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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 25th, 2023

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  • Oh that’s cool, like the Garmin Mini. I’ve been getting pressure from my friends and family to get something like that now that I’m middle aged, but still do a lot of back country backpacking. There’s no cell service just past our house, so we have GMRS radios. A 50w base station at home, 4 watt handy talkies, and a local repeater we can hit. My wife and I are studying for our ham licenses right now, since we can use lower frequency signals and more power with ham than with GMRS. I’ll check that device out that you shared. Neither ham nor GMRS are adequate where I go backpacking, and a lot of loved ones want me to be able to send a location beacon while I’m in the back country. The Garmin Mini is more money than I’ve wanted to spend, and yours looks affordable. Thanks!

    Quads are good fun too, man! Especially since you can strap an ice chest to the back. I used to ride quads in the Sierra Nevadas a lot when I was younger. We’d all strap an ice chest to the back and fill it to the brim with beer. I know… I know. It’s not safe to mix alcohol and motorsports, but man is it fun!


  • You might be able to find some other riders on Facebook groups, or Meetup. I think it’s definitely more fun to ride with others than to ride alone, but it is still very fun alone. I just found some twisty roads with some fire trails a couple days ago and I can’t wait to get my wheels balanced on my bike and head out this spring. I’ll be going alone since my riding group is now spread all over the country. We just need to be more cautious riding alone than when riding with friends, since there’s nobody there to bail you out if you crash. Leave a route and a return time with friends or your parents, and you’ll be okay.

    I took that riding course when I was 15 1/2 so that I could start riding before my 16th birthday. It’s a great investment! You’ll be a better, safer rider because of it. Best of luck, and have a great time! Keep the rubber side down!



  • Ouch! Yeah that’s pretty high. When you’re young it’s always hard to get full coverage on new bikes. When I was 19 I called for an insurance quote on a Ninja 1200D and they laughed at me and hung up. Haha.

    I typically ride older bikes that I pay cash for and just get liability insurance. My current bike is an old (but very cool) XR600R with a license plate and insurance costs me $68 per year. I just pay it all at once and don’t worry about it again for a year. But, I’ve been riding for over 30 years so it’s a lot cheaper for me than it would be for most people on this site.

    I think $300 per month for a new bike is totally worth it if you love the bike and have the money. I can’t think of a single hobby that has brought me as much joy and good times as riding has. Get some friends to ride with, and you build memories that last a lifetime. Bring a camera along and you end up with amazing photo albums too.