Surfed out... on a moto!

I was just commenting to a friend how finishing a day of riding makes you feel all buzzed and tired like a good day of surfing. The two really fit together. Our two days of riding, cold beers around the campfire and sunrise moto rides out at Ocotillo Wells really put a smile on my face. It felt like a Baja surf trip. Here's some more shots of that trip:

Here's what it looks like when you come rolling into Ocotillo Wells. Your first stop should be at the Ranger Station. We came in around 8am and were greeted by the nicest, volunteer docents at the station. The woman I spoke to made sure I got a map for every bike in our group. The map is a must-have it shows you all the major roads in the park. I'd never been there before and was able to use the map to get out to some of the major spots. I was kind of blown away by the desert- it really is a beautiful place, especially if you're up early in the morning.

The Ramble Machine... locked, loaded and sporting my birthday gift to myself: a Thule Professional Grade awning (hugely discounted because the shop was just trying to get rid of the thing). The awning is perfect for the desert- the sun can be brutal. Check out the trailer, loaded with the two TW200s and the XT225. I also brought five extra gallons of gas that we didn't even need- these bikes sip gas!

Here we are on our "big" ride the second day: Off to the Pumpkin Patch. We had to ride up a sandy wash to get to the Pumpkin Patch trail- riding in sand is tough! I was stoked at the girls and how they handled the conditions. This was their first time on the bikes since we all took the Dirt Bike class together. The TW200s were fairly easy to ride in the sand, the XT225 was a bit more squirrely. Liza's bike is the XT and she was an awesome rider- she told me she didn't like the sand but she realized that it was part of the whole deal and was a skill she'd have to learn. What a rad chick. Dakotah powered her bike through the sand, the mud canyons and the rocks- dumping it twice but never complaining (even when her leg got caught under her back wheel which then ate a hole through her riding pants!) and overcoming whatever the road threw at her.

Liza's bike got tired halfway there and decided to lie down in the road (for your information, that's a common internet moto-guy joke, that whole "lie down thing" funny, eh?). We found out that when the bike lies down, the carb get's flooded. At first it kind of freaked us out when the bike wouldn't start- I mean we were really in the middle of nowhere- but I figured out how to start them once they stood back up and we were on our way.

We did make it to the Pumpkin Patch... check that place out- it's a trip!

Can you find the human in here?

Whipped out the map on the way back and decided to check out Shell Reef.

The road to Shell Reef was pretty solid and easy to ride.

Shell Reef was pretty impressive- there were moto trails that looked like they went vertical. We were there during the week so there weren't too many hot shots getting crazy- I'd like to see what the good guys can do here.

We cruised home with enough light for me to climb a couple little hills around the campground- they were enough to get me nervous but it was fun to push my boundaries a little and work on my skills. The bikes are pretty amazing- the TW just motors like a tractor up the hill, all I did was put it in first gear and stay on the throttle.

Coming home to camp after a great day of riding- can't wait to head back out again this weekend!