Glamis 2001

I left Plantersville, TX at 5:02 AM on 1-21-01(Sunday). It's cold and very dark. At 10:00 AM, my tranny burps out some fluid and gives me a scare. Stop, check everything and take it easy for a while. My oil pressure gauge pegs at 100 PSI after hitting a bump. About 12:30 I removed my tarp from the Pilot as it was flapping in the wind and removing paint at a rapid rate. Dull plastic is also a side affect of a tarp...I leave a rest stop in a hurry because some spooky guys are asking for money and drugs.

1-22-01- 1:00- ATV Racing in Phoenix, AZ. I now understand their customer service problems fully. There are at least 6 guys running around in the back working on various bikes, in and out of the cramped office/storage area. All the phones lines were ringing constantly and a seemingly endless stream of customers/buddies are milling around. I have no idea how anything gets done there at all with all the activity. If they were in a bigger location and more organized, maybe things would be a little better. Anyway, met Peason(?) from the ASA and chatted with him. He showed me the new ATVR/Sand Limo Tazcar. Cool sand car, would break in an instant in the dirt though. I sat in it and my head stuck above the rollcage(I'm 6') but they assured me the new models had more head room. Comfy seats and lots of suspension travel made this very wide dune machine look fun, just not what I would want for $24K+. I got to see some Drakarts up close and now I really want one! Yummy! I checked out Neil's old stadium racer and various other LT Pilots.

3:00- Find the Chevy dealer to service my tranny and oil pressure gauge. There is a Motel 6 across the street and I get some much needed sleep.

1-23-01 The Chevy is feeling much better now and so do I. Off to Glamis! Of course, my luck(always bad) prevails and I run real low on gas on a stretch of desolate highway on the way to Blythe. Somehow I did not pay attention to the sigh that said no services for 60 miles. 31 miles later I look at my gas gauge and discover it is almost time to start walking. Luckily I pull into a rest stop and evaluate the situation. Panhandling for gas is very difficult it seems as no-one will even make eye contact with you(what is this, New York City?). So i give up and look at draining the gas from the Pilot. Out with the wrench, funnel, gas can and profanitys. Honda designed the Pilot gas tank to hold fuel and occasionally drain it out, not catch it with any degree of talent and put it into a Chevy pickup. I got more gas on the ground than my gas can and even more down my shirt sleeve! I manage to get a few gallons into the truck and fuming mad and smelling like gas I head down the road. THE NEXT EXIT, 1 MILE AWAY, HAS A TRUCK STOP! GRRRRRR!!! The local headlines will read"Crazy tourist from Texas burns down local highway sign for lying". Fill up the tank and an extra gas can and I'm off. 3:00 Glamis Beach Store, gas is $2.70 a gallon(bend over, no kiss, no Vaseline, with a running start!) I of course, have only a few gallons and really, really want to ride. So, I grab my ankles and buy some pricey gas and off I go to the camp. 4:00 I find Gecko Rd. and Roadrunner campground and pull in with a big smile. It quickly turns to a frown when I realize I am stuck in the sand 5 feet from the pavement(Thanks guys for not telling me about this!) GRRRRRR! Unhook the trailer, unload the truck, jack up the truck, set it down on my ramps, drive out the truck, leave the trailer where it is for now. Go for a short ride: YEEEEEHAAAAAA! My jetting appears really good, perfect tan color(for now) I drag the trailer out and set up camp for the night.

1-24-01 BDR, VJB, and DunePilot show up. PilotMike calls and is sick(wimp!). We unload and go riding. DP flips doing wheelies(cheaters, all have racks). The dunes are huge and riding is fast and very fun. The boundaries are very poorly marked and not very straight. I shred a brand new belt but otherwise no problems.

1-25-01 More riding. Vince gives us the tour of the dunes and words can't describe this place. The wind is picking up and a storm is blowing in. BDR's 350 is starting to have problems(more on this later). DP, VJB, and I go for a very fast ride when the wind is howling. Very cool. The wind was blowing sand up the dunes and our tracks disappeared instantly! We railed one razorback that had a "pipeline" of sand whirling around. It was amazing. We flew through it at mach 5 with sand twirling completely around us. The wind really picked up and it started to get very dark very fast so we zipped back to camp to hide in VJB's RV for dinner.

1-26-01 Rick and his wife Jo-Ann arrived late the night before and joined us for more riding. We did our good deed for the day by going out to the poorly marked boundaries and driving in 90 more stakes and fixed the ones blown over. I had my new pipe from Marv at 4x4 Tuff sent to the hotel and installed it. Of course the jetting was way lean then and I had to borrow jets from VJB. VJB packed up and left so Rick(Madman) took over the job as leader out in the sand. The 350 was slipping the clutch and not ever revving up right so it needed some attention. I rode BDR's ailing 350 out of the dunes(no power) and he rode the comfy Pilot. I thought we would never get him out of that super seat! On closer examination(a few beers later) we discover his little problem: He had been lubing the clutch with Comet clutch lube...and the clutch face...and the belt....no easy fix for all that!

