March Madness - n00bs Rally, 2018

[SFMCjohn]

... Kamp KLR ...

... where I try to set up in the Lower Springs ...

... so I'd planned to spend three nights here,
and had three days of perfect weather, but on
Wednesday the wind kicked up to 30 mph steady with
40 mph gusts ... I gave the poor tent some help in the
form of cargo nets and straps to the nearby trees and to
the KLR which I put into place as a windbreak ...

... decided to spend a fourth night in the hopes
that Friday would see less wind ...

... that plan worked to perfection, and after around
24 hours the wind blew itself out ...

 

[SFMCjohn]

... on Friday, 3/23, started to make my way to the n00bs Rally
in Panamint Springs ... view from Saline Valley Road ...

... cactus along the way ...

... I don't remember ever seeing this before, but on my
way down to Panamint Springs I saw a ton of people set up
in lawn chairs along the edge of Rainbow Canyon ... I pulled into
the Father Crowley Overlook to ask if they were waiting for a parade
to go by ... turns out they sort of were ...

[YOUTUBE]cHpmmgrMmEQ[/YOUTUBE]

... they told me Rainbow Canyon is one of only
two places in the world where you can routinely watch
fighter jets flying below you in a canyon ... arty

... the guy in the pic at the top, who I asked what they
were waiting to see, had traveled all the way from
England to watch the fighter jets that day ...

... he was fun because he could tell me what
I was looking at ... my pics show a
Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor ...

 

[SFMCjohn]

... finally got to Panamint Springs ... the n00bs Rally
is an ADVrider.com event that has been going on for
about twelve years ... over 200 of my closest internet
motorcycle friends ...

... the drawing for the door prizes ... over $15k in donated
dual-sport schwag, with the money raised from ticket sales
going to charity ...

... rally master NSFW (Joel) who gets credit for
herding ADV cats for twelve seasons ...

... Joel gets famous rally racer and riding instructor
Jimmy Lewis to put on a clinic on Saturday evening ...
the hour or so he spent talking and demonstrating
"balance" and "traction" was worth whatever I paid
for the weekend ... guess it was a bit over $100 for
three good catered dinners and three nights camping ...

 

[SFMCjohn]

... got to go for a ride with two wheel tramp and tag3 on
Saturday ... awesome fun!

... tag3 almost won the prize for the oldest bike at
the rally with his '88 Trans Alp, but got nipped by someone
with an '87 XR650L, booo!

... the DR six-fiddy racebike and the dish-rag KLR ...

… nice views to the east from Aguereberry Point …

 

[SFMCjohn]

... soon enough it was time to pack up
and begin to make my way back to
Lower Haight ... hit the road in
the AM with TWT and tag3 ... TWT straffed
Hwy 178 and the hapless GS and 1290 riders
that got in her way ...

... she left me in the dust
but made up for it by leading us to an
aWeSoMe diner in Lake Isabella where we
had breakfast with pretty champion barrel racers
and local cowboys ...

... we said our goodbyes as the rain in the
forecast failed to appear ... I headed off
for a last night camping at Carrizo ...

... found my way back to my favorite spot on
Hurricane Ridge ...

... this was the coldest night I spent as the wind picked up ...

arty

 

[SFMCjohn]

... made my way home safe on Monday doing three hundred
miles in eight hours up Bitterwater and Peachtree ...

... lessons learned: n00bs Rally is awesome; always show up
when WoodsChick makes a reservation at Benton Hot Springs,
always listen to Eric about whether you should continue to follow
him instead of bailing, and always remember that TWT is
always right ...

see you around
the campfire,
— SFMCjohn

 

[two wheel tramp]

I'm always right?

Hell yeah!!!

And sorry about 178. The bike and I had a magical moment and we just needed to go fast. It was so good.

That diner in lake Isabella is called Nelda's. Their milkshakes are stellar.

 

[Eric B]

Great pictures John!

 

[bikewanker]

common

I'm always right?

Hell yeah!!!

