Had a great couple of days of riding out in Ocotillo. I made it a solo trip but I'm finding out that moto-folks are good people and was stoked to make two new friends within five minutes of pulling up. Josh and Claudia were on a five day tour of the desert and surrounding countryside, they invited me to camp right next to them (they had one of the few wind sheltered spots- the wind was CRANKING) and we shared beers and firewood.
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| Josh- charging! |
The best part? Josh took me on a couple nice long tours, showing me some cool spots and taking me through some twisty, banked, slot canyons. I saw spots I didn't even knew existed and I got to try terrain I didn't think I was capable of riding. Josh is one of those kind of riders who doesn't need to brag or boast, he lets his riding speak for him- and believe me, the guy rips. Josh rides sand banks like a surfer, drawing big lines and throwing down some sweet carves. He even convinced me to give it a try and I learned that, like in surfing, if you're going to do it, you've got to commit. That means twist that throttle and lean back- I didn't quite master it but I can see where I wanna go. And that just means more moto trips out to the desert... stoked!
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| Top of the ridge looking out towards Split Canyon Road. Yeah, I did need a little ride assistance (translation: I pussed out on one of the hills and had Josh ride my bike down it) down one of the hills- but we don't need to tell anybody about that right? |
I also pushed myself to complete a little excursion I'd read about and have been wanting to do for awhile now. The trip would be from Ocotillo out to the Scissors Crossing back onto S2 and down to Blair Valley. I'd read about the Blair Valley trail in an offroad book I bought. The eleven mile loop is supposed to be super scenic and there are sites to see along the way. The one I really wanted to check out were the Native American pictographs in the valley. The only think stopping me was about fifty miles of highway that I'd have to ride to get to Blair Valley. I'm not that experienced with fast moving traffic and I have zero experience riding through twisty (well kind of twisty- for me anyway) canyon roads. I was a little nervous about it but I wanted to push my limits and grow a little as a rider so I charged it. I was stoked I did. Check out what I saw:
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| The desert was beautiful- still wondering where all the wild flowers are out there. I'm talking about the big, open fields of desert wildflowers- any hints for me people? |
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| I had to walk a mile in full moto gear but this is what was at the end of the trail. See the pictographs? |
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| One more pic of Josh sand shralping! |
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