4 Days of December ADV riding in the deserts

4 Days of December / ADV Riding in the Desert

Decided to do a December ADV ride and discover parts of NV.

The plan was to ride over the Sierras via 108 but the snow did us in and 80 was "iffy". We decided to ride to Barstow and enjoy the desert hills as we work our way into Nevada.

I purchased my bike a year ago. Ive taken it to Carrizo and also did a camping trip to DVNP. This next trip was a little more tame with no camping.

Prepping the bike was easy. It's definitely not my first trip. So it was basically just repeat with a few bike tweaks.

I have already eaten through two sets of TKC80's and needed something with longevity. Shinko 804/805 was my answer. I also added a USB charger plug to the bike.

I posted up the ride on my MeetUp (.com) page and soon we had three riders.

The three of us on big bikes were all competent and prepared for this "adventure" getaway.

Leon was on his air-cooled BMW GS. Richard rode his 2016 KTM 1290 Adventure and I rode my 2017 KTM 1090R Adventure.

We met in Livermore at the Vasco *$$'s. The conditions were wet and cold. Should be nice

On this Thursday morning, the traffic was moderately heavy until we got on "The 5". From there on we booked it at around 75-80mph.

Ive ridden with Leon several times before. But I just met Richard. I was pleased that he had decent riding skills and was competent enough to maintain speeds and split traffic when necessary.

We agreed to stop at Harris Ranch for lunch. We all enjoy a good meal and nice accommodations. This was going to be a comfortable ADV trip.

As we continued the ride, it progressively got colder as we entered into the Tehachapi mountains. As you may know, the Grapevine was closed due to snow. As we snaked our way east on Hwy 58 we were met with a massive traffic jam.

Try to picture this scene. The two lanes eastbound were completely stopped due to a massive traffic jam because of the weather. It was raining and the temp reading on my bikes display indicated 38°F. It was so cold!

Not only was it a traffic jam but most of the traffic, at least 80% was 18 wheelers. I'm not kidding. It was absolutely frightening to split lanes between these monsters. They were pretty cool about it and there was always a gap so that we could get through. It's almost as if they CB radioed up ahead to let everyone know we were coming through.

We split lanes for about 15 miles up towards the summit then back down. We were fortunate that it was not quite cold enough for the snow to stick on the highway. Yet I was quite pleased to know that I had traction control and ABS if necessary. The elevation was approximately 4000'.

I obviously have no photographs of this and I wish I did. But it's implanted into my mind forever. It was truly frightening.

We made it to Kramer Junction. But we lost Richard. Somewhere on Hwy 58, he was fighting traffic on the single lane backup of Hwy 58 towards Barstow.

It was dark and raining and cold. Leon and I rode the shoulder for 5+ solid miles after fueling up at Boron. I felt bad but there was no way I was going to sit in that trucker traffic jam.

I texted Richard the motel info and Leon and I took off towards Barstow. When we arrived at the Super 8, Richard pulled up behind us. Perfect timing!

Ha - we were there last weekend trucking our dual sports to Ridgecrest. Tehachapi is always iffy.

Glad you made and look forward to more of your ride report!

Patiently waiting for more!


WoodsChick

Tired and wet were my friends. Fortunately, for the first time in my riding career (30 years) I arrived dry. It was an amazing feeling.

I got to thank the water repellant solution that I got from Scuderia West. I saturated my 'stich with it. And my new Forma ADV boots and Dainese gloves worked perfectly.

We decided to get some food and ended up at a local steakhouse on the other side of the Barstow train yard.

The next morning was going to be filled with offroad riding. The weather was forecast to be clear and cold.

I found out if you use a TKC80 in the front and a Shinko 805 in the rear they were about the same rates. =) TKC80 front is a pretty good desert tire also!

Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to the rest of the story!

You guys are burly adventurers..

1962siia said:

Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to the rest of the story!

Click to expand...

On the way.....

Cabrito said:

You guys are burly adventurers..

Click to expand...

Uh..... no. Not quite.

Slept really well that night but made the mistake of leaving on the room heater. I felt so dried out.

The plan was to leave Barstow at 9:00 a.m.. We were going to check out the train station and snap some shots then hit the trails shortly after that.

We had breakfast at a small local spot on the other side of the train tracks. Pretty good place for a Mexican breakfast. We were then on our way.

But 1st we rode into an open space just to get prepared for the dirt. Richards bike, the 1290 Adventure was on 17" wheels. He didn't have any dirt experience so why not introduce him now.

It turned out that Leon buried his BMW and I took a dump in the sand. In the meantime, Richard looked on wondering why he was the only one not having issues.

Leon's rear wheel had dug in pretty deep. He wasn't getting out. We laid it on its side and dragged it out of the hole. When we stood it back up the bike would not start.

After repeated attempts, the battery was about to die. With 2 guys pushing and myself pulling the BMW with a strap across my body, a 150 yards later we started working on the BMW.

We added some fuel and hooked up the battery jump box. The BMW fires up and we're off. Off the the Calico Mountain Range.

Cafe Racer said:

But 1st we rode into an open space just to get prepared for the dirt. Richards bike, the 1290 Adventure was on 17" wheels. He didn't have any dirt experience so why not introduce him now.

It turned out that Leon buried his BMW and I took a dump in the sand. In the meantime, Richard looked on wondering why he was the only one not having issues.

Click to expand...

Looking forward to the rest of the ride report!

It wasn't long until we found a trail that looked promising. Leon gave Richard some words of caution and encouragement.

It was in the high 50's° at appx 11am. We wanted to make it to Tonopah, NV for the night. But time was scarce.

Awesome Miguel!

Living!!

Dang I'm jelly!

Cafe Racer said:

Slept really well that night but made the mistake of leaving on the room heater. I felt so dried out.

Click to expand...

Wait, your motel room was too toasty?
Cabrito was right...you guys really are burly adventurers!

Just kidding, CR! I'm enjoying the story! And I'm cheering on the dirt noob rolling on 17's arty



WC

Getting into the trails was such a liberating feeling. With my big KTM and a full tank of fuel.... I love that feeling.

Unfortunately... and it was bound to happen, Richard's luck ran out. He found out was happens when your front wheel washes out in deep sand.

He hit a large rock on the side of the road which took him down fairly hard. The bike survived. He survived. Situations realized.

The same happened to me, coming in too hot. It was at this point I realized that the aired down Shinkos were still not that great.

We worked our way along the backside of Calico and finally took a needed break at the ghost town. It was here that we realized that we wouldn't be able to do everything that we wanted to do that day.

Destination changed to Las Vegas.

Day 2 ends.

Oof...I would not want to be a dirt noob on such a big bike, especially on 17's!
I hope Richard weathered it with some humor!



WoodsChick

WoodsChick said:

Oof...I would not want to be a dirt noob on such a big bike, especially on 17's!
I hope Richard weathered it with some humor!

WoodsChick

Click to expand...

Yeah, 30+ years of riding experience with 1 day of dirt. It's a tough learning curve if you know what I mean.

He took it well. It wasn't his only incident.

Cafe Racer said:

Yeah, 30+ years of riding experience with 1 day of dirt. It's a tough learning curve if you know what I mean.

He took it well. It wasn't his only incident.

Click to expand...

Uh-oh

I do know what you mean about a tough learning curve. I'm a big fan of having a solid set of dirt skills before venturing into the world of Adventure riding on the big bikes. It just makes everything easier. They throw you down hard and take no prisoners!

I also can relate to the feeling of liberation and freedom when the wheels reach the dirt! I thrive on it, and wish I was doing more of it!

What was your destination before switching to Las Vegas?



WC