anybody know a good place to do a little rallying around LA?
you know, something fun, but that won't kill your car (its not too bad, right?)

 

nobody takes their car off road? Ive been eyeing some of those strawberry fields a little north...the roads are dirt there and could be fun to slide around on a bit

 

I can direct you to teh dirt road paradise... but....

http://gravelgirl.the-roo.com/register.php?



~Bris~

 

but you have to join haha

 

temecula has some where are you at?

mullholand is dirt in some parts

 

i wanna practice on dirt

 

I'm in malibu...mullholland is right here isnt it? Ive actuallly been on it a few times and its really fun...but no dirt where I went.

Where's temecula? (I only really know my way along the coast)

 

waaaaaaaaay inland by yorba linda

mullholand gets dirt when you go east on it

 

Temecula is down near the southern intersection of 215 and 15; it's near the Riverside/San Diego county line, inland of Camp Pendelton. A bit of a drive from Malibu.

Are you sporting a skid plate? Most of the dirt roads I've found in southern cal are rough enough in parts to take out an unprotected oil pan. I can't recomend them enough.

I posted about it last month, but up just east of Gorman there's a ridge road called the Libre Truck Trail, which is an adventuous drive with a first class view. There are also some other accesable forrestry roads up in the San Gabriel Mtns, but they can get pretty narrow and rugged.

I'm heading south to LA again for christmas, and while I'm down there, I intend to try the "Bradshaw Trail", which runs from near Indio out to near Blythe, but out in the desert south of I-10. 40 or 50 miles of sand and gravel. I'll post in this forum when I'm down there and ready to go, and anyone that wants to go along is welcome.

Later, gravel junkies
Mike

 

We're talking about Mullholand Hwy, not Mullholand Dr., right? The dirt section of Mullholand Dr is gated off: horses, walkers and bikes only.

Does Mullholand Hwy become gravel, and if so, where?

Thanks,
M

 

DOH i didnt know it was gated off

 

I wont be here for christmas, but just before new yearsI will be (LA auto show VIP night!). If its around that time...Im so in, I'm in

No skid plate...ill check around and maybe pick one up. Everytime Ive taken it in dirt, rocks keep spewing all over the wheel wells for a good minute. Is that abnormal? I think the previous owner removed the fender lining...is it ok to run like that? I'm also going to have to find some oem wheels and tires to use...my streets probably won't cut it...but I guess my ride height is really high with 18s

 

Yeah, I learned that one the hard way this last Thanksgiving...

"D'oh" indeed. The benchmark atlas didn't even show the gate.
I was wishin' I had a bike with me just then.

M

 

rawr@

 

I'll be returning to Santa Cruz on probably Tuesday or Wednesday of the week following Christmas, so we may miss each other. My plans are still taking shape, though, so watch this space.

It would involve one seriously hard core day of driving... leaving before dawn and returning well after sunset.

Yeah, you'd probably want some stockers and some toothier tires. I doubt that the 18's ride much higher that some tready gravel tires, you just have lots less sidewall (read: really rough ride) You arn't lowered, are you?

I recomend the 3/16" big plate from Primitive Racing, up in Oregon, but there are others out there.

I'm well on my way to "removing" my fender liners.... one is only held on now by some zip-tie stitches. If you do this sort of thing, you are going to put some serious wear on your car: it can take it, but if you are too concerned about cosmetics, you shouldn't be out looking for dirt. You're gonna scuff your bumper, and you're gonna scratch your paint.

But yeah, it s pretty normal for your tires to throw off sand and gravel for a minute or so after you get back on pavement.

If we miss each other in LA, you should grab a map and check out the Carizzo plain... It's closer to Malibu than Indio (but not much), and it's one of the coolest places in California to drive on dirt. North of 166, near the intersection with 33. Look for "Elkhorn Rd."

(I hope Im giving all of SpamGirl's best roads out for free...)

M