders and secret single track in Blue Diamond area if you desire

[PastaPilot 17]

I bet he's in Pahrump ;)/>/>

I like how you think.

[Bagstr 288]

W well, the narrative has dropped off significantly.. One has to wonder if GF'r is recovering sufficiently for a return trip, Or just relocating to LV.

[hodnettjj 0]

Tim is back in SD for all interested parties... I'll let him tell all the details...

Nice work Goofy...

[Goofy Footer 539]

"Every now and then when your life gets complicated and the weasels start closing in, the only cure is to load up on heinous chemicals and then drive ride like a bastard from Hollywood San Diego to ___________..."

Every now and then...

I first read about riding from San Diego to Vegas over a year ago. I've read every SDAR thread on Vegas trips at least 2-3 times. I searched ADV and other sites looking for information. Everywhere I read, it was a two day ride filled with miles of empty desert.

My only real fear in life right now is getting old in my work cubicle - getting complacent, playing it safe, living vicariously through others, focusing on my career while letting my youth slip away. On a hunch, I drew up a basic route on Google Maps and posted it in my cube. Pinned to the wall, the map sat watching over me for the past 6 weeks. Everyday I would look at it and slowly that hunch grew into something more.

It would be a ride into uncharted waters for me, everybody I spoke with thought it was nuts to attempt in 24 hours, let alone solo. In my mind surely it could be done, I've read enough adventure/expedition stories to realize almost anything can be accomplished if you get a stubborn enough bastard to give it a go. It would be risky, I could break down, I could get lost, I could run out of gas, I could be abducted by aliens... or ... or ... I could let that something dissipate, I could find a reason not to go, I could play it safe.

To me the fear of failing was less than the fear of not going. It had been exactly two years since I did this ridiculous/epic/fun ride which pushed me pretty close to my limit. I needed to be pushed again, I needed to step Outside the box and test the unknown.

I had a few weekends in Oct which I thought would be good but things kept coming up. I was adamant that I would not let it slip away. I told myself I wanted to do it so I Had To Do It. My voltage regulator blew out on the Baja Rally so I had a new regulator and stator installed on the DRZ. I got the bike home Wednesday night and tried to fire it up only to realize that a small electrical gremlin in my wiring harness was occasionally shorting out the bike. Ultimately it meant that I'd be kicking the bike if things went south and that I might lose my headlight if everything hit the fan. I wanted to test myself and I encourage calculated risk but I didn't exactly want to go on a kamikaze run. I tested the bike a bunch of times over the next few days until I regained confidence in my steed. Thursday, I called my local shop and said if they could get me a new exhaust my Friday I would buy one. Friday night came and I installed a FMF Q4 onto the DRZ and woa - I should have done it far sooner! Fresh oil and clean filter - I was good to go.

I left PB at 4:30am Saturday morning (after 3 hours of sleep that night). I apologize for my SPOT failing, I'm still not sure what the deal is. I was really hoping the thread would be more entertaining (well and that I would also have the peace of mind that a SPOT provides too!). Between Mesa Grande and Warner Springs the temps dropped! Suddenly I realized that I had a big mistake - I'm a SoCal kid, I live by the beach, I don't know what Cold is. I wasn't prepared, I didn't bring warm gloves and I knew I would be riding through the night into the high desert. I didn't want to repeat the freezing I incurred while riding to Denver but I was too far into the Vegas ride to turn around.

Fear started to creep in, would I make it, was I prepared... I didn't get much sleep and I was flat out tired! I was starting a wild endurance ride on the wrong foot and I knew it. I was also sick - I had some soupy discharges before I left, I felt dizzy and I blew chunks while on the trail. This was clearly not a good way to start my day. I needed to reset myself and get back on track. I found a nice tucked away corner between some trees and took a nap. My reasoning was that I needed to recharge immediately or else I would suffer immensely later in the ride.

After a solid and much needed regenerative sleep I charged forward. I hit some closed sections of trail but was able to work around it. I was officially in new territory and was energized to see what was around the next turn. High noon came and passed, I continued to crank out the dirt miles. I went through a long sandy canyon which reminded me of ABDSP and I was happy to put my sand skills to the test. The farther I went the more isolated I became. There were miles of trail where I could not find one tire track - it was awesome. I hit one of my checkpoints with just enough light to gas up and blast some more miles before darkness set in.

I was happy to see some civilization as the shadows became long.

