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Posted by: Sean_S Oct 31 2004, 10:07 PM

Ok this is off topic, but you guys are having fun racing autoX and having a blast.

I found a few video clips of my new found hobby and why I cannot go totally all out on the 914 ($$$wise) until I get my "other toy" finished.

Coos Bay oregon sits on 37 miles of pristine coastal dunes (try coos bay dunes as a google search).

Interestingly, modern rails are purpose built ground up these days, but much fun is to be had from VW and even Porsche based rails...and much of what is custom today was built on ideas stemming from VW's.

I think I knew a fair amount about cars before I discovered sand, but I'm sure I know more now.

Anyway, have a look if you like:

http://www.sandcars.com/gallery/video/index.html

Being human can be pretty cool sometimes actually!

Sean

Posted by: Rhodes71/914 Nov 1 2004, 01:20 PM

I love the dunes. When i was a kid we would go camping arond Winchester Bay and my dad and his buddies would hanglide off the tallest dunes. It was a pretty safe place. The kids got to play on dirt bikes and of course we accessed with big 4x4's. This was before sandrails were as big as they are now. If we lived on the coast it would definitely be a hobby of mine.

Posted by: Mueller Nov 1 2004, 01:36 PM

stupid question:

how the heck do they not run into another car while flying over the dunes?

are there "spotter's" or do the only allow a few cars out at a time or what??

looks like fun !!!!!!

i'd love to build one of those things

Posted by: kafermeister Nov 1 2004, 01:37 PM

Is that what those really tall flags are for?

Posted by: Sean_S Nov 1 2004, 03:54 PM

Good question Mike,

Generally this is taken care of by a combination of a huge area, 9ft flags, 99db exhaust tones, and being careful over blind spots.

In general you can see far enough from the tops that you can guestimate the amount of time you can play before anyone could possibly become a collision risk (check it first, then jump it, then check again while you're up there...etc.)

This gets harder on the trails...the trails are amazing fun. The sand in these videos is very big and open but in my area we have that and also sand trails that go through "mini-forests). Gotta be careful basically. The bright side is that sand has a huge amount of rolling resistance and even without brakes you come to a very quick stop.

From time to time...especially during the tourist seasons, people do land on other people. That is when you're hoping your roll cage was well designed.

The dune thing is pretty amazing... you have so much freedom to go where you want. Even a couple square miles is enough to have fun in and most dune areas surpass this by umpteen amounts.

Here is another video...sure to raise the pulse by at least a couple beats. This would be considered "touring" in a sandrail...not really going all out.

It's 7Mb so those on dial up may take a bit to download....pretty cool though...check it out (and don't have your speakers up too high).

http://www.oceanstreetvideo.com/sand/sandmed.mpg

Enjoy!

Sean

Posted by: Cap'n Krusty Nov 1 2004, 04:22 PM

Just FWIW, the famous Pismo Dunes state recreational area is often responsible for as many fatalaties on any given weekend day than the whole rest of the TWO adjoining counties, and sometimes more. Nice hobby. It's also interesting to note they close the beaches for miles after a shark attack, but they don't clear the rednecks off the dunes following an "accident"..... I use the term loosely ......... The Cap'n

Posted by: Sean_S Nov 1 2004, 04:53 PM

...nor do they clear the roads of people who drive small sports cars without air bags that probably wouldn't get a 1 star rating in today's crash tests and make *everyones* health insurance go up.

I guess that is the price we pay for keeping being alive fun.

Sean

Posted by: bob91403 Nov 1 2004, 06:04 PM

Yeah, but the facists still make you wear a motorcycle helmet in California. I think it should be required of any new riders for 3yrs of 10k miles, which ever comes first. The numbers show that if you survive the first year of owning a bike you won't have "accidents". Any bike owner can tell you, that during the first year, you learn to operate under the premise that everyone on the road is TRYING to kill you. Only then can you drive a motorcycle safely. At that point, whether you want to risk your life by not wearing a helmet should be your choice. Not some law enacted by people who don't own motorcycles. It's not very likely your going to hit a car with a bike and hurt anybody but yourself. More and more our freedoms and choices are being eroded. They soon will put an end to all things fun, in the name of "safety".

Posted by: Aaron Cox Nov 1 2004, 06:21 PM

bob: i demand you wear a helmet at all times, to protect you from brain damage.



jk...