The dunes can be one of the most amazing, thrilling and beautiful places to ride and spend time with your friends and family, or they can become a place of bad memories and close calls. The deciding factor in how your first dune experience (and future trips) may turn out can ultimately depend on knowing and following some basic safety tips and suggestions that apply to this type of unique riding landscape.
Everyone is new to the dunes at some point in their lives. Some have grown up with sand in their diapers and had their own baby seat in the back of a sand rail. Some haven’t stepped foot onto a dune until much later in their lives, as was our case. No matter when you discovered the dunes, one thing is for certain—you will either love them, or you won’t, and much of that sentiment is a result of first-time experiences.
We were fortunate because the first time we ever experienced the dunes was with a family that had been riding in the sand for more than 20 years. Not only were we brand-new to this unique environment, but we had also been riding quads for only a couple of weeks. The mixture of those two ingredients can sometimes be quite a challenge, but we were in some great company. We owe our love of the dunes and the culture that comes with it to that amazing first trip, because we have been avid duners ever since.
Soft sand, ever-changing landscape, witch’s eyes and slip-faces can offer up quite the challenge to any ATV or UTV rider. That is why it’s important to be aware of some basic safety “rules” when riding in the dunes. Every camp has its own set of “house” rules and these are some of ours:
Don’t Ride Alone
One of the most important rules we adhere to when riding is the dunes is “don’t ride alone.” This is especially important if you are new to dune riding and new to the area you are riding in. In a place as large as Glamis, CA, it is very easy to get lost or turned around and that can make for an extremely long day (and possibly even night) for everyone involved if you wind up getting lost.
While getting lost is no fun, it’s even more dangerous if you wind up getting hurt while riding solo. There have been several times when we were out riding and came across a downed rider who is completely alone and unable to find help, simply because he chose to go out in the dunes for a quick ride by himself. It’s bad enough if you are by yourself and suffer a mechanical issue with your machine, but to be alone and wreck and get seriously hurt—that can be extremely serious.
It’s just not worth the risk to ride alone and if you are new to the dunes, it’s absolutely imperative that you ride with others who know the area and can show you the safest way to approach any obstacles. If you absolutely can’t avoid it, at least let everyone know where you are going, and what direction you will be taking to get there.
Don’t Drink And Ride
This should be a no-brainer; however, we are constantly amazed at how many people choose to drink all day and then go ride. For new duners, just figuring out the dunes, all of their quirks and the proper riding technique is tricky enough; if you throw alcohol into the mix, it can be very dangerous.
We like to have a good time when we go to the dunes with our friends, but we also make a camp rule that when the drinks come out, the keys to the toys get put away. Not only do you avoid a very possible DUI this way (the rangers are in full force on holiday weekends) or potentially injuring yourself or someone else, but you also give yourself much better odds of having a great trip as opposed to one that ends in tragedy.
Wear A Helmet
This is another one of those tips that should be always be adhered to—not only because it’s the law in most places but because it just makes sense.
If you are an ATV rider, wearing a helmet is crucial to your safety anytime you are riding and it doesn’t matter if you are at the dunes and taking a two-hour ride or if you are just cruising through the campgrounds looking for your friends. The possibility of someone else not seeing you is always there and the unexpected can happen at any time.
For UTV drivers, it’s far more tempting to skip the helmet and opt for a hat and sunglasses instead. With a roll cage comes an elevated sense of security and we get that. However, when you are duning in a UTV, it is still law in most places, and even if it weren’t, wearing a helmet is just that extra bit of protection against other drivers in sand rails, jeeps and larger vehicles which may pop up over a dune or even land on top of your machine because they weren’t paying attention. The chances of surviving a wreck or rollover increase exponentially if you just remember to wear a helmet.
Follow The Leader
If you are fortunate enough to go to the dunes for the first time with a group that has a good leader, then you are in for some of the best riding of your life. Being new to the dunes, it is very important to not only stick with your group, but to follow the lines of the person in front of you on any ride you go on.
We have seen many new duners stray off of the line of the person in front of them and wind up facing a drop-off or a witch’s eye (a deep hole in the sand made by wind) that they had no idea was there. For safety’s sake, if you are following the leader and staying in the line that everyone else is in, it gives riders ahead of you the opportunity to warn you if there is something to look out for. You can also pay attention to the rider ahead of you and see if he suddenly swerves to avoid something or disappears quickly due to a sudden drop-off. This gives you a few seconds to prepare and know how to take the next obstacle before you get to it.
We know it can be tempting to forge your own path, but we have seem more people wreck that way than by doing anything else in the dunes. As you gain more experience in the dunes and learn to read how they lie, then running your own lines becomes much less risky.
Keep Track Of Your Fellow Riders
This part goes hand-in-hand with the previous section and it’s a rule of ours whenever we go out on a ride. While it’s important to follow the same lines as the group leader, it’s also important to be sure everyone is accounted for and the group doesn’t lose anyone. This is usually best achieved by the leader knowing who is directly behind him. The rider behind the leader does the same and so on. If the person directly behind you is your responsibility, then no one gets left behind if his ATV stalls or if he just can’t keep up.
If you find yourself suddenly separated from your group (and this can be a bit scary for a “newbie”), the best thing to do is to sit at the top of the nearest dune where it is easiest for your group to spot you – and wait. You will be missed, and they will come back for you – if you are riding around trying to find them, you could wander far out of their search radius and it could make it almost impossible for them to find you. Staying put and staying easily visible allows your group to find you much more quickly.
Always Expect The Unexpected
This is a key safety tip for a safe trip to the dunes as the dunes can change considerably from day to day, depending on the weather. If the wind blows, it can change the direction of the steep and sloped faces of the dunes as well as create large holes and drop-offs that appear when you least expect them.
If the dunes weren’t unpredictable enough, you also have to watch out for other duners. It is very easy to crest a dune and find yourself face to face with a sand rail or quad that is coming up from the other direction, so if you are always vigilant and paying attention, you can react quickly and make good decisions while still having a fun and fast ride through the dunes.
Point It Down
Many new duners are not sure what to do if they find themselves sideways on a hill and losing momentum or climbing a hill and afraid they won’t make it. The best advice we give new duners is to “point it down” and try again.
Unless you are an experienced rider, traversing a dune sideways can often wind up in a rollover situation. The safest way to get off of a dune is to point your front wheels down, shift into your lowest gear and make your way down at a controlled rate of speed. Whether you are on a quad or in a UTV, being pointed straight up or straight down is always better than sitting sideways on a dune.
If you are trying to climb a hill and feel that you won’t make it to the top, it’s important to turn back downhill while you still have enough momentum and power to make the turn. If you find yourself stuck on a hill (and we have all found ourselves in this situation), remember that the safest way down is straight down. If you are on a quad without reverse, then put on the parking brake, get off on the uphill side if you can and pull your front end around until it points down. Let off the parking brake once you are seated again and ride back down to the bottom. If you are in a UTV, the safest way to get unstuck is to put your UTV in reverse and back straight down, slowly, without locking up the brakes and getting sideways.
Once back down, you can always give it another try with a bit more speed and some helpful advice from your friends. Watch out though, as climbing those hills can become quite addicting.
There are plenty of other things to learn about riding in the dunes and chances are you will learn something new every time you embark on a trip. Dune riding is truly one of the most unique experiences on the planet and these tips are a very basic starting point to help you have a fun and safe experience.
Hopefully, you will enjoy your time there as much as we do.
