We were back at it on Monday morning. We had a 2 ½-hour drive across the 8 East and we headed to Glamis. About three weeks ago I got a phone call from Shasta, the VP of Girlyz, with an invite to go out to the sand dunes and do some riding. I couldn’t believe it! I’ve seen pictures and videos of this place, but now I was going to have a chance to go out there a bust some sand berms.
As we were heading out the 115 north we could see the dunes from a distance. If you could have seen the smiles on our faces! When we finally pulled in Cudby, Ping, Andy Bakken, Shasta, and Cam we were already out playing in the dunes. The only thing left to ride, besides Bad Billy’s bike, were two quads. I’m not a big quad fan, but who cares? We were at Glamis, and I knew we could ride the bikes later. We quickly got dressed and headed out to hit some bowl turns. When we got out there, the only thing you could see was one dune after another, just miles and miles of bowl turns and sand. It was going to be a blast!
Eventually, everyone came back. Those guys were so pumped, and the bench racing started up immediately. I think I was more excited about listening to the stories then going out there and riding myself. Even Jules and Alisa got to ride the quads around the camp. After drinking a couple bottles of water, we headed down to Oldsmobile Hill. You should have seen this hill; it must have been over three football fields high. I jumped on the Kawasaki KX250F and went play riding for a while to get used to the bike and the sand. I was riding in and out of the bowl turns and hitting some of the smaller hills. I’ve never ridden in the sand like that, but it didn’t take long to get used to it. After I rode for about 15 minutes, I was ready to go up Oldsmobile Hill. I started off in first and just started grabbing gears. About a quarter of the way up, it was like you were hitting whoops, and then it started to smooth out. I down shifted to third and held it wide open. I made it the top and it was the most amazing sight I have ever seen. You could see everything. It was like another world up there. As I stopped, I looked over to my right and Ping and Bakken were doing these huge jumps, and Simon had the camera out for Racer X Films. After watching them for a bit, I went back down the hill to give Weege a chance to do some riding himself.
I started telling everyone about the view, and all of a sudden this guy comes flying past us in sand buggy all done up in the General Lee colors. This thing was badass! Shasta flagged the guy down to see if he would give us a ride, and the guy said, “Of course, get in!” First, Weege and Alisa got in the buggy, and when they came back, all you could hear were cheers! Now it was Billy, Jules, and my turn to go for a ride. We got buckled up and the guy started the General Lee up and he immediately just started hammering on it. He had a little track set up and were jumping through the bushes, and then he took a right and we headed up the Oldsmobile Hill in the buggy. The guy was WFO and we were just holding on. About three-quarters of the way up, he took a quick left and went back down the hill. He said the speedometer read 65, but it felt like a 150. That had to be the best adrenaline rush I’ve ever had in my life.
After being in awe from all that, we headed back to the camp. We had to get back because we had to head to San Diego to catch the red-eye home. We got back to the rental car place about 8:30 and unloaded our bags and jumped on the bus to the airport. After going through security, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and got on the plane. We had to go through Charlotte for a layover, then we headed up to Pittsburgh. When we got off the plane this morning it was 4 degrees. I went from 72 degree weather to 4 degrees in seven hours. I have never really been a big fan of California, but after the 12 days that I’ve had out there, it’s starting to grow on me.
Well, that’s the end of Fubar on the Road. It’s been a fun twelve days, but it’s time to get back to work. See you at the races.
As we were heading out the 115 north we could see the dunes from a distance. If you could have seen the smiles on our faces! When we finally pulled in Cudby, Ping, Andy Bakken, Shasta, and Cam we were already out playing in the dunes. The only thing left to ride, besides Bad Billy’s bike, were two quads. I’m not a big quad fan, but who cares? We were at Glamis, and I knew we could ride the bikes later. We quickly got dressed and headed out to hit some bowl turns. When we got out there, the only thing you could see was one dune after another, just miles and miles of bowl turns and sand. It was going to be a blast!
Eventually, everyone came back. Those guys were so pumped, and the bench racing started up immediately. I think I was more excited about listening to the stories then going out there and riding myself. Even Jules and Alisa got to ride the quads around the camp. After drinking a couple bottles of water, we headed down to Oldsmobile Hill. You should have seen this hill; it must have been over three football fields high. I jumped on the Kawasaki KX250F and went play riding for a while to get used to the bike and the sand. I was riding in and out of the bowl turns and hitting some of the smaller hills. I’ve never ridden in the sand like that, but it didn’t take long to get used to it. After I rode for about 15 minutes, I was ready to go up Oldsmobile Hill. I started off in first and just started grabbing gears. About a quarter of the way up, it was like you were hitting whoops, and then it started to smooth out. I down shifted to third and held it wide open. I made it the top and it was the most amazing sight I have ever seen. You could see everything. It was like another world up there. As I stopped, I looked over to my right and Ping and Bakken were doing these huge jumps, and Simon had the camera out for Racer X Films. After watching them for a bit, I went back down the hill to give Weege a chance to do some riding himself.
I started telling everyone about the view, and all of a sudden this guy comes flying past us in sand buggy all done up in the General Lee colors. This thing was badass! Shasta flagged the guy down to see if he would give us a ride, and the guy said, “Of course, get in!” First, Weege and Alisa got in the buggy, and when they came back, all you could hear were cheers! Now it was Billy, Jules, and my turn to go for a ride. We got buckled up and the guy started the General Lee up and he immediately just started hammering on it. He had a little track set up and were jumping through the bushes, and then he took a right and we headed up the Oldsmobile Hill in the buggy. The guy was WFO and we were just holding on. About three-quarters of the way up, he took a quick left and went back down the hill. He said the speedometer read 65, but it felt like a 150. That had to be the best adrenaline rush I’ve ever had in my life.
After being in awe from all that, we headed back to the camp. We had to get back because we had to head to San Diego to catch the red-eye home. We got back to the rental car place about 8:30 and unloaded our bags and jumped on the bus to the airport. After going through security, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and got on the plane. We had to go through Charlotte for a layover, then we headed up to Pittsburgh. When we got off the plane this morning it was 4 degrees. I went from 72 degree weather to 4 degrees in seven hours. I have never really been a big fan of California, but after the 12 days that I’ve had out there, it’s starting to grow on me.
Well, that’s the end of Fubar on the Road. It’s been a fun twelve days, but it’s time to get back to work. See you at the races.
