No Sleep Till Brooklyn: Day 1
It’s finally reached that time. The winter weather has mostly dwindled. The only remnants of winter come in the form of broken, abandoned snow shovels found scattered in public trash bins. The trees are budding, the birds bathe in puddles in the street. The local park has become a gathering ritual for locals to sit in the grass and absorb the rays of sun. A “defrost” you could say. And it’s time for me to fly back to CA where winter isn’t actually real. But that is where my bike has been hibernating during these few winter months.
The plan was simple:
-Fly back to CA
-Do some bike maintenance
-Ride the bike from Southern CA to Brooklyn, NY.
I had already spent some time making a route that would incorporate multiple Backcountry Discovery Route sections along the way. The route was not the fastest route by any means, but I think I could complete it in about 2 weeks.
As far as bike maintenance goes. All I really needed to do was get my rear shock rebuilt, slap on some new tires and do a fresh oil change. Nitron suspension had a super fast turnaround for a full shock rebuild (Nitronusa.com). 8 ball motorcycle tires have always been my go to place for motorcycle tires when I’m in town. A new set of Motoz Tractionator Rallz tires were slapped on and ready for adventure. I’ve ran these tires previously and knew they would survive the amount of miles and terrain I would ultimately put them through.
Shop dog vibes
I spent some time with family and got a few last minute things in order before I decided to leave. And with my bags packed and bike serviced. The No sleep till Brooklyn adventure ride officially began.
DAY 1:
6 April 2026
The beginning of the day began with a pretty relaxed road ride through some mountains through Julian, CA. I was equally excited to leave the busy streets and insane gas prices behind. It didn’t take long to reach the first dirt section of my trip. Beginning in the Anza-Borrego desert, I would continue east. The dirt was…desert dirt. Lots and lots of sand. Random implanted boulders would take you by surprise if you weren’t paying attention. The weather was also overcast all day, which I couldn’t think of a better day to be riding in an open desert.
I took my fair share of spills during this section. Rock sections, steep hills and deep sand put me down enough times to worry a mother. Riding solo the most dangerous thing I would continually encounter, was myself.
The start of this trip I wasn’t feeling very well. I had a cold of some sort, but I wasn’t about to wait around for my sniffles to subside. To top that situation off, a small snack was all I had eaten that day. Paired with enough caffeine to blind a cat. And more importantly I failed to bring the little snacks. The ones that get you through the day, or out of a tough spot when you’ve been picking up your bike and yourself all day.
My last crash really reminded me of this whole situation. It was my hardest spill that day. Riding in sand, keeping some speed and entering an even deeper sand corner. My chunk of a bike dove into the sand like it was getting shot at. Which led me to getting sent over the bars and face first into the sand. What are helmets for anyway.
I took a break and told myself to take it easy after that. Realizing its been about 6hrs since I've eaten anything, and I’m sick. At this point I was already getting pretty close to Brawley, CA. There was only one way to go anyways, and that was forward.
I went 136mi to Brawley, CA and it took me 4hrs 29min. But it wasn’t done! After a massive burger and fries, I had a second wind.
Part 2 of this day was mostly road riding. I pushed another 247mi that took 3hrs 40min of moving time. Ultimately landing in Casa Grande, AZ. Feeling the way I felt. Which was like shit if you couldn’t guess why. I opted to stay in a hotel this night. Hotels were relatively inexpensive in this town. Getting a good night of rest seemed like an appropriate step towards success. Considering this day also started with a mere 4 ish hours of sleep.
Tomorrow I was going to get to ride a section and a half of the Arizona BDR. And that was cool. This day ended with eating and resting.
And Dayquil.
Raw riding footage of day 1 can be found HERE on my youtube.
blurry sunset
Part 1: Fallbrook, CA - Brawley, CA
Part 2: Brawley, CA - Casa Grande, AZ
