Trail Rides Day only : trailride@vcmc.info

The 2020 riding season is over. I want to thank all of you who participated in the 5 rides we were able to execute in the past year in spite of the Covid virus and the California wild fires. We only had to end up canceling 1 ride.

Next year we plan to have 7 rides, the 6 from last year and finally the China Lake ride will be back for sure.

The last ride of the year, LA B-V is in the can. I am sure there are lots of new riding goodies on everyone's Christmas list, probably even some new bikes and I know you were all good boys so Santa's bag will be full of stuff for you!

What better way to break-in or test all that new stuff than at the Hi Desert 250? What better way to burn off all that Christmas feasting than riding the Hi Desert 250? You come back to your truck each night so you can make adjustments or switch to other options from your new bag of big boy toys.

Then after your new setup is proven, you are ready for either of the two Death Valley point-to-point rides.

Below is a short description of each 2021 ride along with a link to the flyer for each. If you go to DualSportWest and click the right column on a given ride, there are photos of past rides. I am working on a new version of this e-mail with a description of each ride using photos. Film at eleven.

Rooms are only blocked for the first 3 rides which are all out of Ridgecrest. They are blocked under "Dual Sport" at all motels and ready to reserve.

There is an Early Entry discount for all rides. Entry checks will be held until the week before each ride just in case the Covid virus forces a cancelation. Tracking refunds last year was Hell!

Rooms have not yet been blocked for the rides after these first 3, so do not try to make reservations until notified by future e-mail.

Hi Desert 250, Jan 30-31

This will be the 31st running of this Winter Desert Classic. I have ridden all the trails in the Ridgecrest area, it's a dirty job but I do it for you! I have then selected the best trails with the least Whoops and refined them into 5 great loops. You get to pick 1 loop to ride each day.

The loops range from Challenging old Enduro trails in the Spanglers to fun Jeep Roads and trails in the Rands to super scenic trails on ridges and gated Single Tracks in the El Pasos, to a trip to the historic Husky memorial, to a ride thru the popular Jawbone area. This ride is not suitable for Adv bikes.

We have a new option for beginners this year. It is an easy 1-day ride with full blown Roll Chart and GPS tracks to help beginners learn the art of Navigation without getting in over their heads. Tell a friend that you wouldn't want to take along on a full 2-day point-to point ride and let him learn the ropes.

NOTE: The last day for Early Entry Discount is Dec. 6

Death Valley Rally, Feb 20-22

This 3-Day classic usually runs on President's day weekend but because of Valentine's day, it will be a week later this year. This is a point to point ride for Adv bikes with many Dual Sport options, or pure Dual Sport version. Each day goes thru Death Valley, Ridgecrest to Pahrump, Pahrump to Beatty, & Beatty back to Ridgecrest. This year there is also a 4th day option with the additional overnight at Panamint Sprgs.

Day 1 you will ride thru the Pinnacles, over Manly Pass, up Gohler, past Stripped Butte, across lower Death Valley, out the Harry Wade road, gas in Shoshone, lunch in Tecopa, to the Date Ranch, thru the Smith Talk mine area and on to Pahrump.

Day 2 you will ride the secret Single Track thru a Wilderness corridor, over Dead Man Pass, past the Opera House, lunch at Longstreet, Over Secret Pass to Beatty. Then an optional 50 mi loop North of Beatty which can also be done the beginning of the 3rd day especially if you are doing the optional 4th day.

Day 3 is thru Rhyolite, then Chloride City or Titus or both, then Emigrant Pass & Wildrose to Ballarat, then over the Slate Range back to Ridgecrest.

NOTE: The last day for Early Entry Discount is Dec 27.

Death Valley 350, Mar 20-21

This is a 2-Day version of the 3-Day point to point ride above.

It follows the Day 1 route of the 3-Day ride all the way over to lower Death Valley but then turns North on West Side Rd to Furnace Creek for Lunch/Gas. Then it goes over Echo Canyon to rejoin Day 2 of the 3-Day ride in Amargosa Valley to the finish in Beatty. No optional loop out of Beatty, this is a long day with many riders finishing at Dark:30.

It then uses the same last day from Beatty back to Ridgecrest.

NOTE: the last day for Early Entry Discount is Jan 17

Topaz 400, July 17-18

This is another one of our multi-loop rides, this one is out of Topaz Lodge. Again there are many Adv or Dual Sport loops to choose from.

In the early years we ran it in October to take advantage of the fantastic fall colors. However the risk of snow in October is quite high so we moved it to early summer a few years ago. The snow doesn't usually melt on Mt Pat until the 4th of July. The next weekend is the "Death Ride" bicycle ride that closes several needed highways so this is the first practical weekend.

