alfalfa

3 hours ago, Pedro said:

I just love that smooth wide open dirt road, how can one resist not open it on somewhere like that?

Where exactly is that, and do you have speed limits on dirtroads there?

Southern California, place called Carrizo Plain.  It parallels the San Andreas Fault (earthquake fault for y'all that dont have em).  Speed limit?   Hmmm, i dont believe so.  I've never seen an officer of the law on this 20+ mile road, so i would say you're good.  Plus, amurica, ya know.  we dont follow too many rules.

 

Seriously, most true dirt roads arent marked with speed limits.  They just leave it up to something happening and then citing you for unsafe speed, which could be 5 mph (in Bruce's case)

Topic specific forums (i.e. motorcycles) will always attract a majority of like-minded people.  Couple that with the fact that most riders are pretty good people, Bruce excepted, and you have a much more enjoyable place to hang out.  Unfortunately, that also hampers the amount of different discussion that takes place on FB.  Maybe if the forum software was configured to display conversations similar to how FB does it, it might be more inviting.  On FB, you only have to load the app and you are hit with every single conversation the algorithms can throw at  you.  I liken it to my restaurant experiences with the club i ride with - everyone is talking at the same time so the noise level is high.  Forums like this are more like polite, mature conversation where you listen before speaking.  well, mostly.

 

6 hours ago, XTreme said:

Fantastic shots Rick.......looks like great weather!

thx.  kinda "Spanish" weather.  You usually cant go wrong riding in the Mohave Desert or Death Valley

1 hour ago, boboneleg said:

Fantastic, it's good to see somebody getting out and doing normal things

we usually dont get accused of being "normal" 

Well, elections, closed restaurants, winter (what passes for winter in Southern California), made it time to get the heck out of Kommiefornia.  Nevada was a little more "open", so it was off to Pahrump for the weekend.  The destination was never really the important thing, it was about the ride.  Isnt it always?

The route was based on the twistiest roads we could find between here and there (Pahrump).   In the middle of the desert, on old Hwy 66 - the Mother Road, you find the remnants of a roadside motel.  These always bring back memories of my youth, as i was an Air Force brat and we travelled a lot in the 60s and 70s.

 

Also in the middle of the desert, was Kelso Junction.  Once a busting railway station, back when train travel was more popular.  I would love it if the railways had special cars that you could drive your bike or car on and travel longer distances before hopping off.  Of course, only when vacation time is short.

 

Pahrump was nice, great food and drink.  But, it was just a stop and nothing special was planned there.  Plus, the brothels are still closed....

 

The return route took us through Death Valley:

Dante's View

 

 

 

Well, in all fairness, they do have to haul fuel a long distance to get here.

 

After Death Valley, we headed out thru Trona and Randsburg.  There just happened to be a peaceful demonstration going on, so we were able to get food in Kommiefornia.

 

 

 

Saturday's lunch was at a little farmer's market in 29 Palms.

Did a pic in honor of Neil Peart

Had a great first weekend in December.............

really good pics.  in spite of the bike

 

My "son" (long story, but a good one) said he wanted to see the Baja1000.  Something i've always wanted to see, too.  So, we arranged for a third buddy (fluent in spanish and baja) and headed off last Thursday evening.  Checked the gummit websites to see if borders were closed (they were), but have had several riding friends crossing over and back.  I guess dirt riding in Baja IS an essential activity.

Got a great BNB in Ensenada ("son" is a non-rider, so we drove) and spent all day at Osos Negros, on Hwy 3, watching the bikes, quads, trucks, beetles and what not.  Came back to Ensenada saturday afternoon to an excellent dinner at Sano's Restaurant, before crashing into bed around 5:30 pm.  Not really lightweights, but due to scheduling errors, we had been up since Thursday morning.

Saturday was a day off (see scheduling errors) so we hit La Bufadora and then Coyote Cals for lunch.  Crossed the border into the newnited states of amurica sunday morning, after a 2 hr border wait, but we got to hang with several trophy trucks in line.

Great time and an eye opener for the kid, as it was with me several years ago.

 

Baja sunrises are epic!

 

 

 

Poor planning left us at the section where there was a 35 mph speed limit!

 

But, we got great, clear shots of the racers

 

 

Great apartment in Ensenada, on a hill overlooking the harbor.  $65/night which is crazy cheap considering hotel costs in the USA.

 

Asada fries and freshly made guacamole

 

 

Best thing about Baja is that there really are few rules, and even fewer traffic police.  This trophy truck was driving thru town, on the way back to its shop.  The co-driver was asleep, which was quite an accomplishment, considering how loud the truck was.   Instant ticket on several counts in "civilized" USA

 

 

 

You pay your $75 fee and you can race what ya brung.

 

 

 

La Bufadora - the blowhole!

Love the "we arent responsible for people who dont follow the rules".  Obviously, Baja has way too few lawyers for their own good

 

 

Well known with the dirty crowd

 

Turtle had no name.  Guess that is ok as it probably wouldnt come if you called it.  Well, it wouldnt come right away.

 

 

Damnd straight, skippy!

hmmmm.  this is where Bruce finally rides Flames??

really good shots.  one of which reminds me of Jalama beach, near me.  great destination, at the end of a road.

On 22/10/2020 at 23:43, Pedro said:

you know my weaknesses  

Loving these tours of the ruins/abandoned!!

The R9T has that great DOHC motor.  A friend has one and takes it to track days.  Once we tightened up the rear shock, he started flying!.

 

loving the look of the bumblebee!!

beautiful country!!

 

On 29/09/2020 at 11:33, yen_powell said:

This is all Most Excellent!

yes, it was!   I'm learning to love the desert, after visiting Death Valley every year with our club.  Something about the desolation, that really isnt.

yep, heavy bike.  Especially noticeable when pulling it up from the sidestand. Weight is down low, tho, so it doesnt bother me when in motion. And, that torque!!  dang!  accelerates like a much lighter bike right up to about 90 mph, then flattens out.  Not that you'd want to spend much time at that speed, given the lack of a windscreen and fairings.  Love looking out over the single gauge, headlight and wide bars

 

Track day in the Mojave - Streets of Willow.

Motorcycles keep you young!!

On 22/09/2020 at 20:40, Lone Amigo said:

Quick!

Somebody post a guard.
Don't let Alfalfa see this thread.

 

the voices, they keep speaking to me.  you all are just pushers and the BMW lineup is my drug!

 

(thank dog i keep forgetting to go look at Ducatis!)

jeez!  what a bunch of codgers!  I only have slight pain in my right shoulder. Course, Bruce will say i have an addled brain, based on my choice of bikes

well, guess i wont have to post an RR after all.  You just duplicated our Labor Day trip

 

On 16/09/2020 at 18:18, Earache said:

Awhile later , I came upon an crash that had just happened. Dunno what happened but one adult was trapped in the side by side, one got out and three kids all had head trauma and bloody heads. No helmets on any of them. It looked like it fell from above or rolled a few times - not sure which. Side by side was fucked up!

I raced down the hill as fast as I could and luckily found a Sheriff's Deputy and sent him up the hill to help. Hope they're doing okay....

oh, shit!  you were there for that?  made the news and my brother had sent me a link to the article.  will have to tell him of your involvement!

maybe i should have washed it.

 

 

naw