Jump to content
paulmbowers

What does SDAR mean to you?

Recommended Posts

On 11/19/2021 at 1:58 PM, dirt dame said:

That would certainly seem to be logical, and I am in total agreement....but we don't have the money to buy the time needed to get the website back to any semblance of its former glory.

Yeah, time.

IF a forum like this can return to health, it's going to require a serious change in attitude (which it appears to have done!) and consistent positive messaging over a long period of time; people need to once again feel welcome and safe from personal attack.  Nobody wants to be in a group where they're not welcome. Maybe the site can move forward, away from the hostile environment for which it's become known.

So- Mimi...

How much money is necessary to keep this alive for a year of thoughtful community rebuilding?

We can tell from this thread there's still some skeptical interest from the legacy members who were once the foundation of the SDAR community.

Once (if?) the community is established and consistent, you'll have something of value to offer advertisers that can contribute to a cash-positive situation.

But it needs to be rebuilt first. 

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites



How many good rides have you had because of SDAR? How many friendships, how much advice, how many good deals on parts, gear, and beer have you received because of SDAR?

Let's step up and give it a year.

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
25 minutes ago, paulmbowers said:





How many good rides have you had because of SDAR? How many friendships, how much advice, how many good deals on parts, gear, and beer have you received because of SDAR?

 

I have been with SDAR for 14 years.  I joined in 2007 because I always seemed to be riding alone.  Back then, there were lots of trail bike riders in the club, and it seemed like somebody was always putting on a "newbie" ride.  I went on a lot of great rides, and discovered new routes and places to ride, that I might  not have explored for the first time all by myself.  I had never been up to Big Bear before, or the Kern Plateau.  But I got to have a guided tour of those two places, thanks to members who put on the rides in those areas.  Desert Dash was a great event to socialize at, and I have driven the EMT support vehicle on a few occasions, worked sign up, and even did some sweep work, one year.   There were a couple of vehicle recoveries, that I participated in too.

Lots of old timers seem to have dropped out.  Some have quit riding, other's lost interest in the forum over the last few years.  Some have sadly, passed on.  But I still ride with a few people, like MCtrails and Dirt Diva, Diva's Pit Crew.  Heck, I still run into our most infamous banned member, Hammerin' Hammon out on the trails, and we talk about dirt and the old days of the forum.  He is still at it, on Hondas, and I read his posts on FB all the time.

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, paulmbowers said:

IF a forum like this can return to health, it's going to require a serious change in attitude (which it appears to have done!) and consistent positive messaging over a long period of time; people need to once again feel welcome and safe from personal attack.  Nobody wants to be in a group where they're not welcome. Maybe the site can move forward, away from the hostile environment for which it's become known.

I agree with the above.  I never did get to ride with anyone on here (my fault), but I did get to meet quite a few of the folks here (you know who you are!) and many I have spoken to on the phone.  I attended a couple of meetings at Mike's BBQ and went to one tech day at DSM8's place (and just bought a Garmin off of him for my FIL).  I checked in then to see what you were all up to, and I still do, always with the hope of riding with so many of you one day (before I bailed out!). 

Again, the blame was mine for never riding with any of you, and for that I do have some regrets.  That said, the attitude that Paul speaks about kept me away to some extent as well (one individual in particular, who almost made me leave the page; they still post occasionally and I just choose not to read the posts) and stopped me from contributing on a regular basis.  I cannot commit to contributing currently because of this, but I promise to keep an eye on things and do so if it does appear that things are heading in the right direction.  There may be many that feel the same way and have never spoken up.

Thank you for posting that, Paul.  I have hesitated to say anything, thinking that I was just being a big baby, but now that it has been said I felt it was appropriate to also post.  And even being 400 miles away with no chance of riding the old area, I intend to continue to check in and follow all of your exploits.

I wish the page all the best; I have spent many hours here and watched a plethora of videos and made a lot of "friendships" with people that I have never met but feel I (somewhat) know!  I sincerely look forward to the day that I can contribute and keep the page alive!

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So, Happy to follow this guy Paul’s lead and financially support Mimi’s effort to instill life in the old SDAR bus.  Who is to say what this weeks current trend is in terms of social gathering? A Great strength of this site is that it Is Not the Face Bunk experience. 
New Friends and New Experiences; what a concept! God knows I need some new friends.  👀

If we can just get these Holidays out of the way, we can get some riding done.

