Mission ? ... CABO ATV Tours ....

              By Kendal Morrell Co-Founder/ Owner MAddOG Motorsports

     My boyfriend, Teddy, took me to Cabo San Lucas this winter, and we decided that we were going to take in the Cabo San Lucas ATV Tours, day ride.
    The morning of the ride, we sat in front of the hotel, waiting for our bus, which was half an hour late. It was a beautiful 80 degree day and I was outfitted in green shorts and a white tank top.
    When the bus finally arrived we got onto it, only to be assaulted by the stench of old fabric and sweat. It was a long, barely air conditioned trip even farther into the dessert. We went about 30 minutes out of town before we stopped at a tiny ranch. It had horses pinned in a small shack, and dogs running around, but it was quaint.
We checked in, paid our deposits to ride, and went to get our safety gear… They handed me a horse riding helmet and a bandana! How in the hell was I supposed to feel safe in that? But I took it. At this point I would have taken any kind of gear I could get.

Teddy in his "safety gear" 

    When the gear was on we headed out to the back of the place. What I found wasn’t as pleasing as I imagined.

 It was filled with red, yellow and green Honda’s, all big, and all trashy. The guy in charge pointed all females to the green ones, all males to the red ones and all the family or double riders to the biggest yellow ones. 
    I saw the banged up old Honda ATV and was actually scared that I might not be able to work this behemoth of a thing. It was a dusty forest green, had racks on the front and the back, along with one rusted back rim, all bikes had shifters, and none had a clutch. Front brake and back brakes were on the handle bars. Needless to say I grabbed the brake several times as I adjusted to shifting without a clutch. Which some people found hilarious.
How was I even going to get on this death trap? It was much different from the little racer bike I had back home. My Honda TRX would have kicked this old veterans ass given half the chance.

We had a multitude of riders with us. Some were couples, some were singles, and one group in particular caught my attention. It was a couple with their two young children, and each parent took a child as they found and mounted their bikes. The mother kept stalling her bike, but the father was ready to go. When we took off I got stuck behind the mother who preferred to go about 15 MPH and Teddy was stuck behind me.
I had a need for speed, and was envious, when  Teddy hit the throttle and passed everyone but the guide.
   There I was, annoyed that I was going so slow and trying to be courteous to the lady with the small child on her bike… That faded fast. Soon I was throttle happy and gunned it when there was enough room to safely get past her. Needless to say, then everyone started passing her. Eventually she disappeared with her husband. No one knew where they went (Someone later told me they didn’t want to miss their cruise ship).
I was now at the front of the line with Teddy. We were the only ones keeping up with the leader, besides this guy who had brought his wife and then ditched the poor, slow, woman.

   Our first destination was amazing. It was the top of a cliff, overlooking the ocean. I had dirt in my eyes and all over my, now brown, tank top, but the view was breathtaking. Every stop we made was more beautiful than the last.

We headed to our next stop, moving from the brush to an open beach. As soon as Teddy hit the sand, he hit the throttle as hard as he could and took off. Unfortunately his seat decided to take off  too. I was behind him and couldn’t believe my eyes when it went flying out behind him.

  We ended up on an abandoned beach where Teddy and I promptly started racing the other riders. We took off and pulled into first and second while the other guy’s bike stalled at the starting line. Me and my man stared each other down as we turned around, and raced each other back. Unfortunately I lost, but I still came into a close second.

Me, on abandoned beach #1

We followed the beach for a couple more miles (Where Teddy overturned his bike by going over a razorback sideways) and came to our third destination, another abandoned beach. This one was a play beach. There was a giant razor back, and it wasn’t long until we started trying to jump our bikes. My attempts were a failure. I could only get that Piece-O’-Crap bike about a foot off the ground. Lucky Teddy was able to get his about three feet at the highest. They let us play around and race and do doughnuts. It was so much fun.

We headed up through the brush again. Tired, covered in dirt, sunburned, and smiling. As we rode to our next stop, we darted around bushes, sped through the flats, and yelled under every bridge we went under. This was true happiness. Riding harder than I had ridden in months, I couldn’t help the giant grin behind my bandanna.

The last place we headed was another cliff. This one steeper and more beautiful than any of the other places we had been that day. A sheer rock face dropped down not a foot in front of me. It was mesmerizing. This last place I didn’t want to leave, but I had to. It was time to go back to the ranch.

Something that I won't easily admit is that I had lost my love of riding. I got scared, a while back, and didn’t want to get back on a bike. This trip showed me what riding was all about again. Riding is for fun and exhilaration and speed. It is something that you can put your whole self into and get everything back.
   I have a feeling that you will be hearing from me again soon. So keep loving the ride and don’t forget to wear your gear. A horse riding helmet is not a good ATV helmet!