The Centerpiece of the area is 11,600 ft. Mt. Patterson known as "Mars with flowers". We have 3 Dual Sport loops (Long, Med, Short), all going over the summit. We do not advise the Long loop for first time Topaz riders, we get MANY quitters. Start with the Medium loop the first year. We also have 2 Adv loops (Long & Short) that ride around the mountain.

The next most popular loop is the Markleeville. This one has many miles of fine woods Single Track. You can ride all the way to Markleeville for lunch or cut it short to only 39 mi.

The Sonora Loop is available as either a Dual Sport or Adv version. They are both very scenic and the Dual Sport version has lots of dirt and some Single Track and Quad trails. They go Counter-Clockwise out over Ebbetts pass with lunch/gas at Connell and comes back over Sonora pass. However they can be ridden backwards for a different view. There is also a Carson loop that also goes out over Ebbetts with lunch/gas at Bear River Reservoir and comes back over Carson Pass.

Finally we have the very easy/short (145 mi) Smith Vly Adv loop. This is also a good beginner Dual Sport loop. It goes towards Mt Pat, then down Desert Creek to the Walker River then over Sunrise Pass and back to Markleeville for lunch/gas. Then over Monitor Pass back to Topaz.

Mammoth 300, Sept 18-19

This is another one of our multi-loop rides, this time out of Mammoth. There are many Dual Sport loops and 2 Adv loops to choose from. The Adv loops are great for first time DS riders, and experts on Adv bikes can ride the easier DS loops.

One of the more popular loops is up to Bodie and back. It is available either as a Dual Sport ride or an Adv bike ride. The Dual Sport loop goes up to 9,700 ft. Virginia Lake resort for lunch. Being right at the timber line, the views are fantastic.

The "Must Do" loop is the Mammoth Trails Loop. This loop uses every legal Single Track at Mammoth. You can ride the full blown all day version or a Short version or even the Mini version on Sunday to get started home early.

For just semi easy 2-track riding there is the long all day Squaw Tit loop and the shorter View loop with several side trips to great views making it an all day ride also.

The final option is the Benton Adv loop. It is all county roads so it is fast and easy but it does have some sand. It is also a great beginner Dual Sport loop. This loop heads back down to the edge of Bishop, then up Fish Slough, past several Pictographs, thru Chidago Canyon, and on to Benton for lunch/gas. After lunch it goes thru the mountains and back to Mammoth.

Lone Pine 300, Oct 23-24

This is another one of our daily loop rides, this time out of Lone Pine. It has been our most popular ride the last two years. This one has just two loops that everyone rides. However in order to reduce impact (dust) in the camping area in the Alabama hills we limit the North loop to only 60 riders each day. It is suitable for experienced riders on 650s.

The North Loop is 80 mi up to Big Pine for Lunch and 80 mi back. It features many Single Track trails in the Alabama hills.

The South Loop is 70 mi down to Panamint Springs for lunch/gas and 75 mi back or a shorter 100 mi version that lets you get started home earlier. The route is identical to after lunch on the 1st day and from Lone Pine to lunch on the 2nd day of the China Lake ride. Attractions are Cerro Gordo, the Salt Tram, and Darwin canyon.

China Lake 300, Nov 6-7

We have not done this ride since 2011 but there was lots of interest when we put it on the 2020 calendar but did not run it because of all the delays in the Mammoth ride. It will be on for sure in 2021.

It is another point to point ride from Ridgecrest to Lone Pine and back going around the China Lake Navel Weapons Base. It is a figure 8 that goes Counter-Clockwise around the Base up thru the Panamint Valley then crosses South of Owens Lake to go Clockwise around the lake to Lone Pine. The 2nd day, it continues clockwise around the lake back to Olancha then south along 395 to Ridgecrest.

The new route for 2021 combines the portion of my Panamint Valley Cabin loop going to Kopper King, Thompson, Minniata, Lookout City, & Osborn cabins plus going past the Panamint Valley Crater which was just discovered a few years ago. All on the way to Panamint Springs for lunch/gas. After lunch it takes the old toll road over the hill to Darwin wash to China Garden, Darwin again along the south side of Owens Lake past Dirty Sox hot sprg to Olancha and on to Lone Pine using the fantastic Single Track down to Lone Pine.

On Sunday the route goes up to the Salt Tram, thru Cerro Gordo, down the Belmont mine Single Track and around the lake to Olancha for lunch/gas. Then back around thru Cactus & McCloud flats to Coso Junction. Then along the RR grade and the Aqueduct back to Ridgecrest.