Category: Destination Spotlights

Super-Colo-Swagalistic-Sexy-Hella-Dopeness….

Thats right……friends!!! That’s my word for my home state !!!

The trails in my homestate are all of the above plus more. The Colorado high country is my backyard. Filled with epic scenery and Awesome wildlife. As of now… your still able to go ride on designated trails in State, National and BLM land for free. I mean we all pay for it through taxes and the OHV program, but it’s not a private park. There are still places to camp and ride and hardly see anyone else all wknd for free.I feel so lucky and blessed to have such a backyard that I’m compelled to help preserve it.Through actively participating in trail clean ups, trail volunteer maintenance work, opening and closing trails seasonally and picking up trash everytime we ride, I feel we still have a shot of passing these trails on to others in the future.The SxS Adventure Blog actively supports, donates to and helps sponsor the following programs:Tread Lightlyhttps://treadlightly.org/Stay The Trailhttps://staythetrail.org/Blue Ribbon Coalition https://www.sharetrails.org/Fresh Air Educatorshttps://www.freshaireducators.com/Trail Sourcehttps://www.trailsource.com/#Bureau Of Land Managementhttps://www.blm.gov/Colorado Parks And Wildlife https://cpw.state.co.us/US Forest Servicehttps://www.fs.fed.us/COTREXhttps://trails.colorado.gov/%20Colorado Off Highway Vehicle Coalitionhttps://cohvco.clubexpress.com/COREhttps://www.keeptrailsopen.com/

The Percentages %%

90% DRIVER – 10% MACHINE

Never have these words been more true than today!

Getting offroad is easier now than ever. No longer do you need to sink years of effort into modifying your rig; several SxS manufacturers will happily sell you a brand-new stock SxS that is more off-road capable than you’ll likely ever need.

Basically….. anyone can go offroad right from a dealers parking lot and be able to handle extreme trails right from the start. These vehicles are more equipped than my Yota was even after spending two years and a crap load of money building it specifically to handle anything our Colorado moutains had to offer.

With that being said….. manufacturers have made it possible for anyone to get out on the trail….thats the 10% part.

The 90% part you can’t really buy! And that in my opinion is the problem. I mean ………. let’s look at all the times you’ve seen someone broke down on the trail…..

I bet if you really think about what you’ve saw….. most of… if not all were issues caused by driver error.  I know a flat tire can happen at anytime and is a regular and expected trail hazard for all of us… But ….. in my opinion this is truly driver error because most of the time it’s preventable.

Picking lines to navigate through sharp rocks and or pokey objects is a prerequisite to being a good driver…. thinking about saving tires is a congeous choice…. especially if your not carrying a spare or a tire repair kit??? Or in my case… my apsolute laziness! Who really wants to fix a flat on the trail??? Id rather be riding and having a good time as I suspect the rest of you would want to do….but that dosent stop most of us from preparing for the eventuality that its going to happen.

Being stuck….. most of the time if I get stuck (mud,snow, high centered on object….etc) it was a choice I made as a driver to take that line or to hit that mud hole or to navigate that snow drift! And yes…as a driver my decision to do so is based on experience, and having the right gear to get out of a situation and knowing how to use that gear.

These are all the 90% driver things!  The machines are more than capable even lightly modified…its the driving part people don’t get! And it’s there attitude about the driving part that will continue to get them,and there machines into trouble.

Going Prepared isn’t just stuff you buy to help you in a situation! It’s also a mindset! You’ve got a winch that came with your machine…. does you no good if you don’t know how to use it!  Getting a flat on the trail is about 98% of the time not a big deal ( if you have a spare or tire repair kit/including compressor and tools)
to change or repair tire….

See what I’m saying??????
90% driver/10% machine!

When I was a young know it all….
I was involved with an offroad club.. There were very few of us young guys….(mostly because most could not afford or have the skill or knowledge to get into offroading)
Predominantly ruled by older dudes in Jeeps…. very rarely did these guys break down on the trail, very rarely did these guys get stuck…  

I was absolutely intrigued by watching, listening and executing there instructions on how to get out of, repair and get home from a trail ride. I owe everything I know about offroading  to my grandfather and these old dude’s….
Some of these lessons served me well in my everyday life even up to today thanks to a bunch of old dudes.

Happy Trails  …..

Go Prepared  …….

SxS Trail Riding

“What To Know When You Go”

There are just some things that don’t get enough discussion about but are extremely important out on a trail ride.

Ten things I see all the time out on the trail that if folks knew just a little bit more about …. would make there ride experience a lot better.

