Every morning it's a habit to wake up pour a cup of coffee and read the morning paper. I was sadden by the news of a death at the Sand Dunes. Riding season officially doesn't begin until October 31st. It is always sad to hear that someone dies, especially when it comes to Off road vehicles. The worse part about it is that alcohol was involved. The Yuma Daily Sun doesn't give a lot of information regarding the accident. I have seen it, time and time again. People come to ride the Imperial Sand Dunes without really knowing or having an understanding of the terrain. There is always wind at the Sand Dunes, therefore the face of the dunes ALWAYS change. What might be there today will not be there tomorrow. I travel back and forth through Imperial County on business meetings I always glance at the dunes while I am passing through. Each time I do so it is so much different than before. If you have never been to the sand dunes it's important to know that what goes up must come down and sometimes it is way too quickly. What might seem like a nice hill from one side might be a huge drop off on the other.
The Yuma Sun reported he came down about 45 feet. Some of the bowls out there are pretty steep and deep. Get to know the riding area before going full speed off a dune. Alcohol inhibits your ability to react to a situation quickly and think clearly. ALCOHOL AND OFF ROAD VEHICLES DO NOT MIX! Never operate a vehicle of any kind while intoxicated. I wish the family lots of confort in this hard time. Please be careful the sand dunes can be fun but also dangerous .
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
2009 Riding Season
Hello,
I know it's been a long time since I wrote. During summer there is not much riding you can do in Yuma Arizona. It is so hot it is hard to even go out to the car. This year we started riding as soon as a cold breeze hit us! If you know me than you know that I have a passion for riding dirt bikes. I have been riding since I was 5. (I was actually 3 but my brother didn't know I took his dirt bike for a little ride down the street.) I got my Honda 450 ready pack-up my family and headed for one of the best riding places about 2 hours away from Yuma, Arizona. I went to Ocotillo Wells. When camping I always think the more people the better! We invited my sister-in-law and her family, as much as we had planned and gone through our check list we forgot several things. About 5 miles after the last sand dunes we were stopped at a U. S. Border Patrol and the line for the stop was surprisingly not long. We had to stop about 3 times (4 times if you count the Border Patrol stop) just to get to Westmoreland. As we got closer to our destination I yearned to get on my dirt bike and just take off. We saw about a mile long stream of lights. It was another Border Patrol stop. It seemed the more I wanted to get there the longer it was going to take me. I could visually see the landscape, I could literally smell the burning race fuel. We waited what seemed forever to get passed the Border Patrol Station. As we approached the long awaited Holy Land of Dirt bikes, I realized that it was so dark we couldn't see the road to get to Holmes Camp. A couple of times we thought we saw it but in reality it was just our eagerness that got the best of us. Finally we got there! It was early enough in the riding season that we found a spot at the camp site. It was Columbus Day weekend and several people are live just minutes away from dirt bike paradise that there were only a few spots left. It seemed like we just parked and had that those dirt bikes out so fast just to take my dirt bike down gave me rush. I wish I could have gone for a ride but it was so late we couldn't go anywhere. So we just had a quick dinner and I couldn't really sleep just wishing it was daylight to go riding. I woke up and it seemed like I just jumped right in to my riding gear. I didn't even want to wait for anyone else to get ready, I took off with my son the first chance I got. I don't even remember if I kissed my wife goodbye. I took off with my girl, my Honda. At last I roamed free at Ocotillo, It seemed like an eternity to get there. There was so much to show everyone that had never been there before I was excited to jump off Shell Reef. That is the first jump I hit whenever I go riding there. I jumped off the top and I love that feeling like I'm flying through the air. I have been riding for over 30 years, and It took me a while to work up to that hill. As soon as I got down I was looking for my brother-in-law and saw everyone staring up at the hill. He had driving his Banshee all the way to the top! That trail is very narrow and I have never seen a quad jump off shell reef. I rushed to the top to help him find a way down. Then before I knew it, there he went. He made it down a ways until he hit a cliff, and there he went and the quad rolled down with him. By the time he got down I was trying to round up the group but he jetted out of there. None of us saw were he went. I took the group back to camp and took off to look for him. It seemed like we looked for hours. Mean while the women at camp worried about having enough fire, and enough ice to last us another day and most of all where my brother-in-law went. We looked what seemed for hours. We went back and fourth and all the area around the camp. About an hour later my sister-in-law got a call. He was 9 miles away from the camp! Somehow he ended up on Pole Rd. They found him with a big scrape on his knee, broken light, broken fenders and out of gas. Luckily he ran into someone who had a phone. I thought he might be bad enough where we would have to go home. I finally get to ride and now it's all over. :( He said he was fine so we continued to ride until it got dark so we did the next best thing other than ride. Spend time with my family. It was nice to sit around a campfire with a light jacket and just talk around the fire. I was bummed out about the accident there was so much of Ocotillo that we didn't get to see like The Pumpkin Patch, Blow Sand Hill, Devil's Slide, Barrels Springs, and The Gas Domes. I am happy to say we are fortunate to be able to go back a different day. I saw some dirt bike riders, quad riders, big and small, people with rails, Rhinos, and Razors. It was heaven. I was so happy I got to ride. I was kinda bummed we had to leave even though it is only 2 hours away owning Jet Rent makes it hard to get away. When I want to ride all my customers seem to agree it's the best time. I enjoy riding so much that I made it my business and wish others enjoy it also. As for my brother-in-law he is doing fine and so is his Banshee. We will make sure he has a GPS, extra water, and make sure he stays away from Shell Reef next time. I hope you all have a safe riding season!
