California Adventure Rider

[NSFW]

Originally Posted by junglemototours

You picked a perfect weekend for it.....

we were lucky indeed. hot weather is soon upon us.

thanks jmt for keeping up

Originally Posted by M1Jeep

I love this trail! A great way to spend a day in the majestic Mojave desert.

rich, do you remember? we were here in april 4, 2008









wow...sand was pretty skeeery those days.....

[NSFW]

back to the rr...

the second afton water crossing is deep enough to get your feet wet. eric on his brand new 2013 500exc.




no matter how you look at it, that bike is too small for this rider...hahaha






not easy for the gs





easy breezy


little donut is all todd could do to conserve fuel


time to play in the dunes. eat my chocolate colored tracks




can you see 2 PPs





hey, we made sure that gate was closed behind us


more later.....

[M1Jeep]

Awww man! Good times! That sand sure sucked up rear tires that day!

[NSFW]

back to the rr.

tres caballeros me ayudaron muchas veces


zack and eric right behind me


the straight tire track is from lior, the rest are ours...hahaha


some sections are hard packed and smooth



zack likes to pick the harder line



better believe it, this is the mojave river



lots of deep sand, could not take pics once i get moving, but sometime i have to stop when i see good photo op.....sorry zack









once you stop, the sand will eat you



those small bikes just float on the surface



not me but just like me.........hahaha

[bigtodd]

What a great weekend to be riding in the desert. The previous rains made the conditions ideal and as we found out at the Avi, we weren't the only ones thinking that. Cool temps, compacted sand, no dust ... AWESOMESAUCE!

Most of the boys decided to stay in Barstow Friday night but I was good with leaving the beach Satruday morning and a leisurely 2 hour drive. Left at 5:30 and pulled into the Ihop parking lot a little before 7:30. We were rolling a little after 8:00; My 525, Joel's 540, Lior's 530, John's 690, Eric's 500 (brand new) and some crazy guy on a GS.

Lior led a fantastic route and knows the trails very well. Figured we could do a shameless plug for Lior's Motors



Out in the distance there are a bunch of riders coming



And here they are



We rode several parts of the Mojave River, Joel riding the deep sand so fast the image is blurry



One of two water crossings in Afton Canyon, Joel making it look easy





The most prominent site of Afton



Johny and Zach making their way up



Here goes Joel





Good place to take a break





We saw this a lot ... maybe we can get Joel a lower seat



On the way out of Afton someone suggested a game of race the train ... no takers



Quick stop in Baker for gas and food. One of these bikes is out of place ... and no, that is not my red GS



Heading out of Baker on the edge of the dry lake



Quick rest at the flag pole a little ways out of Baker. Here is my "little girls" bike



There is a cool little frog party out there



After lots of sand we tackled the first techie hill climb



I am standing behind Joel and pointing that the left side is better, or maybe the right side. Looks like both lines make it



The other side of this valley is our destination



At the Avi, Lior had arranged VIP parking for us. It was a good thing too, the bike corral in the main parking lot was completely full.



Sunday morning Zach decided he had had enough sand and rode the GS home on pavement. John and Eric had to get back OC early and left ahead of us. Me, Joel and Lior headed out with Larry (GalacticGS) who joined us Sat night.

at the Piute look out where Larry split off and headed for Vegas





Joel hauling ass down one of the sand tracks in the Mojave Reserve



We were getting a little bored so Joel decided to break off his rear fender to prove he was an engineer. Using duct tape and bailing wire he proved anything can be fixed if you are properly trained and prepared.



Repair holding up at top speed.





We ended up catching up with John and Eric and Joel rode into Baker with them while Lior and I rode out the long whoop section and then back down the sand wash to the dry lake where we hooked up again.

Lior and I headed back out to the sand while the others slabbed back to Barstow. Here Lior is telling me about his 40 years of wandering in the desert ... wait wrong Israeli story



Back in Barstow, Joel is very happy to be back in his truck



After 2 days of riding on that tiny little seat, my 12 year old chevy truck never felt so luxurious driving home.

