Update - 9/24/02

CalDirt was started in the spirit of the sport.  Most every person I've met during the short time I've been involved in this sport has been totally cool, and we all seem to share a love of dirt, the sweet smell of exhaust, and speed.  Most of us are law-abiding, tax-paying folks who just love this shit - but there are also a small amount of clowns out there that do stupid shit that ruins riding opportunities for the rest of us.  I started CalDirt out of the pure frustration of buying a bike, and then not having many (legal) options for where to ride the damned thing LOCALLY.  My hope was that as I found new places to ride in Central California, I could document them and share them with others who enjoy dirt sports.  My experience has been that unless you own property, want to race, or are willing to drive for several hours, there are not many places to ride without getting hassled. 

Unfortunately, things haven't worked out as I'd hoped.  What has happened is that several of the places I've posted have been shut down - sometimes it was inevitable, and other times it was preventable - due to the totally stupid actions of a few fools.   Therefore, I've decided to discontinue updating the "Where to Ride" section of CalDirt until further notice, but I've included links to some other sites that have a lot of great links to places to ride.  All I can say is that if you love this sport, when you find a place to ride, share it with responsible friends who don't abuse the right to ride - or that place will get shut down.  And if you have cash or land, email me, because I'm getting so fucking fed up with not having places to ride locally that I'm seriously considering starting my own track as a business venture - but I'll need investors to help offset the costs of land, insurance, and maintenance.  Other than that, petition your local government to invest some cash into an MX park LOCALLY.

And BTW - if you're a cop, take it easy when you encounter a rider out there.  Most of us aren't malicious and are honest, hard-working people just like you, so there's no need to get on your soapbox and give a lecture.  If they don't give you attitude and are cool, please keep in mind that we don't have many options today.  Don't screw someone up who's not hurting anyone with a ticket (or worse)!  Just let 'em know you're doing your job and ask them to leave (if you must).  If they don't, or they give you lip, then smack 'em around and haul their ass in!  ;-)

And if you're a rich land-owner or farmer, be cool.  Try to remember that not everyone's idea of a sport is spanking a little white ball around on a manicured lawn while sipping coolers all day, or twinking around a tennis court in little white shorts.  You own land, and when you die, you can't take it with you, so try and be gracious about it and allow people to ride on it...unless they do stupid shit like ride near your house, or leave trash - then call the cops and tell 'em you want to press charges.  Hopefully anyone who's stupid enough to do that shit on someone else's property won't come back, then the rest of us can simply enjoy our sport.

Lastly, if you're a fellow rider, be cool to the police if they show up.  Some of my friends are cops and most of them are normal people just like you and me - some even ride...damned good.  Most of them aren't out to ruin your day - they get a call about someone riding, they HAVE to come and deal with it, or they lose their jobs.  Keep that in mind, and channel your anger/frustration toward something positive, like talking to your local government to give us some alternatives, or getting some buddies together to chip in on some land (email me if you're interested).  OK, now on to CalDirt...