#1) Your SxS Is More Powerful Than You Are

Your foot on the throttle is more dangerous than any trail obstacle. Learn to use it wisely. My Grandfather always told me, it’s  90% driver and 10% machine.

#2) Getting Thirsty and Hungry

Packing food and water as a necessity instead of just “nice to have”. Make these two a priority. Staying hydrated and feeding your hunger can actually make you feel more energized, which will help you think more clearly if you have issues come up.

#3) Social Stigma

Avoid all of the social stigma. Yes this may sound super ridiculous but it’s a valid reality. Avoiding the social pressure is a great way to maintain your boundaries and possibly prevent yourself from acting against your better judgment. This is how the term “Just Send It” started and how I get good video and pictures. Lol

#4) Air Down

By airing down your tires a little, this will make for a smother ride and gives you more traction by spreading out the footprint of your tire. Don’t forget to air back up at the end of your Trail Ride.

#5) Low Is A Good Idea

Between a 30-million-year-old boulder and a glossy plastic body panel there is little room for error.
The boulder will always win unless….you stay slow by being in low ,which will help stay controlled and focus on driving. Take your time, maintain a predictable speed and let your machine do the work.

#6) Pick Your Line

The smoothest course that keeps your SxS level with the tires on the ground where they can establish and maintain traction is usually the best. Cheating……watch the SxS in front of you  …. this can help you quickly identify if that line will work for you.

#7) Threshold Traction

Tire spin while crawling in low isn’t always a good idea. The point at which your tires loose traction due to too much throttle input on a given surface is known as threshold traction. Through feeling, you can determine at what point you may lose traction and avoid it.
The goal here is to feel and adjust throttle input to keep tractive wheel speed predictable and steady which will help avoid tire spin and possibly wrecking your SxS. This one will be learned quickly as the predictable feeling is the “tipping” feeling …… that’s the center of gravity on your SxS when it moves ….. the weight transfer moving is what gives this feeling and if it’s not adjusted by your driver input could lead to rollover or worse. This is why I always say ” get to know your machine” ……!

#8) Spotter

Spotting is an art form if you ask me and having one is never a bad idea. It enables you to keep it safe. A spotter can see things you can’t. As a result, they might be able help you navigate a difficult obstacle or help determine the best course of action if you get yourself in trouble. A spotter might also better understand your weight transfer away from center of gravity and help.

#9) Being Comfortable

Having a good time is what it’s all about. Not being comfortable while your doing it will prevent
this. Whether it’s in cab accessories or comfortable clothing….. accessing what makes you comfortable and making it happen, I promise you will change your ride for the better.

#10) Having Fun Is A Prerequisite

Put your mind at ease. Focusing on the trail and driving all the time can be “not so fun”. It can lead to just trail tunnel vision.
A term we call a “white knuckle” driver. It can be normal for even a seasoned off-roader to have a set back in bravery. It might have been a bad experience, seen a bad crash or roll-over or it just might be because they’ve gotten older …. like me. If you can’t figure out how to focus and have fun …. your ride won’t be fun.  Going with a group can elevate some of this anxiety and help it be fun if you let it.

Happy Trails …..

Go Prepared  ……

The uncommon things to carry on your SxS for your Trail Adventures ….

Your SxS Trail Adventure could quickly and easily end in disaster if adequate preparation is not taken to safeguard against unknown issues that can happen to even the most experienced trail drivers.

Going blindly and unprepared on a trail adventure makes for a disastrous recipe. Having some kind of distinct plan before you leave the trailhead is very important,not only to you, but to those that might have to rescue you. The most important step here is to let someone who isn’t going know your plan. Another important practice is never ride alone.

Checking the weather a few days before the start of your adventure will serve you well, even know it can change in a New York minute.
Having a weather radio with you on the trail is invaluable.

Having the right gear. In addition to all the normal things we load up and take on the trail – like … (recovery gear, first aid kit, tools etc.)  are some more specific
gear you’ll want to consider having with you in case your adventure goes south – which it can do in a heartbeat.

••••• Maps/Compass
Don’t only rely on your phone  navigation or your GPS device, as both could fail leaving you lost  with only your wits and memory to guide you in the right direction. To mitigate this possible problem always pack paper maps of the region you will be in and a decent compass to orient the map with.

••••• Lug Nuts And Wheel Studs

Carry extra wheel studs, and lug nuts. While loosening lugnuts pieces of metal from the lug nut and or the wheel stud threads gets into the inside of lug nut and can fowl the wheel stud threads. Take careful time to blow out lug nuts before threading on stud….if its hard to turn…stop, back it off and inspect. Be careful where you put your lug nuts. Loosing these is not the end of the world (you could borrow one from each of your other wheels…in a pinch) but not having all 4 ?…. I’d be headed back to the truck.

