nOObs Rally End of March Madness 2012 Ride Report

[fudgypup]

Great pics, Todd. Riding home was fun through the wind and decreasing temps. It got down to 47 in the Cajon pass.

I like this pic the best. Basically, all's I did was start a fire with the coals from the previous night using just an air pump. No big deal. I taught Bear Grylls that one.



Srsly though, who got that wood? That stuff burned forever. Must have been good hardwood. It was a shame we left so much but I bet the next campers will be grateful.

[bigtodd]

This is living ...

Breakfast at zero dark thirty


Fudgy making fire from the previous night's embers



Gas prices in PSR

[Scrambleon]

Originally Posted by fudgypup

Srsly though, who got that wood? That stuff burned forever. Must have been good hardwood. It was a shame we left so much but I bet the next campers will be grateful.

That my friend is Tollhouse oak firewood you were burning from yours truely. If it had not been so windy on Saturday nite I'm sure more of the wood would have been burned up. I wasn't about to reload and haul it home.

Scrambleon

[El Zorrillo]

joel,

do you have any pics of the heavy duty trash compactor the campground operators had to call in after the event?

that thing scared the shit out of me.

[Nowwhat]

Originally Posted by El Zorrillo

joel,

do you have any pics of the heavy duty trash compactor the campground operators had to call in after the event?

that thing scared the shit out of me.

They should just put the trash on the inside of anywhere you try to make a turn....voila compacted trash.....

[pinocono]

I can't believe my first n00b Rally is history. 4 days filled with riding, camping, eating, drinking, and swapping lies with friends new and newer. The brotherhood of the motorcycle builds strong bonds indeed.

My first taste of dirt on this trip was Randsburg-Mojave Rd, out of Cal City. My loaded Husky TE630 handled this quite easily, and the bike proved to be very capable and forgiving in my less than competent hands all weekend.


I rolled into PSR at about 2PM Thursday and found many open campsites. This one looked good, so the tent got pitched. Home-Sweet-Home for the next few days.


I was soon sharing the site with 2 mates, Bitwrench (Jack) and francisthepig (Robert). I've been acquainted with Robert for a few years, and his enthusiasm for the n00b Rally helped convince me to attend.
Bitwrench was great, he had a motel room Friday night and allowed me to run over there and take a nice HOT shower.


Friday morning came soon enough, and it was time to hit the road. I had signed up for GalacticGS's (Larry) n00b tour to Chloride Cliff, Beatty, Rhyolite, and Titus Canyon. It was a great group of guys of varying abilities, and those with more experience were great at helping us with less than stellar abilities. Let's not waste any time on pavemnt portion of the trip, and let's hit the dirt!


I've read a gazillion RR's on this site, and now I understand the disclamer as to why there weren't any pictures taken on the more difficult, but picturesque trail segments. I was just too busy trying to stay upright! Anyhow, here's a few pics from Chrloride Cliff:


Com'on Eric, walk across it, I double dog dare ya! He did.



If you see yourself in any these pictures, feel free to identify yourself. I'm not really good with names to begin with, and my little brain got overloaded with the sheer number of people I met this weekend.



From the Chloride Cliff vista point, it was back down the way we came up, and the plan was to take back roads in to Beatty for lunch. We ran into a little snag. We ended up on a pretty loose, gravel and sand road, and one of our group, motok, had a DR650 that decided it wanted to lead with the rear tire. Unfortunately, from what I understand, he broke a few bones in his foot. Our fearless leader, GalacticGS, took charge of the situation, and arranged for an ambulance, and went back to camp to get a truck and rescue motok's bike. Heal quickly, motok!


With GalacticGS tending to motok, Fudgypup took over as Ride Captain. Pressed for time, we took a more direct route into Beatty and had lunch at Mel's Diner. No food pictures, I ate it too fast. I think I had the French Dip sandwich, but I'd need to check my receipt to be sure. After lunch, it was a quick fill up of gas, and on to Rhyolite. I won't bore folks with too many pictures from there, you've all seen them, and I didn't break any new ground in artistic photography.