   Bagstr

  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I’m glad to see this recent transparency of our members. I do not consider myself an old timer here but always felt welcome and encouraged when I took the time to be involved. I really like this community. I’m heavily involved in other motorcycle ventures but SDAR feels like my people in my backyard and I would hate to lose it to that stupid Facebook.

you all know I’m a bit radical about big bikes. This forum has always in my opinion been skinny bike centric. Regardless of that I felt welcome as part of your family. I’m guessing that recent request for additional donations saw many of us going over and above financially to contribute to the club. That alone tells us that many of us want to go forward. I sure do. 
sometimes we humans need to vent. And I’m not opposed to listening and learning from a few sins of the past. However I also feel that if individually we are on board to go forward then we should focus more on the path forward then grievances of the past. I think anyone of us that are here reading this have probably felt a fresh breeze starting to blow. I am looking forward to getting together this next week with old friends and making new ones and talking about what we’re going to do on our bikes this next year. 

I sincerely hope that our members will take extra effort to clear their holiday schedule and meet with us tomorrow night. Let’s shake hands with old friends, make toasts to new friends, and give thanks for those good times both behind and ahead of us.

  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
12 hours ago, Zubb said:

I sincerely hope that our members will take extra effort to clear their holiday schedule and meet with us tomorrow night. Let’s shake hands with old friends, make toasts to new friends, and give thanks for those good times both behind and ahead of us.

Yes, we hope to see some more folks tonight  11/22/21 at Kaminski's in Poway at 6:00 pm.   See you guys there!   https://www.kaminskisbbq.com/

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi All, thanks for your comments and donations....we have high hopes that we can keep SDAR alive. I started SDAR 19 years ago and hope Mimi can keep it going with help from some of y'all.

Good to see interest in a positive move forwards.

Really hope enough people can volunteer and/or participate in the Poker Run Dualsport Event.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Learning and Sharing, Is what SDAR means to me. 
 

Learning about new places to explore, about my Moto.

Sharing the adventure of exploring and what we learn as a group.

The experience of the Moto adventure is multiplied many times over when shared.

As a team, the group can push the boundaries of exploration. That and help tow me out when my motor fails. 💥

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've been on the Facebook group, and this forum for oh... probably a year now - I also donate to the club, and will continue to do so because I value what this and other clubs offers for fellow riders and the networking it provides. I am also a member of a couple other local riding clubs. I don't think I have ever ridden with anyone from SDAR -=yet=- other than finding some sdar guys on Otay one day. I did show up on the recent tech day (big bald dude with 690) and offered to ride with folks some time. I guess maybe because  I'm not always aware of any rides or events with SDAR, I'm not always checking forums, but I literally ride almost every weekend, dirt, or pavement sometimes both days. There seems to be a limited amount of folks that use the forum, vs those on Facebook, though it seems like more information is sometimes passed on the forum, where less people are, but more people know each other. I personally know a few who tried to join the forum over the last year but gave up because they didn't get approved before lost interest, I realize there was issues with getting someone to admin the forums for a while, may still be. I now regularly ride with one of the guys that gave up on the forum after he self identified on Facebook as new to the area and wanting to ride. 

I'd be down for some sdar events, or riding with some SDAR folks whenever that happens. For example I see in a comment above something about Poway meetup... news to me, I'll try to look up if that is tonight, or was last night...

Thanks, 

Nick 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
6 minutes ago, shutterrev said:

 For example I see in a comment above something about Poway meetup... news to me, I'll try to look up if that is tonight, or was last night...

Thanks, 

Nick 

Tonight is the night.  Monday 6:00 pm.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
12 minutes ago, dirt dame said:

Tonight is the night.  Monday 6:00 pm.

Well I wish I could! Poway Isn't far - as I live off the 67 - but I have a work meeting at 7pm of course, just today :(

If we have events, getting them on the forum calendar, or Facebook events would probably do well for Forum Activity -> attendance -> new memberships -> dues... and so on. 

image.png.10054a28a656720e3741c08fda7ee90d.png

image.thumb.png.2641294848cdd1ff4addc13307e32749.png

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
7 minutes ago, shutterrev said:

Well I wish I could! Poway Isn't far - as I live off the 67 - but I have a work meeting at 7pm of course, just today :(

If we have events, getting them on the forum calendar, or Facebook events would probably do well for attendance -> new memberships -> dues.



 

Thanks.  I usually do put them on the calendar.  This one came up sort of suddenly, and I wasn't sure if I would continue on or cancel it, before finally deciding to continue, no matter what.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
10 minutes ago, dirt dame said:

Thanks.  I usually do put them on the calendar.  This one came up sort of suddenly, and I wasn't sure if I would continue on or cancel it, before finally deciding to continue, no matter what.

No problem, and thanks for putting it on - I will try to make things as they come and am able - until then I'm probably also riding anyway :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well sheeeeiiiit. Jokes on me. I put this in my calendar when I was in Tucson. So my calendar auto changed it to 5pm when I got back in our time zone. 
I’m here drinking alone. Never a good sign LOL!!!

come early and hang out with me someone! 😂

  • Like 2
  • Haha 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×

Important Information