The End

[NSFW]

very nice todd.....and lots of me and ME....

[NSFW]

lior took us to one of his favorite spots.

damn, i just noticed there's a big crack on the rock above us..ersin's akrapovics will break that loose



the next governator of california.....



crossing the mighty mojave river for the 3rd time






we skipped the dry lake bed assuming it's going to be muddy, which later we learned it was. jumped on the highway at rasor rd. then to baker.

can you spot the biggest thermometer in the world



obligatory gas price pic



quick lunch at subway...not bad.

[Buster714]

...enjoying the RR's guys.

Tear it up big man!


See you guys in DV.

[NSFW]

Originally Posted by Buster714

...enjoying the RR's guys.


See you guys in DV.

buster, we'll see you in less than 2 weeks. people are getting excited to ride and win some giveaways especially those from solomotoparts



back to the rr.

after getting a quick lunch at baker, we headed to kelbaker rd and to the first trail on the right


though the map says it's a road, it's more like a trail or jeep track. we stopped at the flag and looked around


john writing a note for others to read




todd appears making love to his exc...hahaha


story says there were only 2 frogs and they just multiplied


a big toad wants to join the clan


we were running late and decided NOT to take the shorter 8-mile of whoops. powerline road is longer but easier the big bikes.






top of the hill. i crashed on the way up. someone has pics for sure





heading down towards avi




just passed the rockiest section of the ride


avi is just right at that end of the road


we made it


time to check in


time to get some needed nutritions


gotta celebrate

[browneye]

That's a hardcore ride guys.

[NSFW]

Originally Posted by browneye

That's a hardcore ride guys.

after doing over 100 miles of sand...think i'm starting to get comfortable, until i had my last crash...

sunday morning...bye avi


got up before 7, had breakfast in the casino, gassed up (next to the casino) and by 9 we're riding. jnyrav and eric left an hour earlier to get home sooner. zach, i don't blame him, took the highway on his gs1200.

long and straight. may sounds boring...not quite. lior and larry



the 2 guys were gone in less than 60 seconds



halfway thru, still long and but looks fun at the top



lior took us to the piute trailhead; good single track but it will take us further north. here's where larry split with the group.



interesting fence


these cacti are leaning left as if reaching out for us. my right handguard hit one of them and the outcome wasn't good


since it was a 2-track, i was riding pretty close to the edge of the trail



a branch reached out for me, hit the handguard, me and the bike did a 180 and then i got ejected. good thing i was wearing armor and a neck brace.



rear fender broke off from the impact but nothing i can't fix....hahaha



lots of whoops and sand so i have to take it easy. here we made it to the flat section and the repair held up


before this picture was taken, we caught up with john and eric. glad to see them since lior and todd were determined to take the 8 mile uphill ride on whoops and switchbacks. i didn't think the duct tape will hold on my bike so i joined the 2 PPs.



when we got to the rendevouz point....lior and todd already had their break and waiting for us


we all road together up to here, again the 2 PPs want to do afton while the 3 of us opted to take the highway. fuel was the issue.



eric ran out of gas and i have to give some of mine


can't really go far with the stock gas tank. maybe if you stick a gallon of gas in your backback.



all 5 of us eventually made it to baker pretty much at the same time. jnyrav and eric went home, while the 3 of us went greek gone mad


lior was saying how good the food was


yes it was



we're about to leave, these wemmming got out of the ferrari and wanted to have a pic with the big guy...wohoooooooo.


long 2 days for me, but we had fun, saw new places, crashed a little bit here and there, but at the end....IT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE!

[UpST8]

AWESOME REPORT JOEL!!! You have a gift with storytellin

[M1Jeep]

Good job, Joel! Mark your calendar...April 20.

[rruugger]

Nice you guys. Looks like it was fun. Joel how fast were you going when you got off your scooter?

[slogger]

Awesome RR! Wet dirt on the Mojave Trail!
Loved the pic's and story.

Personally, the powerline instead of the "8 Miles of Whoops" has always been my choice. That a fun section IMO.

Keep it up!