••••• Lug Nut Size

Aftermarket wheels have different size lug nuts than stock.
So stock lug nuts cannot be used as spares. I made this mistake…once!

••••• Emergency Air Hose

My compressor broke….I made a air transfer hose set up to transfer air from one tire to another tire. Cost me 6 bucks to make. I have actually used this a handful of times.

••••• Tire First Aid

Double the contents of your tire repair kit, i.e.- plugs, patches, rubber cement, and shrader valves. Because …. if you run out on the trail (especially if your solo riding) ….. and you don’t carry a spare ???? 

••••• Inner Tube

Carry a Inner Tube as well as a spare. Stuffing a inner tube inside a tire that has an unrepairable puncture or slice can save you or someone else.

••••• Not Flip Flops

If your SxS Trail Adventure ends in the worst case scenario and your broke down and stranded  …. having quality shoes to huff it out of the backcountry for help is a serious necessity.
So flip flops ….. (even know I am in love with my Teva Flip Flops) are the wrong footwear for a survival hike. I religiously wear my flip flops while SxS trail riding. But in my emergency survival pack …. I carry my hiking boots along with a pair of wool socks.

.

At first, I wasn’t sure what I was looking at? It was 1980….I was 14 years old, and I was ignorant about everything …. I didn’t know shit! …. almost? The exception to that statement was …. I knew when something looked cool. And when it looked cool …. I was interested!

It was my Grandads 1961 Jeep Willys CJ5. It had a 4 Cyl. motor and a 3 speed transmission. No top, no doors, all stock except for the tires. It was beat to hell. There wasn’t a spot on the body that didn’t have a scratch or a dent. My grandad told me the tires were 10 years old … they were the original 78 series Interco Swampers. Man did they look bad ass! He loved Wheelin with his friends.

I asked him one day what exactly was “wheelin”??? That’s what he called off-roading…. I remember exactly what he said …. “we go drive in nature and then we drive over it!”
Seriously….the most honest and pure answer from a sixty something old dude who ” really has been there and done that”! Wheelin appeared ( by the looks of all the body damage on his Jeep) to be a guaranteed way to damage a vehicle and then spend lots of money fixing it! Except, my grandad and his friends did go by anything, they made it themselves if they could. Nobody had money back then.

Yes….that’s my grandad and he was priceless! Almost everything I know about how things work, I learned from him. That included how the world works and everything offroad.
And both of these have served me pretty well all my life.

He had this peculiar way of explaining and or describing things,
I never knew if he was talking about my grandma or the manifold. To him, I guess they were the same thing.he (LoL)

Learning from him how to drive was a serious exercise in demolition derby style grind it to find it. When he wasn’t yelling at me about gears he was screaming…… “hit the damn foot feed grandson!!!!” Just because that pedal is skinny don’t mean that motor ain’t fat, put her to the floor….he would say!

Boy I miss him …. I had no Dads to speak of, but I had him! Years latter he was the best man at my wedding.
When I asked if he would be my best man …. he said …. best man’s are supposed to best friends … I told him he was my best friend and the best man I knew …. he looked at me,I looked at him…..
We started laughing…. he said yes.

He died shortly after my wedding. Nobody knew he refused to do chemotherapy…. nobody but my grandma knew he had cancer. She told me he said he was gonna go out on his terms. And that he did.

For years I went wheelin with him and his grumpy gang of old dudes.
For a long time I just thought he brought me along to get them beers out of the cooler. Until one day he didn’t want to drive anymore …. he made me drive…. what great times I had out on some trail with a bunch of old guys. Listening to every word of every story, then repeating them word for word to my friends. Men were men back then …. They don’t make them like him anymore. I wonder what he would have thought about these SxS’s ?????
Miss ya gramps

My 1980 Toyota Crawler. My first purpose built rock crawler.The only tires I would run were the Interco Super Swamper Tires, in memory of my Grandad. Sold it to a kid 15 years ago, he dint know shit either! LoL

A Whole New Kind SxS Trail Rider

This Is The Truth ….. I Hope You Can Handle It ????

This is my truth….this is my observation and opinion…..

I’ve really noticed 3 kinds of trail users ….. while out on the trail lately. I have paid specific attention to SxS drivers/riders.

