There are sand bowls that are so huge and steep that your stomach drops as you come over the top and then race around them in 5th gear wide open. On a Holiday weekend people flock to the dunes from all over the United Sates and beyond. While making plans with friends I realized I just had one minor detail to take care of, I needed a bike to ride.

Sure, I could take my XR400 with a paddle as a last resort, but for the sand I like to be able to dial in the power! A few emails to my good buddy Ben in Arizona and I was hooked with the beast of all bikes, a '96 KTM 550 two stroke. Mounted with a 12-paddle tire, this would be a great bike for drag racing up Oldsmobile. Ben also was going to bring along his '97 Banshee, a 350cc quad that begs to be screamed in the dunes. So my plans were complete and I was ready to go.

About three, four, or five hours later I made it to Gecko Road where I paid the $10 and received my week pass. I met up with Ben, shook hands, and got busy unloading the bikes. Some friends of friends were already there, so we parked across from them. We put on our gear, mounted the GPS, grabbed the video camera, and took a warm-up ride over to Oldsmobile Hill. It wasn't too crowded but there were enough people to get in a few good races. I pulled up to base of the dune on the Pumpkin bike and did a few practice runs.

It takes some time to switch from a XR400 to a paddle tired KTM 550. After a few runs up the hill I was ready for race mode.

In the photo I am all the way on the left and the green guy is doing a desperate wheelie. Ben and I swapped bikes and he had a go at the hill on the KTM. Between the power of the 550 and the steepness of the hill it took Ben a few tries to make it up. Luckily I was video taping each of Ben's attempts. I still like to play back the part when he falls over about 3/4 of the way up and the crowd parked at the base of the hill starts cheering and clapping. Great stuff to catch on video. After a few more tries Ben started to get the hang of it and was winning races against other bikes. We began to tire of the racing and decided to head back towards camp.

Once back at camp we set up our tents and cooked some grub. We were so tired from driving we decided not to go over to Competition Hill that night. Somewhere around 2 or so in the morning I was rudely awakened by the sound of a high revving truck right outside my tent. I didn't bother to get up even though the truck seemed pretty close. As I drifted back off I was awakened again by a screaming Banshee doing donuts around my tent and sending roosts of sand inside.

The Banshee stopped by my head and revved several times LOUD. "Bevis" I heard... my suspicions were confirmed it was my buddy Charlie from Vegas. His "I'll be there in the morning." ten hour late arrival was typical and dates back to our high school days. I didn't even get up, just tried to ignore him riding outside my tent most of the night.

It doesn't see too much traffic since it is located a ways out in the dunes. You can't help but catch a little air off the top of Lizard as you keep on the gas to prevent tumbling back down the hill. We played around for a while and decided we would go back and meet up with the rest of the gang that should just be waking up.

So I volunteered Darin to try and tow him out to the waiting truck a few dunes over. After a few face plants and a fresh bigger rider Darin managed to get the YZ to safety. I have been in that same position and it isn't fun, so I was glad to have Darin help out. Once again we headed off into the dunes towards Oldsmobile.

I told Charlie to try the KTM up the hill but he was obviously scared and declined. I am not sure if he was scared of the power or of just the image of being seen on an Orange KTM in front of everyone.

At the end of the day all of the sand gets to feeling like sandpaper on certain areas of your body. After the racing, we ended up just hanging out at Olds for an hour or so. There are so many different people, bikes, and strange sights that it is fun just to hang out and watch and see what happens next.

There were some very nice looking sandrails that were not only racing but pulling wheelies most of the way down the drags. The memory that wins the "you got one in every bunch" award goes to the guy who was racing naked on an ATC.

Same scene only this guy had it in control and was doing it on purpose at the drags. By the next morning Ben and I were getting tired from a day and a half of good riding. Nothing sounded better than getting home to a good shower and hot meal. We both decided we would pack it up and head out before the crowds. We had a great time and have some great memories and photos to remember our Halloween '99 trip to Glamis. A final side note worth mentioning is the reports of increasingly rowdy crowds showing up at Glamis on these big Holiday Weekends. In years past these big weekends have always drawn in crowds of people from all walks of life.

There is nothing wrong with this as long as people have respect for other riders, Rangers, and the environment. However in the last few years I have heard reports that some of the people coming out to Glamis are leaving trash, starting fights, and being disrespectful to the Rangers that patrol our dunes. Come on gang! In no way are these actions healthy for our sport or the dunes. Personally I like the idea of having Rangers out in the dunes for our safety. Each time I ride the dunes I see someone hurt, and every time the Rangers are right there to provide medical aid to the injured. We all need to get together to come up with good ideas for keeping the dunes safe and fun for all. A web site has been set up just for these reasons, please take the time to check it out and give your opinion on how to resolve these issues in the dunes.