(In fact, if it weren’t for Pilon and the LAB2V, we’d probably still be riding dual-purpose motorcycles, which sounds about as fun as roast beets. In 1983 Jim Pilon (known as the Godfather of the LAB2V) and Ed Waldheim began discussing doing a dual-sport event alongside the competitive and road event. Although there was a Barstow to Vegas race allowed in 1983, the LAB2V, as we know it, began in 1984. Unfortunately, that number of riders bombing through the open desert caused extensive damage to the environment, and a 1975 environmental impact report caused the Bureau of Land Management to deny the event its permits, leading to roughly 10 years of unofficial rally skirmishes between riders, environmentalists, and the BLM. By 1974, the race had blossomed to 3,000 entrants plus their support crews and vehicles. The LA-Barstow to Vegas dual-sport ride shares DNA with an extremely popular Barstow to Vegas off-road race which started on Novemwith 617 riders in attendance. Veteran riders may scoff at that, but for riders new to the event – experienced or not – it’s a barrier to entry that the folks putting on the ride don’t seem to consider. It’s probably my biggest complaint about the entire shindig – there isn’t a reliable place to find information about the ride before it happens year to year. The websites are sorely out of date, the private Facebook group is difficult to parse reliable information from, and it seems the best source of information are write-ups, like these, from professional (ha!) publications. Ryan has similar issues with the lack of event information: If you’re not in the know as a veteran of the event, have friends or family that have ridden in it, or happen to work in the motorcycle industry with plenty of contacts who can fill you in, it’s really hard to find any information about the LA-Barstow to Vegas dual-sport ride. While it was initially pretty fun and flowy through the Calico Hills, it immediately turned into 25 miles of gross, deep sand, and quickly drained any previous confidence I had gained in the rocky sections. I tracked down the GPX files from the 2021 event and drove out to pre-run the first few hard sections. I managed to interrogate friends who had previously ridden the 2019-2021 LAB2V routes, which prompted various responses including “Never again, I hated it” and “Hope you like sand.” Most actually had some interesting tips for utilizing bailouts and easy versus hard route options throughout the two days of riding. No FAQ, no previous routes, no inkling as to what terrain a registered participant should expect to ride throughout the 2-day mostly off-road course. The website leads to a simple one-page littered with sponsor logos and a ‘Register!’ button. What I didn’t know at the time was that Friend of MO, Cait Maher, was preparing for a solo run on her Yamaha TW200.Ĭait’s struggle to find information about the event is similar to many prospective riders: A long series of trail rides and campfire conversations lead to submitting my registration for the 39th annual LA-Barstow-Vegas, the sleuthing preceding my registry was extensive – there is almost no information provided by either the LAB2V Board or District 37. Suddenly, I no longer felt I was the crazy one for attempting this ride. Rather than riding his personal KTM 500 EXC, he decided that nothing would do but a Ducati DesertX. While he didn’t surprise me by agreeing to ride the event, his choice of mount gave me pause. MO Touring: Building A Lightweight Adventure Tourer – Part 2įor this plan to work, though, I needed an accomplice, and I looked no further than Ryan Adams, who has witnessed quite a few of my off-road follies. MO Touring: Building A Lightweight Adventure Bike Achieving life goals is always good, but somehow the physically-challenging ones accomplished after the half-century mark are even sweeter. Still, with sore muscles from my arms all the way down to the arches of my feet, why did I spend most of my time grinning as I cranked out the miles? I’d finally participated in the LA-Barstow To Vegas Dual-Sport Ride, an event that had intrigued me for over 25 years, which is 23 years longer than I have been actively riding in the dirt. So, spending 220-ish miles flat in the saddle from Las Vegas, NV to Palmdale, CA, mostly on Interstate 15, is a platform for cataloging discomforts, and after riding approximately 360 miles, mostly off road over the two previous days, my aches-and-pains were legion. The bikes are merely street-legal dirt bikes without much accommodation for creature comfort. Let’s be honest, dual-sport motorcycles aren’t really designed for touring, despite my best efforts ( here and here). Photos by: Cait Maher, Evans Brasfield, Grumpy, and Ryan Adams
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