Sacred tales of desert minimalism: Spring 2021

…...and after the meager amount of winter snow started melting away, it was time for the Presiding High Council to commence roosting and feasting on Adjustaforks and enjoying distilled beverages and when they were weary and burdened, they took overnight rest in the dirt and did it again the next glorious day and the next after that and maybe the following day also, then ran their foul and distasteful smelling mouths on Adventuretalker.

And the unwashed heathen masses were made known of the festival of dirt. Some of thier countenances did fell and those were filled with a great envy and grieved and commenced to wailing and gnashing of teeth in dire silence for a public cry would would betray thier jealously and misfortune. Others of the tribe were filled with delight in the knowledge that thier brethren afar had revelled greatly in the sacred place for them in spirit and did doeth wheelies for them in thier stead and they were well pleased and gave thanks and made the secret salutation - Dirtecus 24:37

Adventure Talkers is about right.

So, 2020 was pretty much a downer. Despite tough circumstances, the Presiding High Council did get some riding done. One other good thing that came out of 2020 was that Hotstuff agreed to be my wife. I feel so lucky to have such an adventurous partner. We were looking forward to a great winter of backcountry skiing but, like the final 2020 slap to the face, it ended up being a very lean winter. 2021 wasn’t shaping up to be much better than 2020 with the Pandemic raging and a shallow, dangerous snowpack in the mountains. We finally got some decent snow toward the end of the winter.


Since then, things have been looking up. After selling Hotstuff’s old semi-trusty 520 last fall, we started sniffing around for a new (used) 500 for her. On March 28 we found a bike that seemed suitable and made a deal. The dude selling it kinda looked skeptical when he learned that his 500 was going to now be owned by a female. We assured him Hotstuff knew what she was getting into.


He had the suspension set up for his weight, 240lbs. Obviously, it would need to be adjusted for Hotstuff. He had the stock springs so I threw those on for a start and loosened up all the clicker settings. Next, I shaved a couple inches off of the seat foam. The bike was definitely not dialed but she could start riding it now.

Congrats to you and Hotstuff. I suggest the associate members gallery needs to see more of her.

I just ordered a new, ever larger tank bag (to add to my collection). I’m thinking no more backpack. Just the tank bag. If that’s not adequate then I’m carrying too much stuff.

Basecamp riding, March 31 to April 4


At this point in life, I need to ride dirt and sleep under the stars. This is Adventure Rider Fundamentalism and it is a wonderful way to live. It keeps you sane. The only drawback is you will want to do it more and more. If there is a period of nice weather (daytime highs in the 70s, overnight lows in the 40s, no wind or rain) I get FOMO if I’m not out drifting around the desert.

An unusual stretch of hot weather coincided with the purchase of the new bike. It was time to ride. But Hotstuff’s new bike just wasn’t ready to roll out on a multiday minimalist journey. So we rolled the bikes into the truck and drove out into the desert for a few days for the new bike shake down. It was late afternoon by the time we hopped on the bikes.


The first ride went about as anticipated. Hotstuff said the front end felt like she was on a mountain bike with the front forks locked out. She wasn’t used to the throttle response of the 500 compared to the old 520. It was the first ride of the season. She was slow.


Basically, everything I do even when just doing day trips revolves around planning for multi day journeys. We went down to check out the stream flow in a nearby river. Knowing stream flows is crucial for minimalist multi day route planning. Routes are much different depending on whether you can cross a river or not. The stream flow was low and very crossable.


Hotstuff picked up the pace on the way back to camp. She was getting a feel of the new power. We kicked back and enjoyed the evening.


Part of the problem with the front suspension was the new bike had the stock 21” wheel on it. Hotstuff is used to an 18” front wheel with a trials tire. We’ve learned that this makes a HUGE difference in the feel of the suspension especially in rocky terrain.


I had her old 18” rim that we took off before we sold the old 520. (What kind of idiot is going to buy a bike with an 18” wheel?) The problem was that the old 520 used smaller wheel bearings than the newer KTMs. In other words, the hub wouldn’t fit on the new bike. I had another old 21” wheel that had the correct hub. I think you can do the math to figure out what needed to happen.


I got the tools and the Old Crow out and started loosening spokes. I got lucky and all of them loosened up. This meant that I could re-use all the spokes and nipples. One wheel was dismantled. By the end of the evening, I had the other wheel dismantled also.


We cooked up some dinner and had a nice romantic meal in our home built moto-camp rig.

So Fuckin IN.

Congrats on locking in Hotstuff and on the bike.

Made a great year out of a bad year. Congrats to both of you.

The next morning I brewed up some croffee (Old Crow + Coffee) and started assembling the correct hub into the 18” rim.


Before long, I had what looked like a wheel.


I made a crude truing gauge and tightened up the spokes.


We geared up and hit the trail. Night and day difference with the 18” front wheel. Hotstuff was on it!


Things were coming together for us!


Hotstuff’s bike was VERY ride-able at this point despite needing more work on the front suspension. It was still a bit stiff. Re-valve and perhaps softer springs yet.


I think we pretty much achieved dialing in the rear suspension with the stock spring loosened up all the way and the compression clickers at zero turns. Time will tell.


We stopped for lunch. If only we had chairs along to relax in.

Haha!! "If we only had chairs..." now thats some funny shit there! Nice to see your back and congrats! Awesome!

Oh lord (of roost), here we go again. Bonus points for the camp-built wheel. Spokes scare me.

Congrats on new bike

Congrats to both of you!! IN!!

You folks are awesome. Life goals.

Keep it coming!

Can't wish you more, keep roosting over these dirt washouts

Effin' outstanding @Joe Motocross! Big congratulations to you and Hot Stuff man, heart warming to read that. And a new bike too, what a great thread to stumble across.

You two need to make your way west and do some high desert roaming around the Owyhee man. And if you want to head even further west and do some roaming on the wet side of the Cascades, mi casa es su casa - have 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and a shop if work needs to be done.

Great pics. Post up a couple shots of your camping rig if you think about it; always like seeing what folks hunker down in when doing day rides from base camp.

Look forward to what comes next, knobby side down amigo.

In for another one! Congrats to you both!

I need to thank all you a-holes for the warm wishes. I'm looking forward to crossing paths @liv2day.

We just had another stretch of nice weather and went out for a journey. Riding always trumps talking smack about riding so no time recently to run my mouth. Got some bad weather moving through now so I can spew some more.

Now Hotstuff was really getting excited about her new bike.


She was pushing it through some rockier terrain with ease.


Deep sand, no problem.


We continued doing what we do, checking out sparse routes that snake through the desert.


Towards the end of the day we were at the river crossing we looked at the day before. Easy one.


Hotstuff said she LOVED her new bike and was having a total blast on it. Success!!


Back at camp, we prepared a fire for cooking with. Time to break out the Adjustaforks.


The Adjustafork was originally designed for minimalist overnight camping but it is a favorite for car campers as well. Hard to beat a meal roasted over a wood fire. Pork tenderloin and peppers.