I know it's been a long time since I wrote. During summer there is not much riding you can do in Yuma Arizona. It is so hot it is hard to even go out to the car. This year we started riding as soon as a cold breeze hit us! If you know me than you know that I have a passion for riding dirt bikes. I have been riding since I was 5. (I was actually 3 but my brother didn't know I took his dirt bike for a little ride down the street.) I got my Honda 450 ready pack-up my family and headed for one of the best riding places about 2 hours away from Yuma, Arizona. I went to Ocotillo Wells. When camping I always think the more people the better! We invited my sister-in-law and her family, as much as we had planned and gone through our check list we forgot several things. About 5 miles after the last sand dunes we were stopped at a U. S. Border Patrol and the line for the stop was surprisingly not long. We had to stop about 3 times (4 times if you count the Border Patrol stop) just to get to Westmoreland. As we got closer to our destination I yearned to get on my dirt bike and just take off. We saw about a mile long stream of lights. It was another Border Patrol stop. It seemed the more I wanted to get there the longer it was going to take me. I could visually see the landscape, I could literally smell the burning race fuel. We waited what seemed forever to get passed the Border Patrol Station. As we approached the long awaited Holy Land of Dirt bikes, I realized that it was so dark we couldn't see the road to get to Holmes Camp. A couple of times we thought we saw it but in reality it was just our eagerness that got the best of us. Finally we got there! It was early enough in the riding season that we found a spot at the camp site. It was Columbus Day weekend and several people are live just minutes away from dirt bike paradise that there were only a few spots left. It seemed like we just parked and had that those dirt bikes out so fast just to take my dirt bike down gave me rush. I wish I could have gone for a ride but it was so late we couldn't go anywhere. So we just had a quick dinner and I couldn't really sleep just wishing it was daylight to go riding. I woke up and it seemed like I just jumped right in to my riding gear. I didn't even want to wait for anyone else to get ready, I took off with my son the first chance I got. I don't even remember if I kissed my wife goodbye. I took off with my girl, my Honda. At last I roamed free at Ocotillo, It seemed like an eternity to get there. There was so much to show everyone that had never been there before I was excited to jump off Shell Reef. That is the first jump I hit whenever I go riding there. I jumped off the top and I love that feeling like I'm flying through the air. I have been riding for over 30 years, and It took me a while to work up to that hill. As soon as I got down I was looking for my brother-in-law and saw everyone staring up at the hill. He had driving his Banshee all the way to the top! That trail is very narrow and I have never seen a quad jump off shell reef. I rushed to the top to help him find a way down. Then before I knew it, there he went. He made it down a ways until he hit a cliff, and there he went and the quad rolled down with him. By the time he got down I was trying to round up the group but he jetted out of there. None of us saw were he went. I took the group back to camp and took off to look for him. It seemed like we looked for hours. Mean while the women at camp worried about having enough fire, and enough ice to last us another day and most of all where my brother-in-law went. We looked what seemed for hours. We went back and fourth and all the area around the camp. About an hour later my sister-in-law got a call. He was 9 miles away from the camp! Somehow he ended up on Pole Rd. They found him with a big scrape on his knee, broken light, broken fenders and out of gas. Luckily he ran into someone who had a phone. I thought he might be bad enough where we would have to go home. I finally get to ride and now it's all over. :( He said he was fine so we continued to ride until it got dark so we did the next best thing other than ride. Spend time with my family. It was nice to sit around a campfire with a light jacket and just talk around the fire. I was bummed out about the accident there was so much of Ocotillo that we didn't get to see like The Pumpkin Patch, Blow Sand Hill, Devil's Slide, Barrels Springs, and The Gas Domes. I am happy to say we are fortunate to be able to go back a different day. I saw some dirt bike riders, quad riders, big and small, people with rails, Rhinos, and Razors. It was heaven. I was so happy I got to ride. I was kinda bummed we had to leave even though it is only 2 hours away owning Jet Rent makes it hard to get away. When I want to ride all my customers seem to agree it's the best time. I enjoy riding so much that I made it my business and wish others enjoy it also. As for my brother-in-law he is doing fine and so is his Banshee. We will make sure he has a GPS, extra water, and make sure he stays away from Shell Reef next time. I hope you all have a safe riding season!
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