The next leg of the trip, which was the catalyst for the trip in the first place, was to meet some former fellow motorcycling coworkers at an off-highway vehicle recreation area between San Diego and the Salton Sea. Leaving Las Vegas in the afternoon I headed across some of the more desolate sections of the country. Nevertheless the views were nice along the way. Sections of Rt. 95 were interesting single lane in each direction and filled with woop-dee-doos, basically the DOT just laid pavement over the existing dirt rather than trying to grade it at all.
As I got closer to the Salton Sea it got warmer and warmer. As I went around the northwest side of the lake I realized that I was below sea level! I guess I never looked, but the whole lake is below sea level and drying up. Though I guess there wasn’t a lake there until a mistake by the Army Corps of Engineers accidentally diverted irrigation water there.
I met up with Scott and Wyatt at Scott’s trailer, all the moto toys already deployed. This would be our base camp for two nights. Ocotillo Wells SVRA is a unique spot. I can see why it was made into an off-road recreation area, it is basically a giant litter box. There’s almost no vegetation for miles around, just a few bushes here and there. The area is diverse as well, there’s ridge riding, washes to explore, whoops, banked turns, hill climbs, fine sand dunes, and more.
Friday morning the three of us headed out for a ride near camp while we waited for John to arrive. This was a good and varied ride, however it was really technical with sharp turns deep sand, and ridges. I dropped the bike a few times, but nothing at speed. Scott and Wyatt were waaaay quicker than me, even Wyatt being on a little 100cc bike. The only minor (we think?) injury of the weekend happened a little while before we went back to camp for lunch. Wyatt just got a little out of wack in a banked turn that lead into some whoops and went down. We think it is only some bruising, but it kept him more mellow for the remainder of the day.
Unfortunately we hit a stretch of a few days that was really hot. While the humidity wasn’t there, it was into the mid-upper 90’s and sunny. While moving this was OK on the bikes, but still made for some sweaty rides and lots of water along with us.
John arrived with his 125cc bike and headed out with us in the afternoon. We explored an airplane graveyard and some of the other areas in the park.
Saturday only John, Scott and I rode and we explored some of the farther reaches of the zone. Sand is a constant on almost every surface in Ocotillo Wells. Sometimes it is soft and deep and other times not as much. Our ride definitely got me more comfortable with sand trying to keep up with them. John and I also did some laps on a find sand dune hill. This actually turned out to be easier than I expected. Keep the speed up and weight back and the bike stays on top.
Saturday afternoon we all headed to Oceanside to meet up with the remainder of our old group, Anand and Wooyoung, for dinner. A great time was had by all catching up on how everyone’s job search is going. Most of the group had accepted offers!
Sunday I headed to San Diego to see the Lockway clan again, but this time in their native surroundings. A trip to the beach, Maine lobstah rolls, Owen’s first gym climbing day, and other fun stuff!
