Yesterday we started out by Deep Creek and were going to ride to Big Bear on a big loop. Well, my son misread the map and after a brutal day of riding we came up to what the map said was 24" singletrack. I think they were being kind. We got only a mile or two into this section and had to turn back. I was dead tired by now and we had to retrace our route back. Wow, what a day. Is there a loop that is posted somewhere that I could download? It's been a looong time since I've been this tired and sore but what a memorable ride. We went hard for 7+ hours and when we pulled up to the trailer my son realized he had lost the keys. We had only jerseys on and the moutains were getting hit with a thick marine layer that dropped the temps really quickly.

So we called AAA and almost 3 hours later the locksmith shows up and proceeds to break my ignition. So by 11 pm we are now driving home in my truck which I can't shut off or it'll lock up. (have to remove the battery cable). So in the morning I take it in to the dealer and pay another 700 dollars for a repair that wasn't necessary in the first place but man, what a ride!

Now back to a loop. Is it possible to loop something like this in the area?
The stuff we did yesterday was the most technical riding I've done to date on the ATV. I did get bucked off a few times but I'm learning and getting better.

 

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sanbernardin...d_bigpines.pdf

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sanbernardin...actusflats.pdf

Any way you can give us an idea of where you were on these maps???? Sounds like you ended up at 2W01 going to Devil's Hole. Nice try, but that is dirt bike only singletrack! Don't get caught back there on a quad. The dirt bikers are already ****ed at us for widening the other trails. You start widening that one, and you may not live to tell the story!

Another mistake folks often make is 1W17! The nasty part of 3N34 between Deep Creek and Crab Flats, can be a real challenge as well. I only do these on a 4X4 Rancher.

One note about your title. I know folks use the term "Big Bear" as generic for the San Bernardino Mountains, but there is actually not any riding in the immediate Big Bear area that is green sticker legal! Folks head out to the Big Bear area all the time, and come back disapointed becasue they didn't check it out first.

We are headed for the Sierras on Friday!!!

 

Started from Deep Creek then took 1n17 to Big Pine Flat. Some serious riding here but more was to come....

From there on to 3N14 to White mountain. Somewhere along here we met some guys on KTM's who asked if we were going up what they had just came down. I told them we were and the one on the big bike asked if we knew what we were in for. I told him we didn't and he said "good luck" you're going to need it. I asked him if he thought we could make it and he said he didn't think so. So we decided to see how far we could get. Later on in the evening I wished he had been right. But we made it.

Then we got a little break riding 3N59, believe me I needed it about this time. We got to the poles/pipes and rode on in to 2W01. First couple miles of this was really sweet but then we got to the real thin section. We finally got stopped here and a moto guy comesw up and told us we'd never make it by ourselves as there would be way to much porting the bikes through some stuff and the trail is non-existint in some areas and he didn't see how a quad could get through. We were blocking the trail and he was kind enough to help us turn around. So here's where we ended and then turned around and rode back. Kind of a bummer we were only a few miles from where we started but now had to go all that way back. Now looking at the map I can't believe how close we were.

By no means did I mean to infringe on a trail we weren't suppoed to be on and I had no idea the moto guys would get upset with us using this section of the trail. We didn't go out with that intention. But like I said my son misread the map and we felt we were doing nothing wrong riding there. That would be an awesome quad loop though.

Sierra's huh? Lucky dawg. Wish I could join you. Hope you have a good time.

 

When I began riding back there, the 3-wheelers had already widened it some. You didn't see many quads in the early days....and there were some unfriendly encounters with irate dirt bikes! I always managed to avoid a fight. Now, even the Rhinos sneak in. That one piece of 2W01 is the last section of sacred singletrack left, so I stay way clear of it!!!

How are the new tires doing????

I will try to post some Sierra pictures. They got snow above 7,500' last weekend, and we will be over 10,000' most of the time, so should be interesting!

 

Tires have proven to be a big help. We were both running to much pressure but now we are good and climbing is way better. My son managed to flat (front) at about the worse possible time but he rode all the way back . Then on the way back his muffler broke off. I tried to tell him he was going to ruin that quad trying to keep up with me but he wouldn't listen.

I did manage to get bucked off a few times. Hopefully I learned a little out there this last time.

Looking foward to the pictures. I had a blast years ago riding a 3 wheeler in the snow. I'm not quite sure how a quad would do. What kind of trails will you be riding? What quads are you taking?

 

Mostly we go to the Sierra for the spectacular scenery! Much of the riding is pretty tame fire roads, with the occasional technical section and a few deep stream crossings. Not much that you could call "trail" riding.

Sport quads and dirt bikes do pretty well, but we prefer to ride the Ranchers for high ground clearance and just in case there is snow. The kids ride the 250EX's, which are based on the utility Recon. They are shaft drive so they have high ground clearance, and will do anything any 2wd utility will do better, seeing that they are 50 pounds lighter (some pretty remarkable stuff sometimes!).

Miller Canyon catches a lot of snow in winter, so if you want to try some snow riding, that is a great place. Best to have 4wd, however. We have a blast up there. The little Ranchers are excellent snow machines, and when the snow is a yard deep, I get up the trail just as far as the big bore IRS machines can!

 

Disaster stirkes! I was loading up to head for the Sierras, and caught my knee (I was in shorts) on the footpeg of a dirt bike. Ripped a nice big gash, and I spent the evening in the emergency room getting stitched up. I don't think I tore any tendons, but the joint is very painful internally, so something is going on in there.

So, we stayed home and I won't be riding anything for a couple of weeks......

 

recon whats up..........................!

hey mountain biker lets meet up with recon and ride ride and ride.........................

in the sb mountains.