It's very dangerous... it's very fun.

I'm all over the place now on my new-to-me Triumph Bonneville. I blast up and down the beach, ramble all over downtown San Diego and have even crossed the Coronado Bridge a couple of times. The thing gets close to forty miles per gallon so for eight or ten bucks, I can cruise for a few hours. Here's a couple more shots of my new girlfriend: 

2007 Standard Triumph Bonneville, $4700, 12k miles on the odometer- one smooth runner!

This is where it's at- the open road! I'm just learning about riding curvy roads, taking it slow and being as careful as possible. Fun stuff.

Dirt for dirt... street for street- oh my!

I'll save you the long story- check out my new road bike. Picked it up to cruise around town- damn she's a looker!

2007 Triumph Bonneville

Desert Riding and Exploring!

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.

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!

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:

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?

I had to walk a mile in full moto gear but this is what was at the end of the trail. See the pictographs?

One more pic of Josh sand shralping!

More riding shots from Logansdale trails, Nevada

Super fun place to camp and ride:

This is the road into camp. As you veer to the right, the canyon gets really steep. Lot's of folks pull toyhaulers into the canyon and find sweet little camp spots in there.

The rides continue: Otay Mountain, Corral Canyon and Logansdale Trails... Wow!

Just got back from a couple of super fun rides. Check 'em out:

So cool that this spot is only minutes out my front door. Matt W. showing me the way and checking it all out. This is a ride that my local moto buddies do almost every Friday. It's kind of a tradition to hop on the bikes, ride surface streets to the beginning of the trail and then moto up to the summit.  Top of the world on Moto Friday- with a couple cold beers waiting at the truck down below. 

Off to explore Corral Canyon but what a bummer... flat front tire! Well, might as well learn how to replace an inner tube- so we used the trailer as a bike stand and got busy changing it out. 

It's not too hard... but I've got to invest in some tire irons and get a little repair pack together. And practice on all the different bikes we're on- if this happens way out in the bush in Baja, I've got to be prepared to do it myself.

The trouble was worth it- Corral Canyon is a fun place to ride. Since I'm a beginner, I liked the easy perimeter road. We didn't get to ride the whole length of the road, I'm excited to get back out there and do the whole thing. It's an hour from my doorstep to the trail at Corral Canyon- that makes it an easy day trip for me. Stoked!

Another shot from the Corral Canyon perimeter road- beautiful back country out there.

Just got back from this trip: Logansdale Trails outside of Las Vegas, Nevada... insanely beautiful, red rocks with fun moto-trails all through them.

Red dirt, red rocks, blue sky.

It's the kind of place that makes you feel really small.

Big Changes, Big Rides... just Big.

Okay, so as predicted by various readers and friends, I did the unthinkable and moved up to a larger bike. This, unashamedly, was predicated by the purchase by my younger brother of an insanely rad KTM 400 EXC. If any of you have younger siblings, you know that you CANNOT be upstaged by them, especially if we're all meeting up for a ride in the desert. I do love the TW200 and will keep it around as my town cruiser/grocery getter/back-up bike but, let's face it, when you're 210lbs you kind of look like the big clown on the little bike. And, really, I didn't want to hear the heckle fest that would undoubtedly rain down on me when we got together. 

So, I scored a great deal on a 2006, Suzuki DRZ 400s with only 1300 miles on it (the story of this purchase will be told in a future post- it's a good one!). Best part? I only paid $2600 for it- the thing is practically new! No, it's not hot. It was just purchased by a guy who barely used it. Standard story: Guy bought it to ride with friends, did a couple rides, friends don't ride as much, so he just let it sit around... until Mom demanded he get it the hell out of the house. YES, a motivated buyer, me with a cash offer well below his asking price (and no shame when it comes to wheeling and dealing), a Mom demanding the bike be gone... perfect! Here's a couple shots of the new ride: 

My new bike! 2006 DRZ 400s

At first, I was worried about how big the bike was- it looked giant next to my little TW200. It only took one ride for me to fall in love with it. I putted it around the neighborhood and got used to the extra power of the bike and then took her right out to Ocotillo Wells to see how riding this beast would feel. Guess what? The bike is unreal. Specifically, I like the extra suspension travel and the solid, down the line feel of the bike. Right off the bat, I was able to cruise the deep sand washes at more than twice the speed I was going on the TW200. 

The bike is heavier which I think helps its stability in the sand. The power enabled me to putt up hills that I had to gun it on with the TW and for some reason, it just inspires confidence. I really like the bike. There were a couple issues I had to deal with to get her up to speed (I'll discuss later) the biggest issue being the removal of the Kouba lowering link the previous owner had installed. Check back for more of that story and some pics from a couple great rides on the new bike.

Moto envy?

Dang it. Just when I thought I was cool my little brother one ups me! He went out and bought a 2004 KTM 400 Exc... and from everything I've read, this is the bike I should have. It's got the power without the head snap twitchiness- it's built like a tank and... damn, it just looks bad ass! I'm hiding the check book because I see my future... and it's looking kinda orange.