Dirt Bike Heaven! 

By Jim Porter
 
If you were to die and go straight to dirt bike heaven, I can tell you exactly where you would land – northern Nevada. I know what you are thinking, “Nevada is just one big desert.” Wrong! Even the word Nevada is Spanish for snow covered, and it turned out the state of Nevada is by far the most mountainous state in the lower 48, with over 300 separate mountain ranges and vast reaches of uninhabited, unspoiled wilderness unlike anything us poor Florida Trail Riders can imagine. And the beast part is, there is scarcely a “No Trespassing” sign in the whole state. Over 80% of the land I government owned, (i.e. owned by you and me) and is open for trail use. And better yet, since gold and silver miners have been scouring the wilderness for nearly 200 years searching for “color”, they have left behind the most exquisite trail and jeep road system imaginable.

So now you are thinking, “Yeah, OK, but it’s so far away, and how do I get my bike there, and where would I go, and what about gasoline and supplies etc.?” Not a problem. All you do is pick up the phone and dial Matt Ernst at Nevada Motorcycle Adventures, and he will supply you with a new Suzuki DRZ400E dirt bike, and then will personally guide you and your riding buddies through the most varied, remote, challenging, scenic and geologically diverse terrain you could desire.

Suddenly your dirt bike is transformed into a flying carpet, a magical sled to transport you up and away into places you would otherwise never go, to behold sights you would otherwise never see. You are zooming across a dry lakebed, perfectly flat, and so vast you can note the curvature of the earth, stopping for a dip in the natural, hot mineral springs. Then you are wandering through a tight walled canyon over clear streams, past snow-white aspen trees of golden leaves and wildflowers set amidst ghostlike rock formations of a thousand colors glittering with mica and other minerals. You are now roosting your way across snowdrifts onto mountaintops. You break out in song “ the hills are alive with the sound of music”, well maybe not that part. Then, descending into alpine meadows, you may see antelope, deer, bobcats, and badgers, while hawks and falcons drift above. You ponder the ruins of ancient mines full of mystery.

Matt’s trusty, fix anything, go anywhere, sidekick Brock will find a crossroad somewhere to meet you for lunch, a gas refill, and check out the bike so you are ready to blast away to another corner of dirt bike heaven.

At night you’ll be treated like family in old western towns you did not think existed any longer, and awake to a man sized breakfast before sailing off to more dirt bike rapture. Pity the poor unwashed masses of non-dirt bikers on the planet who have not the slightest hope of such ecstasy.

On some trails you’ll believe you are on a roller-coaster at Busch gardens. On others, you are stair stepping ancient waterfalls to find the birthplace of streams which only flow after downpours. Still other trails will convince you that dirt bikes cannot possibly go up there. They can. Trust me.

I just returned from a 5 day expedition with Nevada Motorcycle Adventures, and figured it would be a sin not to tell my fellow F.T.R.A. members about it. Life is short. Find a way to do this. You will be eternally grateful

Jim Porter is a member of the Florida Trail Riders Association.

This story was published in F.T.R.A. and Cycling East.