Type 1,
Young, most are educated but are disrespectful about anything to do with you and our trails. Mostly just you! (Lol)  They dont understand us and we don’t understand them. They are not truly disrespectful towards the environment…. they just dont know any better because they were never taught to be respectful of anything. (at least that’s how it appears). They know nothing of trail riding, common courtesy’s or trail etiquette besides what YouTube, Tik Tok or Instagram portrays and this portrayal isn’t always good. These people I tolerate and try to educate. Some are very receptive and attentive….they want to know more …. but you have to be delicate how you converse with them and it’s not so much about the complexity of the information as it is your tone of voice while doing it. So you must be respectful … to explain to them that they aren’t being respectful ???? (WoW) I don’t think these folks are acting this way out of rebellion (not like we did) but instead they just act like they dont know because they truly dont know.

Type 2,
This type are mean …. some of them are new to our country and some are from out of state. They both are not used to having something so beautiful to keep clean and preserve. They are disrespectful and dangerous.They care about nothing and no one to include you and the environment. Their idea of fun is tearing up the environment and daring you to say something to them or try to stop them. They want you to step out of their way or they will roll over you. These people ….. and there are a lot of them ….. demand respect and give none. They are dangerous to our society and harmful to our trail environment, historical trail courtesies and etiquette. Physical confrontation is what they crave because thats all they know.

3.)
Folks out trail riding …. solo or with family and friends. They respect the trail and its environment. They trail ride with respect, common courtesy and trail etiquette.  Wave to you on the trail and are just out to enjoy the day. We are in this category…. the Trail Geezers of today.

So…………
Tell Me I’m Wrong ??…???

Tell me I’m Wrong about anything I just said?????

Lots of you have had interactions or have seen interactions with all 3 types of trail users.

Fighting for our right to recreate on public lands has never before been more of an uphill battle than it is today. Not only are we fighting the government organizations and entities that control our trails but now we have to worry about type1 and 2 users. You can’t educate someone if they don’t care, you can’t even have a conversation with someone who doesn’t care ….!
These people… are who we need to educate and hold responsible for their actions. They aren’t picking the fight with authorities …. they don’t care about the authorities.
They don’t know how to take criticism or how to respect someone trying to teach it!

Yes….. BIG TROUBLE ….. we are in friends…. and I sincerely can’t see a happy ending. In order to successfully fight for our continued right to recreate on public land and stop the uncalled for closing of our trails we must first police our own. Yes …. it is up to us to change these type 1 and 2 folks or we loose the type 3 folks. I don’t know how to do this…. but thats were its got to start. We really have no chance until we do.
And the sad part is ….. the National and State agencies who manage our lands and their trails already know this. They are just waiting to not only close  everything but then take our right to be there away.

I helped fight this fight once…in the 90’s. We were fighting against the Sierra Club…. not our own fellow enthusiasts. These hikers were united and highly funded. But we were also United to fight this fight. This United front helped start organizations like: Stay The Trail, Tread Lightly and the Blue Ribbon Coalition and many others. The amount of political bullshit that we had to wade through to protect our right and keep our trails open was terrible and exhausting.

Getting the word out on social media …..  that disrespectful users shouldn’t be tolerated is one way to help us Police our own! Reporting these people to authorities is another.

Talking about this issue as much as we can ….. wherever we can will also help. Discussions about proper trail respect, courtesy and etiquette will also help. Talking it to death will leave some of you board and uninterested ….. but a lot of you will help me fight this fight by just reading this.

Thanks ….

ULSR

Urban Lodging and SxS Riding

Here We Go …….Diving Into The Mind Of A Serial SxS Adventure Riding Addict ……

The days of pulling our camper all over the United States to camp and ride are over !!!!

Not to say there’s anything wrong with it,
plenty of people still do it. And I would never hate on those that do.

For us ….. The thought of us hooking up, pulling,setting up, maintaining, tearing down, pulling some more and then parking it just makes me dizzy!

Maintaining a pulling vehicle, and everything that goes with it …. the camper ….. tires, licensing and general maintenance…. parking, storage …. we did it, had fun doing it  and plenty of you still do it! …..  Then my son grew up and started his own life ….. thats when it hit me like a shovel to the back of my head ! Our life was going to change ! I was so excited to experiment…..

Next time we go somewhere for a weekend to ride …… I’m staying in a hotel !  Yes ….. this time ….. no camper !!!!!

The very first time we did this was in Hill City, SD. At the Mt. Meadow
Campground. We rented a cabin for the weekend. It has everything including a kitchen.

The campground was about 12 miles above Hill City and had a general store and a restaurant.
We ate our meals (breakfast & dinner) at the restaurant. We brought stuff from home for trail lunches.

