Day 28 :: ATV Overnighter

I left 30 degree weather in Minnesota two days ago. I slept in 20 degree weather in California last night.


Ah, but it was worth it.

Sean, Bobby, Robb and I left Simi Valley yesterday morning and headed north to Gorman, California. As we headed up Highway 5, through a section called 'The Grapevine,' we began to enter into 'winter zone.' The white stuff had made it's introduction to the area by laying down a light blanket across the landscape of hills and sage brush. Although I am fairly accustomed to a good snow fall from my time in Minnesota, this was quite different. There's something a bit more magical it seems when Old Man Winter lays a blanket of the fluffy stuff across a landscape that generally would be alien to that idea. It was quite a sight. And, a bit disconcerting... after all, this was going to be our recreation spot for the next 24 hours.

As it turned out, we were well prepared. We had all brought the proper attire, and experienced the upside to this weather... hardly any other recreationalists had chosen to brave the elements, allowing us plenty of space and little ATV traffic (not to mention the amazing vistas of dusted snow and snow covered hillsides).

Aside from the ATV action itself, it was fairly standard camping. We set up camp, Bobby and Sean got a roaring fire going, Robb made some great hamburgers, and we sat around and chatted. The few differences were that instead of a tent, we had a heated ATV trailer to sleep in, a movie to watch while we drifted off to sleep, and the highlight... Sean and Bobby's wives made the trek up to our camp for the afternoon, bringing with them a great lunch!

And that leaves the piece de la resistance (sp?)... the ATVs themselves. Actually, we had two ATVs and one dirt bike at our disposal (thanks Bobby). The rhythm of the afternoon would be a cycle of two or three of us going out at a time, coming back and rotating the drivers, allowing for everyone to have a turn or two. Selfishly, in retrospect, I think I ended up getting the lion's share, probably clocking more riding time than some, if not all, of the other three. Sorry guys. I'm selfish. I'm working through it.

With that said, I began on the 250hp ATV, working up to the 450hp ATV, and ultimately ending, this morning, on the 400hp dirt bike.
For such a short period of time, there's actually plenty of stories to be told, mostly involving rookie use of this equipment, but because I've already dragged this blog entry out longer than necessary, I'll focus on one short event:

When I go out on adventures such as this, I tend to set certai goals for myself. I had a soft goal of trying all three vehicles prior to the trip's end, but I was willing to let that one slide in the interest of time. Yet, as it turns out, I was able to complete it. The hard and fast goal, however, was that I wanted to 'accelerate over a jump.' That doesn't necessarily mean I wanted to jump... it just means I wanted to move 'quickly' over said jump. Well, goal attained. But, not without a bit of pain.

On that, I end this entry. Below is video of said experience.