A trip to Ridgecrest to meet new friends......

[Crawdaddy 96]

As some of you know, I helped 3 fellow “adventure” riders from NY with some of their plans for a 15 day ADV ride between Phoenix and San Francisco…….they arrived in Phoenix last Friday night then rode around the Grand Canyon counter clockwise from the South Rim before arriving in Death Valley for a couple of days……we had a tentative plan for me to meet them in Ridgecrest on Friday night if they were holding to schedule…..they were and so we did!!! …..Nice to meet Chris, Nadim and Anthony face to face after a few months of exchanging e-mails/refining trip itineraries and GPS tracks…....those lucky stiffs are in Bass Lake tonight!!!…..I’ll post a link to their ADV rider trip report once they get back and write it up……go here for info on their itinerary: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=549098

Slowdown (Ron) and Jim opted to join me on the trip…….so we drove up and had a few beers/dinner with the boyz on Friday night……likewise, we shared breakfast in the morning before heading off on our separate paths……the NY boys had a big day in front of them on Sat…….they’d have to pound some serious pavement to get up to Shaver Lake where another ADV rider was waiting to meet/greet and show them around the Bass Lake area………likewise, I wanted to ride to some areas of interest that we missed in our Jan 09 X-Plane ride……..except we’d be starting from Ridgecrest rather than Barstow so that offered an opportunity to explore some new (to me) terrain on Sat. and revisit some other sites near Trona on Sunday that Ron had never seen (Pinnacles, etc.)

So let’s get on with it…….Day 1

Picture of the NY boys and me/Ron….left to right Nadim (BMW650X) offering ADV salute, Anthony (KTM 690), yours truly, Chris (BMW650X) and Ron

Ron, Jim and I gassed up and headed for the hills…..here’s a pic of Jim (WR250R) and Ron (KTM 525) at the first significant overlook above 395 looking back towards Ridgecrest……there would be MANY more REALLY SCENIC lookouts to come on the ride to Randsburg…

For a while we were out on a very nondescript plain……good thing we had some tracks from Jerry Counts because the trail was not always easy to find……

Soon we were in the El Paso’s….

Then we jumped on the Bonanza Trail which led us over towards Bickel Camp and the Burro Schmidt Tunnel……..the Bonanza Trail traverses along some ridges before descending down to the Post Office and Bickel Camp…..

Some signage/landmarks along the Bonanza Trail…..

Soon we were over at Bickel Camp - we bs’d for a bit with Mark who’s the caretaker and lives there full time…..he showed us some of the gold ore pulled from the site and gave us a brief history lesson……more info on Bickel Camp is available here: http://www.bickelcamp.org/

Once we left Bickel Camp we proceeded up……then up a bit more……then a tad more after that…..very cool/scenic climb, and subsequent descent on our way to the Burro Schmidt Tunnel…..a few sites along the way…

Jim and Ron heading up…….

What a view…..

Bickel camp below in the distance….

Mount up boys…..we have some more climbing to do……(this hill is much steeper than it appears in this photo.....it was a blast!)

Awesome viewpoint about a half mile short of Burro Schmidt Tunnel….……

What goes up…….must come down…..as always, the pictures do the climbs/down hills no justice in my non professional hands….

Then we rounded the corner and pulled up to Burro Schmidt’s pad……we hung around for a while…….checked out the house/tunnel….and bs’d with a few other riders…….more info on Burro Schmidt is available here : http://www.burroschmidttunnel.org/

A few photos of the Burro Schmidt area….

Time to pack up from Burro Schmidt and head to the Whitehouse Saloon in Randsburg for a burger and a Mojave Red…..

Follow me boys…..

Another really sweet viewpoint/picture spot on the way to Randsburg WAAAAY up in the hills (waypoint set)…..

What goes up must come down……hey, where are those guys??? (Strega and Dig Dug....this drop reminded me of that pucker drop on the LA-B-V ride......in fact, it may be the same drop? ......haven't overlaid the tracks yet........much easier on a little bike with no baggage)

Here they come…..whoops….

