DOM Desert Riders

Why the title Trifecta? No, I haven't changed the subject matter of this blog from the D.O.M. to horse racing. It’s code for covering three topics in one post. I’d also like to point out that I’ve set a new record posting a subsequent part in a multi-part post. That brings me to topic #1: Thanksgiving.

Continuing my story from part two; I left off on Fri. 11-23-07 (the day after Thanksgiving), and how I spent the day towing Nina to Randsburg, and not actually getting there. I later found out that Kelly & Monica did successfully get to Randsburg – and back. Let me summarize the rest of the weekend quickly.

Saturday the club had a poker run, but Laura did not want to participate. Brady entered it, but rode with his friends Joey & Amanda. Nina and I entered it together, but didn’t complete it because Nina was too scared to drive up little hills. These little hills paled in comparison to the ones she had driven on the day before, but the psychological damage was already done. She was at a point where once on top of the little hill – she would not drive forward or allow me to tow her. I had to push her quad onto an adjacent paved road, walk back to get my quad, and we returned all the way to camp by driving on the shoulders of paved roads.

Later that evening was the big pot luck, followed by the raffle. It was very cold during the raffle. Lucky for us, we borrowed a small portable heater, but it was still cold. The next morning (Sun.), I joined Cole and Fred on a ride. We left about 7:00 a.m., and took a loop that started off towards the mine. I’ve taken this same loop with Kenny on an earlier visit to Charlie’s Place. It’s really a great ride, and there are so many interesting things to see. This time we found a spot where some mining was done, but none of us had ever seen it before.

When I returned to camp, I started packing up so we could return home. I wanted to leave before too much traffic built up, especially at the intersection of U.S. 395 and Hwy. 58 (also know as Kramer Junction). I succeeded in packing us up and we were on the road by 10:00 a.m. We had a great drive home (no blow-outs), and even stopped for lunch at Red Lobster in Victorville, where Laura’s sister Sara works.

Topic #2 is the D.O.M. New Years ride. We didn’t go, and all I know is that the location was changed from Ocotillo Wells to Rasor Road. This probably made it closer for many people to attend. I haven’t received the newsletter, so I don’t know what else to post about that ride.

Topic #3 is the D.O.M. January ride, which is going on right now even as I’m writing this post. No, I’m not writing it from Lucerne Valley; I’m sitting in my nice warm dinning room in La Habra. We didn’t go to this ride either. Brady and Nina had important events to participate in, and we had to skip this ride.

Now this is not meant as a criticism, and should any club member read this – I want to emphasize that I’m not criticizing the King & Queen. But, in the past the January ride has been scheduled for the 4th weekend of the month, as opposed to the 3rd weekend (as most D.O.M. rides are). The reason for this is that the New Years ride is too close to the 3rd weekend of January. So in order to put more than two weekend’s distance between rides – the January ride has always been scheduled on the 4th weekend. All that to say that if it was scheduled as it has traditionally has in the past, we could have attended.

It’s just my luck that this year it was scheduled for the 3rd weekend and we were busy. I make a point to say all of this because my birthday is on January 19th. I’ve never celebrated my birthday on a D.O.M. ride because the ride weekend and my birthday weekend are never one in the same. So as I said, it’s just my (bad) luck that the one time my birthday and a D.O.M. ride fall on the same weekend, I’m not available. The 19th was even on a Saturday this year. Oh well.

So that’s it – three topics, all related by the D.O.M. I don’t know when I’ll post again. I stopped posting on my Family blog, and I’ve also stopped leaving comments on people’s blogs that I had been reading. With all the things going on in my life right now, I probably will not attend a D.O.M. ride until the Annual in May. So until I post again and you stop by to read – so long.

Labels: Regular Season