dirt dame 452 Posted August 22, 2020 So....it has been raining every single day at Big Bear since last Saturday (and maybe even before that), so after my Sunday ride, I wanted to get up there again. My friend Lillie wanted to go also. She had started out on a Yamaha XT250, but didn't seem to be enjoying that bike very much at all. She just seemed to struggle with it. Also she was no stranger to dirt riding , as she had been racing motocross for a few years. So I suggested that she ditch the boat anchor, and get a dualsport machine that was really designed for serious dirt. SO she went down to her local shop and picked out a brand new KTM EXC 250. The bike got the whole nine yards of treatment before it rolled out the door....suspension lowering, new seat, tires, skid plate, hand guards, pipe guard. There was nothing left to do to it but take it on a nice long ride in the mountains to break it in. We made a hasty plan on Wednesday evening, and met up the following morning to put our adventure into action. As the day started out, it was warm and humid up at Heart Bar, but the little puff ball clouds were already starting to lurk around. I started the ride off with a reasonably manageable route, and as I saw that my friend was getting comfortable on her new ride, we progressed to more technical stuff. Lillie did great. Her riding really transformed on the little KTM. And why wouldn't it? She had a truly modern bike with good suspension, that weighed probably 60 or 70 pounds less than her previous ride. Anyway, she looked very happy throughout the day, even in the rocky, chopped up stuff we managed to find. We never really saw much rain during our ride, but that was due mostly because the storm was moving in a different direction than we were, so we were usually on the edges of the clouds and precipitation. Still, the temperature sure beat anything that was down on the flats. And so it turned out to be a great 78 mile loop for us girls. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 448 Posted August 23, 2020 That's great Mimi ! Glad Lillie likes her new ride ! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Huntndogs 114 Posted August 23, 2020 Awesome Ladies! There is substantially less water in that river now. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirt dame 452 Posted August 23, 2020 1 minute ago, Huntndogs said: Awesome Ladies! There is substantially less water in that river now. It actually doesn't look like much because the rain had made it so muddy, it looked just like the dirt. It looks darker and more dramatic without the mud. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Huntndogs 114 Posted August 23, 2020 13 minutes ago, dirt dame said: It actually doesn't look like much because the rain had made it so muddy, it looked just like the dirt. It looks darker and more dramatic without the mud. I will visit again some day. Too much going on with the house right now. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirt dame 452 Posted August 23, 2020 11 hours ago, Huntndogs said: I will visit again some day. Too much going on with the house right now. We will round up the usual suspects and blaze together!😎 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr.JAJA 332 Posted August 24, 2020 Perfect ride. thumps up for our lady's. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thecerver 6 Posted August 24, 2020 I went up to Big Bear for a few days for the first time on the 10th. I thought it was awesome. We did Skyline several times, Cactus Flats, and Coxey area (3N14, 3N16, and 3N09) Mimi, can I ask what your loop is? ...or is it a secret 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirt dame 452 Posted August 24, 2020 43 minutes ago, thecerver said: I went up to Big Bear for a few days for the first time on the 10th. I thought it was awesome. We did Skyline several times, Cactus Flats, and Coxey area (3N14, 3N16, and 3N09) Mimi, can I ask what your loop is? ...or is it a secret It's not secret, but it does change from time to time. Usually goes counter clockwise from Heart Bar, and covers a lot of the trails you have mentioned there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thecerver 6 Posted August 24, 2020 Quote Thanks! I'll check it out Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirt dame 452 Posted August 26, 2020 To answer your question more thoroughly, I don't use GPS, and often not even a map. I have just been riding up there on a fairly regular basis for about 13 years. Here is about half of a typical route, starting from Heart Bar: 1n02 to Coon Cabin unmarked truck trail to Rainbow lane Hwy 38 to 2n04 2n01, 2n02 to Vale Baldwin Lake road to hwy 18 Holcomb Valley road to 3n16 3n32 , 3n10, 3n10b to 3n43 unmarked truck trail with an easy/difficult split to 3n16 Delamar road or 2n09 to Coxey rd/Rim Of The World road to Fawnskin Then a lunch break somewhere at one of the local restaurants..... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thecerver 6 Posted August 27, 2020 Wow...thank you for putting this together! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirt dame 452 Posted August 27, 2020 20 minutes ago, thecerver said: Wow...thank you for putting this together! You're welcome. I don't really think in numbers, and had to reride the route in my mind and look at a map to get all the route numbers down. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