I’m hungry…….let’s get this final push to Randsburg behind us…..

Quick burger/beer at the Whitehouse in Randsburg…….more info on Randsburg/White House here: http://www.desertusa.com/magfeb98/Randsburg/Ran.html

A few pics in town…..

The parking lot……I’ve seen it much more full……though it is getting late in the season but temps were VERY nice on Sat…..mid 70’s

Once we left Randsburg we headed over to the X-15 Crash site off Trona Rd…….this was the only crash site we didn’t see last Jan

Jim checking out the monument…

I had to take the photo on an angle to keep my shadow out of the way……sorry…more info on X-15 crash site here: http://www.xb-70.com/wmaa/x15/

Once we left the X-15 site I zoomed way out on my GPS and just freelanced a path back to Ridgecrest……I was looking for something a bit more interesting than fireroads…….found some good single track (though a bit whooped in places)……another trip or two and I’ll have it dialed in for another group ride……a few pics on the way back to Ridgecrest….....follow me boys

The day one ride was just over a hundred miles…….I think that’s a good distance for a club ride when you have a few sites to visit and a sit down lunch……stay tuned for day 2…..

[paulmbowers 236]

That's all great. Where's the pics of you stuck in the mud?

[Crawdaddy 96]

That's all great. Where's the pics of you stuck in the mud?

Patience Grasshopper......that's part of Day 2's "adventure"......

[dsfox 0]

Looks awesome, so when do we go?...must get these things on the calendar.....

[Spyder 2]

Great write up Chris!

You have most likely visited more "Clamper" Plaques than I have and you probably didn't even realize it.

Spyder

[Crawdaddy 96]

Day 2

Unfortunately Jim had to bail on Saturday night…….the NY boys were long gone……..so that left Ron and I to explore a bit over to towards Trona/Ballarat on Sunday……..I laid out a path that would run us over to the Pinnacles, Manson’s Place (what’s left of it), Ballarat and back to Ridgecrest…….another ~100 mile day……good/short ride then head for home…….

The day started off great as we rode miles and miles of single track on the way over to the Pinnacles…..these are the tracks Jerry Counts put together for the DV350/shared on GPSXchange……the single track is pretty whooped out in places but still VERY fun way to approach the Pinnacles….…

Did I mention we rode miles and miles of single track on the way over to the Pinnacles?

I think Ron is excited/enjoying himself…..

Went through one short section of funky lava rock…….I remembered riding through this stretch during a couple of DV350’s….

Then we made our way along a ledge for a bit……not a big deal……scenic

Then the riding gets pretty wide open as you approach the Trona Pinnacles…..

We rode right through the center of these funky/Star Trek formations…..

As we headed up and over the hills to Trona I spotted a a good viewpoint…….decided to ride over and check it out (waypoint set)

We fueled up in Trona and headed towards Fish Canyon…….some fun/scenic terrain…..along the way

I also did a bit of exploring……some times little side trails pan out………sometimes they disappear……

Time to cruise on to Fish Canyon…..Post Office Spring in the distance……

Signage marking Fish Canyon escape trail/site:

Almost down to the dry lake bed…….it is dry isn’t it?

Once we made our way down to the bottom I had planned on hanging a right and heading over to Goler Wash to show Ron Charlie Manson’s place……. then we’d back track and make our way to Ballarat via Wingate Rd…….but it was already ~past noon and a cold beer over at Ballarat was sounding mighty appealing……Manson’s has burned down anyway ……smart money would’ve been placed on riding the ~3 miles over to Wingate rather than taking a “shortcut” across the what appeared to be a dry lakebed……..but there was an established path right before our eyes…. it looked like we’d be riding across a thin layer of mud but nothing alarming……lot’s of others had laid a path before our eyes…..no signage saying off limits…….hey, this looks fun!.......so screw it……let’s go this way…….so we rolled out about halfway across and stopped for a few pics/Snickers bar….