1-27-01 CombatBob joined up with us and rode in the dunes(flashing light and siren included!). We all had a blast and took off for Pair-A-Dice(burger joint). What normally takes 1 hour took us 2 because we shredded 3 belts on the way. We make it home (brrrr) and settle in to a campfire.

1-28-01 Everyone packed up and took off except Bob and I. I led us through the dunes. We had a ball. The crowd at Olds hill kinda scattered when he sounded his siren and light :-) We explored and found the flagpole, a wrecked bike and the big steel boxes(range finders), all without using the GPS. We even found some Milk Vetch in the open area. Great last ride with jumps and carving up the giant bowls. We both packed up and Bob headed to El Centro(lucky guy) and me off to LA. Let me just say that LA sucks and it can break off the continent and fall into the water and explode as far as I am concerned! I find a hotel and get some rest.

1-29-01 Dunepilot and I met up with Marv from 4x4x Tuff for lunch and discussed Pilot performance and such. Really great guy. He even swapped out my new belt that failed early. Dunepilot and I invaded a local go-kart/arcade/lazertag place for some fun and excitement.

1-30-01 I drive down the coast to San Diego hoping to race that weekend. After 2 months of calling SFX/PACE/Money grubbing Bastards, they decide they don't want to do a stadium race and act like jerks on the phone. Anyway, I am in San Diego so I go to SeaWorld! After my 2 complimentary beers at the Bud Hospitality center, it's off to "Beer School" for more beer "samples". I actually learned a lot: Sea World is a lot more fun after 6 beers! After waddling around like a crippled walrus for a few hours, it's off to El Centro. Of course I have to stop off at one of the many casinos and make my non-tax-deductible donation to one of Americas fine Indian Reservations(when will I learn?). I pull into Buttercup campground at dawn and see more boarder patrol agents then duners...

1-31-01 I wake up a few hours later to see a border patrol truck 100 yards away. I pull out my binoculars to check him out and he is watching me with his binos! I look the other way and there is another about 100 yards away looking at me too! My best judgement gets the best off me and I wave instead of mooning them both. Oh well, next time. Off I go to Phoenix.

 ATVR- I chat with Paul(about the only sane guy there) and learn of a nice 16 mile loop by his house. I get directions and off I go to play in the desert. Very fast track and very fun. The Pilot went sideways more than straight! I did foul a plug due to bad jetting still and somehow I got a speck of sand (don't know where that could have come from?!) in the carb and stuck the slide at full throttle. As fun as that was for a few seconds, I feathered the power with the killswitch and made it back to the truck for some repairs. More fun, fun, and more fun. Paul shows up(his house after all...) and we chat about Pilots, racing, and good stuff like that. He is a really good guy to invite a stranger(strange customer?) into his house. Off to the Hotel 6 and bedtime.

2-1-01 Back to ATVR for an alignment(gotta get some turn plates and caster/camber gauge!) and a few various parts. I'm off to the Arizona Renaissance Faire (Apache Junction)to meet up with some buddies and see the show(my line of work). I got settled in and go for a hike in the mountains. The ONE time I don't bring my camera, I find a spot where the water comes out of the side of the mountain into beautiful waterfalls and is surrounded with Indian petrographs. Damn. Too far to go back for it.

2-2-01 I find a great riding area 5 minutes from the Faire on state trust land(read: BLM). Lot's of wide open spots as well as jumps and trails. Fun place.

2-3-01 I see the AZ Fair and have a ball. Off to dinner and back to Hotel Chevy.

2-4-01 On the way home, I see 50 buggies within 30 mins so I have to stop and ask. A local guy says that there are roads everywhere and that all land is open unless specifically closed. I wish Texas was like that :-( He tells me of dunes "a few" miles down some gravel road. 60 mph on gravel with a truck and trailer makes for some fun 6 wheel drifts! 25 miles later I find The Hot Springs Sand Dunes. This place's name is misleading. There are hot springs(well one actually) but there are no dunes. There is sand, rocks and desert plants but no real dunes. There is one big hill of sand. Fun place though. I was not impressed with the locals. Same morons, different state. The majority of the riders had no helmets on and were drinking as much beer as they could. Oh well, just like Little Sahara but more dust. Anyway, enough of the irresponsible morons who drink and ride with no helmets and let their kids do the same and ride 4-5 people on one quad and don't have whips.... I rode for a few hours and enjoy a warm soak in one of the spring fed hot tubs. Off I go towards home.

2-05-01 I-10 sucks! There is nothing between El Paso and San Antonio, nothing. After driving for way too long, I get home around 6:30 PM. I have driven 3783 miles in the past two weeks by myself. I am exhausted but very, very happy!