padu 322 Posted October 8, 2023 May 26, 2023 As promised, we returned in May to complete sections 4-8. All the snow in the mountains is gone, and while it's getting hot in Death Valley, it's not brain-melting hot, so in retrospect, my opinion is that sections 1-4 should be done in February/March, and sections 5-8 from May and onwards. This time, one more rider joined the group (Terry Rossi) and we did section 4 with 3 riders. Max Thielen on the Norden 901 and Terry on the Honda XLR 650. We scheduled Section 4 to start early morning on Friday, May 26, starting from Primm. Me and Terry met in Palm Desert the day before and decided on taking the dirt route to Primm, via Joshua Tree NP and Mojave Preserve. Berdoo Canyon getting into JTNP and some less well-travelled roads at the end of Old Dale Road, getting out of JTNP were one notch up on the spiciness level, and if you watch the video above you will see a close call that had the potential to ruin our day or trip. Joshua Tree NP was infested with what looked like crickets or locusts. At some points, we rode inside clouds of insects. The bike, helmet, and jacket, it was all covered with insect goo after we left the park. We stopped for gas at a really weird gas station in Amboy. Really expensive gas. We arrived in Primm at night, bought some logs, and then went for some primitive camping around Primm. Max rode from LA to Primm and decided to stay at the Buffalo Bill again. And again Buffalo Bill sucked big time. He arrived at the hotel at 10pm. Their computer systems were down, and they couldn't check anybody in until 3am. Friday morning, we woke up, packed our tents, and rode to Primm to meet Max, have some breakfast, and get started. Our first challenge was the climb up to the Colosseum Mine. That was marked as an expert route on the BDR map. Not sure if we got lucky, but it was an easy climb. Unfortunately, the mine was closed, with people working tractors and heavy equipment, so our visit to the bottom was denied. The next long dirt segment was Power Line Road. It was really rocky, which prevents higher speeds and it's tiring to ride. Max had a bent rim and a blister on the sidewall of his tire, which is greatly concerning since there are another 3 days to go. A bit later, we stopped for a mandatory visit to the China Ranch. It's really surprising to find a green oasis in the desert. The people at the ranch were super cool and the Date Shakes are everything we've heard before. We were planning to stop in Tecopa for lunch, but all the restaurants were closed for the season. The dude from one of the restaurants told us we should be riding big bikes in that area this time of the year . Instead, we had lunch in Shoshone at the Crowbar. Really good food and a great vibe. After lunch, we visited the museum adjacent to the restaurant. It was really interesting and gave us a lot of knowledge about the region. After lunch, we started our descent towards Death Valley. The first big challenge was Ibex dunes, but again, either we were too fast, or the roads were in good condition. Apart from patches of deep sand, it didn't pose a problem for us. As we made our way through the Death Valley, we felt the temperature quickly rise and stabilize at around 100F for the rest of the ride. Before arriving in Furnace Creek, we made a few unscheduled stops at Badwater Basin and Artist's Pallete to admire the valley's beauty. The off-season comment from the dude in Tecopa made more sense in Furnace Creek. The place had very few visitors, and most of the campgrounds were closed for the season. We found one open a few miles north of Furnace Creek, the Furnace Creek Campground. We've set camp and decided to do one more exploration with the bikes. We ascended to Dante's Peak right in time to catch the last few sun rays of the day barely illuminating the valley. Perfect way to finish the day and section 4. We rode down to base camp at night and finished the night with some fire pit hot dogs and beers. It was hot as hell to sleep in the tents at night. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cmayer31 3 Posted October 11, 2023 I really need to get some crash bars on my X and get in the dirt. 100 miles a day commuting on it then watching your series makes me overly aware of the disservice I'm providing this bike. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
padu 322 Posted October 11, 2023 This was my first off-road ride with the DDX... I didn't have any crashbars - almost regretted as you will be able to see in the video... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zubb 1061 Posted October 13, 2023 I like your comment at 17:51. "This sucks" 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ptkatoomer 114 Posted October 14, 2023 (edited) Amazing what these things can do..... Edited October 15, 2023 by Ptkatoomer 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wallycycle 5 Posted January 21 Haven't been up Oriflamme Canyon in 5-6 years. Looks like the trail has really deteriorated. The start off the S-2 wasn't nearly as much in a sandy wash, more of a real trail and the climb up the mountain wasn't as rocky and rutted. Was always a lot of fun on my WRR and usually did it as a loop coming back down Rodriquez. Kudos to you guys doing it on 500lb bikes. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