So there I am….out front…….keeping an eye on the GPS to gauge the distance to Wingate Rd……..cruising along at a good clip…….this is FUN!!!…….hey…….wait a minute…….what’s that up ahead……oh crap, GAS IT……..too late…….gotcha…..

Link to teaser Post I put up earlier today: http://www.dualsport-sd.com/forums/index.p...ic=7360&hl=

The day had been thumbs up until this point….suddenly it was very thumbs down as indicated by Ron in the photo below (he's standing on the ladder to avoid sinking into the pit!):

Once again the radio came in very handy…..the first thing I did was Radio back to Ron to slow WAAAY down and approach with caution……..if we both got our bikes stuck in this mess we’d be screwed……….Ron had to go pretty far down to find a place where he could safely cross the Spring……..here he is riding away looking for a place to cross…..

The “just gas it” approach almost worked…….I floated across the first part of the berth created by the spring but hit the step on the other side a bit to low/slow……lost all my momentum as the rear end sank…….no problem……we’d only need to move the bike ~3 feet and we’d be back in business…….that turned out to be much easier said than done……we rocked the bike back and forth…….tried to pull it out with some rope laying nearby that was no doubt left by a previous victim/idiot……hooked the rope up to Ron’s bike and tried to pull it out……..all to no avail……..we were screwed…….this bike was NOT coming out with just the two of us “workin’ it”……so I hopped on Ron’s bike and rode to Ballarat to look for help (since there was no way my 6k lb. truck was going to make it out there)…….

I asked a few folks for help and didn’t come up with any overly enthusiastic takers…….then, as I’m standing there in Ballarat, a red jeep comes whizzing by at good rate of speed…….something instinctively told me to chase them down……..so I said a hasty goodbye to the folks at Ballarat and literally chased them down…….they were on their way to Trona for gas but assured me they’d be back to help out……..they seemed like straight shooters so I thanked them and told them I’d meet them back by Ballarat in about an hour or so and guide them to the bike which was ~10 miles up the road…….then I rode back and told Ron the scoop (again, nice to have a radio)……I laid in the shade of the bike for a bit……then I rode back to Ballarat and met our saviors……Archie and his girlfriend were experienced off roaders and a BIG help……it was pretty clear he wouldn’t be able to get his jeep out to the bike which was ~.3 miles away from the edge of Wingate Rd.……no sense getting his jeep stuck trying to be a hero……so I rode each of them double out to the bike and we put together a plan….I stayed up front on Ron’s bike with a tow rope on the peg……we attached the other end of the rope to the foot peg on my bike and started it up with Ron standing next to it to try and walk it out in first gear as we pulled…….Archie and his girlfriend stood between us and tugged on the rope…….progress was slow at first….in fact, it seemed we were still screwed…….but a bit more rocking/tugging/throttling it finally broke free and “landed” up on the bank (Ron was basically frozen in place…..no way to walk next to the bike in that mud)…….sweet, it’s out!!!…..by now it was ~4:30pm so we’d spent ~4 hours out there………so much for the ”short cut”…....time to head back to Trona/Ridgecrest via pavement and get this day done……..

My rear wheel bearings are shot from 4 hours in the swamp and spinning out on the exit…….that’s ok, relatively inexpensive “dumbass tax”…..

No more pics after that mud episode……pulled into a car wash in Ridgecrest and cleaned off the sleds……grabbed a bite to eat……finally pulled out of town around 7pm and in bed at 12am……another adventure filled weekend...... :dance: :dance3:

One side note………our local beer selection on Friday night turned out to be rather prophetic…..

[toofast4uu 0]

Chris!! Another great ride!! It was great meeting up with you guys last friday too!!! Keep the rr coming..and i'll share mine once we return...we've been jotting down the highlights each evening!!

[Strega 0]

What goes up must come down……hey, where are those guys??? (Strega and Dig Dug....this drop reminded me of that pucker drop on the LA-B-V ride......in fact, it may be the same drop? ......haven't overlaid the tracks yet........much easier on a little bike with no baggage)

Same hill...