And sorry about 178. The bike and I had a magical moment and we just needed to go fast. It was so good.

That diner in lake Isabella is called Nelda's. Their milkshakes are stellar.

You're magical moments are becoming quite common

 

[Cabrito]

John, awesome report! Thanks man!

 

[two wheel tramp]

You're magical moments are becoming quite common

Hey now...


.

 

[m0t0_ryder]

...... lessons learned: n00bs Rally is awesome; always show up
when WoodsChick makes a reservation at Benton Hot Springs,
always listen to Eric about whether you should continue to follow
him instead of bailing, and always remember that TWT is
always right ...

see you around
the campfire,
— SFMCjohn

Most excellent summation!

Nice photo's and ride-along. Thanks for sharing.
Was nice seeing ya at n00bs.
I think we did meet at a campfire one morning.
I had a great time there but could use more hot springs time!

 

[SFMCjohn]

I'm always right?

Hell yeah!!!

Great pictures John!

John, awesome report! Thanks man!

... thanks for reading and posting Eric and Michael!
... this was my poor substitute for BARF Baja this season ... arty

Most excellent summation!

Nice photo's and ride-along. Thanks for sharing.
Was nice seeing ya at n00bs.
I think we did meet at a campfire one morning.
I had a great time there but could use more hot springs time!

Thanks, John, great hanging out
with you in Panamint Springs ...
we may have another couple of
chances for more campfire time this year ...

... here's a rough map of my 12-day route
with a zoom-in map link ... google sez it's 989 miles ...

... Tehachapi Pass/Walker Pass is the pretty standard route for
riding an adventure bike to Death Valley/Benton Hot Springs from San Francisco
in the winter months ... the first day of spring fell on 3/20/18
this year, while I was in Saline Valley ... arty

 

[budman]

WELL DONE John!

 

[tag3]

Hey John, good to ride with you!

 

[SFMCjohn]

WELL DONE John!

Thanks, Bud, and thanks for reading
and posting!

Hey John, good to ride with you!

Hey Trey!

... great to finally have a chance
to ride with you ... thanks for hanging
with me over Walker Pass!

... hope you and two wheel tramp have
ridden out of the rain today on your way to WARPED ...

... keep your feet dry!

On the way down [to the 2018 n00bs Rally] from the Bay Area I tried to drown two wheel tramp in [the ford just before Clear Creek on Coalinga-Los Gatos road heading south].

Soooo close to getting it done. Drat, foiled again. Oh well, another wet boots trip for me.

I did not get a pic of the bike in the water cause I really wanted to get it out and not have to do an oil change on the side of the road. But I did get a pic of a truck crossing the river so you can get an idea of the mayhem I put her through on the rides she tries to kill me on.

There was a build up of sand/mud about 2 foot tall just on this side of the rear bumper of the truck that the mighty DR just couldn’t plow through. Soooo close!! I was just glad that the bike fell over with the bars facing upstream and neither of them went down river in the current.

... back to March Madness, I've never seen
so much water in that ford!

 

[two wheel tramp]

Yeah. I never knew the other sport in dual sporting was swimming.

I got rained on from SF to tres pinos. Then it was clear all day. Currently sequestered in my tent as I listen to the rain.

 

[SFMCjohn]

Yeah. I never knew the other sport in dual sporting was swimming.

... think dual-sport-swimming
is a tag3 thing ...

I got rained on from SF to tres pinos. Then it was clear all day. Currently sequestered in my tent as I listen to the rain.

... it’s the Western Adventure Rider Party and Endurance Drinking Rally ...
aren’t you
supposed to be drinking? arty

 

[two wheel tramp]

Oh, I've been drinking. arty

Tag3 is next year's rally master.

 

[SFMCjohn]

Oh, I've been drinking. arty

Tag3 is next year's rally master.

arty

... that’ll give me some incentive
to finally show up for WARPED!

... I suspect Tag3 is a secret hippie ...
... will the theme be “hippie” WARPED ...?
I need another purple t-shirt ...