So the Legend himself, SuperDan has coined many a good phrase but my absolute favorite was when he said, in all seriousness and in a perfectly straight face, that it is unsafe to ride dirt under 35mph. This probably goes with his life long philosophy of "when in doubt, throttle out."
I think about this sometimes when I am riding off road and often notice that as my speed increases, my bike feels more planted, obstacles are no longer noticed as I just float over them :) When I struggle the most is when I am going to slow. That is when I drop the bike. So, I think there is some credence to the SuperDan credo of being unsafe under 35mph.
SuperDan ... I plan on riding this season with my Motorcycle Traction Control turned off ... You gave me that nugget of advise two years back and I'm "finally" ready to Cowboy Up :)
I have thought about that as well and having never reached a pace of 35 sustained MPH I have no experiential reference to weigh it out. To float over all obstacles sounds "for" me like riding on a paved road where the whole point of dirt is the overcoming of many obstacles. What I am missing in my one sided understanding is to have actually done it!
I would really like to have me a ride at 35MPH sustained speeds so I can see that same look on my face I so often see on most of yours.
My "wall" is that I've read too many articles! 35 can skid, slide you right off the road and airborne off the side of a mountain in an unexpected sharp, off camber turn. Not knowing what is around a corner like say a truck, car, side-by-side, washed or rutted out road, a fallen tree has all become my greatest obstacle to this elusive 35MPH.
I often ask myself is this the "deadly kind of fear" or the "stay alive (don't poke a sleeping bear with a stick) kind of fear.
So many years ago, I watched The Long Way Around and saw Ewen McGregor going slow with the fear of dropping his bike and actually dropping his bike all the way around the world! Then I rode with you guys and watched SuperDan ride his KLR650 on 50/50 tires having only half the life left in them, this all happening at 35mph and he NEVER drops the bike.