Top looking down:

Bottom looking up:

This was the one that was a bit more gnarly than that one:

[paulmbowers 236]

Last time I went down that hill was Barstow-Ridgecrest. Something about that slot/canyon creates a VERY strong crosswind. Strong enough that standing while descending became an issue of getting blown over. One of our group actually had it happen, right where Crawdaddy's buddy fell.

[bikeslut 1]

Good report Chris- an adventure for sure

[dirt dame 561]

Looks like another stellar adventure. Nice pics too.

[TrophyHunter 15]

Great stuff.....love the Bock...

[Crawdaddy 96]

This was the one that was a bit more gnarly than that one:

Right, that's the drop immediately preceeding......two big/steep/slippery drops........the price you pay for a sweet view up top.....

[tlking6 0]

Thanks for the report C-diddy! Now wheres my butt kicking machine for missing this one?

[Beezzz 6]

Great write up. THANKS! When's the SDAR return trip date?

[paulmbowers 236]

Huh.

Looks like your riding a man's bike for this stuff.

[Crawdaddy 96]

Huh.

Looks like your riding a man's bike for this stuff.

My KTM was feeling neglected so I decided to give it a spin ......nice to have options .......a WR250R was also on this trip so two of the bikes in my stable were represented......and both bikes did just fine.......but I can only ride one at a time!!!

I have different bikes for different missions.......since traffic was jammed up I worked at home this morning......then rode my street/ADV bike into work (the one with smooth fuel injection, big mirrors, a real headlight, balanced low profile tires, etc.....call it a girl bike I don't care.......my WR250R is a sweet street/ADV bike for the way "I" ride........my sport bike hooligan days are behind me

[Wing Nut 0]

Looks like a great ride and I loved the write up. Maybe after I get all moved into our new place I can get out and ride with you guys.

[SlowDown 0]

I thought I'd add my own take and photos to Chris' excellent report.

Saturday morning after having breakfast with the NY gang, Chris, Jim and I set off to ride a loop to the southwest of Ridgecrest.

Here's Jim early in the ride:

Here's Chris:

We rode the same tracks that I tried back in November when my KTM 525 EXC broke down. I spent $2300 rebuilding the tranny. We past the spot where I broke down and I set a waypoint to remember the event. We proceded to the Bonanza Trail toward the Burro-Schmidt tunnel.

We decided to stop and see what the Bickel Camp was all about. We found a lone caretaker who has been onsite for years. Can you imagine staying in the middle of desert nowhere -- alone? How creepy would that be at night...?

From the Bickel Camp to the Burro-Schmidt tunnel, we saw some absolutely amazing views. At one of the vistas, the view was nearly 360 degrees of stunningness. Here's one of the photos that does not do it justice.

From this viewpoint, the only part of the 360 degree view that was not looking downward, was the continuation of our track, up, up and up. Don't let Chris kid you, this was about 3 minutes of steady throttle, 3rd gear, faagetabout the rocks in the way, we're goin up. I'd guess it was a 500 ft climb before levelling off. But the views were even more stunning. Here is a pic.

Well, we made it to the Burro-Schmidt tunnel. It was almost a let down after seeing the views, but it is an interesting landmark in its own right.

But whatever goes up must come down. There were two whiteknuckle downhills that added to our pucker factor. They were doable. Chris got good pictures of these. I was too busy confessing my sins to take any pictures...

We eventually pulled into Randsburg for a burger and a beer. Boy did that hit the spot!

We went to the X-15 Crash site monument.

Instead of extending the trip out to the Husky monument, we decided to cut the day at 100 miles and head back to the hotel where Jim's wife was waiting for him. Chris found us a nice single track for most of the way.

End of day 1.

[Crawdaddy 96]

I thought I'd add my own take and photos

Good stuff Ron :clapping: .....bring on day 2