Impending XT trip!

Woot, I’ve been invited by some of the XT225.com gang to go to Death Valley the weekend of March 16-18. I literally cannot wait…well, except that I need the time to order and install parts on the XT. 😉

I’m ordering two of everything even though I’m not sure if Peter will be coming along…I figure, hell, he’ll need a new sprocket set eventually anyway, right?

The recommendation from Milano, the super awesome dude who invited me, is to swap the stock 15T front sprocket for a 14T. I decided to follow his advice…anything that’ll give me a little more help in the technical sections. According to Milano, I’ll be learning to ride in sand, on a short stone stair section, and even a rock garden! Though I already warned him that I may need to walk it down that last one… 😉

We’ll (or I’ll) be trucking the XT down to meet the Southern California contingency at Death Valley on Friday night. If I go with Peter, we’ll probably stay at the motel at Stovepipe Wells; if I go alone, I’ll camp. Saturday is the big ride with the group — “at least 170 miles, only 1/5 asphalt”, says Milano — and then it’s trucking back home on Sunday.

I’m really super excited. I’ll be the “newbie” for sure, but what better way to learn than with a group of experienced riders all with my same bike? They’ll be able to tell me for sure which gear to be in and how the XT will want to handle the terrain.

Now to convince my boss that I need yet one more day off…. 😉