St. Anthony's Dune Tour 2012 day 3 & 4

      After day 2 ended with a big wind storm, I could not wait to get out and see how the dunes had changed. as we mounted up and met at the small dune just out the access from Sand Hills Resort (www.thesandhillsresort.com) , we were running a little later than the 10am meet time and the sun was up and warm. The Quartzite sand peaks glistened in the bright morning sunshine.
       We headed west through the middle of the dunes hitting what felt like endless bowl after bowl, with a mix of exciting lips and transitions into and out of the bowls. The smile inside my helmet would not go away, even when I was running as high as possible in a bowl and blew out the lip with the left front, causing the Big Brute to make an immediate hard left at high speed and launch out of the bowl , rev limiter popping, with a surprisingly smooth slight down hill landing after an unsettling amount of air ( someone suggested that I do it again for a photo op... I declined).
      It was an incredible sight to see all the Side by Sides and quads running in a extra large version of follow the leader up dunes, over lips, and right side bowls to left side bowls, for what seemed like miles, with the leader occasionally looping back around the whole group to make sure we were all there. Giving those of us with on board cameras some fun group shots.

      We reached our fist stop at Thunder Mountain. and once again several in the group made assaults at the large hill, reaching the top in some cases , side hill crabbing in some cases and high marking each other. "OH-Oh , I think he's stuck " , came the call. A gaze upward confirmed that indeed one of our group was bogged down almost at the top of the gigantic dune. I held my breath as he started to back up and slide sideways, When he had the machine almost completely cross ways to the top, a generous whack of the throttle and he was headed down.

 We re-grouped and headed off, rolling through the mid-day heat. Rolling edges , taking in the incredible scenery and leaving our mark on some more big bowls, rolling through the steep sides and popping out the often uneven exit, then uphill and a right or left and downhill on to the next approach.

Our next stop was on a dune overlooking Egin Lake, and what an amazing view ! Egin Lake has a BLM campground, a small store and public bathrooms. Although we did not stop in this time, we did hit the store and bathrooms on a few occasions.

As the group was stopped and visiting, a few machines peeled off and down to our left, where there was a spot that provided a good little jump for the SxS's. I was watching the action instead of taking pictures, but did manage a few shots of one of our friends from Washington, putting his stock Commander through the paces. 

The group split from there, as some had to head back for a town run. I followed the group heading back (4 of us) and we ran a majority of the "designated" route. We ran some great sidehills, smaller bowls, and trails all the way back to the Resort.

Later that afternoon a couple of the ladies wanted to make the run back to the Egin Lake store to pick up a couple souvenirs, and Jennifer wanted to get her banshee (The Joker) out for a ride, so off we went 2 XP900's a banshee and a bruteforce .

 Running somewhere along the "designated route" markers we just took it easy and cruised for the most part. As the girls were getting their memento's, we got talking about geocaching. "There are a couple really close to here, if you wanted to check them out" offered up Ed (he and his wife Pat do a lot of geocaching. Absolutely was the group reply, so off we went around the shores of the lake following the GPS, finding one on an obscure hump under a tree. I have to admit it was pretty exciting as they searched and found it.

That evening we had a potluck BBQ and birthday party, for our friend Gary, Who due to an unfortunate mechanical problem, was not able to make the trip, But many best wishes were sent his way via the Internet, and HEY the party must go on !

Day four, Saturday, our last day at St. Anthony's. Several in the group had to head home today, and pulled out early. We got up to the sun shining and the promise of another fantastic day.

As we the remainder of us gathered for a morning ride, we were down to RZR 800S, and me with the BruteForce.

We headed west toward the bigger bowls and dunes taking a northwest trail approach this time, right along the edge of the rock and desert grass, this approach provided some challenges to the group as some of the northwest trails end in rock crossings (lava rock + paddles = NO). So we had a few group reroutes on the way. Finding some fun along the way

We had a great time just playing follow the leader through fast trails, and sidehills and some bowls, making a big loop crossing the central dunes where the majority of the bigger bowls are. Transitioning from bowl to bowl, and heading back in the direction of camp.

Late that afternoon we headed back out straight up the gut middle of the dunes, to Thunder Mountain, for some final play time before we had to leave. 

As the sun began to set on this fantastic adventure, it provided some great photo op's.

"HEY JAY ".... "Move your head to the right just a bit"... "got it, thanks".

As we headed back with the sun setting on our backs, I took one last opportunity to catch some action at sunset, The sun and dunes were more than happy to co-operate and provided some incredible backdrops. Complete with smoke from a local fire creeping through the valley's and peaks of the dunes.

As we said goodnight and goodbye to St. Anthony's Dunes Tour 2012, we could not stop playing.... or smiling.

MAddOG Morrel Motorsports would like to extend a very special thank you to

Chad and Jennifer, without you this trip would not have happened !

Ed and Pat , For having the coffee ready every morning... and sharing.

Kevin, for the instant coffee to hold me over.

Cliff and the RZRForum.net group for letting me ride along, report, video, and stop to take pictures.

Jeff Hausmann, for the example of caring and compassion he set for all of us.

Also

Thanks to all our sponsors, who keep us doing what we do !

MUZZYS

St. Anthony's Dune Tour 2012, Days 1 & 2

  

After arriving at 4:30 AM and a couple hours of sleep , we awoke to a beautiful, sunny day. In looking around there was sand almost all the way around the Sand Hills Resort. It was like a little oasis in the middle of the desert.

