I just returned from two days riding in the desert with Daryl Folks' Trac-On Tours. It was technical. It was fun. For someone not used to miles of sand washes, mountain goat trails & desert terrain it was, well, exciting. In the winter when riding is limited here you can head out there for as much riding as you can tolerate. Steep downhills on ridges over broken rock into deep sand in washes with boulders and then immediately out facing sheer rock walls and then steep up hills and then repeating that is the technical part. Open desert single and two track in deep sand and rocks was the "easy" part. Well, only if you were in the top of 3rd gear or higher. And if you could avoid hitting rock walls on some of the canyon trails. I rode it on a KTM 200 XC-W and my friend Mark (also on Rideforum) was on a KTM 300 XC-W. The experience was intense. Daryl asked me how old I was at the end. "80." "Impossible!" he said. " No one that age could ride these mountain trails." Well, yes we can. Mark & I would like to return! You might want to put desert racing on your bucket list. Daryl's careful attention to bike maintenance and concern for his riders is as good as it gets. You would be in good hands. You would be on your own getting over the incredible obstacles that makes desert racing as challenging as it is. It is far tougher than our hare scrambles & is decidedly not a dual sport ride. That is, it is fantastic.
Winter riding? Head to Nevada!
Stu