I knew the night would be the true test of my endurance. I was 300+ miles into the journey when darkness struck. I knew there would be nobody coming to get me if I wrecked - heck, nobody knew where I was without my SPOT! I played it conservative and just motored forward, no need to be a hero in BFE at night, solo, without a working SPOT. The miles clicked away, thoughts of chupacabras came into my head occasionally. I followed the my GPS and my headlight, forward I went. After gassing up again, I took a small marked trail which shot into the abyss. I was running up a wash and the trail became more and more faint until ultimately it disappeared and I was bushwhacking my way forward.

I still had a few miles to go. I was alone and suddenly felt very alone. When riding in daylight you have perspective, you can look for work around routes and you can position yourself. Nighttime is a different story, you only see what your light is pointing at. I kept fighting the doubt which was creeping into my head and I kept moving forward. When I ultimately decided that I needed to turn around, I was devastated. While out there I realized I had 3 things which I was 100% relying on: 1 my bike, 2 my route and 3 my abilities/endurance. It was a hard pill to swallow when I accepted that one of those 3 failed and I needed to turn around. I was emotional depleted at that point.

My options were to hit the highway for an hour and half and make it into town or figure a way around. The interstate was not going to happen, I didn't want to do it, I would have froze and probably been run off the road. I wasn't exactly sure but I headed north via pavement and decided to attempt a work around. It was so cold, I had to ride at 40-45 mph to keep my hands functioning. No heated gear, no windscreen, no ipod - just time to think to myself, put my head down and get through it. I stopped on the side of the road to do jumping jacks, I did what I had to do but the closer I got to Vegas the more energized I became.

I made it to the sign - my whole ride all I wanted was one damn picture of me in front of the sign. 4 local kids in a Honda Ruckus gang rolled up and we bench raced and took pics.

phone pic with editing

camera attempt

note the girl in the background. She was with her sugar daddy who was old enough to be her elder father. I was laughing in my helmet as I took this pic - Only in Las Vegas!

When my SPOT mysteriously turned on

Beach to Las Vegas Dual Sport Ride: 21 hours and 523 miles. I cannot thank the SDAR community enough for helping me out and supporting/encouraging me. FuzzyNugs gave me a ride home, hodnettjj was ready and willing to help and Crawdaddy gave me insight. I get inspiration from the site and love reading ride reports. I am amped to see 97xr400r and kato's ride to Crawdaddy's Club Ride and I'm excited to see what happens with the Iron Butt on a DualSport ride. I would like to lead a 2 day ride from SD to Vegas sometime. I have a list of people in mind who I know would love the ride and I'd be happy to take you guys.

Catch you on the trail, ride safe SDAR!

edit: thanks moderator for moving this thread

[Crawdaddy 96]

Way to go kid ......crazy F...

[tntmo 901]

Kudos from Hawaii my friend. Next time, let me know and I might join you. I may have gotten good news on San Diego orders so I may be sticking around for a few more years. Ride safe, SDAR!

[FuzzyNugs 0]

Congrats again on a safe and successful monster-trip. I had already planned to be in Vegas for the weekend so when Tim mentioned his trip to me, I offered a ride back as a secondary option. Put the hitch hauler on and was tracking the thread on here as much as possible when my phone's battery would allow. After a LONG night which involved table service at a nightclub and watching a friend rake in thousands at the blackjack table..I got the call. I was glad to hear Tim made it but after being up all night with no sleep and realizing it was now 10AM the thought of driving 5+ hours was not what I wanted to do. Best to get out of Vegas when things are on the up though..

When I arrived to pick up Tim, I parked near what motorcycles I found in the lot. It wasn't a DRZ though..a pair of Teneres. We spoke briefly with one of the guys who was Austrian and, with a buddy, the pair had ridden east through the 'stans and Russia, crossed to Alaska and was now in Vegas. The bike's were nicely done up and rare to see stateside. I tried to get a picture, but my phone battery was too low. With the DRZ loaded up we high-tailed it out of Sin City.

Thanks for the car company. Your ride debrief was much needed and entertaining in keeping me awake.

Here's to making the impossible history

[kato 53]

YYea Tim!!

[bikeslut 1]

My only real fear in life right now is getting old in my work cubicle - getting complacent, playing it safe, living vicariously through others, focusing on my career while letting my youth slip away.

you talking about me?

edit: thanks moderator for moving this thread

you talking about me?

[xr650lnoob 0]

Awesome man!

I would like to lead a 2 day ride from SD to Vegas sometime. I have a list of people in mind who I know would love the ride and I'd be happy to take you guys.

Logroller, 1kstep & I have always talked about doing this.

Keep us in the loop for the next one.