On to Titus Canyon. Easily the highlight of the day's ride, We didn't have time to lollygag (That was Duy's ride Saturday. Hi Duy!), so pictures are scarce, but the memories aren't.






I'm not a religious person, but there is something very spiritual going on in Titus Canyon. There's a presence that is difficult to put in to words.

From there it was slab back to camp, Jimmy Lewis' informative seminar, and a great dinner. The it was time for the social hour.

Saturday morning came awfully soon after an evening of too many beers and a night of not enough sleep. I jest. There's no such thing as too many beers.


I had signed up for r3r3r's (Randall) ride to Ballarat, through Goler Wash, over Mengel Pass, with a cabin to visit, and some fantastic riding on a variety of off-road surfaces. Friday night, I was really whooped, and almost talked myself out of this ride. I am so glad I didn't. These guys were great, and riding with them had me challenging myself, and growing as an off-road rider.

Here's a group shot at the start of Indian Ranch Road.


Ballarat. We didn't hang here long, just enough for the group to get back together. We had important places to go. Goler Wash.


Much has been documented about the steps in Goler Wash, and there's really not much I can add. They aren't that bad. You just need to decide you're going up them, and commit to doing just that.

Looking back down the wash from near the steps.


Shots at the steps:




We got everybody up the steps, even surferbum's (Matt) GS1200! That guy's a gamer! I rode with him both Friday and Saturday, he's great.


On to Mengel Pass, a lot of challenging (for me), but fun, sections. When we got to the top of the pass, we got a taste of the winds that would be a part of the rest of the day, and in to the night.



Down the pass we went, and headed to what I believe is Stella's Cabin for a much needed lunch break.





It took some effort to roust a few of us from the lethergy brought on by lunch, but we did get back on the bikes and headed down Butte Valley and Warm Spring Canyon to West Side Road. West Side Road was just fast, fast, fast, dusty, and did I say fast. I thought I was haulin', when r3r3r blasted by me like I was stuck in 1st gear! Randal did yeoman's duty herding his cats. He must've put on an additional 60 miles or more running back and forth to check on us stragglers.


From there it was the tar to Furnace Creek to gas up, and on back to PSR for dinner, the chance to win some great swag, and the sharing of ride stories over some beer pops.

I want to thank everybody I came in contact with for making this a fantastic event for me. From the ride leaders, to the folks that made the dinners happen, to each and every one of you that gave me encouragement and pointers, to my fellow n00bs that inspired me, thank you for a great time.

And Joel, thanks for organizing this shindig. It really is an event where the"elders" pass on their knowledge and take us n00bs under their wings, to show us the way. I've been having fun on this bike for several months now, but I am really hooked now. I had more fun than a tornado in a trailer park.

Dave

[M1Jeep]

Well, since my injury has me off the bike for a while I decided to take the Jeep and my GF. It was her first time to DV also.



We set up camp and then headed out for the Goler Wash:




Kaye and I turned the corner and saw some Nor Cal ADV riders: pcfly, dirty duane, jimmy, and jody (from MI). They just finished pushing one of their bikes up the Goler step. It took me a few attempts to get up the step (open diffs):



Once up top the riders asked if I could winch up the f800gs...



Since I had the cable out, I offered to have the remaining bikes winched up. Remember the o'l saying, "work smarter, not harder".





After the fun at the step, we bumped along the trail to Mengal Pass...



I found this rock that looked laying on its side and couldn't resist to hump it...



Mengal Pass was in good shape...



Butte Valley...



We visited Stella's Place...



The fridge was packed with provisions and the cabin was pretty clean...





Warm Springs Rd...



We slabbed it to Badwater in time before the sundown, then back to camp.



Friday we headed out to the hot springs. Saline Valley Road...



Panamint Valley from above...



Descending into Saline Valley. These panorama photos really do not do this place justice. This place is HUGE!