    Kicking back and relaxing for a bit after the 14 hour drive , we visited and I got to meet some new friends. I ran the Brute across the road and into the closest dunes to set the MUZZYS DigiTune fuel controller as the altitude here is 5,000+ feet. 

   That task being done, we made the decision to go into Rexburg to check out Bear World, a drive through wildlife park with everything from grizzly bears to albino elk. Most of the animals (bears in particular), are rescues from Yellowstone National Park. The Large variety of wildlife is amazing and some of the bears will gladly walk right along side, or in front of your rig.  If you are planning a trip to St. Anthony's , Yellowstone Bear World is a must see. Plan a couple hours, as you can drive through the park as many times as you want.                      

After a good nights sleep, it was time to head out on a group ride (we had an international / multi state group Canada, Oregon, California, Utah,  and Washington). We all met at the top of the mini dune just outside the Sand Hills Resort dune entrance. The group consisted of  3 RZR XP900's, 2 RZR 800's(1 turbo'd) , 2 - 450 quads, an XP900 /Apex with turbo conversion, A Commander,The BruteForce, And an XP900 turbo.

As we headed out I was in awe of the sheer beauty and contrast in the scenery. 

  We headed out into the dunes with the RZR XP900/ Apex Turbo leading us in a snaking line over lips, humps, fast flats and great bowls. I couldn't help but think how amazing these dunes were.

 As we got further west, and closer to the foothills, the dunes and bowls began to grow in size to some the biggest sharpest dunes and bowls I have ever seen. as we snaked our way, we came through what I would find out later was the middle of the westerly dunes, and began to climb a series of large , what I would best describe as giant sandy steps. As we all came to a stop at the top, I dismounted and walked over and looked down the steep side of what I would consider the biggest freaking sand dune (mountain) I have stood on.

   "Welcome to Choke Cherry" one of the guys said."Thanks, this is amazing I stammered",almost dizzy from looking down the hill. The next thought I had was, OK how do I get to the bottom without going straight down? I spotted my exit to the east in the form of a nice trail that wandered down and around until it appeared to get to the bottom. Guess I am not the first with this thought, Thank Goodness. We watched from the top as some of the  machines played on the massive slope.

Yes those are full sized SXS's at the bottom.

 A few of the guys made runs towards the top, with only the XP/Turbo/Apex conversion and the Turbo RZR making it over the top (a few times). The call came out to mount up head down as the ride was going to continue from the bottom. As side by side after side by side dropped over the edge and out of sight , I realized , This is something I had to do, just to be able to say " yeah I been on Choke". Over the lip and down I went braaaping the throttle to keep the engine braking from kicking in and lightly riding the brakes enough to maintain control. There is very little run out at the bottom of the infamous hill, so maintaining some control on the way down is very important. As everyone gathered at the bottom ,the turbo guys made a couple more runs at, and over, Choke before we headed to off and into a fast trail that nicely covered everything from side hills to bowls to jumps/whoops and flat trail through the grassy sections and carry's over to Devil's Dune to check out a massive bowl. When we arrived at the amazingly large bowl you couldn't help but jump in line and run through with the group, all in line. 

I found quickly that on the big beasts if you carry enough speed into the bowl, and don't check up or loose confidence, the G force will actually hold you in your line, to the point of compressing the suspension. 

Some of these bowls are really deep, and funnel down to a pile of lava rocks, so you definitely do not want to bail out. On the other end of the spectrum, many of the tops, or lips,  on these giant eyes are very sharp and provide a somewhat disturbing feeling as you lip over-twist into the bowl and sometimes out also, if you run a little too high on the edge.

      Heading out from there, it was time to head back to camp... The long way, my favorite. We snaked our way west to the edge of the dunes and than southwest, through more incredible bowls, transitions, drops with lips and jumps and rolling almost flats. Rolling up over the top of a larger dune the scene got even more surreal, as there it was, a lake in the desert dunes. What a beautiful back drop right on the south border of the expansive sand is Egin Lake rec. area. They have a small store, and BLM  campground, but most important BATHROOMS ! We all pulled in for a rest and for some of us, a much needed bathroom break.

Heading out the Egin Lake dune access road and back into the dunes requires a trip over a section of wide but whooped out trails right along the lake. Peeling off east, we rolled on through the south eat section of dunes and trails. The designated route from Egin Lake back to The Sand Hills Resort is conveniently marked with brown marker poles so as long as you keep the farm land on your right and marker in your sights it is an easy trip. Cruising over the rollers and edging along steep lips, you can't help but appreciate the sheer wonder and beauty of these inland dunes.

Arriving back at Sand Hills, you can access the camping area from 3 different entrances, that drop directly into the campground from the dunes.

Stay tuned for Days 3 & 4 

MANY, MANY thanks to Chad and Jennifer for making this trip a reality, and hauling my butt across 2 states, and sharing this AWESOME adventure with me.

Thank You to my sponsors