Holy crap ….. the entire wknd was so much fun …… a lot of that fun had to do with “not dealing” with all the camper stuff…… we had more time to relax, take naps, sit on the porch and read, and of course …. trail ride. I slept so dang good ( probably because I wasn’t stressed out waiting for the next thing to break or go wrong with the camper).

Needless to say I was hooked. After the weekend was over and we sat down to see what we spent …… I was so surprised ???
It actually costed us $230.00 dollars less to do it this way as opposed to hauling the camper up there.

My favorite kind of ULSR weekends are when a bunch of us get together and split a AirB&B.  We have stayed in some extremely nice places for less than a $100.00 a night. I’m talking a 6+ bedroom mansion (outside Moab,UT)….. we then  got together and planned a menu, all of us donated some money to the food plan, went shopping and ate some really good and fun meals all wknd. We socialized in the evenings and rode trails during the day. What an awesome wknd.
The best part ….. nobody had to haul there campers…… it was a beautiful!

FYI – Not everytime is like this ….
Sometimes it is more exspensive.
Depending on where you stay and how and where you eat ….. it can be a lot more money.

Like I said ….. Urban Lodging And SxS Riding is a term I made up …..
We absolutely love it !

We still camp occasionally… and for sure we still love it. We just don’t do it often.

I have been having so many problems with Facebook on my blog. I have been hacked by foreigners, my Facebook blog name has been under attack by companies who want the name so they can sell it. Another person wanted it so bad (after I declined to sell it) that he/she lodged complaints with Meta that I had stolen proprietary information ( my name) and plagiarized articles that where there’s. This bullshit caused me to form an LLC company in Colorado SxS Adventures name. Also had to register my trade mark name and my logo.

Trial Geezers is still up and running, but I can’t post anything. So much bullshit! I will update this as I can.

I’ve talked about this bag numerous times before.
This Go Bag has double duty.
I carry this pack in my truck as a part of my Vehicle Emergency Kit (VEK).

Here is a list of our bag contents

Backpack –
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
– Old … Sandpiper California (SOC) black tactical Backpack.
– New … `iDRYBAG 30L waterproof backpack.

First Aid Kit –
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
– Adventure Medical Kit AMK  Mountain Series, added  trauma kit. Plus a Custom Prescription Medication bag.

Fire Starter Kit –
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
– Metal mints box w/ cotton balls soaked in Vaseline, waterproof matches, a lighter,  a
Magnesium Fire Starter with Striker, High Temp Magnesium Rod

Food Kit –
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
– Stanley Adventure Cookset w/
nesting steel cup loaded with energy bars,hard candy, coffee,tea, Lipton Soup dry mix.
– MRE (2)

Survival Blanket –
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
– Mylar Thermal Emergency Space Blanket

Flashlight,Headlamp –
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
– NEBO Torchy 1,000-Lumen Rechargeable Pocket Flashlight
– NEBO Transcend 1,500-Lumen Rechargeable Headlamp

Complete Change Of Clothes –
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
– Pants, L/S Tshirt, Boxers, Wool Socks, Jacket, Gloves, Beanie

Knife, Multi-Tool –
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
– Knife – Moorhaus /D2 Bushcraft
– Multi-Tool – LEATHERMAN, Rebar

Water Filter –
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
– Sawyer sp128 mini

Water Bottle  –
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
– YETI Rambler 36 oz. Stainless Steel Water Bottle
– Nalgene Monochrome BPA Water Bottle

Wet Wipes –
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
– Surviveware Biodegradable Face and Body Wipes

T.P. –
°°°°°°°°°°°
– Coghlan’s Camp Toilet Tissue

Trash Bags –
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
– 4 Glade 55 gal. Black Trash Bags (can double as rain poncho)

GLOW Sticks –
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
– 6  Military Grade Green Glow Chem Lights

Whistle –
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

USB CHARGER –
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
– FlexSolar 10w Portable Waterproof USB Phone Charger
– Morphin USB Phone Charger
– Charging cords

Binoculars –
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
– Bushnell 10×25 Powerview Compact Folding Binocular

MacGyver Gear Fix It Kit (self made) –
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Air Horn –
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
– Guard Dog Security Air Horn for   120 dB

Bear Spray –
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
– SABRE Frontiersman 9.2 oz. Bear & Mountain Lion Spray Deterrent

Weather Radio –
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
– Palm Size – NOAA Weather
USB Rechargeable FM/AM/WB Transistor Radio

Small Toiletries Bag –
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
– Basic toiletries

I might be missing something but I don’t think so.

I only carry them for extended milage Adventure Trail Rides.

You can find most of these items on Amazon.

Happy Trails  ….

Go Prepared  ….