Saturday's plan was to visit the touristy stuff in the northeast of the park, pick up dinner in Beatty and then back to PSR. The wind was really blowing. It looked like smoke on the highway...



Ran into Eric, Diego, and Josh at Ubehebe crater. It was the windiest ever!



Check out Josh back there!





Drove up to the Titus Canyon exit, parked and hiked in...



Stopped in Rhyolite for a quick tour...


Then onto Beatty and then camp, which I did not get any pictures.

Thanks again to Joel and all the volunteers who put in all their hard work to make this rally possible.

[jarthur]

Thanks again Joel for organizing another great event!

Thanks to Jim and Pablo for taking gas to the Hot Springs!

Rich, Mike, Jack, Mike, Isaac, and Steve made up the group.

Here is our group at the bottom of the steps before rounding the corner to Eueka Valley with our new 4x4 friends.



The exit of the steps looking up hill.



Eureka Dunes.



Crankshft Junction



Mike, Mike and Steve at Tea Kettle







Had a fabulous ride. Cheers mates!

[Mikey113]

Thanks Jack. I am glad you were able to document "The Steel Pass Seven." Super group of guys. That was a great ride. I appreciate you and Steve keeping up with me

The Steel ride was challenging and got me ready for Goler / Mengal on Saturday. Randall (r3r3r) was equally a good ride leader. You guys are a wealth of knowledge. Back in camp Josh and Keith were good company and guys I'd like to ride with in the future. Everyone I spoke with was cool - there just wasn't enough time get to know ya-all.

And then there is James. My road dog. 16 hours in a truck with him and I can't say a bad thing about him. What a relief. A rainy Tuesday night aligned the stars (or clouds) to make me decide to trailer rather than truck. The broken KTM brought three strangers, including Special Agent Nancy, together for a ride back to the bay area. Good times, no MFA's in this crowd.

Joel, Jimmy, Jim volunteers - THANK YOU!

Quick stats: truck miles - 1415, bike miles - 544, laughs - too many to count, beers - just enough, wind - FYYFW

Hope to see you all soon!

[surferbum]

Here's some pano photos + others until my RR is done.

Enjoy. Here's a linky.

>

2012 Noobs Rally

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[Zen Slug]

Originally Posted by sopascat

Hey, Eran

hey, Cat! sorry i missed this one, but we were in Florida at a family wedding (and Harry Potter World). so cool to hear that Jimmy Lewis showed up. did you attend his mini riding lesson?

[NSFW]

Originally Posted by Scrambleon

That my friend is Tollhouse oak firewood you were burning from yours truely. If it had not been so windy on Saturday nite I'm sure more of the wood would have been burned up. I wasn't about to reload and haul it home.

Scrambleon

josh (scrambleon) standing on the weekend's left over

Originally Posted by Zen Slug

hey, Cat! sorry i missed this one, but we were in Florida at a family wedding (and Harry Potter World). so cool to hear that Jimmy Lewis showed up. did you attend his mini riding lesson?

eran, i sent you a PM and will need your expertise regardimg.....

[NSFW]

Originally Posted by El Zorrillo

joel,

do you have any pics of the heavy duty trash compactor the campground operators had to call in after the event?

that thing scared the shit out of me.

yes, the garbage truck came afterwards.....way too late!

anyway, we talked about PACK IT IN and PACK IT OUT....didn't work very well, in spite of PSR adding another dumpster. last year, the birds tore the trash bags and the strong wind blew the trash all over the place. someone wasn't very happy picking up our trash.

to avoid a repeat...jon brought the a-team
.....who


who needs a stinking gasoline powered truck compactor, when we have you guys........



this one for next year.........

[fudgypup]

Found this site on the Briggs gold mine near Ballarat.

Cool video too.

Imagine $382 Million in mined gold.

[Super Suz]

So awesome seeing actual n00bs doing awesome rides! All the wenching and training helped, I'm sure.