Marc Brown 0 Posted October 17, 2008 Been riding for the last 2 years locally (Ocotillo Wells, McCain, Corral Canyon, Gorman (Hungry Valley), Kennedy Meadows and Santa Veronica (Tecate). Frustrated with lack of accessibility of some trails and connectors, so went the plated route. Travel a lot for work, and see tons of potential trails in Anza Borrego, south of Hwy 8 near Alpine, and south of East Lake (Otay?). Also want to ride Big Bear, Arrowhead, etc. Tired of rides with really fast racers who never see what they're riding through, i.e Superstition to Ocotillo runs, etc. Do we classify rides (similar to how most of the bicycle clubs do - A, B, C difficulty, mileage before fuel stop, etc)? Look forward to meeting and riding with many of you. Marc Lakeside, CA Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
christi20 0 Posted October 17, 2008 Welcome Marc, Sounds like you came to the right place. I still have yet to go on a group ride, but each one seems different and everyone seems willing to accomadate different skill levels and split up when necessary. I too want to explore Big Bear, Arrowhead, etc... I also have been dying to go back for a day ride to Santa Veronica. So many rides, so little time. I also race about once or twice a month, but I can still appreciate a very leisurely ride to view the awesome scenery. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Strega 0 Posted October 17, 2008 Welcome to the site Marc There are lots of riders here with many different styles of riding. There are those that wanna run from Plaster City to the Blue Inn with their hair on fire, and those that want a nice fun scenic ride. A complete mix of skill levels here, and a great group of people. You'll find that most people, when posting a ride report, will list the level of difficulty just simply as novice, intermediate, advanced, or sometimes even expert. I'm sure we'll see an expert ride or three this year if anyone's gonna go do Moab again, hehe. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joliet 0 Posted October 17, 2008 Welcome Marc. This is the right place for you to be. Just keep an eye on the informal rides section, and start going on some of the rides. It won't take long to figure out which rides you will enjoy the most, and which riders fit best into you "riding buddy" catagory. As far as fast rides, the guys(and gals) I ride with follow the "no man left behind" rule. The group only rides as fast as the slowest rider, that is not saying you can't be spread way out to avoid dust. I ride with the "you are responsible for the guy behind you" rule, every few minutes I will look to see if the rider is behind me, if not I slow down to see if he catches up, if he doesn't catch up soon, I stop for a couple of minutes and then turn around and go back. Each person stops at all intersections and trail splits to make sure the guy behind knows which way to go. On larger rides I feel a designated sweeper is also important. Most of the time rides are newb friendly, on difficult rides you will see in the post where it will say something like "not recommended for novice riders" or " recommended for intermediate or better riders". Look forward to riding with you. Ken Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paulmbowers 236 Posted October 17, 2008 Been riding for the last 2 years locally (Ocotillo Wells, McCain, Corral Canyon, Gorman (Hungry Valley), Kennedy Meadows and Santa Veronica (Tecate). Frustrated with lack of accessibility of some trails and connectors, so went the plated route. Travel a lot for work, and see tons of potential trails in Anza Borrego, south of Hwy 8 near Alpine, and south of East Lake (Otay?). Also want to ride Big Bear, Arrowhead, etc. Tired of rides with really fast racers who never see what they're riding through, i.e Superstition to Ocotillo runs, etc. Do we classify rides (similar to how most of the bicycle clubs do - A, B, C difficulty, mileage before fuel stop, etc)? Look forward to meeting and riding with many of you. Marc Lakeside, CA Yes, you've made it. We try to accommodate all levels- if it's a mixed group we split up if necessary. Nobody is riding a race pace, except for BikeSlut, and nobody is out to prove anything except to have fun. Except for BikeSlut. Some rides will have an advanced group that rides early (sometimes they let me tag along. Behind.) that will then become more newbie friendly later on. Newbie or not, be ready to ride, have your bike and gear running and working, have good safety equipment, and you'll have a great time. Even if BikeSlut is there. Welcome! fn Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crawdaddy 96 Posted October 17, 2008 I'm sure we'll see an expert ride or three this year if anyone's gonna go do Moab again, hehe. Don't listen to him Marc......you don't need to be an expert to go have fun in Moab.....I proved that last year And if you get too blown out mentally/physically you can always You just have to like a challenge thrown in the middle of your path every once in a while.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikeslut 1 Posted October 17, 2008 Been riding for the last 2 years locally (Ocotillo Wells, McCain, Corral Canyon, Gorman (Hungry Valley), Kennedy Meadows and Santa Veronica (Tecate). Frustrated with lack of accessibility of some trails and connectors, so went the plated route. Travel a lot for work, and see tons of potential trails in Anza Borrego, south of Hwy 8 near Alpine, and south of East Lake (Otay?). Also want to ride Big Bear, Arrowhead, etc. Tired of rides with really fast racers who never see what they're riding through, i.e Superstition to Ocotillo runs, etc. Do we classify rides (similar to how most of the bicycle clubs do - A, B, C difficulty, mileage before fuel stop, etc)? Look forward to meeting and riding with many of you. Marc Lakeside, CA Yes, you've made it. We try to accommodate all levels- if it's a mixed group we split up if necessary. Nobody is riding a race pace, except for BikeSlut, and nobody is out to prove anything except to have fun. Except for BikeSlut. Some rides will have an advanced group that rides early (sometimes they let me tag along. Behind.) that will then become more newbie friendly later on. Newbie or not, be ready to ride, have your bike and gear running and working, have good safety equipment, and you'll have a great time. Even if BikeSlut is there. Welcome! fn He's mainly kidding... as MANY will attest... I ride sweep just as often as I ride point... I lead many newb rides each year... I HELP PEOPLE PICK UP THEIR LOOPED KTMS... etc. Welcome to the site... as others have said: join any ride... you'll start to find people that ride your speed, and people that rest with your frequency, and find good friends... like FAKE NAME... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blind_in_1_ear 0 Posted October 17, 2008 welcome welcome welcome!!!! i too have yet to go on a group ride with the SDAR group....but i will soon!!! sounds like you aren't trying to outrun the world, and having a good time enjoy the view days are more my style too! look forward to seeing the dust fly with you! Blind Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirt dame 561 Posted October 17, 2008 I generally like to poke along and enjoy the scenery. I like light technical terrain and don't have anything to prove by going fast or conquering some nasty, boulder strewn canyon wall. Some days I ride better than other days. On any given day, there is somebody on a ride with me who would help me through a difficult section or even take my bike through for me if need be. I even help other people sometimes. Anyway, I don't see how you can go wrong with this group of people. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zenosan 2 Posted October 17, 2008 Been riding for the last 2 years locally (Ocotillo Wells, McCain, Corral Canyon, Gorman (Hungry Valley), Kennedy Meadows and Santa Veronica (Tecate). Frustrated with lack of accessibility of some trails and connectors, so went the plated route. Travel a lot for work, and see tons of potential trails in Anza Borrego, south of Hwy 8 near Alpine, and south of East Lake (Otay?). Also want to ride Big Bear, Arrowhead, etc. Tired of rides with really fast racers who never see what they're riding through, i.e Superstition to Ocotillo runs, etc. Do we classify rides (similar to how most of the bicycle clubs do - A, B, C difficulty, mileage before fuel stop, etc)? Look forward to meeting and riding with many of you. Marc Lakeside, CA Marc My hot doggin days are over. I am too old and take too long to heal. But still like riding my bikes. I would be glad to do a North and East County dualsport, country road or desert ride. Don Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tntmo 910 Posted October 18, 2008 Welcome to the group. I'm an intermediate rider with little chance of improving beyond that, therefore I don't mind doing anything from a graded gravel road to (trying) some of the toughest trails. Plenty of riders are in the same category I think and I also think you'll fit in fine. See you on the trail. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RogerTOWM 0 Posted October 18, 2008 Welcome Marc. I’m sure you will like this club. We have some racers here and we have some sightseers as well. I’m the later, just a beginning rider for the dirt. Most of the people I ride with have the motto “no one gets left behind”. So you don’t have to worry about the speed racers. Just watch out for Fake name and Bikeslut. Nah, they are alright too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2Wheels 0 Posted October 20, 2008 Travel a lot for work, and see tons of potential trails in Anza Borrego, south of Hwy 8 near Alpine, and south of East Lake (Otay?). Also want to ride Big Bear, Arrowhead, etc. I'm a relatively new rider myself. Just started a little over 3 years ago, but I've put a lot of miles on my bikes both on and off pavement. The desert dash is in Anza Borrego every year and there's plenty of riding there for street legal bikes. It seems that a year or two ago there was an SDAR Otay Mountain TT ride about once every week until everyone got tired of it. The Loveland Reservoir is south of Alpine. There's also a lot of rural residential houses around there. I think you might be able to find some gray areas around there, but nothing where you could ride with a lot of loud, fast bikes as if you were riding through Superstition. Do you get out to Santa Veronica very often? Good riding nearby and the wait at the Port of Entry on a bike is about as long as a stoplight. Gene Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marc Brown 0 Posted October 20, 2008 Travel a lot for work, and see tons of potential trails in Anza Borrego, south of Hwy 8 near Alpine, and south of East Lake (Otay?). Also want to ride Big Bear, Arrowhead, etc. I'm a relatively new rider myself. Just started a little over 3 years ago, but I've put a lot of miles on my bikes both on and off pavement. The desert dash is in Anza Borrego every year and there's plenty of riding there for street legal bikes. It seems that a year or two ago there was an SDAR Otay Mountain TT ride about once every week until everyone got tired of it. The Loveland Reservoir is south of Alpine. There's also a lot of rural residential houses around there. I think you might be able to find some gray areas around there, but nothing where you could ride with a lot of loud, fast bikes as if you were riding through Superstition. Do you get out to Santa Veronica very often? Good riding nearby and the wait at the Port of Entry on a bike is about as long as a stoplight. Gene Anza sounds great, as so much if off limits to non-plated cycles. Hoping to ride Otay sometime, at least to see what's there, as I only see it from the air. Traveling the next couple weeks for work, so hope to get riding again in Nov. I've ridden some easy and some extremely technical in Santa Veronica. Biggest problem is the border. I've had gas cans confiscated and general hassles going down (for no reason) and of course the wait coming back. I wouldn't ride my 250 across. It's really more of a plated trail bike than a dual purpose. The current killings and ongoing issues in Mexico really make it undesireable to go to - despite amazing riding. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2Wheels 0 Posted October 21, 2008 Hoping to ride Otay sometime, at least to see what's there, as I only see it from the air. I do that myself - see something from the air and that makes me want to go check it out on the ground. I can understand your not wanting to go to Mexico given the current goings on in TJ. It’s a personal decision. I haven’t given it up myself. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blind_in_1_ear 0 Posted October 21, 2008 when you do Otay, put it in Informal rides area...hopefully i can too!!! i'd like to do a little tour out there, esp with someone who knows the area a little more than i do.. Blind Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Erick 0 Posted October 22, 2008 Welcome to the group. I've only ridden with a few of the crew once out near Campo with a destination of Tecate Summit. Great group of guys. I hope to do some local rides in the coming weeks. I've alo down for an Otay Mtn ride. Never been out that way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
