First Havasu SXS Club Ride of the Season (Saturday, October 7th, 2017)

A few weeks ago we went to the first meeting of the season for the Havasu Side by Side (SXS) club.  It is the largest Side by Side Club in the US, and the world for that matter, with about 700 current members.  

Today was their first scheduled ride o the season.  We all met up on Bison (it is a place on the east side of town where one of the city streets, Bison, runs into the desert BLM land.  We met out in the desert at 9:00 am for an orientation and a brief overview of what every side by side driver should carry with them on a ride.  It was a great turnout!  

Once everyone was there, they called us over to the demonstration table, where they talked to us about all the useful things to carry with you on a ride.  It was really informative, and showed us a few things that we might want to think about carrying that we aren't currently.  

Probably the best suggestion that we had not thought of is to carry a blanket.  It can create shade, it can keep you warm if you're stuck out over night, and you can use it to lay on while you're working on your SXS.  Great idea for the desert!

Part of the demonstration was on how to plug a tire.  Steve has plugged a tire before, but just wanted to see the technique they used to see if her could pick up any new tips.

It was a great talk and a great demonstration!  We are really impressed with the club so far!

Once we were well informed, we broke up into groups for our ride.  They typically have four groups available to ride in, and each driver signs up for the group they want.  Red is the most aggressive group, with the fastest speeds, next is Blue, then Green, and last but not least is Yellow, which are the Sunday drivers.  We chose the Blue group, which just happened to be a really big group today, so they split us into two groups, Blue 1 and Blue 2.  Each group has their own radio station, so anyone in that group can listen in to the group guide in the lead, and the tail gunner who brings up the rear.  Our group had 6 cars in it

Gary and Bob were the leaders of the two blue groups, so they had a quick discussion before we headed out.

Sharon and Sam ended up in the other blue group.

And off we went.

We stopped periodically for breaks, but mostly, we drove.  A couple of times we caught up to the other blue group.

   

Our furthest point north was the airport.  Then we looped around and started heading back toward Bison.

When we got back to Bison, we had a chance to talk to other people about the ride, and find out about some of the other groups.  The blue group was perfect for us.  Then they had pizza waiting for us for lunch.  

It was a great ride, and all around a great day.  As always, the desert was dusty, but you just have to expect that.  We met a lot of new people and had a great time.  We loved it!